Posted by Nash Biani
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In English Aam Spoken English Lesson No. 2, we spoke about the English pronouns 'he', 'she' and 'they' in relation to people that we speak about or refer to.
In this lesson, we will look at 'they' in reference to things, places, animals and emotions. We will also look at 'it'
it - In English, when we speak about things and objects, we use the pronoun 'it'.
The pronoun 'it' is also used to refer to places, emotions (feelings) and
animals which are not somebody's pets.This is called, in English grammar,
third person singular, neuter gender.
When speaking English, we can use the pronoun 'it' also for groups of people
such as a team, a board of directors, a committee, a class, a band, an
orchestra and so forth.
Another important use of the pronoun 'it' in spoken English is to talk about a
small child without referring to its gender. When we speak English, we use
'he' to refer to a male child (or adult) and we use 'she' to refer to a female
child (or adult). However, we use the pronoun 'it' when we talk about a child,
infant or baby without referring to it's gender or sex.
they - used to refer to the plural of all the things, animals, places, groups of people,
infants etc., mentioned under 'it' above.
ABSOLUTE BEGINNER COURSE
SPOKEN ENGLISH
Lesson 3(Page 1)
English Grammar: Pronouns
it - they
Section IThe use of English pronouns 'they' and 'it'
In English Aam Spoken English Lesson No. 2, we spoke about the English pronouns 'he', 'she' and 'they' in relation to people that we speak about or refer to.
In this lesson, we will look at 'they' in reference to things, places, animals and emotions. We will also look at 'it'
it - In English, when we speak about things and objects, we use the pronoun 'it'.
The pronoun 'it' is also used to refer to places, emotions (feelings) and
animals which are not somebody's pets.This is called, in English grammar,
third person singular, neuter gender.
When speaking English, we can use the pronoun 'it' also for groups of people
such as a team, a board of directors, a committee, a class, a band, an
orchestra and so forth.
Another important use of the pronoun 'it' in spoken English is to talk about a
small child without referring to its gender. When we speak English, we use
'he' to refer to a male child (or adult) and we use 'she' to refer to a female
child (or adult). However, we use the pronoun 'it' when we talk about a child,
infant or baby without referring to it's gender or sex.
they - used to refer to the plural of all the things, animals, places, groups of people,
infants etc., mentioned under 'it' above.
English Aam Spoken English Video Mehfil
Absolute Beginner Course Lesson 3
When we speak English:
What is this?
It's a pencil.
How do you say it in your mother tongue?
How do you say it in your mother tongue?
When we speak English:
What are these?
They're pencils. (they + are = they're)
What's this? (what + is = what's)
It's a set of pencils.
How do you say it in your mother tongue?
How do you say it in your mother tongue?
Here, you see, in the first question, the plural mode has been used - 'are these'. So, in the answer, we use the plural mode by saying 'they are'. In the second question, the singular mode has been used - 'is this'. So, we use the singular mode in the answer by saying 'it is'.
many pencils - one (a) set of pencils
they it
ENGLISH AAM SPOKEN ENGLISH CONVERSATIONS BOOK
Please write down the following two conversations in your book.
Nurse : Congratulations ! It's a girl.
Bob : How's she?
Nurse : She's fine.
Bob : And my wife?
Nurse : Oh, she's fine too. They're both okay.
Bob : Thank God.
The nurse first said, 'It's a girl.' But as soon as Bob got to know that the child is a girl, he said 'she' while referring to his newborn daughter.
The nurse first said, 'It's a girl.' But as soon as Bob got to know that the child is a girl, he said 'she' while referring to his newborn daughter.
Aslam : I'm so tired.
Vineet : Why? What happened?
Aslam : I was travelling by train from Delhi to Mumbai last night and I couldn't sleep
a wink.
Vineet : Why was that?
Aslam : Oh, there was this child in the train, in my compartment you know.
Vineet : So?
Aslam : Well, it kept crying all night and I just couldn't sleep.
Aslam doesn't know the gender of the child - whether the child was a boy or a girl, so he refers to the child as 'it'.
Have you written down the converastions in your book? Very good. Now keep the book open in front of you and practise with me.
Practise speaking English in this English Aam Spoken English Video Mehfil
It's a cow. They're cows.
It's a flower. They're flowers.
LESSONS IN ABSOLUTE
BEGINNER COURSE
CHAPTER 1
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