Pronouns

Definition of pronouns

In grammar, a pronoun is defined as a word or phrase that may be substituted for a noun or noun phrase, which once replaced, is known as the pronoun’s antecedent. How is this possible? In a nutshell, it’s because pronouns can do everything that nouns can do. A pronoun can act as a subject, direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition, and more. Without pronouns, we’d have to keep on repeating nouns, and that would make our speech and writing repetitive, not to mention cumbersome. Most pronouns are very short words. Examples include:

·         He

·         She

·         They

·         It

·         We

·         Who

As mentioned, pronouns are usually used to replace nouns, however they can also stand in for certain adverbs, adjectives, and other pronouns. Anytime you want to talk about a person, animal, place or thing, you can use pronouns to make your speech or writing flow better.

Types of Pronouns

Pronouns can be divided into numerous categories including:

Indefinite pronouns – those referring to one or more unspecified objects, beings, or places

Personal pronouns – those associated with a certain person, thing, or group; all except you have distinct forms that indicate singular or plural number

Reflexive pronouns – those preceded by the adverb, adjective, pronoun, or noun to which they refer, and ending in –self or –selves

Demonstrative pronouns – those used to point to something specific within a sentence

Possessive pronouns – those designating possession or ownership

Relative pronouns – those which refer to nouns mentioned previously, acting to introduce an adjective (relative) clause

Interrogative pronouns – those which introduce a question

Reciprocal pronouns – those expressing mutual actions or relationship; i.e. one another

Intensive pronouns – those ending in –self or –selves and that serve to emphasize their antecedents

Examples of Pronouns

We are going on vacation.

Don’t tell me that you can’t go with us.

Anybody who says it won’t be fun has no clue what they are talking about.

These are terribly steep stairs.

We ran into each other at the mall.

I’m not sure which is worse: rain or snow.

It is one of the nicest Italian restaurants in town.

Richard stared at himself in the mirror.

The laundry isn’t going to do it self.

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