Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a common noun or a proper noun. There are different kinds of pronouns.
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or another pronoun. Pronouns help you avoid
unnecessary repetition in your writing and speech. A pronoun gets its meaning from the noun
it stands for. The noun is called the antecedent.
Note
The word antecedent comes from a Latin word meaning “to go before.” However,
the noun does not have to appear before the pronoun in a sentence. It often does,
though, to keep sentences clear and avoid misreadings.
1. Personal pronouns The words I, you, he, she, it, we and they are called personal pronouns. They take the place of nouns and are used as the subject of the verb in a sentence. It refer to a specific person, place, object, or thing.
There are three groups of pronouns: first person,second person and third person.
The person speaking is called the first person.The first-person pronouns are I or me (in the singular) and we or us (in the plural). The person spoken to is called the second person. The second-person pronoun is you (in both singular and plural).The person (or animal, or thing) spoken about is called the third person. The third-person pronouns are he or him, she or her, and it (in the singular), and they or them (in the plural). The word I is always spelled with a capital letter. The pronoun he is used for men and boys, she for women and girls, and it for things and animals. Here is a table to help you.
Examples:
2. Possessive pronouns show ownership. The possessive pronouns are: your, yours, his, hers,
its, ours, their, theirs, whose.
Is this beautiful plant yours?
Yes, it’s ours.
Note
Don’t confuse personal pronouns with contractions. Personal pronouns never
have an apostrophe, while contractions always have an apostrophe. Use this
chart:
3. Reflexive pronouns add information to a sentence by pointing back to a noun or pronoun
near the beginning of the sentence. Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves.
The words myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves are called
only four demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those.
which, who, whom, those.
7. Interrogative pronouns ask a question. They are: what, which, who, whom, whose.
8. Indefinite pronouns refer to people, places, objects, or things without pointing to a specific
one. The most common indefinite pronouns are listed in the following chart.
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a common noun or a proper noun. There are different kinds of pronouns.
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or another pronoun. Pronouns help you avoid
unnecessary repetition in your writing and speech. A pronoun gets its meaning from the noun
it stands for. The noun is called the antecedent.
- Although Seattle is damp, it is my favorite city.
Note
The word antecedent comes from a Latin word meaning “to go before.” However,
the noun does not have to appear before the pronoun in a sentence. It often does,
though, to keep sentences clear and avoid misreadings.
1. Personal pronouns The words I, you, he, she, it, we and they are called personal pronouns. They take the place of nouns and are used as the subject of the verb in a sentence. It refer to a specific person, place, object, or thing.
There are three groups of pronouns: first person,second person and third person.
The person speaking is called the first person.The first-person pronouns are I or me (in the singular) and we or us (in the plural). The person spoken to is called the second person. The second-person pronoun is you (in both singular and plural).The person (or animal, or thing) spoken about is called the third person. The third-person pronouns are he or him, she or her, and it (in the singular), and they or them (in the plural). The word I is always spelled with a capital letter. The pronoun he is used for men and boys, she for women and girls, and it for things and animals. Here is a table to help you.
| Singular | Plural | ||
| First person | I, me, mine, my | we, us, our, ours | |
| Second person | you, your, yours | you, your, yours | |
| Third person | he, him, his, she, her, hers, it | they, them, their, theirs, its |
Examples:
- My name is David. I am the youngest in the family.
- This is my father. He is a teacher.
- This is my mother. She is a lawyer.
- I have a brother and two sisters.
- They are Peter, Sharon and Jenny.
- I have a dog. It is called Lucky.
- Lucky, you are a good dog.
- Good morning, children! You may sit down now.
- My family and I live in a big city.
- We have an apartment.
The words me, you, him, her, it, us and them are also personal pronouns. They also take the place of nouns. These pronouns are used as the object of the verb in a sentence.
Examples:
I am standing on my head. Look at me.
My mother is kind. Everybody likes her.
Lisa, I told you to tidy your bed!
Sharon and Jenny! Dad is waiting for you!
Lucky and I are playing in the park. Dad is watching us.
You must not play with the knife. Give it to me.
Pick up your toys and put them away.
2. Possessive pronouns show ownership. The possessive pronouns are: your, yours, his, hers,
its, ours, their, theirs, whose.
Is this beautiful plant yours?
Yes, it’s ours.
Note
Don’t confuse personal pronouns with contractions. Personal pronouns never
have an apostrophe, while contractions always have an apostrophe. Use this
chart:
| Pronoun | Contraction |
| yours | yours you’re (you are) |
| its | its it’s (it is) |
| their | their they’re (they are) |
| whose | whose who’s (who is) |
3. Reflexive pronouns add information to a sentence by pointing back to a noun or pronoun
near the beginning of the sentence. Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves.
The words myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves are called
reflexive pronouns. They refer to the person or animal that is the subject of the verb.
Example:
- Tricia bought herself a new car.
- All her friends enjoyed themselves riding in the beautiful car.
- I made this cake myself.
- Be careful with the knife. You’ll cut yourself.
- Michael is looking at himself in the mirror.
- Susan has hurt herself.
- Our cat washes itself after each meal.
- We organized the party all by ourselves.
- Come in, children, and find yourselves a seat.
- Baby birds are too young to look after themselves
- Tricia herself picked out the car.
only four demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those.
- That is John’s house.
- That is a mountain.
- Those are horses.
- What are those?
- We can do better than that.
- No, that’s not mine.
- You mean you won? That’s amazing!
- Hello, who is that speaking, please?
- Hello, is that you, George?
- This is my house. This is a hill.
- These are donkeys. What is this?
- Did you drop this?
- Hi, Jane! This is Michael!
- This is my favorite movie.
- That was a fierce rain storm.
which, who, whom, those.
- That is John’s house.
- That is a mountain.
- Those are horses.
- What are those?
- We can do better than that.
- No, that’s not mine.
- You mean you won? That’s amazing!
- Hello, who is that speaking, please?
- Hello, is that you, George?
- This is my house.
- This is a hill.
- These are donkeys.
- What is this?
- Did you drop this?
- Hi, Jane! This is Michael!
- Jasper claimed that he could run the washing machine.
- Louise was the repair person who fixed the machine after Jasper washed his sneakers.
The words who, whom, whose, what and which are called interrogative pronouns.
Example:
- Who is he talking to?
- Who are those people?
- Whom are you playing with?
- Whom is he talking to?
- What is your dog’s name?
- What are you talking about?
- What is the time?
- Which of these bags is yours?
- Which do you prefer?
- Whose is this umbrella?
- Who would like to cook dinner?
- Which side does the fork go on?
Note:
Who can be used as the object of a verb as well as the
subject. Whom is used only as the object. For example,
you can say:
- Who are you playing with?
or
- Whom are you playing with?
one. The most common indefinite pronouns are listed in the following chart.
| Singular | Plural | Singular or Plural |
| another | both | all |
| anyone | few | any |
| each | many | more |
| everyone | others | most |
| everybody | several | none |
| everything | some | |
| much | ||
| nobody | ||
| nothing | ||
| other | ||
| someone | ||
| anybody | ||
| anything | ||
| either | ||
| little | ||
| neither | ||
| one | ||
| no one | ||
| somebody | ||
| something Next>>Verbs |
