16 Health and Fitness: Personal Pronouns

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16 Health and fitness

Pronoun use

When we speak or w rite we often w ant to give more inform ation about som ething that we have
already mentioned. It is im portant that the listener or reader always knows what we are speaking
or w riting about, so we use reference words such as he, it, them.

Personal pronouns:
We use personal pronouns to refer back to a person or thing which has already been mentioned.
Subject pronouns are: /, you, she, he, it, we, they
Object pronouns are: me, you, her, him, it, us, them

My m other phoned to say she was ill. have a very good personal tra in e r and I like him.

Note: It is a common pronoun to use in w ritin g and can be used in place of other pronouns such
as this or that fo r ideas or sentences (with no noun following).

Possessive pronouns:
We use possessive pronouns to refer back to a possession of a person or thing which has already
been mentioned.
Possessive pronouns are: mine, yours, hers, his, ours, theirs

Note: We do not use its as a possessive pronoun.

Your eyesight is much better than I did a fitness test w ith my friends, Anna and Charlotte.
m ine. (=my eyesight) I passed mine but they failed th e irs . (=fitness test)

This/that and these/those:


This usually refers to som ething close to you in distance or tim e; that is generally thought of as
fu rth e r away. Som etim es these words can be used interchangeably.

Regular exercise is essential in burning calories. This/That means people m ust exercise if
they want to lose weight.

We use this or that to refer back to singular nouns or objects which have already been mentioned.
We use these or those to refer back to p lural nouns or objects which have already been
mentioned.

‘The sports centre has a new clim bing w a ll:' - The body has clear daily rhythm s and these
'That sounds interesting.’ are disrupted by shiftw ork.

Grammar for IELTS


Unit 16

We use this and that to refer back to ideas or whole sentences that have already been
mentioned. We can also use this/that + noun such as problem, issue, aspect, view, event to give
more inform ation.

Healthcare is directlv related to people's A ll children should do sport at school. That


ability to w ork. This issue should be would help alleviate obesity levels.
discussed more by the government.

Such (such + noun):


We use such to refer back to som ething s im ila r that has already been m entioned.

The comDanv’s cholesterol-low erinq druq made it the prem ier m a rkete r of such medicines.

Time and place:


We use then and there to refer back to a tim e o r place that has already been m entioned.

I go to the gym on Wednesdays and I meet my People used to be healthier 50 years ago
friend there. because jobs were more physical then.

Practice exercises

Decide on the correct reference word to complete the sentences. There may be more than
one correct answer.
1 You should exercise three tim es a week to m a in ta in ________ fitness.
2 Long distance runners focus on building u p ________ stam ina so they can run
m arathons.
3 Heart disease is one of the most serious diseases in the w o rld ________ can be
prevented by adopting a h e althier lifestyle.
U Muscle injuries are very common in a th lete s_________ som etim es end an athlete's
career.
5 Vitam in C is essential fo r optim al health. We can fin d ________ in fru it and vegetables.
6 The governm ent spends a considerable am ount of money on sm oking related diseases.
money should be spent on preventing smoking.
7 My boss has asked the employees to create a company football te a m _________ thinks
th a t_____ w ill help build team w ork.
8 Many sports people turned professional at the tu rn of the tw entieth century. However,
fitness was not a focus of early professional sports p e op le ________

j Listening tip: It can be d ifficu lt to hear reference words because they are short, but they
I are often im portant to understand how inform ation about a topic is connected.

H ealth and fitn e ss 67


Complete the spaces in the text below with the correct referencing words. Then listen and
check your answers.

Jeanette: Good m orning everyone and welcome to my weekly show about fitness. Today I
want to talk about ways you can improve (1)________ fitness w ithout having to join a gym or
sports centre. Now firs t of all, it is im portant to decide what you want to achieve. Many people
want to improve (2)________ health in general, but other people want to focus on losing
weight. I use a combination of both strength building and weight loss exercise to maintain
(3 ) _______ fitness level but I know a couple who go walking twice a week to maintain
(4 ) _______ The most im portant thing is to do something you like, for example, m artial
arts, hiking, tennis or watersports. (5)________ are a ll good as cardiovascular exercise and
strength training. One excellent way is to join a local club because you w ill meet other people
with the same interests as (6)_________It is also im portant to keep up motivation levels and
exercising w ith other people can be a good way to do (7)_________And don't forget about
the local park. (8)________ is a great place to exercise for free. Sometimes parks provide a
running track or other com m unal facilities, a ll of which are free to use.

3 Read the following extracts from student essays for Writing Task 2 and correct the
mistakes in the use of reference words.
1 In my opinion politicians should listen to the people that vote fo r they. People want to
buy healthy food but it is expensive so them buy fast food instead which is not good fo r
his health. Politicians should change it situation.
2 Dieticians suggest vitamins are necessary to combat allergies. It view has been criticized
by scientists who say that this nutrients do not always help to reduce allergies. Therefore,
because them don't agree, people don’t know what advice to follow.
3 Organic food is not a solution to the health problem s of the w orld. Its is less efficient
than other methods of food production. In addition, that problem s are more often
related to less w ealthy fam ilies in developing countries. Families who live then cannot
afford to buy organic produce so they is not useful fo r us.

4 Read the paragraphs from an IELTS Writing Task 2 and write the noun, sentence or idea
that the underlined reference word matches. The first one has been done for you.
What are the causes and effects of obesity and how does it affect society?
One of the largest causes of obesity is the rising cost of food over the years. Although
nowadays many superm arkets claim that (1) they provide low cost food, fru it and
vegetables have increased considerably in price. (2) This means that it is more d ifficu lt fo r
low income fam ilies to feed th e ir children fresh, healthy food. As a result, we have seen a
rise in obesity and other health related problems. (3) These issues have negative effects on
healthcare and education. For example, my m other w orries that (4) she w ill not be able to
cook healthy meals fo r her fam ily if food costs continue to increase.

Grammar for IELTS


Unit 16

A nother cause is the fact that many young people do not know how to cook. Their parents
have not taught (5) them the basic cooking skills. Learning (6) these would help improve
young people's knowledge of nutrition. Cooking is not d ifficu lt, in fact (7) it can be fun!
At the m om ent, often when young people leave home a ll [8] they do is eat processed
meals. (9) These do not contain enough n u trition and have too much fat and sugar.
U nfortunately many people in m odern society have become addicted to (10) th e m .

1 they = superm arkets 6 these =


2 This 7 it
3 These issues = 8 they
U she 9 These =
5 them = 10 them =

Exam practice: W riting Task 2

Exam tip: In the IELTS W riting Task 2, referencing words are im portant to make your
w ritin g clear for the reader. Make sure you check that your reference words refer to the
correct nouns or ideas in your w ritin g so th a t the reader can understand your meaning.

You should spend about 40 m inutes on this task.


W rite about the follow ing topic.

People who cause their own illnesses through unhealthy lifestyles and poor diets should have to
pay more for health care.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Give reasons fo r your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or
experience.
W rite at least 250 words.
There is a m odel answ er in the answ er key.

Health and fitness 69

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