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What Are Pronouns?
In the broadest terms, pronouns are words that replace or refer to nouns or noun phrases.
However, sometimes a pronoun does not refer to anything specific or anything at all!
Each sentence can have a subject and an object and they are all nouns. Sometimes repeating the nouns can make the conversation boring and repetitive, it can even complicate the sentence and confuse the listener. Pronouns are words that are used instead of the antecedents to avoid repetitions.
What Are Antecedents?
'Antecedents' are 'nouns' or 'noun phrases' that are replaced by pronouns to avoid repeating them. In most cases, we need to mention the antecedent first and then decide which pronoun to use to refer to it.
Yesterday I saw John while he was trying to escape from the police.
Here in this example, 'John' is the antecedent which is replaced by the pronoun 'he' in the second clause.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Pronouns must agree with the number, gender, person, and the case of the antecedents. So, if the antecedents are plural, the pronouns should be plural and if they are singular, the pronouns have to be singular.
We live in a beautiful house, we like our house.
Similarities and Differences Between Pronouns and Nouns
In some cases, nouns and pronouns follow the same rules, while in other cases they do not. For example, determiners can be added to modify nouns, but they cannot appear before pronouns. Take a look at the table for more information on their differences.
Pronouns | Example | Nouns | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
determiners + pronoun✗ |
| determiners + noun✓ | A man✓ |
pronoun + pronoun✗ |
| pronoun + noun✓ | his car✓ |
noun + pronoun✗ |
| noun + noun✓ | school bus✓ |
Nouns and pronouns are similar when it comes to using prepositions and verbs. Both can be used with prepositions and be followed by verbs to show actions. Now refer to the table for more information
Pronouns | Example | Nouns | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
preposition + pronoun✓ | For her✓ | preposition + noun✓ | For Sarah✓ |
pronoun + verb✓ | They dance.✓ | noun + verb✓ | The children dance.✓ |
verb + pronoun✓ | Play it.✓ | verb + noun✓ | Play the piano.✓ |
Pronouns: Types
There are two main types of pronouns in English:
Impersonal pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns have grammatical features like person, number, case and, in some cases, gender. They refer to specific people or things and are used to substitute nouns in sentences. There are four types of personal pronouns as listed below:
Grammatical Features of Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns have some important characteristics that determine when and how they can be used. Take a look at the list below:
Case: The 'case' of a pronoun indicates whether it functions as the subject or object of a sentence. For example:
They did their best to establish a new company.
As you can see, 'they' functions as the subject here.
I told him not to call again.
As you can see, 'him' functions as the object here.
Gender: English third-person singular pronouns can be categorized by gender, which traditionally refers to 'female', 'male', and 'neutral'. However, it is important to note that some people may not identify as either. For example:
He was a nice police officer loved by many people.
Here, 'he' refers to anyone who identifies as 'male'.
It is only two-months old.
As you can see, 'it' is a neutral pronoun here that refers to a baby.
Tip!
It is important to remember that gender-neutral pronouns are available in all cases of English pronouns, including subject pronouns, object pronouns, and possessive pronouns. The singular gender-neutral pronoun can be used to refer to individuals who do not identify as male or female.
Number: The 'number' of a pronoun indicates whether it is singular or plural, depending on the number of 'people' or 'things' it refers back to. As you know, nouns can be either singular or plural, and it is important that pronouns agree with their antecedents in terms of number. For example:
The old farmer has ten hens and they lay 50 eggs per day.
Here in this example, as the antecedent is plural (hens) the pronoun that is referring to it (they) is plural as well.
Although they had the best car ever, they sold it to buy a new house.
Person: Pronouns can be categorized by their 'person,' and can refer to 'the person speaking' (first-person), 'the person being spoken to' (second-person), or 'the person being spoken about' (third-person). For example:
Pam and I were talking about the leaves of the trees and suddenly we saw a bear by the side of the river.
Emma and her friend both studied art at university. No surprise that they are opening their own art galley.
Agreement with the Verb
When two words agree with each other, it means they follow the same rules. An important point to remember about pronouns is that they agree with the verbs in terms of number and person.
For example, if the verb is in third-person singular, the pronoun must be in the third-person singular form as well.
She drinks a lot, and it is not good for her child to see her like this.
Andy knows her.
Exception: Plural Pronouns with Singular Meanings
When someone's gender is not known, or when they identify as neither male nor female, the singular gender-neutral pronoun 'they' is used to refer to them. In this case, it's important to remember that the verb used with singular 'they' should be in the third-person plural form, even though it is referring to only one person.
Each student had a gift delivered to them.
We have found a credit card, the person who owns it must come to get it themselves.
Impersonal Pronouns
Impersonal pronouns, unlike personal pronouns, do not have any grammatical person. There are six types of impersonal pronouns which are as follows:
Demonstrative pronouns: Demonstrative pronouns, such as 'this,' 'that,' 'these,' and 'those,' point to specific objects or groups of objects in a sentence, indicating their distance and number. For example:
This is the book I was talking about.
These are the shoes I want to buy.
Interrogative Pronouns: Interrogative pronouns, like 'who,' 'whom,' 'whose,' 'what,' and 'which,' are used to ask questions and gather information about people or things. For example:
Who is coming to the party tonight?
What did you see?
Indefinite Pronouns: Indefinite pronouns, including 'everyone,' 'someone,' 'anything,' and 'nothing,' refer to unspecified or unidentified individuals, quantities, or things. For example:
Somebody left their umbrella here.
Nothing can stop us now.
Reciprocal Pronouns: Reciprocal pronouns, such as 'each other' and 'one another,' are used to show that two or more people or things are performing an action on each other. For example:
They hugged each other after the game.
The teams compete against one another fiercely.
Impersonal Pronouns: Impersonal pronouns, like 'one,' 'you,' and 'they,' are used to create a sense of generality or neutrality in statements or commands, often without specifying a particular person or thing. For example:
They say it's going to be a hot summer.
One should always strive for excellence.
Relative Pronouns: Relative pronouns, including 'who,' 'whom,' 'whose,' 'which,' and 'that,' introduce relative clauses and connect them to the main clause, providing additional information about a noun in the sentence. For example:
The person who won the race is my friend.
The book that I'm reading is really interesting.
Dummy Pronouns
The general rule about pronouns is that they refer back to something, that is, an antecedent. But this is not always the case. Dummy pronouns are pronouns that do not refer to anything. In other words, dummy pronouns do not have antecedents as other pronouns do. They are words that act like pronouns, but do not replace a noun or noun phrase.
There are two dummy pronouns in English.
Dummy pronouns 'it' and 'there' are used on many occasions to complete the meaning of the sentences by providing a subject. The dummy pronoun 'there' refers to the existence of something and the dummy pronoun 'it' is used in sentences about time, date, and weather. Check out the examples for more clarification:
It is 01:00 AM and you are still awake.
Here, the dummy pronoun 'it' refers to the time.
There are fifty-two apples in the basket.
Review
Pronouns are the substitutes for nouns, so they can be used instead of nouns to avoid unnecessary repetition. English pronouns can be categorized as:
Subject pronouns
Object pronouns
Reflexive pronouns
Possessive pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns
Interrogative Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns
Reciprocal Pronouns
Impersonal Pronouns
Relative Pronouns
Quiz:
Which of the following correctly expresses the difference between pronouns and nouns?
A determiner can modify a pronoun.
A pronoun can be directly followed by another pronoun.
A noun can be modified by a pronoun.
A noun can follow a pronoun without modification.
Sort the words to form a grammatically correct sentence.
Which sentence correctly uses a personal pronoun as an object?
She and I went to the market.
The teacher gave him a book to read.
They are playing soccer in the park.
It is raining heavily today.
Complete the table by specifying the type of pronoun that fits the description. (There is one extra option.)
| Description | Type of Pronoun |
|---|---|
These pronouns change based on case, number, gender, and person. | |
These pronouns point to objects or groups and indicate distance and number. | |
These pronouns only serve as a grammatical subject in some sentences. | |
Refer to unspecified individuals, quantities, or things. | |
Show an action that two or more people perform on each other. |
Fill in the blank with the correct personal pronoun.
I have a lot of books. The ones on the shelf are
.
This is my brother.
loves playing soccer.
Sara and I are best friends.
go to the same school.
Kate is here to see me. The car parked outside is
.
John gave the book to Mary because it belonged to
.
Match each type of pronoun to the correct example.
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