A pronoun usually refers to something already mentioned in a sentence or piece of text. They are used instead of nouns to prevent repetition of the noun to which they refer.
Pronouns take the place of nouns in sentences. Pronouns work in sentences the same way as nouns. Pronouns are used so that nouns are not repeated. A pronoun generally refers back to a noun that was written earlier. There are many different kinds of pronouns. Each kind has different forms and rules for when it is used.
Learning Hint:
Check whether the pronoun used in a sentence matches the noun or subject of the sentence.
Personal pronouns refer to a specific person or persons. The personal pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we and they. Personal pronouns change form depending on their role in a sentence. The subjective case means the pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence or a clause. The subjective personal pronouns are I, he, she, you, it, we and they.
The other cases are objective and possessive. Objective case means a pronoun usually is the object of the verb or a preposition in a sentence. Objective pronouns are me, him, her, us and them.
Note: When there is a linking verb in a sentence, the pronoun that follows it must be in the subjective, not objective, case. A common linking verb is any form of the verb be such as is, are, was and were.
The possessive case pronoun shows ownership. The possessive pronouns are my, mine, our, ours, his, her, hers, their, theirs.
Note: Only the personal pronouns have these three cases. All other types of pronouns only have their regular (dictionary) form and a possessive case. The exception is the relative pronoun who. Whom is the objective case and whose is the possessive case.
Relative pronouns are which, that, and who/whom. Relative pronouns relate groups of words to nouns or other pronouns.
That and which can only refer to things.
Who and whom can only refer to people. Who is used as the subject of a sentence or a clause. Whom is always the object of a verb or prepositional phrase.
Reflexive pronouns show that the sentence subject also receives the action of the verb in the sentence. Reflexive pronouns have the same form as intensive ones: a personal pronoun plus -self.
We use a reflexive pronoun as a direct object when the subject and the object of a verb are the same.
Note: Objective or possessive pronouns are mistakenly used when a reflexive one is needed.
Intensive pronouns add emphasis to the subject, a noun or another pronoun. They are also called emphatic appositives.
That means that they do not need to refer to the subject. They can refer to any old noun or pronoun in the sentence.
Reflexive pronouns and intensive pronouns are kind of like identical twins: himself, herself, myself, yourself, themselves, ourselves.
You’ll usually find the intensive pronoun right after the noun or pronoun it’s modifying, but not necessarily.
Indefinite pronouns function as nouns, but they do not replace a noun. Indefinite pronouns include everybody and some.
Demonstrative pronouns identify or point to nouns. Demonstrative pronouns include this, that and such.
Interrogative pronouns introduce questions. Interrogative pronouns include who, whom, what, which.
| subject | object | |
|---|---|---|
| person | who | whom |
| thing | what | |
| person/ thing | which | |
| person | whose | |
One general rule for all pronouns is that a singular noun must be replaced with a singular pronoun. Also, a plural noun must be replaced with a plural pronoun.
Note: It is important to remember that any word with an every, like everybody, everyone, or everything is singular, not plural. Therefore, every type words need a singular pronoun like his or her, and not a plural one like their.
Another general rule is that the pronoun must have the same gender (feminine, masculine or neuter) as the noun it replaces.