22 Apr What Is a Pronoun? Pronoun Types and Examples

What Is a Pronoun?

 

A pronoun is a word that replaces
a noun or noun phrase that has already been referenced or is understood on its
own. Pronouns help add variety in writing and speech and prevent repetitive
words. Like nouns, pronouns can be singular (I, you, he) or plural (they, our,
their).

 

What Are the Types of Pronouns?

 

There are nine primary types of
pronouns in the English language.

 

·        
Personal pronouns

·        
Possessive pronouns

·        
Indefinite pronouns

·        
Demonstrative pronouns

·        
Relative pronouns

·        
Interrogative pronouns

·        
Reflexive pronouns

·        
Intensive pronouns

·        
Reciprocal pronouns

 

What Is a Personal Pronoun?

 

Personal pronouns replace the name
of a person, animal, or other being and can be written in first person (I/we),
second person (you), or third person (he/she/it/they). Personal pronouns can
substitute the subject or object in a sentence. Subject pronouns replace
the subject and typically appear at the beginning of a sentence. Object
pronouns substitute the object and typically appear at the end of a
sentence.

 

Subject Pronoun Examples

 

·        
I ate
the last cookie.

·        
You
should brush your teeth twice a day.

·        
They have
never seen her this way.

·        
It might
rain this time.

 

Object Pronoun Examples

·        
The knight gave the rose to me.

·        
Beverly needs to speak to you.

·        
John walked with them.

·        
Chris didn’t want to take it.

 

What Is a Possessive Pronoun?

 

A possessive pronoun indicates
possession or ownership of a noun. As with personal pronouns, these pronouns usually
take the place of a name in a sentence. However, unlike possessive nouns, which
use apostrophes to show ownership, possessive pronouns do not. Possessive
pronouns are categorized as independent possessive pronouns or possessive
adjectives.

 

Independent Possessive Pronouns

 

These pronouns stand alone in a sentence and always appear
at the end.

·        
Those shoes are mine.

·        
The package is ours.

·        
That TV isn’t theirs.

·        
The watch is his.

 

Possessive Adjectives

 

When a personal pronoun functions
as a descriptor of a noun, it’s referred to as a possessive adjective.
Possessive adjectives modify nouns and, therefore, placed before them.

 

·        
My dress
no longer fits.

·        
Your bus
is right here.

·        
Their
house is clean.

·        
Our parrot
loves to talk.

 

What Is an Indefinite Pronoun?

 

An indefinite pronoun serves as
the subject in a sentence and doesn’t refer to a specific noun or gender.

 

·        
Everyone
saw the shooting star.

·        
No one
forgot his birthday.

·        
Both
were surprised.

·        
Most chose
the strawberry flavor.

 

What Is a Demonstrative Pronoun?

Demonstrative pronouns identify a noun or pronoun in a
sentence. They provide clarity about which specific person, place or thing the
speaker/writer is addressing.

·        
This
chocolate cake is amazing!

·        
Neither
option is a good one.

·        
These
earrings are 14K gold.

·        
Are those
the glasses you bought?

 

What Is a Relative Pronoun?

These pronouns typically introduce relative clauses (a type
of dependent clause) that describe nouns or other pronouns. They link these
relative clauses to independent clauses in a sentence.

·        
I don’t know the person who took the photo.

·        
The bike,
which was his Christmas gift, is green.

·        
The students whose class was canceled were elated.

What Is an Interrogative Pronoun

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask a question or refer to people or
objects. The five primary interrogative pronouns (who, what, which, whom, and
whose) also appear in lists of relative pronouns. The difference, however, is
that interrogative pronouns appear only in questions.

·        
Who
let the dogs out?

·        
Which
house is yours?

·        
Whose
shoes are these?

What Is a Reflexive Pronoun?

 

A reflexive pronoun refers back to the noun and can act as
the object or indirect object in a sentence.

·        
I baked myself
some cookies.

·        
Jane bought herself
the dress.

·        
You should give yourselves a break.

 

What is an Intensive Pronoun?

Intensive pronouns add emphasis to another noun or pronoun and are very similar
to reflexive pronouns in that they end in “self” or “selves.” However,
intensive pronouns can be removed from a sentence without affecting its meaning
while reflexive pronouns cannot.

·        
I myself
baked the cookies.

·        
Jane herself
bought the dress.

·        
Larry himself
turned out to be the culprit.

 

What Is a Reciprocal Pronoun?

Reciprocal pronouns indicate a give-and-take relationship between two (or more)
nouns in which a certain action affects both nouns simultaneously.  

 

·        
They high-fived each other after hearing the news.

·        
Love one
another.

 

What Are Some Pronoun Examples?

There are more than 100 pronouns in the English language. The following are
some of the most common ones.

 

Personal   I Me You He Him She Her It We Us They Them	Possessive   Mine Yours His Hers Its Ours Theirs	Indefinite   All Anybody Both Few Many Neither Some	Demonstrative   That These This Those	Relative   What Whatever Which Whichever Who Whoever Whom Whomever Whose
Interrogative   Who Whom Whose What Which	Reflexive   Myself Yourself/yourselves Himself/herself Itself Themselves	Intensive   Myself Yourself/yourselves Himself/herself Itself Themselves	Reciprocal   Each other One another