A pronoun (I, me, he, she, herself, you, it, that, they, each, few, many, who, whoever, whose, someone, everybody, etc.) is a word that takes the place of a noun.
There are three types of pronouns: subject (for example, he); object (him); or possessive (his).
English Pronouns | |||||
Subject Pronouns | Object Pronouns | Possessive Adjectives | Possessive Pronouns | Reflexive Pronouns | |
1st Person | I | Me | My | Mine | Myself |
2nd Person | You | You | Your | Yours | Yourself |
3rd Person (male) | He | Him | His | His | Himself |
3rd Person (Female) | She | Her | Her | Hers | Herself |
3rd Person | It | It | Its | Its | Itself |
1st Person (Plural) | We | Us | Our | Ours | Ourselves |
2nd Person (Plural) | You | You | Your | Yours | Yourselves |
3rd Person (Plural) | They | Them | Their | Theirs | Themselves |
Personal pronouns refer to specific people or things and are divided into subject and object pronouns.
Subject Pronouns: These pronouns act as the subject of a verb.
Object Pronouns: These pronouns act as the object of a verb or preposition.
Possessive pronouns indicate ownership or possession.
Possessive Adjectives: These are used before nouns to show ownership.
Possessive Pronouns: These stand alone and replace nouns.
Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence and are used when the subject and object are the same.
Demonstrative pronouns point to specific things or people.
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions.
Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses, which provide additional information about a noun in the main clause. They connect the clause to the noun it modifies.
Indefinite pronouns refer to non-specific people or things. They do not point to a particular noun and can be singular or plural.
Avoiding Repetition: Pronouns help to avoid redundancy in sentences.
Clarifying Relationships: Pronouns can clarify relationships and ownership.
Referring to Previously Mentioned Nouns: Pronouns can refer back to nouns mentioned earlier in the conversation or text.
Questions and Connections: Interrogative and relative pronouns are essential for forming questions and connecting clauses.
Personal Pronouns:
Possessive Pronouns:
Reflexive Pronouns:
Demonstrative Pronouns:
Interrogative Pronouns:
Relative Pronouns:
Indefinite Pronouns:
Informal English:
Formal English:
“It could have been them.” vs. “It could have been they.”
“It is just me at the door.” vs. “It is just I at the door.”
While the informal usage of object pronouns in these contexts is widely accepted and understood, it is important to recognize the distinction and use the correct forms in formal writing or speech. Many English scholars and grammarians acknowledge this difference and accept the informal usage in everyday conversation.