Pronouns

Grammar Lesson: Pronouns

Pronouns are words that can take the place of nouns or noun phrases. They are very useful and common in English, as they help us to avoid repetition and make our sentences more concise and clear. But pronouns can also be tricky, as they have different forms and functions depending on their context and meaning. In this grammar lesson, we will learn about the eight major types of pronouns and how to use them correctly.

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns refer to the speaker, the addressee(s), and other entities. They have different forms depending on their number (singular or plural), person (first, second, or third), gender (masculine, feminine, or neutral), and case (subject or object). For example:

I won’t tell you how it ended. (I is a singular first person subject pronoun; you is a singular second person object pronoun; it is a singular third person neutral subject pronoun.)
She likes him more than me. (She is a singular third person feminine subject pronoun; him is a singular third person masculine object pronoun; me is a singular first person object pronoun.)

Personal pronouns are used far more frequently than the other classes of pronouns. They can act as subjects or objects of verbs, prepositions, or clauses. They can also show possession by adding 's to them (e.g. mine, yours, his).

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns refer to entities that are ‘near to’ or ‘away from’ the speaker’s context, like demonstrative determiners (this, that, these, those). They have different forms depending on their number (singular or plural) and distance (near or far). For example:

This is Bay City. (This is a singular near demonstrative pronoun.)
I like those. (Those is a plural far demonstrative pronoun.)

Demonstrative pronouns can act as subjects or objects of verbs, prepositions, or clauses. They can also modify nouns by following them (e.g. this book, those people).

Reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns refer back to a previous noun phrase, usually the subject of the clause. They have different forms depending on their number (singular or plural), person (first, second, or third), and gender (masculine, feminine, or neutral). They are formed by adding -self or -selves to personal pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself, himself). For example:

I taught myself. (Myself is a singular first person reflexive pronoun that refers back to I.)
She never introduced herself. (Herself is a singular third person feminine reflexive pronoun that refers back to she.)

Reflexive pronouns can act as objects of verbs, prepositions, or clauses. They can also be used for emphasis or contrast by following personal pronouns (e.g. I myself don’t like it).

Reciprocal pronouns

Reciprocal pronouns refer to a previous noun phrase, but indicate that there is a mutual relationship between the members of the group. There are only two reciprocal pronouns in English: each other and one another. For example:

Yeah they know each other pretty well. (Each other is a reciprocal pronoun that indicates a mutual relationship between they.)
We help one another in times of need. (One another is a reciprocal pronoun that indicates a mutual relationship between we.)

Reciprocal pronouns can act as objects of verbs, prepositions, or clauses. They can also be modified by adjectives or adverbs (e.g. each other’s books, one another very much).

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns show who or what owns or has something. They are closely related to possessive determiners (my, your, his, etc.), but they usually imply a missing noun head. They have different forms depending on their number (singular or plural), person (first, second, or third), and gender (masculine, feminine, or neutral). For example:

Is this yours, or mine? (Yours and mine are singular possessive pronouns that imply a missing noun head such as book or pen.)
Ours is better than theirs. (Ours and theirs are plural possessive pronouns that imply a missing noun head such as house or car.)

Possessive pronouns can act as subjects or objects of verbs, prepositions, or clauses. They can also modify nouns by preceding them (e.g. mine eyes, thy will).

Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns have a broad, indefinite meaning. Some of them are compound words consisting of quantifier + general noun (everything, nobody, someone, etc). Others consist of a quantifier alone (all, some, many, etc). For example:

Somebody tricked me. (Somebody is an indefinite pronoun that means an unknown or unspecified person.)
That’s all I know. (All is an indefinite pronoun that means the whole amount or number.)

Indefinite pronouns can act as subjects or objects of verbs, prepositions, or clauses. They can also be modified by adjectives or adverbs (e.g. something nice, anyone else).

Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns introduce a relative clause that modifies a noun or a pronoun. They have different forms depending on their number (singular or plural), gender (masculine, feminine, or neutral), and function (subject or object). The most common relative pronouns are who, whom, which, and that. For example:

I had more friends that were boys. (That is a singular neutral subject relative pronoun that introduces a relative clause that modifies friends.)
He’s the guy who told me about this. (Who is a singular masculine subject relative pronoun that introduces a relative clause that modifies guy.)

Relative pronouns can act as subjects or objects of verbs, prepositions, or clauses within the relative clause. They can also be omitted in some cases when they are not the subject of the relative clause (e.g. The book (that) I bought was expensive.).

Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns ask questions about unknown entities. They have different forms depending on their number (singular or plural), gender (masculine, feminine, or neutral), and function (subject or object). Most relative and interrogative pronouns (e.g. who, which, what) belong to the class of wh-words. For example:

What did he say? (What is a singular neutral object interrogative pronoun that asks a question about an unknown thing.)
I just wonder who it was. (Who is a singular subject interrogative pronoun that asks a question about an unknown person.)

Interrogative pronouns can act as subjects or objects of verbs, prepositions, or clauses within the question. They can also be modified by adjectives or adverbs (e.g. which book, how much).

Conclusion

Pronouns are words that can take the place of nouns or noun phrases. They are very useful and common in English, as they help us to avoid repetition and make our sentences more concise and clear. But pronouns can also be tricky, as they have different forms and functions depending on their context and meaning. In this grammar lesson, we have learned about the eight major types of pronouns and how to use them correctly. I hope you have found this grammar lesson useful and informative.