She

'She' is a singular, feminine, third-person pronoun. In this part, we will discuss its uses and grammatical rules.

She is a singular, third-person subject pronoun, that generally refers to a female person or an animal. In this lesson, we will discuss when and how to use it.

'She' as a Subject Pronoun

Use

She is used to refer to a female person, a female animal, or a goddess. She also used to refer to things or act as a generic pronoun. Have a look at its uses:

She is used to refer to a female person. For example:

This is Jane. She is my baby sister.

She helped me sort everything out.

She is used to refer to a female animal. For example:

What a cute puppy! Is she a Bulldog?

This is Tessa. She is my brother's Goldfish.

She with a capital 'S' , in some religions, is used to refer to a goddess. Here are some examples:

I know the goddess of victory. She is Athena Nike.

She is used instead of 'any person, the person, anyone, etc.' Note that this use is old-fashioned. For example:

She who wants to work hard, should go there.

Now, this sentence is 'the person who wants to work hard, should go there.'

In old English, countries, nations, cars, machines, ships, boats, and musical instruments were regarded female. Therefore, 'she' was used as a subject pronoun to refer to them. For example:

France is a beautiful country. She is one of the best countries in the world.

She is an awesome, reliable car.

Tip

Remember that in modern English, people tend to personify their belongings. For example, someone may regard their computer as a girl. Look:

I love my computer. She is one of the bests.

Position in a Sentence

She as a subject pronoun replaces the female subject. For example:

What a cute puppy! Is she a Bulldog?

Sophie is there. She is my friend.

'She' replaces 'Sophie.'

'She' as a Prefix

She in combinations acts as a prefix before the names of animals and refers to the feminine gender of the animal. Take a look at the following examples:

I have a she-cat.

I know she is a she-wolf.

'She' as a Noun

She can be used as a noun referring to a female person or an animal. Take a look at the following example:

This cat is a she.

Are you a she or a he?

Tip

In Australian and New Zealand dialects, she is sometimes used instead of 'it' to generally refer to a situation that was just described. Take a look at the following example:

This sanction is putting pressure. But she will be alright.

'She' refers to 'sanction.'

In West-Indian dialect, she is used as the object pronoun 'her.' For example:

Give she this book.