Pronoun atau kata ganti adalah kata yang dipakai untuk menggantikan kata benda. “A Pronoun is a word used in place of a noun“, dimana fungsi dari pronoun itu sendiri adalah membatasi agar jangan sampai terjadi pengulangan berkali-kali yang tidak enak dibaca atau didengar.
Contoh:
- Tanpa Pronoun: Ani lost Ani’s book when Ani was going to Ani’s home
- Dengan Pronoun: Ani los her book when she was going to her home.
Menurut sifat dan fungsinya, pronoun atau kata ganti dapat dibedakan atas:
1. Personal Pronoun (Kata Ganti Orang)
- Nominative Case (I, you, we, they, he, she, it), contoh : I am a student
- Objective Case (me, you, us, him, her, it), contoh : I love her
2. Possessive Pronoun (Kata Ganti Kepemilikan seperti mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs), contoh:
- This is mine (Ini milikku)
- It is ours (Itu milik kami)
3. Reflexive Pronoun (Kata Ganti Refleksi), kata ganti yang menunjukan perbuatan mengenai kepada diri sendiri, seperti : myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. Contoh:
- Reflexive use (Sesuatu mengenai diri sendiri): I look at myself in the mirror
- Emphatic use (Memberi tekanan, tegas atau mengeraskan arti): You yourself must go to there
- Alone (Sendirian: by …… self): I don’t like to sleep by myself
4. Demonstrative Pronoun (Kata Ganti Penunjuk), contoh:
- This is my car
- That is your car
- These are our cars
- Those are your cars
5. Indefinitive Pronoun (Kata Ganti Tak Tentu), contoh:
- Haris has two watches. Each costs Rp. 150.000
- This car is new, but that one is old
- I saw someone/somebody there yesterday
- I didn’t see anyone/anybody there yesterday
- Something is better than nothing
- I didn’t go anywhere
- I saw everyone/everybody there yesterday
- None can tell it
- Nobody came here
- There are two methods. Either can be used
- I don’t like this book, I want another
- Some of these apples are bad
- All are wearing white shirts
- Most of the cars are expensive
- Haris and Anis are absent. Both of them are ill
- A few of the pupils can do the sums
- …, etc.
6. Interrogative Pronoun (Kata Ganti Penanya) seperti who, what, whom, whose, which, how, why, where, when. Contoh:
- Who can speak English well here?
- Whom does she love?
- Whose is this?
- What is your name?
- Which do you like best?
- Where do you live?
- When do you plan to get marriage?
- Why don’t you take me to the party?
- How do you go to school?
7. Relative Pronoun (Kata Ganti Penghubung) adalah kata ganti yang digunakan untuk menggabungkan dua buah kalimat menjadi satu dengan membuang bagian yang sama.
- Who = yang, dipakai untuk menggantikan orang sebagai subjek atau objek. Misalnya: Mr. Haris who will come here for dinner tonight, is a close-friend of mine. (Mr. Haris will come here for dinner tonight. Mr. Haris is a close-friend of mine)
- Whom = yang, dipakai untuk menggantikan orang sebagai objek. Misalnya: I know the girl whom you invited yesterday.
- Whose = yang …. -nya, dipakai untuk menggantikan pemilik baik orang, binatang atau benda. Misalnya: He is the writer whose book you are reading.
- Which = yang, dipakai untuk menggantikan selain orang baik sebagai subjek atau objek. Misalnya: I have read the book which you just mentioned.
- What = yang/apa yang, dipakai untuk menggantikan benda tunggal, tapi bendanya tidak disebutkan. Misalnya: I don’t understand what you mean!
- That = yang, dipakai untuk menggantikan orang atau selain orang baik sebagai subjek atau objek. Misalnya: He carried a bag that was full of books.
(Sumber : Buku Standard English Grammar – CV. Bintang Pelajar)
