Pronouns

Examples Index

Parts of Speech

Examples Help! Pronouns - the Definition and Meaning of a Pronoun

What is an Pronoun? A Pronoun is one of the primary parts of speech and is important to the correct use of English grammar. The meaning or definition of a Pronoun is as follows:

Definition & Meaning of a Pronoun

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.
She, herself, it, and this are examples of pronouns

There are three kinds of pronouns - Personal, Relative and Adjective Pronouns.

Definition & Meaning of a Pronoun

Examples Help! Pronouns - Example Sentence

'A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun; as, "John gave his pen to James and he lent it to Jane to write her copy with it." Without the pronouns we would have to write this sentence: "John gave John's pen to James and James lent the pen to Jane to write Jane's copy with the pen."

Examples Help! Personal Pronouns

Personal Pronouns are so called because they are used instead of the names of persons, places and things. The Personal Pronouns are I, Thou, He, She, and It, with their plurals, We, Ye or You and They. In colloquial language and ordinary writing Thou, Thine and Thee are seldom used, except by the Society of Friends or the Amish community. The Plural form You is used for both the nominative and objective singular in the second person and Yours is generally used in the possessive in place of Thine.

I is the pronoun of the first person because it represents the person speaking
Thou is the pronoun of the second person because it represents the person spoken to
He, She, It are the pronouns of the third person because they represent the persons or things of whom we are speaking

Like nouns, the Personal Pronouns have number, gender and case. The gender of the first and second person is obvious, as they represent the person or persons speaking and those who are addressed. The following tables detail personal pronouns:

Personal Pronouns (First Person - Male or Female)
Singular	Plural
I	We
Mine	Ours
Me	Us
Personal Pronouns (First Person - Male or Female)

Personal Pronouns (Second Person - Male or Female)
Singular	Plural
Thou	You
Thine	Yours
Thee	You
Personal Pronouns (Second Person - Male or Female)

Personal Pronouns (Third Person - Male)
Singular	Plural
He	They
His	Theirs
Him	Them
Personal Pronouns (Third Person - Male)

Personal Pronouns (Third Person - Female)
Singular	Plural
She	They
Hers	Theirs
Her	Them
Personal Pronouns (Third Person - Female)

Personal Pronouns (Third Person - Neuter)
Singular	Plural
I	We
Mine	Ours
Me	Us
Personal Pronouns (Third Person - Neuter)

Examples Help! Relative Pronouns

The Relative Pronouns are so called because they relate to some word or phrase going before; as, "The boy who told the truth;" "He has done well, which gives me great pleasure." The Relative Pronouns are who, which, that and what.

Who is applied to persons only; as, "The man who was here."
Which is applied to the lower animals and things without life; as, "The horse which I sold." "The hat which I bought."
That is applied to both persons and things; as, "The friend that helps." "The bird that sings." "The knife that cuts."
What is a compound relative, including both the antecedent and the relative and is equivalent to that which; as, "I did what he desired," i. e. "I did that which he desired."

Here who and which are not only used in place of other words, but who refers immediately to boy, and which to the circumstance of his having done well.

Antecedent: The word or clause to which a relative pronoun refers is called the Antecedent
Relative pronouns have the singular and plural alike
Who is either masculine or feminine; which and that are masculine, feminine or neuter; what as a relative pronoun is always neuter
That and what are not inflected.

Who and which are therefore declined:

Singular & Plural	Singular & Plural
Who	Which
Whose	Whose
Whom	Which

Examples Help! Interrogative Pronouns

Who, which and what. Who, which and what, when used to ask questions, are called Interrogative Pronouns.

Examples Help! Adjective Pronouns

Adjective Pronouns share the nature of adjectives and pronouns and are subdivided as follows:

Demonstrative Adjective Pronouns
Distributive Adjective Pronouns
Indefinite Adjective Pronouns
Possessive Adjective Pronouns

Examples Help! Demonstrative Adjective Pronouns

Demonstrative Adjective Pronouns directly point out the person or object. They are this, that with their plurals these, those, and yon, same and selfsame.

Examples Help! Distributive Adjective Pronouns

Distributive Adjective Pronouns are used distributively. They are each, every, either, neither.

Examples Help! Indefinite Adjective Pronouns

Indefinite Adjective Pronouns are used more or less indefinitely. They are any, all, few, some, several, one, other, another, none.

Examples Help! Possessive Adjective Pronouns

Possessive Adjective Pronouns denote possession. They are my, thy, his, her, its, our, your, their.
N. B.The possessive adjective pronouns differ from the possessive case of the personal pronouns in that the latter can stand alone while the former cannot. "Who owns that book?" "It is mine." You cannot say "it is my," the word book must be repeated.

Examples Help - Understanding the Different Pronouns!

Understanding the different types of Pronouns is a basic requirement of the English language. We hope the above information will be of some assistance.