Pronoun Explained in Details

Usage of pronouns is not limited to the clarity of speaking and writing. It encompasses more than that. When we don't use someone's name, we use pronouns to refer to them. Incorrect or careless use of pronouns may lead to feelings of disrespect, exclusion, and alienation. Know about pronouns in detail from this presentation in simple words. 

A pronoun takes the place of a noun. It specifically replaces a noun and not any other part of speech. However, whenever we use a pronoun, we may make errors or mistakes because of three issues. What are these three issues? Firstly, mistakes can happen when a pronoun has more than one antecedent. Secondly, mistakes can occur when a noun remains hidden within a sentence or paragraph. Finally, if there is an absence of antecedent, you should mention the missing noun instead of using the pronoun; otherwise, you will end up creating wrong pronoun reference. In a forthcoming chapter, you will learn how wrong pronoun references are made and how to avoid them. Additionally, this chapter will define pronouns and discuss their various types and subdivisions.   

A pronoun takes the place of a noun. Consider the examples below: 

In these examples, ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘they’, and ‘it’ are pronouns because they have replaced the nouns ‘Karim’, ‘Nasima’, ‘Rohan and Rohit’ and ‘a cat’ respectively. 

There are eight types of pronouns shown below: 

Personal pronoun

Personal pronouns have various forms according to person, number, gender, and case. Personal pronouns are classified into three types based on person: first person, second person, and third person. Each person again has two forms based on number: first person singular (I), first-person plural (we), second-person singular (you), second person plural (you), third person singular (he, she, it), third-person plural (they). 

Personal pronouns are categorized into four types based on gender. They are masculine gender (he), feminine gender (she), neuter gender (it), and common gender (they, he/she). To avoid gender biases, we should use gender-neutral alternatives like ‘they’ instead of gender-specific term like ‘he’ and ‘she’ to replace a common noun because a common noun indicates both male and female. Understanding gender is important to avoid gender biases in our writing and speech. Look at the examples below to notice how to avoid gender biases.

Since ‘student’ may point to both male and female, you should use ‘they’ to avoid gender biases.  

Pronouns can be categorized into three types from the perspective of case—nominative case, possessive case, and objective case. Pronouns in the nominative case are used as subjects. The nominative case includes ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘you’, ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, and ‘they’. The words in bold below are in the nominative case because they are subjects.  

A pronoun of the possessive case shows ownership. ‘My’, ‘our’, ‘your’, ‘his’, ‘her’, ‘its’, ‘their’, ‘yours’, ‘mine ‘ours’, ‘theirs’, ‘hers ‘are the possessive case. The possessive case is further sub-divided into two groups: possessive adjective (‘My’, ‘our’, ‘your’, ‘his’, ‘her’, ‘its’, ‘their’) and absolute possessive pronoun (‘yours’, ‘mine ‘ours’, ‘theirs’, ‘hers’). Possessive adjectives function as an adjective, but absolute possessive pronouns (ours, yours, theirs, etc.) cannot function as adjectives. 

Possessive adjectives can modify a noun. So, ‘my’, ‘her’ and ‘their’ are possessive adjectives. On the other hand, absolute possessive pronouns cannot modify a noun. They behave just like pronouns. So, ‘hers’ and ‘theirs’ are absolute possessive pronouns. But, both possessive adjectives and absolute possessive pronouns show ownership.               

Objective case includes ‘her’, ‘him’, ‘it’ ‘me’, ‘you’, and ‘them’. They are used as objects. 

Demonstrative Pronoun:  

Demonstrative pronouns include ‘this’, ‘these’, ‘that’, and ‘those’. We use demonstrative pronouns when we want to refer to someone or something that is near or far from us. Some examples can make you understand better: 

Keep in mind that demonstrative pronouns can behave like adjectives when they precede a noun. Yes, a demonstrative pronoun can modify a noun sitting before that noun. Look at the examples below: 

‘This’ is used to point to a specific person or thing near us. ‘These’ is the plural form of ‘this’, so we can use ‘these’ if we want to point to more than one person or thing near us. 

‘That’ and ‘those’ have the opposite meaning of ‘this’ and ‘these’ respectively. ‘That’ is used to point to a specific person or thing far from us. ‘Those’ is the plural form of ‘that’, so we can use ‘those’ if we want to point to more than one person or thing far from us. 

 Here, you can see those demonstrative pronouns; ‘this’, ‘these’, ‘that’, and ‘those’ are modifying the nouns ‘car’, ‘building’, ‘car’, and ‘cars’ respectively. Look at some more examples: 

Normally we use demonstrative pronouns for things only. However, we can use them for people when the person is identified. Let’s look at these examples: 

Distributive Pronoun:  

A distributive pronoun considers members of a group separately, rather than collectively. They include each, any, neither, none, and others. Note that a distributive pronoun is always singular and should be followed by a plural noun and singular verb. Here are some examples to enhance our understanding. 

While there is a difference between ‘every’ and ‘each’, it's not merely based on the size or definiteness of the group being referred to. The usage of ‘every’ and ‘each’ can be nuanced, and there are situations where both can be used interchangeably.

Each

'Each’ is used when you tend to point to individual items or people within a group, and you want to emphasize the separate consideration of each element.

It can be often used with both a large or a small number of items or people, whether the number is definite or indefinite. To reinforce our knowledge, let's take a look at a couple of examples below.

Every

‘Every’ is used when you want to make a statement that applies universally to all members of a group. It emphasizes the inclusivity of the entire group.

It can be used with both definite and indefinite numbers. To reinforce our knowledge, let's take a look at a couple of examples below.

Any

You can use ‘any’ if you want to refer to one or some of something or one or some of a number, regardless of quantity. 

None

‘None’ means not a single person or thing. You use ‘none’ to point to both living creatures and inanimate objects.

Relative Pronoun:  

The role of a relative pronoun is to connect a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun. You see them used very often. The relative pronouns are ’who’, ‘whom’, ‘whose’, ‘which’, ‘that’, ‘what’, and ‘where’. 

 Who, whom, and whose     

Both ‘who’ and ‘whom’ refer to people. However, while ‘who’ is used to refer to a subject, ‘whom’ is used to refer to an object. In other words, while ‘who’ refers to subjective case (I, he, she, we, they, etc.), ‘whom’ points to objective case (us, him, her, them, etc.) ‘Whom’ is the objective form of ‘who’; the possessive form of ‘who’ is ‘whose.’ So, ‘who’ has two forms: objective and possessive. 

The sense of possession is shown by the usage of ‘whose.’ 

‘Which’ can refer to both animal and object. 

 ’That’ can indicate people, animals, and things. 

Note: We use ‘who’ when we want to point to people and ‘that’ when we want to refer to any object. However, we can also use ‘that’ if we talk about a team or type or class of people.  

 ‘What’ indicates nonliving things. 

‘Where’ refers to places.

From the above discussion, you have come to know that a relative pronoun ensures conjoining modifying information about its antecedent, be it a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.   

Reflexive Pronoun: 

We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in ‘-self’ (singular) or ‘-selves’ (plural). English reflective pronouns are ‘myself’, ‘yourself’, ‘oneself’, ‘himself’, ‘herself’, ‘itself’ 

Plural forms are: ‘ourselves’, ‘yourselves’, ‘themselves’. A reflexive pronoun can have several usages. 

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same. Some examples can clarify your understanding: 

A reflexive pronoun can be used as an indirect object. 

Reflexive pronouns can be used after prepositions if you want to indicate that you are doing something alone, or you may omit prepositions. 

Reflexive pronouns are not used after the preposition ‘with’. 

          Wrong: I brought some books with myself. 

          Correct: I brought some books with me. 

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  Reflexive pronouns are not used after the preposition of place. 

          Wrong: Do not sit beside herself. 

          Right: Do not sit beside her. 

          Wrong: Do not stand behind himself. 

          Right: Do not stand behind him.  

Reciprocal Pronoun: 

We use the reciprocal pronoun ‘each other’ and ‘one another’ when two or more people do the same thing. Traditionally, ‘each other’ refers to two people, and ‘one another’ refers to more than two people, but this distinction is disappearing in modern English. 

We also use the possessive forms: each other’s and one another’s: 

Note: We do not use reciprocal pronouns as the subject of a clause. 

Indefinite Pronoun: 

An indefinite pronoun refers to non-specific person, thing, or amount, embodying a sense of vagueness and lack of definiteness.    

Let's become familiar with indefinite pronouns:  

everybody, everyone, everything, anyone, anybody, anything, nobody, no one, nothing, somebody, someone, something, each, many, much, little, all, any, none, some 

Note: Based on context, an indefinite pronoun can be singular, plural or both 

Nobody, everybody, everyone, something, anything, nothing, each, either, neither, no one, someone—they all always take a singular verb. 

Few, many, several, both, and others take plural verbs.  

However, some indefinite pronouns (all, any, some, many, more, most, and none) may take either a singular or a plural verb. The singularity and plurality of the indefinite verb depend on the noun the indefinite pronouns refer to. 

Interrogative Pronoun:  

There are some interrogative pronouns used for making questions. They are ‘who’, ‘whom’, ‘which’, ‘what’, ‘whose’, ‘whoever’, ‘whatever’, ‘whomever’, and ‘whichever’. We know that a pronoun sits in the place of a noun. An interrogative pronoun also sits in the place of a noun. However, this noun remains hidden within the unknown information that the sentence asks about.  

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Who and Whom 

Though both ‘who’ and ‘whom’ refer to a person or people, there is a difference between them: ‘who’ can be used both as a subject and as an object, but ‘whom’ is used only for an object.   

Another thing to remember is that ‘whom’ is very formal. Native speakers hardly use ‘whom’ in their daily speech. 

What, which, and whose 

 ’What’ is used to refer to a thing or things. ‘What’ can be used as an adjective. It means ‘what’ can be used with a noun head.  

The answer to the interrogative pronoun ‘what’ can be either an object or an abstract concept. Now see how ‘what’ can be used as an adjective. It means that we can use ‘what’ with a noun head. Here, ‘what’ functions as an adjective to modify the noun head. 

You can use ‘which’ to refer not only to things but also to people. ‘Which’ can be either singular or plural; ‘Which’ can be used as an adjective. It means that we can use ‘which’ with a noun head. 

Whose

‘Whose’ refers to a person, implying a sense of possession. ‘Whose’ can also be an adjective. It is thought that ‘whose’ is the possessive form of ‘who’ for people. As ‘who’ is a relative pronoun for human beings and ‘which’ and ‘that’ are for animals and objects, sometimes, we become confused to use ‘whose’ as a possessive form of ‘which’ and ‘that’. However, writers and poets have been using ‘whose’ as a possessive form of all these three relative pronouns because ‘which’ and ‘that’ do not have any equivalent. Therefore, using ‘whose’ is the only option.  

By adding the suffix ‘ever’ to the interrogative pronoun, we can generate emphasis. We can also use ‘whoever’, ‘whomever’, ‘whatever’, to make a statement. 

While ‘whoever’ is a subject pronoun, ‘whomever’ is an object pronoun. It means that when ‘whoever’ can replace I, we, you, he, she, it, and they, ‘whomever’ can replace me, us, her, him, and them.  

There will be a complete presentation which will cover ‘Pronoun Reference’ where you will learn about the mistakes made when dealing with pronouns in your writing and speech. 

Exercise

1. Identify the demonstrative pronoun. 

• each b. your c. this d. he 

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3. Which one is a personal pronoun? 
• each other b. which c. myself d. they 

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• Choose the reflexive pronoun. 
• every b. himself c. that d. yours

• Can you identify the indefinite pronoun? 
1. everybody b. one c. some d. all 

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6. Which of the following is a reciprocal pronoun? 
• each other b. one another c. either d. a and b 

6. Choose the distributive pronoun. 
1. something b. those c. each d. myself 

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• Identify the reflexive pronoun. 
• myself b. ours c. one another d. our 

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• Choose the interrogative pronoun. 
• who b. what c. whose d. all 

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• Identify the personal pronouns. 
• I, you, my something, somebody        

b. I, my, your, he, it, yours 

c. he, they I, you, myself, something      

d. this, this, that, those 

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10. Which ones are indefinite pronouns? 

• myself, himself, themselves                   
• each other one another 
• mine, yours, theirs, hers                        

d. someone, everything, somebody 

11. Identify the pronouns which belong to the nominative case.

• he, she, I, they                 c. my, your, our, their 

b. mine, ours, theirs           d. my, mine, your, yours 

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 12. Identify the pronouns which belong to the possessive case. 

• he, she, I, they           c. my, your, our, their 

b. mine, ours, theirs      d. my, mine, your, yours 

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  13. Identify the pronouns which belong to the objective case. 

• he, she, I, they       c. my, your, our, their 

        b. mine, ours, theirs      d. my, mine, your, yours 

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  14. Identify the indefinite pronouns that may follow either singular or plural verb. 

• Everybody, everything c. Few, others, many, both 

b. More, most, some, none d. Somebody, anybody, something 

Emma and her brother Jake went to the park on Sunday morning. The children saw a group of ducks swimming in the pond. A little boy was feeding them crumbs while his mother watched from a bench. Nearby, an old man sat with his dog, enjoying the sunshine.

Emma picked up a few flowers and gave them to an elderly woman who was reading a book. The woman smiled and thanked her. After some time, Jake spotted two kittens playing under a tree. He wanted to take one home, but Emma reminded him that they already had a cat.

As the sun set, they walked back home, feeling happy about their day at the park.

Unseen Passage for Practice

• Identify all the nouns in the passage.
• Find singular and plural nouns and categorize them.
• List nouns that indicate masculine and feminine gender.

Practice Questions:

1. Nouns in the passage:�Emma, brother, Jake, park, Sunday, morning, children, ducks, pond, boy, crumbs, mother, bench, man, dog, sunshine, flowers, woman, book, time, Jake, kittens, tree, cat, sun, home, day.

2. Singular and Plural Nouns:

• Singular: Emma, brother, Jake, park, morning, group, pond, boy, crumbs, mother, bench, man, dog, sunshine, flower, woman, book, time, tree, cat, sun, home, day.
• Plural: children, ducks, flowers, kittens.

3. Masculine and Feminine Nouns:

• Masculine: brother, Jake, boy, man.
• Feminine: mother, woman, Emma.

Answers:

Lily and her friend Sam went to the market to buy some groceries. They saw a shopkeeper arranging fresh fruits and vegetables on the counter. Lily picked up a red apple, while Sam chose a ripe banana.

After paying for the items, they walked past a school where children were playing. A small puppy sat near the gate, wagging its tail. Lily gave it some biscuits from her bag.

On their way home, they stopped near a park and sat on a bench to rest. The cool breeze made them feel refreshed.

Unseen Passage for Practicing Neuter & Common Gender

• Identify the common gender nouns in the passage.
• Find all the neuter gender nouns and list them.

Practice Questions:

1. Common Gender Nouns:

Friend, Shopkeeper, Child/Children

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2. Neuter Gender Nouns:

Market, Groceries, Fruits, Vegetables, Apple, Banana, School, Gate, Biscuits, Park, Bench, Breeze

Answers:

Thank You