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Day 3: The Pronoun Discovery That Improved My Understanding

 



How Learning Pronouns Changed My Understanding of English Communication

When I started reading pronouns, almost everything felt very similar to what I had already studied during my school days. At first, I thought pronouns were just simple replacement words used in grammar rules. But while learning English deeply on my own, I discovered some uses of pronouns that completely changed the way I looked at communication skills and sentence formation.

Among all pronouns, three words especially surprised me: “this,” “one,” and “it.”

How I Understood the Pronoun “This”

Earlier, I used to think that “this” was used only for non-living things. For example:

  • This book is interesting.
  • This chair is broken.

Because of such examples, my mind had created a fixed rule that “this” could only point toward objects.

But later, I discovered that “this” can also be used for introducing a person. The sentence that changed my understanding was:

“Hi, this is Anju.”

I understood that this is not only used for nearby objects, it can also introduce a speaker, a person or someone present in the conversation:

  • Hello, this is Rahul.
    → यहाँ “this” speaker को introduce कर रहा है।
  • Hi, this is my friend Neha.
    → यहाँ “this” nearby introduced person के लिए है।
  • Is this Anju speaking?
    → यहाँ “this” phone पर मौजूद person को point कर रहा है।
  • That moment felt very interesting to me because I realized that English grammar works more naturally than I had imagined. Pronouns are not limited only to objects; they are used according to communication situations.

    The Pronoun “One” Completely Changed My Thinking

    Another pronoun that surprised me was “one.”

    Earlier, I only knew “one” as a number. But for the first time, I came to know that “one” can also be used as a pronoun.

    At first, I learned that “one” can be used to talk about people in general.

    For example:


                     1. One should speak politely

                         → यहाँ one का मतलब “कोई भी व्यक्ति / हर व्यक्ति” है।

    • English बार-बार:

      • a person
      • people
      • everyone
        बोलने से बचने के लिए one use करता है।

      Meaning:

      • “हर व्यक्ति को विनम्रता से बोलना चाहिए।”

      1. One must help parents.
        → यहाँ one = any person.

        Instead of:

        • A person must help parents

        English uses:

        • one

        Meaning:

        • “हर व्यक्ति को माता-पिता की मदद करनी चाहिए।”

      1. One should never lie.
        → यहाँ one किसी specific इंसान के लिए नहीं है।
        यह general human idea है।

        Meaning:

        • “किसी को भी झूठ नहीं बोलना चाहिए।”

      1. One must respect time.
        → यहाँ:

        • one = every person

        English avoids repeating:

        • people
        • a person

        Meaning:

        • “हर व्यक्ति को समय की कद्र करनी चाहिए।”

      1. One should stay positive.
        → यहाँ:

        • one = any human being generally

        Meaning:

        • “इंसान को सकारात्मक रहना चाहिए।”

      1. One must think before speaking.
        → यहाँ:

        • one = a person generally

        Meaning:

        • “व्यक्ति को बोलने से पहले सोचना चाहिए।”

      1. One should keep learning.
        → यहाँ:

        • one = every person

        Meaning:

        • “हर व्यक्ति को सीखते रहना चाहिए।”

      1. One must stay calm in difficult situations.
        → यहाँ:

        • one = any person

        English general advice दे रहा है, इसलिए:

        • one use हुआ।

        Meaning:

        • “मुश्किल परिस्थितियों में इंसान को शांत रहना चाहिए।”

      1. One should care for nature.
        → यहाँ:

        • one = people generally

        Meaning:

        • “हर व्यक्ति को प्रकृति का ध्यान रखना चाहिए।”

      1. One must control anger.
        → यहाँ:
      • one = any person

      Meaning:

      • “हर व्यक्ति को गुस्से पर नियंत्रण रखना चाहिए।”

    For example:

    • That is an interesting one.
    • I like the black one.
    • This one looks better.

    Here, “one” is replacing a noun whose meaning is already clear from the situation or previous sentence.

    For example:

    • Which shirt do you like?
      → I like the black one.

    Here, “one” is replacing the noun “shirt.”

    I started to practice this way:

  • तुम्हें लाल पेन चाहिए या नीला?
    → Blue one.
  • तुम बड़ा बैग लोगे या छोटा?
    → Small one.
  • तुम्हें नया फोन चाहिए या पुराना?
    → New one.
  • तुम आसान सवाल करोगे या मुश्किल?
    → Difficult one.
  • तुम सस्ता मोबाइल लोगे या महंगा?
    → Cheap one.
  • तुम्हें लंबा रास्ता चाहिए या छोटा?
    → Short one.
  • तुम गरम कॉफी लोगे या ठंडी?
    → Cold one.
  • तुम्हें काली शर्ट पसंद है या सफेद?
    → White one.
  • This discovery helped me understand that English speakers often avoid repeating the same noun again and again. Instead, they use pronouns naturally to make communication smoother.

    My Discovery About the Pronoun “It”

    The most surprising discovery for me was the use of “it.”

    Till then, I thought “it” was used only for non-living things and animals.

    For example:

    • It is a fan.
    • It is sleeping.

    But later, I realized that “it” can also be used to address actions, situations, feelings, or ideas that do not have a simple one-word name

    1. किसी को तंग करना ठीक है?

    → It is not right.

    Here:

    • किसी को तंग करना = “to annoy someone”
    • “करना” is a verb.
    • But because it is in the “ना” form, it keeps the exact original meaning without changing into:
      • कर रहा है
      • किया
      • कर चुके

    So here “किसी को तंग करना” becomes the name of an activity/action.

    That means it behaves like a noun.

    Now while replying, instead of repeating:

    • “किसी को तंग करना गलत है”

    English uses “it”.

    So:

    • It is not right
      means:
    • “किसी को तंग करना सही नहीं है।”

    Here “it” is replacing the whole idea:

    • “किसी को तंग करना”

    2. देर तक जागना सही है?

    → It is unhealthy.

    Here:

    • देर तक जागना = “to stay awake late”
    • “जागना” is a verb in “ना” form.
    • Because of “ना”, it behaves like the name of an activity.

    So:

    • “देर तक जागना” becomes noun-like.

    Instead of repeating:

    • “देर तक जागना unhealthy hai”

    English says:

    • It is unhealthy.

    Here:

    • it = देर तक जागना

    3. झूठ बोलना गलत है?

    → It is wrong.

    Here:

    • झूठ बोलना = “to tell lies”
    • “बोलना” is still in original verb form.
    • No tense change:
      • not बोल रहा
      • not बोला
      • not बोल चुके

    So whole phrase becomes:

    • an activity
    • a concept
    • noun-like meaning

    Then English avoids repetition by using:

    • it

    So:

    • It is wrong
      means:
    • “झूठ बोलना गलत है।”

    4. रोज़ अभ्यास करना ज़रूरी है?

    → It is important.

    Here:

    • अभ्यास करना = “to practice”
    • “करना” remains unchanged in “ना” form.
    • So it expresses the activity itself.

    Instead of repeating:

    • “रोज़ अभ्यास करना important hai”

    English says:

    • It is important.

    Here:

    • it = रोज़ अभ्यास करना

    5. दूसरों की मदद करना अच्छा है?

    → It is good.

    Here:

    • मदद करना = “to help others”
    • “करना” stays in base “ना” form.
    • So the whole phrase behaves like a noun/activity.

    Instead of repeating:

    • “दूसरों की मदद करना अच्छा है”

    English uses:

    • It is good.

    Here:

    • it = दूसरों की मदद करना

    6. बिना सोचे बोलना ठीक है?

    → It is not okay.

    Here:

    • बोलना remains in original form.
    • Whole phrase:
      • “बिना सोचे बोलना”
        becomes an activity idea.

    So instead of repeating that activity again,
    English uses:

    • it

    So:

    • It is not okay
      means:
    • “बिना सोचे बोलना ठीक नहीं है।”

    7. अंग्रेज़ी सीखना मुश्किल है?

    → It is difficult.

    Here:

    • सीखना is a verb.
    • But because it is in “ना” form,
      it becomes the idea/activity itself.

    So:

    • “अंग्रेज़ी सीखना”
      acts like a noun.

    Instead of repeating:

    • “अंग्रेज़ी सीखना difficult hai”

    English says:

    • It is difficult.

    Here:

    • it = अंग्रेज़ी सीखना

    8. हर दिन पढ़ाई करना ज़रूरी है?

    → It is necessary.

    Here:

    • पढ़ाई करना is an activity.
    • “करना” remains unchanged.
    • So whole phrase becomes noun-like.

    English avoids repetition and uses:

    • it

    So:

    • It is necessary
      means:
    • “हर दिन पढ़ाई करना ज़रूरी है।”

    9. गुस्सा करना सही है?

    → It is wrong/right.

    Here:

    • गुस्सा करना = “to get angry”
    • “करना” is still in exact root form.
    • No tense change happens.

    Because of “ना” form:

    • “गुस्सा करना”
      becomes the name of the activity.

    So while replying, instead of repeating:

    • “गुस्सा करना गलत है”

    English says:

    • It is wrong.

    Here:

    • it = गुस्सा करना

    Whenever we are able to identify or address an action, feeling, or state as a name, and we can search for the exact same meaning from the dictionary without changing its form, we can treat it like a noun.

    And pronouns are nothing but words used to address nouns.

    So in this sentence, the pronoun “it” is referring to the action or situation “to behave like this.”

    The Biggest Lesson I Learned From Pronouns

    These grammar discoveries may sound ordinary to fluent English speakers, but for me, they completely changed the way I understood spoken English and communication skills.

    I slowly realized that grammar is not only about memorizing rules. It is also about understanding how people naturally express thoughts, actions, situations, and emotions.

    Learning pronouns like “this,” “one,” and “it” improved my confidence because I started understanding the logic behind English sentences instead of simply memorizing rules.

    And honestly, these small discoveries helped me improve my spoken English far more than rote learning ever did.guage every single day.

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