Absolute forms of possessive pronouns
| SINGULAR: | mine | his, hers2 | |
| PLURAL: | ours | yours | theirs |
2 No absolute form of the third person neuter pronoun exists.
The conjointform is used when the possessive pronoun comes before the noun it modifies. The conjoint form of the possessive pronoun is used as an attribute.
In histurn old Jolyon looked back at hisson. (Galsworthy)
The absoluteform is used when the possessive pronoun does not modify any noun.
The absolute form of the possessive pronoun may be used as subject, predicative or object. The group ‘preposition + absolute form’ may be used as an attribute.
“Yours(sum of money) won’t come short of a hundred thousand, my
boy,” said old Jolyon. (Galsworthy) (SUBJECT)
When he turned round again he saw Fleur standing near the door holding a
handkerchief which the boy had evidently just handed to her. “F.F.”, he heard
her say. “Fleur Forsyte — it’s mineall right. Thank you ever so.”
(Galsworthy) (PREDICATIVE)
...he realized that she was making an effort to talk his talk, and he resolved to
get away from it and talk hers. (London) (OBJECT)
...and while she rattled on, he strove to follow her, marveling at all the
knowledge that was stowed away in that pretty head of hers ... (London)
(ATTRIBUTE)
3. Possessive pronouns are often used before the names of the parts of the body, clothing, things belonging to a person, etc. In that case they are not translated into Russian.
Young Jolyon rose and held out hishand to help hisfather up.
Молодой Джолион поднялся и протянул руку, чтобы помочь отцу встать.
The girl dropped herhandkerchief and he picked it up. (Galsworthy)
Девушка уронила платок, а он поднял его.
Reflexive pronouns.
1.Reflexive pronouns have the categories of person, number,and genderin the third person singular.
| 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | |
| SINGULAR: | myself | yourself1 | himself, herself, itself |
| PLURAL: | ourselves | yourselves | themselves |
1 The archaic pronoun of the second person singular is thyself.
2. Reflexive pronouns refer to the subject of the sentence in which they are used, indicating that the action performed by the doer passes back to him or is associated with him.
In the sentence they are usually used as direct objects.
In that moment of emotion he betrayed the Forsyte in him — forgot himself,
his interests, his property — was capable of almost anything... (Galsworthy)
(OBJECT)
Reflexive pronouns may be used as predicatives.
When she came back she was herselfagain. (Hardy) (PREDICATIVE)
Reflexive pronouns preceded by a preposition may be used as indirect prepositional objects, as attributes and as adverbial modifiers.
He could not see that it would be better to make her feel that she was
competing with herself...(Dreiser) (PREPOSITIONAL INDIRECT
OBJECT)
“I fancied you looked a little downcast when you came in,” she ventured to
observe, anxious to keep away from the subject of herself.(Hardy)
(ATTRIBUTE)
If June did not like this, she could have an allowance and live by herself.
(Galsworthy) (ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF MANNER)
Reflexive pronouns may be used to form the reflexive voice (in this case reflexive pronouns are structural words):
Undressing again, she washed herself intensively... (Galsworthy)
And then I dressed myselfand came away to find you. (Hardy)
Sometimes reflexive pronouns are used emphatically:
Moreover, Soames himselfdisliked the thought of that. (Galsworthy)
She was never idle, it seemed to him, and he envied her now that he himself
was idle nearly all his time. (Galsworthy)
Reciprocal pronouns.
1. Reciprocal pronouns are the group-pronouns each other and one another. They express mutual action or relation. The subject to which they refer must always be in the plural.
“I didn’t really know him,” he thought, “and he didn’t know me; but we loved
each other.” (Galsworthy)
We haven’t set eyes on one anotherfor years. (Priestley)
Each other generally implies only two, one another two or more than two persons:
He had never heard his father or his mother speak in an angry voice, either to
each other,himself, or anybody else. (Galsworth’y)
Seated in a row close to one anotherwere three ladies — Aunts Ann, Hester
(the two Forsyte maids), and Julie (short for Julia)... (Galsworthy)
It must be mentioned that this distinction is not always strictly observed:
I should have been surprised if those two could have thought very highly of
one another. (Dickens)
2. Reciprocal pronouns have two case forms.
Girls banged into each otherand stamped on each other’sfeet. (Mansfield)
The common caseof reciprocal pronouns is used as an object.
The men were not grave and dignified. They lost their tempers easily and
called one anothernames... (London)
Elizabeth and George talked and found each otherdelightful. (Aldington)
The genitive case of reciprocal pronouns may be used as an attribute.
At first it struck me that I might live by selling my works to the ten per cent
who were like myself; but a moment’s reflection showed me that these must
all be as penniless as I, and that we could not live by, so to speak, taking in
one another’swashing. (Shaw)
Not until moon and stars faded away and streaks of daylight began to appear,
did Meitje Brinker and Hans look hopelessly into each other’s face. (Dodge)
Reciprocal pronouns preceded by a preposition are used as a prepositional indirect object:
They look at one anotherfor a moment. (Dickens)
...in silence they stared at each other.(Saxton)