Page 64 - Just Enough English Grammar Illustrated Book
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In the sentence Maria swims, the subject Maria is replaced
with the pronoun she. The new sentence is She swims. This
example illustrates how the selection of an appropriate pronoun
to replace a noun depends on knowing the noun’s person (third
person, because Maria is being spoken about), number (singular,
because there is only one Maria), and gender (feminine, because
Maria is a girl). She is the feminine third-person singular
pronoun that stands for Maria.
Apply the same analysis in the next example, where the subject
is a thing.
Example with a thing as the subject of the sentence:
The pool opens.
Performer/Actor
pool it
(Singular Neuter Noun) (Third-Person Singular
Neuter Pronoun)
Subject Singular I you he she it
Pronouns 1 2 3
Masculine Feminine Neuter
New sentence: It opens.
In the next section, the sentences become longer and include
an object.
3.14 Subject and Object Pronouns Together
Verbs play a central role in a sentence. The subject connects to
the verb. When extending the sentence to include an object, it is
the verb that makes it possible. The following section, therefore,
discusses subject pronouns and object pronouns together.
A direct object pronoun receives the action
of the verb. The verb in this type of sentence
is called an action verb.
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