Pronouns - přednáška

Harry told Mabel that Maude had written the letter. This is typical.

• have two potential functions: as heads and as modifiers

This is a serious mistake. X This mistake is serious.

This/these X that/those: nearness X distance (physical and temporal)

• can function as adjectives (determiners) or pronouns: I don’t like this (coat).

• as pronouns they can refer only to things X those closely followed by who

Those of you who want to join me should wait outside the building.

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS – zvratná zájmena

• Always end in –self/selves – I hurt myself. – the object and subject have the same referent (I=subject, myself=object)

• they refer back to the subject

• He heard him. – we know “he” and “him” are two different person – this is not reflexive pronoun

• ourselves/yourselves – plural; herself/yourself - singular

• basic use: take the function of a noun phrase in the structure of the clause or phrase: it may be an object, a complement, or a prepositional complement

  • Jane hurt herself.

  • Jane bought herself a new coat.

Obligatory after reflexive verbs: absent oneself (from), pride oneself on

The soldier absented himself without leave for three weeks.

Optional with semi-reflexive verbs (verbs where the reflexive pronoun can be omitted with little or no change in meaning) – used when there is the reason to emphasise the action: fact: adjust, hide, prepare, wash, dress, identify, prove, worry

She is seven now. She’s old enough to wash herself.

Commonly used after some non-reflexive verbs: amuse, feed, hurt, persuade, enjoy, help, introduce

We really enjoyed ourselves at the funfair.

Although after prepositions an objective form of a personal pronoun is the most common form, the reflexive form is obligatory with certain prepositional phrases: look at, look after, think too much of , take much upon, pictures/photographs, portraits of …

He does not look after himself well. Painters often paint portraits of themselves.

Often used after be and verbs related to be: I’m not myself today.

! Some verbs which are reflexive in Czech are not reflexive in English: concentrate, feel, lie down, sit down:

Does she feel herself sick? You must concentrate yourself if you want to learn how to play.

• emphatic use: here pronouns appear in apposition and have heavy (nuclear) stress. Function only as modifiers, they are not constituents of the sentence structure. Unlike basic reflexive pronouns, they may have positional mobility.: To emphasise – I decorated the room myself. – It can be without “myself” and it will make sense

  • Jane herself completed the audit.

  • Jane completed the audit herself

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS – The same meaning as reflexive pronouns

• each other, one another

• are related to reflexive pronouns in that they can be said to express a “two-way reflexive relationship. Yet there are important differences. Compare:

Adam and Eve blamed only themselves for the break-up of their marriage.- vinili se oba, mohli za to oba dva

Adam and Eve blamed each other for the break-up of their marriage. – ona vinila jeho, on vinil ji