Pronoun | Types of Pronouns with Useful

Examples | Pronouns List

What is a pronoun? One of the most important forms of grammar in the
English language is the pronoun. This is something that you will come across
very frequently when studying the language and it is important that you are
aware of what a pronoun is, how it is used and where it fits into a sentence. In
this article, we are going to be taking a look at how pronouns work and what
they are used for, this will be intertwined with some examples so that we can
gain a better understanding of their function.

Table of Contents
 Pronoun
o What Is A Pronoun?
o Pronoun Examples
o Pronouns List
o Antecedent
 Types of Pronouns (with Pronoun Examples)
o Personal Pronouns
o Reflexive Pronouns
o Possessive Pronouns
o Demonstrative Pronouns
o Indefinite Pronouns
o Relative Pronouns
o Intensive Pronouns
o Interrogative Pronouns
o Reciprocal Pronouns
 List of Pronouns
 Pronoun Rules
 Gender Pronouns
 Who vs. Whom (Subject and Object Pronouns)
 Common Mistakes with Pronouns
o Choosing a singular pronoun for a plural noun
o Object and subject pronoun misuse
o Incorrect reflexive pronoun use
 Pronouns Examples | Picture
Pronoun
What Is A Pronoun?
What is a pronoun in English grammar? One of the nine parts of speech in the
English language is the pronoun. A pronoun is a word that substitutes for
a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns help keep our writing varied. Without
pronouns, we would have to constantly repeat the same noun over and over
again to tell a story. For example, if we wanted to write a story about Mary we
would constantly have to repeat her name.

 Mary  went to the store to buy a shirt.  Mary  picked up a blue shirt
to go with  Mary’s  jacket.
You could use alternative appellations to make the text more varied. However,
this could confuse the reader. You reader may think that the two names you
use are different entities entirely. For this reason, we use pronouns for noun
substitutions.

 Mary  went to the store to buy a shirt.  She  picked up a blue shirt to
go with  her  jacket.
Using she and her makes it clear that Mary is being referenced. There is no
ambiguity.

Pronoun Examples
In the most simple terms, a pronoun is a word which takes the position of a
noun. One of the most commonly recognised forms of the pronoun are names
of people, for example, John, Jill, Mary or Peter. However, a pronoun could
also be one of the following words:
 He/she
 It
 They
 Me
 Himself
 Somebody/everybody/anybody
 Many
 Each
 Few
 Whoever/who
A pronoun is used instead of a noun or noun phrase in a sentence. A pronoun
may take place of the name of a person, place or thing.

Pronoun examples: I,  me,  we, they, you,  he,  she, it, yours,  himself, ourselves, its,
my, that, this, those, us, who, whom…

There are many more examples of pronouns, and you might think of them as
pointing towards possession. As we mentioned, the pronoun is used as a way
of replacing a noun, take a look at the following sentence:

 The couch is large, the cupboard is heavy.

There is no need to use the word couch in the second part of the sentence,
therefore it could be replaced with a pronoun now that we recognise what
item is being talked about, take a look at the modified sentence which uses
the pronoun it.

 The couch is large, it is heavy.

Pronouns List
We see pronouns in the English language every day. They help to make our
texts more interesting. To understand how to use a pronoun properly you
need to be familiar with the differences between different types of pronouns.

Below find a list of common pronouns and the main categories in which they
belong.

 Reflexive: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, themselves,

yourselves, and ourselves
 Personal: subjective (he/ she, I, you and they); objective (me, you,
her/ him, it, them, and us);  possessive(  hers/his, mine, yours, its,
ours, and theirs)
 Relative: whom, that,  who, and which
 Indefinite: all, any, anybody, everybody, everyone, another
 Demonstrative: this, that, these, and those
 Interrogative: who, what which, and what
 Intensive: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, themselves,
yourselves, and ourselves
 Types of Pronouns and List of Pronouns – Image 1

Antecedent
An antecedent, a noun or noun phrase, provides context for a pronoun. The
antecedent allows readers to know what a particular pronoun is referencing.
For example, it  can refer to many different nouns: a garden hose, a shed, or
almost any other noun you may need to mention.

You will find the antecedents in the examples below italicized. The pronouns
are in bold.
 Mary decided that she would drive down to
visit her grandmother.
 The sun smiled while it ducked under the clouds.
Sometimes a writer will not explicitly need to include an antecedent. If the
context of a sentence remains clear an antecedent is not necessary. If you
know who is speaking, the pronouns I, me, and you can be clearly understood.

Technically, you can place a pronoun before an antecedent. Most people

choose not to do this because it can confuse the reader.

 I love it! My beautiful yellow jacket makes me happy.

Types of Pronouns (with Pronoun
Examples)
English Pronouns can be divided into several categories: personal, indefinite,
reflexive, reciprocal, possessive, demonstrative,
interrogative, reciprocal and relative.

We briefly discussed some of the different words that are classed as pronouns,
however there are also different types of pronoun. Most often, pronouns fall
into one of nine categories. We will now take a look at each of these.

Personal Pronouns
This type of pronoun is used to refer to a person, in this category you will see
words such as I, we, you, they, he, she, …

 I have green eyes.

 They are coming to my house.
 You are my friend.
There are two types of personal pronouns: subject and object.

When the person or thing is the subject of the sentence, subject pronouns are

used.

Subject pronoun list: I, you, he, she, it, we, they.

Subject pronoun examples:

 I  like to watch TV, but  he  does not.

 You  cannot judge a tree by its bark.
 She  struck him on the nose.
 He studies hard to pass the exam.
Object pronouns are used when the person or thing is the object of the
sentence.

Object pronoun list: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them.

Examples:

 Sophia likes  me  but not  him.

 John will call you soon.
 Don’t tell her  the truth.
 I helped him pull his boots off.

Reflexive Pronouns
The reflexive pronoun will end in -self or -selves and is used in reference to
another pronoun. Words within the category are himself, herself, themselves,
yourself/ves, myself, itself.
  He takes care of himself.
 She can do it by herself.
 You could travel by yourself.
In English, reflexive pronouns are used when a person or thing acts on itself.

Reflexive pronoun list: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves,

yourselves, themselves.

Examples:

 She tried it  herself.

 Tom hurt  himself.
In English they all end in –self or –selves and must refer to a noun phrase
elsewhere in the same clause.

Possessive Pronouns
In English, possessive pronouns are used to indicate possession or ownership.
They are: mine, yours, his,  hers, ours, yours, theirs.

Possessive pronoun list: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs.

Examples:

 Do you see that woman over there?  Her  dog is very friendly.
 Is that your house? No,  ours  is the one beside it.
 his is my laptop. It’s  mine.
 These books are mine, not  yours.
 This is my brother ‘s  book.  It’s  his.
Demonstrative Pronouns
This type of pronoun is used to indicate something, the words in the category
are these, those, that, this.

 These are the shoes that I am going to wear.

 He likes the green flowers but he prefers those red ones over there.
 I would like that one.
The demonstrative pronouns are the same words as the demonstrative
adjectives (this, that, these, and those). They often distinguish their targets by
pointing or some other indication of position. They can be either near or far in
distance or time, specifically.

Demonstrative pronoun list: this, that, these, those.

Pronoun examples:

 This  is an enormous field.

 Can you see  that?
 These  are delicious cookies.
Indefinite Pronouns
The indefinite pronoun is used to talk about something which is not specific.
Words in the category are some, all, few, none, either, one, nobody, both,
each, anyone, several etc.

 Nobody is going to the party.

 There are several people in my class.
 I like both of these photos.
An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that refers to non-specific beings,
objects, or places. Indefinite Pronouns can also function as other parts of
speech too, depending on context.

Indefinite Pronoun List: another, anybody/ anyone, anything, each, either,

enough, everybody/ everyone, everything,…

Pronoun examples:

 I don’t want  anyone  to see it.

 Is there  anything  in that box?
 You can’t blame him for  everything.
 Each  company is fighting to protect its own commercial interests.
 Much  has happened since we met.
 No one  can cope with her in English.
Pin
Relative Pronouns
This type of pronoun can be used as a way of giving additional information
within a sentence, pronouns in this category are that, who, which, whom…

 This is my brother who lives in  New Zealand.

 This is the ball that my dog likes best.
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that relates to the word that it modifies and
is not specific. In English, relative pronouns are who, whom, which, whose,
and that.  They refer back to people or things previously mentioned, and they
are used in relative clauses.

Relative pronoun list: who, whom, which, whose, that.

Pronoun examples:

 The woman  who  called yesterday wants to buy the house.

 Now they were driving by the houses  which  Andy had described.
 She is an artist  whose  work I really admire.
 The author  whom  you criticized in your review has written a letter
in reply.
Intensive Pronouns
The intensive pronoun is used as a reference to another pronoun or noun in
the same sentence as a way of emphasizing it.

 The dog caught the ball itself.

 Sarah cooks dinner herself.
 I eat my candy myself.
Interrogative Pronouns
An interrogative pronoun is used in a question, the words within the category
are who, which, where, how and what.

 How many apples do you have?

 Which way is the hotel?
 Is that where the chair goes?
Reciprocal Pronouns
The reciprocal pronoun is used to show an action or feeling which is
reciprocated, words in this category are one another and each other.

 They are happy with each other.

 The two friends really care about one another.
List of Pronouns
Learn the list of all pronouns in English with different types.

1) Personal pronoun list

 Subject pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they.

 Object pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them.
2) Demonstrative pronoun list: this, that, these, those.

3) Reflexive pronoun list: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves,

yourselves, themselves.

4) Intensive pronoun list: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves,

yourselves, themselves.

5) Possessive pronoun list: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs.

6) Relative pronoun list: who, whom, which, whose, that.

7) Indefinite pronoun list: another, anybody/ anyone, anything, each, either,

enough, everybody/ everyone, everything, less, little, much, neither, nobody/
no-one, nothing, one, other, somebody/ someone, something, both, few,
fewer, many, others, several, all, any, more, most, none, some, such.

8) Interrogative Pronoun List: who, whom, which, what, whose, whoever,

whatever, whichever, whomever.
Pronoun Rules
As with all types of grammar, there are rules surrounding the use of the
pronoun. Let’s take a look at these now.

1) If the pronoun is being used as a subject it is known as a subject pronoun

and often appears at the beginning of a sentence, although this is not always
the case. An example of this would be She went to the shop.

The words he, I, she, we, whoever, they, it etc are all subject pronouns,

2) Secondly, a subject pronoun can be used if they are renaming the sentence
subject, in this case, they always come after to be verbs, these might be verbs
such as were, am, are, is, etc. An example of this would be That is she  or This is
him talking.

3) Another rule is that if the word who is being used as a pronoun to refer to a
person, it will take the form of the verb to which that person corresponds, this
might sound strange as this rule is not always followed but an example might
look like this It is I who am going to town.

4) An object pronouns is used to refer to the object of a sentence. Object

pronouns might include the words him, me, her, us, them, etc. An example of
this might be Sarah watched her.  In this example. her is the object of the verb
watched.

5) When a possessive pronoun is used, the use of an apostrophe is never

required.

6) When using the pronouns which, that, and who you should use either a

singular or plural verb depending on what the pronoun is referring to. For
example, look at the following sentence.

 John is one of those men who likes fishing.

 John and Bob are two of these men who like fishing.
You can see that the verb like has been modified to become plural when the
pronoun who refers to two people as opposed to one.
Gender Pronouns
Gender pronouns exist in a binary system: male or female. In this system,
he/him/his or she/her/hers are pronouns used to delineate gender. These
pronouns occur in the 3rd person singular.

Who vs. Whom (Subject and Object

Pronouns)
Who and whom are two relative pronouns. These relative pronouns cause the
most confusion among English language writers. It is simple to understand
which one to use in a sentence. You just need to remember who is a subject
pronoun and whom  is an object pronoun.

Who functions like other subject pronouns: I, we, she/he, and they.  In

contrast, whom works like other object pronouns: him, us, me,
her,  and them.  Generally, people do not get bewildered by the object use of
pronouns. Object pronouns come after a modifying verb or preposition. For
this reason, they are easier to identify. For example:

 Please give the girl to me.

 The woman bought them a cat.
The examples above show how the prepositions/verbs (bolded) precedes the
object pronouns (italicized). The personal pronoun whom deviates from this
sequence. In this case, the object pronoun whom comes before the verb or
preposition that seeks to modify it. For example:

 Whom  should I direct my anger towards?

 The man was as bitter as the twins, whom he described as sore
losers.
You can use an alternative personal pronoun in place of who or whom to
decipher the correct word to use. If the sentence works with an object
pronoun you use whom. If it works with a subject pronoun then who is the
word needed. In the first example, you can substitute her. The subject
pronoun she  would make no sense.

 Correct: Should I direct my anger towards her?

 Incorrect: Should I direct my anger towards she.
Common Mistakes with Pronouns
Choosing a singular pronoun for a plural noun
The problem many people have with pronouns is choosing the right form to
replace the noun. Sometimes people will replace a singular noun with a plural
pronoun or a plural noun with a singular pronoun.

 Incorrect: The guest needs their own towel.

 Correct: The guest needs his/her own towel.
Object and subject pronoun misuse
Problems arise when people have to choose between the subject and object
cases. You need to know which case to use when replacing a noun. Otherwise,
your sentence will not be grammatically correct.

Subject pronouns represent a noun performing an action. In contrast, an

object receives the action performed by the subject.

 Incorrect: Between you and I, miracles happen.

 Correct: Between you and me, miracles happen.
You would use the object case because it is part of a prepositional phrase.

Incorrect reflexive pronoun use

People often use reflexive pronouns wrong when they try to write formally.
You use reflective pronouns when the subject is also the object of a sentence.
For example, you would not write Mary hurt Mary. Instead, you would
write  Mary hurt herself.  You would use the reflexive pronoun herself  instead
of  Mary.

You can also use reflective pronouns for emphasis; however, it not commonly
used. For example, I myself went to the store. This example highlights the fact
the person when to the store alone.
Pronouns Examples | Picture
Types of Pronouns and List of Pronouns – Image 2