Pronoun

A pronoun replaces a noun or another pronoun. Pronouns such as he, which, none and you make sentences less cumbersome and less repetitive.

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

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 and they.

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

• I was glad to find my bus pass in the bottom of my knapsack.
• You are surely the strangest person I have ever met.
• He stole the SUV and forced her to go with him.
• When she was a young woman, she earned her living as a coal miner.
• After many years, they returned to their homeland.
• We will meet at the library at 3:30 p.m.
• It is on the kitchen counter.
• Are you the delegates from Prince Edward Island?

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 and them.

In the following examples, each of the highlighted words is an objective personal pronoun.

Possessive personal pronouns

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

In each of the following examples, the highlighted word is a possessive personal pronoun.

Demonstrative pronouns

A demonstrative pronoun points to and identifies a noun or pronoun. The demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these and those.

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.

This and that refer to singular nouns or noun phrases, and these and those refer to plural nouns and noun phrases. Though demonstrative pronouns are identical in form to demonstrative adjectives, they are used differently. It is also important to note that that can also be a relative pronoun.

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

Interrogative pronouns

An interrogative pronoun asks a question. The interrogative pronouns are who, whom, which, what and include the compounds formed with the suffix ever (whoever, whomever, whichever and whatever). Note that which and what are also interrogative adjectives. Likewise, who, whom and which are also relative pronouns.

Who, whom (and (occasionally) which) refer to people, while which and what refer to things and animals.

Who acts as the subject of a verb, and whom acts as the object of a verb, preposition or verbal.

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

Relative pronouns

A relative pronoun links 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.

The relative pronouns who and whoever refer to the subject of a clause or sentence, while whom and whomever refer to the objects of a verb, verbal or preposition.

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

Indefinite pronouns

An indefinite pronoun refers to an identifiable but not specified person or thing. It 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 act as indefinite adjectives.

The highlighted words in the following examples are indefinite pronouns.

Reflexive pronouns

A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject of the clause or sentence.

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

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

• Diabetics give themselves insulin shots several times a day.
• My manager often does the photocopying herself so that her staff can do more important work.
• After the party, I asked myself why I had faxed invitations to everyone in my office building.
• Richard usually sent a copy of his e-mails to himself.
• Although the landlord promised to paint the apartment, we ended up doing it ourselves.

Intensive pronouns

An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent. These pronouns are identical in form to reflexive pronouns.

The highlighted words in the following sentences are intensive pronouns:

• I myself believe that aliens should abduct my sister.
• The premier himself said that he would lower taxes.
• They themselves promised to come to the party even though they had another engagement.