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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:
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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.
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|
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.
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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.
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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.
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Antecedent:
The word or clause to which a relative pronoun refers is
called the Antecedent
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Relative
pronouns have the singular and plural alike
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Who is
either masculine or feminine; which and that are
masculine, feminine or neuter; what as a relative
pronoun is always neuter
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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:
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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. |
