English Grammar - Pronoun

 

Pronoun – Complete Explanation

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun in a sentence to avoid repetition and make sentences smoother.

Example:

Without pronoun:
John is a student. John studies every day.

With pronoun:
John is a student. He studies every day.

(He replaces John.)

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Types of Pronouns

1. Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns refer to people, animals, places, or things.

They change according to person, number, and case.

Subject	Object
I	me
You	you
He	him
She	her
It	it
We	us
They	them

Examples:

• I am a student.

• She called me.

• We invited them.

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Subject Pronouns

These perform the action.

Examples:

• He plays football.

• They are studying.

Subject pronouns:

• I

• You

• He

• She

• It

• We

• They

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Object Pronouns

These receive the action.

Examples:

• I saw him.

• She helped us.

Object pronouns:

• me

• you

• him

• her

• it

• us

• them

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2. Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns show ownership.

Pronoun	Possessive Pronoun
I	mine
You	yours
He	his
She	hers
It	its (rare as a standalone possessive pronoun)
We	ours
They	theirs

Examples:

• This book is mine.

• The blue car is theirs.

Difference:

Possessive adjective:

• My book

Possessive pronoun:

• The book is mine

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3. Reflexive Pronouns

These refer back to the subject.

Pronouns ending in -self or -selves:

• myself

• yourself

• himself

• herself

• itself

• ourselves

• yourselves

• themselves

Examples:

• She hurt herself.

• I taught myself English.

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4. Intensive Pronouns

Used to emphasize a noun or pronoun.

Examples:

• I myself completed the work.

• The principal himself attended the meeting.

Difference:

Reflexive:

• He injured himself.

Intensive:

• He himself repaired the bike.

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5. Demonstrative Pronouns

Point to specific things.

Singular	Plural
this	these
that	those

Examples:

• This is my pen.

• Those are beautiful flowers.

Use:

• This/These → near

• That/Those → far

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6. Interrogative Pronouns

Used to ask questions.

Examples:

• who

• whom

• whose

• which

• what

Sentences:

• Who called you?

• Which do you prefer?

• Whose bag is this?

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7. Relative Pronouns

Connect a clause to a noun.

Examples:

• who

• whom

• whose

• which

• that

Sentences:

• The girl who won is my sister.

• The book that I bought is interesting.

Uses:

• Who → people

• Which → things/animals

• That → people or things

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8. Indefinite Pronouns

Refer to non-specific people or things.

Examples:

• someone

• anyone

• everyone

• nobody

• something

• many

• few

Sentences:

• Someone is at the door.

• Everyone enjoyed the show.

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9. Reciprocal Pronouns

Show a mutual action between two or more people.

Examples:

• each other

• one another

Sentences:

• They helped each other.

• The students respect one another.

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10. Distributive Pronouns

Refer to members of a group one by one.

Examples:

• each

• either

• neither

Sentences:

• Each received a prize.

• Neither was absent.

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Person in Pronouns

First Person

Speaker

• I

• me

• we

• us

Example:

• I am happy.

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Second Person

Person spoken to

• you

Example:

• You are my friend.

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Third Person

Person or thing spoken about

• he

• she

• it

• they

Example:

• They are playing.

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Number in Pronouns

Singular

• I

• he

• she

• it

Plural

• we

• they

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Common Pronoun Errors

❌ Me and John went to school.
✅ John and I went to school.

❌ Everyone have finished.
✅ Everyone has finished.

❌ The dog wagged their tail.
✅ The dog wagged its tail.

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Quick Summary Table

Type	Examples
Personal	I, you, he
Possessive	mine, ours
Reflexive	myself, herself
Intensive	himself
Demonstrative	this, those
Interrogative	who, what
Relative	who, which
Indefinite	everyone, somebody
Reciprocal	each other
Distributive	each, neither

Easy definition to remember:
Pronoun = a word used instead of a noun.