What are Pronouns in English? How to Correctly Use Them

by | May 3, 2024 | Parts of Speech, Pronouns

What are pronouns in English, and how to use it?

Like nouns, pronouns are frequently used in English. The primary goal of using pronouns is to replace nouns in a sentence. New language learners usually consider pronouns as personal pronouns. However, there are other kinds of pronouns that are equally important to learn in English.

In this article, you will learn what are the pronouns and how to use them correctly.

Pronouns in English Grammar

Pronouns are an important component of the parts of speech. Pronouns are different from nouns in the sense that they take the place of nouns to represent them in the sentence.

Before going in to more detail, you must know what is a pronoun, what is an antecedent and types of pronouns used in English.

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What is a Pronoun?

A pronoun in Engish grammar is a word that replaces a noun in the sentence. There are different types of pronouns used in English that we will discuss later in this article.

In English grammar, pronouns are a type of generic noun that can present any other noun. 

Some pronoun examples include:

  • I
  • me
  • us
  • You
  • Themselves
  • Who
  • That

What is an antecedent?

When a pronoun refers to a noun in the sentence, that noun is called antecedent. 

An antecedent refers back to a noun in the sentence. To introduce a pronoun, you must first use a noun in the sentence to whom a pronoun is referring in the sentence. Consider the following examples to understand what is an antecedent:

Examples:

  • Ahmad said he was tired.
  • My kids love to play tennis and I watch them playing.
  • The door was open, and I closed it.

Types of Pronouns in English Grammar

There are eight types of pronouns in English. Here is the list of pronouns used in English:

  1. Reflexive Pronouns [myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves]
  2. Demonstrative Pronouns [this, these, that, those]
  3. Interrogative Pronouns [who, whom, which, what]
  4. Indefinite Pronouns [all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, each, everybody, everyone, everything, few, may, nobody,none, one, several, some, somebody, and someone]
  5. Personal Pronouns
    1. Subject Pronouns [I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they]
    2. Object Pronouns [me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them]
    3. Possessive Pronouns [mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs]
  6. Reciprocal Pronouns
  7. Intensive Pronouns [myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves]
  8. Distributive Pronouns

Now, let’s talk about how to use pronouns correctly in a sentence. In the following paragraphs you will learn how to used each type of pronouns with sentence examples.

How to Properly Use Pronouns in a Sentence?

Each type of pronoun perfroms an important function and role in the sentence. To better understand how to correctly use pronouns in the sentence, we need to discuss each type with examples. 

1. Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are pronouns that revpesent a person, thing, idea, or a concept. They are words that replaces personal nouns in the sentence and related back to them. 

Examples of personal pronouns are;

  • He
  • She
  • They
  • We
  • You
  • I

Examples of personal pronouns:

  • She cooks food.
  • They play cricket.
  • We work hard.
  • You sleep too much.
  • It works fine.

In the examples above, all the highlighted words are personal pronouns (also known as subject pronouns). 

Personal pronouns can be grouped into three categories;

  • Subject Pronouns
  • Object Pronouns
  • Possessive Pronouns

Let’s talk about each of these pronouns in more detail!

Subject Pronouns

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Examples:

  • My family tests my patience, but I love them.
  • The sign was too far away for Jorge to read it.
  • Danita said she was almost finished with the application.

Object Pronouns

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Examples:

  • My family tests my patience, but I love them.
  • The sign was too far away for Jorge to read it.
  • Danita said she was almost finished with the application.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns show ownership. They are alos known as independent possessive pronouns or absolute possessive pronouns. 

Examples of Possessive Pronouns

  • mine
  • yours
  • ours
  • his
  • hers
  • theirs
  • its

Examples:

  • She had forgotten her jacket, so I gave her mine.
  • I had no idea whose bid had won the auction, but then my cousins told me that their had.

2. Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are pronouns that end in self or selves.

Examples of Reflexive Pronouns

  • myself
  • yourself
  • himself
  • herself
  • itself
  • oneself
  • ourselves
  • yourselves
  • themselves

Example Sentences

  • She checked herself out of the hotel thirty minutes before checkout time.
  • She made herself a smoothie to bring to class
  • Take care of yourselves.
  • He asked me to go for a bike ride.
  • I had promised myself I would accept more invitations.

4. Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns that point directly to an antecedent or replace one that has already been mentioned or is clear through the context.

Examples of demonstrative pronouns:

  • This 
  • That
  • These
  • Those 

Example Sentences:

  • This is an apple.
  • Those are oranges.
  • That is not fair! I wanted to go first.

4. Definitive Pronouns

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Examples of Definitive Pronouns

  • Them
  • It

Example Sentences:

  • My family tests my patience, but I love them.
  • The sign was too far away for Jorge to read it.
  • Danita said she was almost finished with the application.

6. Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns do not describe a thing or person specifically. Instead, they are used to refer generally to a person or thing. 

Examples:

  • Them
  • It
  • She

Example Sentences:

  • My family tests my patience, but I love them.
  • The sign was too far away for Jorge to read it.
  • Danita said she was almost finished with the application.

7. Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used in questions. These are the interrogative pronouns:

  • What 
  • Which
  • Who
  • Whom
  • Whose

Example sentences of interrogative pronouns

Here are a few examples of interrogative pronouns at play:

  • Whose is this book?
  • What do you do for a living?
  • Whom do you admire the most?
  • Who wants a bag of jelly beans?
  • What is your name?
  • Which movie do you want to watch?

8. Reciprocal Pronouns

Reciprocal pronouns describe a mutual relationship between two or more elements. There are only two reciprocal pronouns;

  • each other
  • one another

Example Sentences of Reciprocal Pronouns

Take a look at these examples:

  • All my siblings are blaming one another for letting the pet out.
  • Ther are competing with each other.

9. Intensive Pronouns

Intensive pronouns look the same as reflexive pronouns, but thier purpose is different. Intensive pronouns add emphasis by repeating their antecedent noun or pronoun.

Examples:

  • I told them I could do it myself.
  • It was the idea itself that posed a problem, not the way it was executed.
  • I built this house.
  • I built this house myself.
  • They hiked the entire Appalachian Trail themselves?
  • Did you yourself see her spill the coffee?

10. Distributive Pronouns

Distributive pronouns refer to nouns as individual elements of larger groups. They enable you to single out individuals while acknowledging that they are part of a group. Distributive pronouns include the following:

  • either 
  • each 
  • neither
  • any
  • none

Examples:

Here are a few examples of distributive pronouns in sentences:

  • All of my friends entered the costume contest, and none of them won.
  • Cookies and muffins are available for dessert. Neither is appealing to me.
Type
Pronouns in this category
Example Sentences
Personal
I/me, you, they/them, he/him, she/her, it, we/us
I brought all the snack.
Relative
that, what, which, who, whom, whose
The professor who ran the meeting ended it promptly.
Demonstrative
this, that, these, those
I ordered Hawaiian pizza. I like that a lot.
Indefinite
another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, none, no one, one, other, some, somebody, someone, such
Reflexive
myself, youself/yourselves, themself/themselves, herself, himself, oneself, itself, ourselves
Intensive
myself, yourself/youselves themself/themselves, herself, himself, oneself, itself, ourselves
Possessive
mine, yours, theirs, his, hers, its, ours
Interrogative
what, which, who, whose
Reciprocal
each other, one another
Distributive
either, each, neither, any, none

Pronouns vs Nouns

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Pronouns vs. Determiners

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Examples Sentences Using Pronouns

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Examples:

  • He works hard to pass the examination. [Personal Pronoun]
  • These books are helpful for English grammar. []
  • I cooked food myself. []

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a pronoun?

A pronoun in English grammar is a word the replaces a noun in the sentence. It also refers to a noun used earlier in the sentence.

What is the purpose of using pronouns?

Pronouns are frequently used to 

What are the types of pronouns?

There are different types of pronouns in Engish. These pronouns includes:

  • Personal pronouns
  • demonstrative pronouns
  • relative pronouns
  • reflexive pronouns
  • distributive pronouns
  • interrogative pronouns
  • possessive pronouns
  • intensive pronouns
  • reciprocal pronouns
  • indefinite pronouns
  • definitive pronouns

I hope this article helped you learn pronouns in English grammar. 

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