PRONOUNSPRONOUNS

TOPICS FOR TODAY’S PRESENTATION1. ENGLISH: indefinite pronouns and partitive pronouns2. SPANISH PRONOUNS: Gender and number definition.Subject pronounsPrepositional pronounsReflexive pronouns Indefinite pronouns Relative pronouns Interrogative pronouns Demonstrative pronouns Indirect object pronounsDirect object pronouns

Indefinite pronouns

-Indefinite pronouns are those pronouns that typically refer to no particular person or thing.

-Equally, they are characterized by having functions directly involved in expressing quantity, from totality (“all”) to its converse (“nothing”).

-Reference in some cases invokes gender, such that items in –body are personal, items in –thing nonpersonal.

-Quantification in some cases invokes countability and number, such that each is singular count, both dual count, while some may be noncount or plural count.

THE UNIVERSAL ITEMS

These function only as pronouns and despite their entailment of plural meaning they take singular verbs:

Everyone, Everybody, Everything, No one, Nobody, Nothing, noting that all except “no one” are written as single words.

EXAMPLES:

-The room was full of youngsters and everyone/everybody was listening to the speeches. (La habitación estaba llena de jóvenes y todo el mundo estaba escuchando los discursos).

I appealed to the whole crowd, but no one/nobody was willing to get up and speak. (Yo le pedí a todo el público, pero nadie estaba dispuesto a pararse y hablar)

-My mother was very particular about how her things were arranged in her bedroom; she knew where everything was supposed to be and she insisted that nothing was ever to be misplaced. (Mi mamá era muy exigente en como sus cosas estaban arregladas en su habitación, ella sabía donde debía estar todo e insistía en que nada fuera colocado en el lugar equivocado)

Two further indefinites are each and none, both able to operate irrespective of gender with singular reference.

EXAMPLES:-Many members hesitated but although each was pressed to act, none was in the end willing. (Muchos miembros dudaron pero aunque cada uno fue presionado para actuar, ninguno estuvo dispuesto al final).

-There were several knives in the drawer, but although each was tried in turn, none was Sharp enough to cut the rope. (Habían varios cuchillos en el cajón, pero aunque cada uno fue probado sucesivamente, ninguno estaba suficientemente filoso para cortar la cuerda).

-Each (but no none) can also function as a determiner, in which role it is closely paralleled by every. EXAMPLE: Each Candidate will be individually interviewed

Every

(Cada candidato será entrevistado individualmente). -Where they differ is that each is more targeted on the individual among the totality, every on the totality itself.

By contrast with each, none is not restricted to singular reference, though plurals like the following are objectionable to some users:  EXAMPLE:

- Hundreds were examined but none were acceptable. (Cientos fueron examinados pero ninguno fue admisible)

-With the determiner no which corresponds to none, however, plural is as universally used as the singular.EXAMPLES:

-No photography is permitted during the ceremony (Las fotografías no están permitidas durante la ceremonia).

-There were no passengers on the train (No habían pasajeros en el tren).

With all and both, we make plural and dual universal reference.EXAMPLES:

-The factory produces luxury cars and all are for export. (La fábrica produce carros lujosos y todos son para exportar).

-Police interviewed the (two) suspects and both were arrested. (La policía entrevistó a los dos sospechosos y los dos fueron arrestados).

-These two items also have a predeterminer function.EXAMPLES:

-All these cars are for export. (Todos estos carros son para exportar)

-Both (the) suspects were arrested. (Ambos sospechosos fueron arrestados)

-The converse of all is no; that of both is neither, usually with singular verb concord.EXAMPLE:

-Police interviewed the (two) suspects but neither was arrested. (La policía entrevistó a los dos sospechosos pero ninguno fue arrestado).

-It has a parallel determiner function.EXAMPLE:

-Neither suspect was arrested (Ningún sospechoso fue arrestado)

PARTITIVE INDEFINITES

(a) I can see someone climbing that tree Somebody

(Puedo ver a alguien trepando ese árbol)

There is something I want to tell you (Hay algo que quiero contarte)

There are nuts here; please have some.(Hay nueces aquí, por favor toma algunas).

(b) Did you see anyone in the vicinity ? anybody

(¿Viste a alguien en la vecindad?)

- I couldn’t find anything to read. (No pude encontrar nada para leer)

-I’d like nuts, if you have any. (me gustarían nueces, si tienes)

EXAMPLES:Assertive John bought some apples

(Jhon compró unas manzanas)

Non-assertive/interrogative/positive Did john buy any apples? (¿Jhon compró unas manzanas?)

Non assertive/interrogative/negative Didn’t John buy any apples?(¿John no compró unas manzanas?)

Non-assertive/negative John didn’t buy any apples (John no compró ningunas manzanas)

Non- assertion

(a) The negative never, no, either, nor

(b) The “incomplete negatives” Hardly, Nearly, Almost, Little, Few, Least, But, Only, Seldom, etc

(C) The “implied negatives” Just, Before, Fail, Prevent, Reluctant, Hard, Difficult, etc.

COMPARE THE FOLLOWING ASSERTIVE/NON-ASSERTIVE SENTENCES:

(a) Jhon will always manage to do something useful John will never manage to do anything useful

(a) (John siempre consigue hacer algo útil) (John nunca consigue hacer algo útil) (b) There was a good chance somebody could come There was little chance anybody could come

(b) (Había una Buena posibilidad de que alguien pudiera

venir) (Había poca posibilidad de que alguien pudiera venir)

(c ) John was eager to read something about the war.

John was reluctant to read anything about the war.

John was too lazy to read anything about the war.

(c ) (John estaba ansioso por leer algo acerca de la guerra) (John estaba reacio a leer algo acerca de la guerra) (John estaba demasiado perezoso para leer algo de la guerra).

EXAMPLES:

Freud probably contributed more than anyone to the understanding of dreams (Freud probablemente contribuyó más que ningún otro a la interpretación de los sueños)

Nobody contributed more to the understanding of dreams than Freud (Nadie contribuyó más a la interpretación de los sueños que Freud)

EXAMPLE WITH SOME:

Did somebody telephone last night? Anybody

( Alguien llamó la noche pasada)

Would you like some wine? (¿Quieres vino?)

SPANISH PRONOUNSSPANISH PRONOUNS:: Gender and number definition.Gender and number definition. Subject pronounsSubject pronouns Prepositional pronounsPrepositional pronouns Reflexive pronounsReflexive pronouns Indefinite pronounsIndefinite pronouns Relative pronounsRelative pronouns Interrogative pronounInterrogative pronoun Demonstrative pronounsDemonstrative pronouns Indirect object pronounsIndirect object pronouns Direct object pronounsDirect object pronouns

GENDER:

EXAMPLES:

Él tiene dos carros (He has two cars)

Ellas son hermosas (They are beautiful)

No comprendo esto (I do not understand this)

NUMBER:

EXAMPLES:

Ella es alta (She is tall)Ellas son altas (They are tall)

SUBJECTS PRONOUNS

SINGULAR:

EXAMPLE:

Yo soy pedro (I am Peter)

Ella es bonita (She is beautiful)

PLURAL

SPANISH ENGLISH

NOSOTROS ( masculino ) We (masculine or mixed gender)

NOSOTRAS ( femenino) We (feminine)

VOSOTROS ( masculino, familiar en España)

You ( mixed gender)

VOSOTRAS ( femenino, familiar en España)

You (mixed gender)

ELLOS ( masculino) They (mixed gender)

ELLAS ( femenino) They (mixed gender)

USTEDES (formal en España, familiar en Latino América. Género mezclado)

You ( mixed gender)

EXAMPLE:

Nosotros estamos en el colegio (We are at the school)

Ellas están bailando (They are dancing)

PREPOSITIONAL PRONOUNS

EXAMPLES:

A mí, no me gusta la carne de cerdo ((To me), I don't like pork)

Quiero estudiar con ellos (I want to study with them)

Tengo un regalo para ti  ( I have a gift for you)

But we also have ello which is for neuter,

No tengo tiempo para ello (I don't have time for that.)

Estoy ocupado, y por ello no puedo ir al cine ( I'm busy, that's why I can't go to the movies.)

Con + mí = conmigo EXAMPLE

¿Quieres sentarte conmigo? (Do you want to sit with me)

Con + ti = contigo EXAMPLE:

No podemos jugar contigo ( we cannot play with you)

CONSIGO

EXAMPLES:

Ella se la llevó consigo (She took it along with her(self))

Los niños están contentos consigo mismos (The children are happy with themselves)

como (like), entre (between), excepto (except), incluso (including), menos (except), salvo (except), and según (according to).

EXAMPLE:

Necesito un amigo como tú ( I need a friend like you.)

Todos se fueron menos tú (Everyone left except you)

And also when paired with another pronoun:

EXAMPLE:

No había nada entre tù y yo (There was nothing between you and me)

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNSReflexive pronouns in Spanish are closely related to direct and indirect pronouns, by following the same rules of word order and using almost same pronouns.

.

EXAMPLES: •Puedo verme en el espejo (I can see myself in the mirror)

•¿Qué te compraste? (what did you buy yourself?)

•Se estaban admirando (They were admiring themselves)

•Pablo se habla (Pablo talks to himself)

-One major difference between Spanish and English in this regard is that in Spanish many verbs exist only or primarily in the reflexive form.

Examples of verbs that exist primarily or frequently in the reflexive form are:

•acostarse (to go to bed) •divertirse (to have a good time) •ducharse (to take a shower) •enamorarse (to fall in love), •enojarse (to get angry), levantarse (to get up), •sentarse (to sit down)•sentirse (to feel) •vestirse (to get dressed).

It is also common to use the reflexive form when performing some action on a part of the body.

-secarse el cabello (to dry one's hair)-lavarse las manos (to wash one's hands.)

Note that for many of these verbs it is not necessary to translate the reflexive pronoun into English.

-Se acostó a las nueve (She went to bed at 9.) -Me siento triste ( I feel sad)

But with many verbs, especially those that are less frequently used in the reflexive, the pronoun must be translated.

-¿Te ves en el espejo? ( Do you see yourself in the mirror?)

And in still other cases, you can translate with or without translating the pronoun.

-Se vistió en su coche ( He got dressed in his car, or He dressed himself in his car).

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

In Spanish as in English, most of the words used as indefinite pronouns sometimes they function as other parts of speech, often as adjectives and sometimes as adverbs.

In Spanish, some of the indefinite pronouns exist in both masculine and feminine forms as well as singular and plural forms, so they must agree with the nouns they refer to.Here is a list of the most common Spanish indefinite pronouns:

RELATIVE PRONOUNS 

We can omit relative pronouns in English, but not in Spanish.

EXAMPLE:

Me gusta la canción que estas cantando. (I like the song (that) you’re singing)

USES:

1. Que

EXAMPLE:

Me gusta la casa que tienes (I like the house that you have).

Que may also be used after short separation from the antecedent, for example a preposition: a, de, or en .

However, que is not used after such prepositions as sin, por, or para because those combinations would be confused with the adverbial conjunctions sin que [without], porque (because) and para que [so that].

2. Quien Roberto es el hombre con quien salgo.

(Robert is the person who I’m going out with).

3. El que and the other forms (la que, los que, las que)

El pueblo en el que nací (The village where I was born).

4. El cual and the accompanying forms la cual, los cuales, and las cuales. The most typical examples is after compound prepositions such as acerca de (about, concerning), al lado de (beside), antes de (before), cerca de (near), debajo de (underneath), delante de (in front of), dentro de (inside), después de (after), detrás de (behind), and por encima de (on top of).

EXAMPLE:

Ese es el niño detrás del cual yo me senté (This is the guy behind whom I sat down)

Neuter relative pronouns: lo que and lo cual (which, what).

Note that the Spanish equivalent of question word whose is ¿De quién? or ¿De quiénes?

¿De quién es ese coche? (Whose car is that?).

¿De quiénes son todos estos abrigos? (Whose are all these coats?).

Other relatives: cuando (when), donde (where), etc

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNSInterrogative pronouns are quién, qué, cuál, and cuánto.

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun, and interrogative means questioning, so interrogative pronouns are pronouns used to ask the questions like who, what, which, and how much/many .

Following are the interrogative pronouns in Spanish:

DEMOSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

Éste (This) - Ese (That) -Aquel (That one over there).

 

EXAMPLES:

Eso es lo que te dije. (That is what I told you.)

Aquello que me pasó me trae tantos recuerdos. (That which happened to me brings back so many memories.)

Esto (this matter, this thing)Eso (that matter, that thing)Aquello (that matter/thing over there)

EXAMPLE:

¿Qué es eso? (What is that?) ¿Qué es aquello? (What is that thing?

(far from the speaker and the listener) )Esto no es bueno. (This is not good)

INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

Indirect object pronouns are words that replace the indirect object, which is usually a person. Notice that in Spanish, an indirect object pronoun is joined to the verb by a. A sentence with an Indirect object noun usually includes the indirect object pronoun le or les.

EXAMPLE:Le dio la comida a ella (He gave the food to her)

The Spanish indirect object pronouns are as follows:

Like direct object pronouns, Spanish indirect object pronouns are placed in front of the verb.

Te hablo de él. (I'm telling you about him.) Les canta. (She sings to them)Os prestamos nuestro coche. (We lend you people our car)Él nos preguntó. (He asked us)

Pronouns can get attached to the end in the case of infinitives, present participles, and affirmative commands:

Le voy a preguntar (or) Voy a preguntarle ( I'm going to tell him.)Les quiero enviar una tarjeta (or) Quiero enviarles una tarjeta (I want to send them a letter.)

The a can be added to these sentences in order to clarify, contrast, or emphasized the indirect object pronoun.Example:

A mí me gusta el verde pero a él le gusta el azul y a ella le gusta el rojo (I like the green one, but he likes the blue one and she likes the red one.)

With other verbs, when referring to articles of clothing or parts of the body, the indirect object functions much like a possessive in English.

Su madre le quitó el impermeable. ( His mother helped him to remove his raincoat)Te lavarán el pelo en la peluquería. ( They will wash your hair at the hairdresser’s.)

Special verbs with indirect object pronounsThere are a few special verbs that work in conjunction with an indirect object pronoun to create an idiomatic expression that is quite common in Spanish as well as its English equivalent.

Me gusta la pizza (I like pizza)Te gustan los libros ( You like books)Nos gusta la música ( We like music)Le gusta bailar ( She likes dancing)

Special Verbs with Indirect Object Pronouns

DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

EXAMPLES:

EXAMPLES:

Latin America Lo buscábamos (We were

looking for him)

Spain Le buscábamos (We were

looking for him

Direct object pronouns are also attached to the end of affirmative commands.

Ponla aqui (Put it here)Míreme (Look at me)Tráigalo (Bring it)

When the command is in the negative, the direct object pronouns goes before the verb form.

No lo llame usted. (Do not call him)

No las coma todavía (Do not eat them yet)

EXAMPLE:

USING THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECT AT THE SAME TIME

THANKS FOR COMING!