What Is A Pronoun?

A pronoun can replace a noun or another pronoun. You use pronouns like ``he,'' ``which,'' ``none,'' and ``you'' to make your sentences less cumbersome and less repetitive.

Grammarians classify pronouns into several types, including the personal pronoun, the demonstrative pronoun, the interrogative pronoun, the indefinite pronoun, the relative pronoun, the reflexive pronoun, and the intensive pronoun.

Personal Pronouns

A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing and changes its form to indicate person, number, gender, and case.

Subjective Personal Pronouns

A subjective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as the subject of the sentence. The subjective personal pronouns are ``I,'' ``you,'' ``she,'' ``he,'' ``it,'' ``we,'' ``you,'' ``they.''

In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is a subjective personal pronoun and acts as the subject of the sentence:

I was excited when we won the championship tournament.

You are surely the most athletic child I have ever met.

He stole Tara’s glove during the game.  

When she was a young woman, she was the best tennis player in her town.

After many years, they decided to quit playing competitive sports.

We will meet at the practice field after school.

It is on the scoreboard. 

Are you the referee from Chicago?

Objective Personal Pronouns

An objective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as an object of a verb, compound verb, preposition, or infinitive phrase. The objective personal pronouns are: ``me,'' ``you,'' ``her,'' ``him,'' ``it,'' ``us,'' ``you,'' and ``them.''

In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is an objective personal pronoun:

Charlie stole Tara’s glove and forced her be upset with him.

The objective personal pronoun ``her'' is the direct object of the verb ``forced'' and the objective personal pronoun ``him'' is the object of the preposition ``with.''

After catching the ball, Bob threw it into the catcher.

The pronoun ``it'' is the direct object of the verb ``ball''.

The agitated coach stood up and faced the angry player and said, ``Our staff will address you in five minutes.''

In this sentence, the pronoun ``you'' is the direct object of the verb ``address.''

Deborah and Roberta will meet us at the football field.

Here the objective personal pronoun ``us'' is the direct object of the compound verb ``will meet.''

Give the scores to me.

Here the objective personal pronoun ``me'' is the object of the preposition ``to''.

I'm not sure that my opponent will talk to you.

Similarly in this example, the objective personal pronoun ``you'' is the object of the preposition ``to''.

Christopher was surprised to see her at the drag races.

Here the objective personal pronoun ``her'' is the object of the infinitive phrase ``to see.''

Possessive Personal Pronouns

A possessive pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as a marker of possession and defines who owns a particular object or person. The possessive personal pronouns are ``mine,'' ``yours,'' ``hers,'' ``his,'' ``its,'' ``ours,'' and ``theirs.'' Note that possessive personal pronouns are very similar to possessive adjectives like ``my,'' ``her,'' and ``their.''

In each of the following sentences, the highlighted word is a possessive personal pronoun:

The smallest puck is mine.

Here the possessive pronoun ``mine'' functions as a subject complement.

This is yours.

Here too the possessive pronoun ``yours'' functions as a subject complement.

His is on the bench.

In this example, the possessive pronoun ``his'' acts as the subject of the sentence.

Theirs will be tallied tomorrow.

In this sentence, the possessive pronoun ``theirs'' is the subject of the sentence.

Ours has the number one on it.

Here too the possessive pronoun ``ours'' function as the subject of the sentence.

Demonstrative Pronouns

A demonstrative pronoun points to and identifies a noun or a pronoun. ``This'' and ``these'' refer to things that are nearby either in space or in time, while ``that'' and ``those'' refer to things that are farther away in space or time.

The demonstrative pronouns are ``this,'' ``that,'' ``these,'' and ``those.'' ``This'' and ``that'' are used to refer to singular nouns or noun phrases and ``these'' and ``those'' are used to refer to plural nouns and noun phrases. Note that the demonstrative pronouns are identical to demonstrative adjectives, though, obviously, you use them differently. It is also important to note that ``that'' can also be used as a relative pronoun.

In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is a demonstrative pronoun:

This must not continue.

Here ``this'' is used as the subject of the compound verb ``must not continue.''

This is puny; that is the bowling ball I want.

In this example ``this'' is used as subject and refers to something close to the speaker. The demonstrative pronoun ``that'' is also a subject but refers to something farther away from the speaker.

Three players wanted these.

Here ``these'' is the direct object of the verb ``wanted''.

Interrogative Pronouns

An interrogative pronoun is used to ask questions. The interrogative pronouns are ``who,'' ``whom,'' ``which,'' ``what'' and the compounds formed with the suffix ``ever'' (``whoever,'' ``whomever,'' ``whichever,'' and ``whatever''). Note that either ``which'' or ``what'' can also be used as an interrogative adjective, and that ``who,'' ``whom,'' or ``which'' can also be used as a relative pronoun.

You will find ``who,'' ``whom,'' and occasionally ``which'' used to refer to people, and ``which'' and ``what'' used to refer to things and to animals.

``Who'' acts as the subject of a verb, while ``whom'' acts as the object of a verb, preposition, or a verbal.

The highlighted word in each of the following sentences is an interrogative pronoun:

Which wants to run the race first?

``Which'' is the subject of the sentence.

Who threw the disc the furthest??

Similarly ``who'' is the subject of the sentence.

Whom do you think we should vote MVP?

In this sentence, ``whom'' is the object of the verb ``vote.''

To whom do you wish to speak?

Here the interrogative pronoun ``whom '' is the object of the preposition ``to.''

Who will meet the team at the train station?

In this sentence, the interrogative pronoun ``who'' is the subject of the compound verb ``will meet''.

To whom did you give the statistics?

In this example the interrogative pronoun ``whom'' is the object of the preposition ``to.''

What did she say?

Here the interrogative pronoun ``what'' is the direct object of the verb ``say.''

Relative Pronouns

You can use a relative pronoun is used to link one phrase or clause to another phrase or clause. The relative pronouns are ``who,'' ``whom,'' ``that,'' and ``which.'' The compounds ``whoever,'' ``whomever,'' and ``whichever'' are also relative pronouns.

You can use the relative pronouns ``who'' and ``whoever'' to refer to the subject of a clause or sentence, and ``whom'' and ``whomever'' to refer to the objects of a verb, a verbal or a preposition.

In each of the following sentences, the highlighted word is a relative pronoun.

You may invite whomever you like to the game.

The relative pronoun ``whomever'' is the direct object of the compound verb ``may invite''.

The player who wins the greatest popular vote is not always awarded.

In this sentence, the relative pronoun is the subject of the verb ``wins'' and introduces the subordinate clause ``who wins the greatest popular vote''. This subordinate clause acts as an adjective modifying ``player.''

In a time of crisis, the coach asks the players whom she believes to be the most efficient to arrive an hour earlier than usual.

In this sentence ``whom'' is the direct object of the verb ``believes'' and introduces the subordinate clause ``whom she believes to be the most efficient''. This subordinate clause modifies the noun ``players.''

Whoever broke the basketball net will have to replace it.

Here ``whoever'' functions as the subject of the verb ``broke''.

The racquet, which was left on the court, has now been moved into the storage closet.

In this example ``which'' acts as the subject of the compound verb ``was left'' and introduces the subordinate clause ``which was left on the court.'' The subordinate clause acts as an adjective modifying the noun ``racquet.''

I will read whichever list arrives first.

Here ``whichever'' modifies the noun ``list'' and introduces the subordinate clause ``whichever list arrives first.'' The subordinate clause functions as the direct object of the compound verb ``will read.''

Indefinite Pronouns

An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun referring to an identifiable but not specified person or thing. An indefinite pronoun conveys the idea of all, any, none, or some.

The most common indefinite pronouns are ``all,'' ``another,'' ``any,'' ``anybody,'' ``anyone,'' ``anything,'' ``each,'' ``everybody,'' ``everyone,'' ``everything,'' ``few,'' ``many,'' ``nobody,'' ``none,'' ``one,'' ``several,'' ``some,'' ``somebody,'' and ``someone.'' Note that some indefinite pronouns can also be used as indefinite adjectives.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are indefinite pronouns:

Many were invited to the meet but only twelve showed up.

Here ``many'' acts as the subject of the compound verb ``were invited''.

The locker room had been searched and everything was thrown onto the floor.

In this example, ``everything'' acts as a subject of the compound verb ``was thrown.''

We donated everything we found in the box to the younger hockey team.

In this sentence, ``everything'' is the direct object of the verb ``donated.''

Although they looked everywhere for extra copies of the roster, they found none.

Here too the indefinite pronoun functions as a direct object: ``none'' is the direct object of ``found.''

Make sure you give everyone a copy of the lineup.

In this example, ``everyone'' is the indirect object of the verb ``give'' -- the direct object is the noun phrase ``a copy of the lineup.''

Give a registration package to each.

Here ``each'' is the object of the preposition ``to.''

Reflexive Pronouns

You can use a reflexive pronoun to refer back to the subject of the clause or sentence.

The reflexive pronouns are ``myself,'' ``yourself,'' ``herself,'' ``himself,'' ``itself,'' ``ourselves,'' ``yourselves,'' and ``themselves.'' Note each of these can also act as an intensive pronoun.

Each of the highlighted words in the following sentences is a reflexive pronoun:

Athletes give themselves plenty of rest before a game.

The coach often does the recruiting herself.

After the game, I asked myself why I got so upset. 

Richard usually remembered to send a copy of his e-mail to himself.

Although the men promised to mow the field, we ended up doing it ourselves.

Intensive Pronouns

An intensive pronoun is a pronoun used to emphasise its antecedent. Intensive pronouns are identical in form to reflexive pronouns.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are intensive pronouns:

I myself believe that we are going to win the swim competition.

The head official himself said that it was a technical foul.

They themselves promised to come to the game even though they had a final exam at the same time.

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