What Is a Pronoun? Types of Pronouns and Rules with Examples

Grammar > English Grammar > Parts of Speech > Pronoun (सर्वनाम)

What is pronoun?

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or noun phrase to avoid repetition in a sentence.

Definition – “A Pronoun is a word used instead of a Noun.” – Wren & Martin.

Examples of pronoun : I, we, you, he, she, they, it, me, us, them, him, her, this, those etc.

Examples of Pronoun Sentences :

I am young.

He is reading a book.

They are playing cricket.

Kinds of Pronouns

Pronouns are of following kinds :

1. Personal Pronouns

2. Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns

3. Demonstrative Pronouns

4. Indefinite Pronouns

5. Distributive Pronouns

6. Relative Pronouns

Table - Kinds of Pronouns (www.teachmatters.in)
Pronouns	Functions	Example words	Example Sentences
1. Personal Pronouns	Associated a particular person – first, second or third.	I, we, you, he, she, it, they	He is very intelligent.
2. Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns	The action done by the subject turns (reflects) back upon the subject	Myself, ourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves etc.	I hurt myself. She hurt herself. I will do it myself.
3. Demonstrative Pronouns	Point out the objects they refer to	This, that, these, those	This is a present from my father.
4. Indefinite Pronouns	Refer to persons or things in a general way	All, any, anyone, many, few, each, one, some, none, several, somebody etc.	Some are born great. Many are called but few are chosen.
5. Distributive Pronouns	Refer to persons or things one at a time	Each, either, neither, any, no one, none etc.	Each of the men received a reward.
6. Relative Pronouns	Refers or relates to some noun going before	Who, which, that, whose, whom	This is the boy who works hard. I have found the pen which I lost. Here is the book that you lent me.

1. Personal Pronouns – Personal pronouns are pronouns that are associated primarily with a particular grammatical person – first person (I, we), second person (you) or third person (he, she, it).

I, we, you, he (she, it), they are called Personal Pronouns because they stand for the three persons;

(i) the person speaking – first person – I, we

(ii) the person spoken to – second person – you

(iii) the person speaking of – third person - he, she, it, they

Examples of Personal Pronoun Sentences :

We have already visited this site.

You are doing good job.

She is coming on Monday.

Forms of the Personal Pronouns

There are different forms of the personal pronouns depending on person, number or gender. There are three main forms or cases of the personal pronouns :

(i) Nominative – I, we, you, he, she, it, they

(ii) Possessive – my, mine, our, ours, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, their, theirs

(iii) Accusative – me, us, you, him, her, it, them

Table - Personal Pronoun Forms (www.teachmatters.in)
Person	Number/gender	Nominative Case	Possessive Case	Accusative Case
First Person	Singular (masculine or feminine)	I	My, mine	Me
	Plural (masculine or feminine)	We	Our, ours	Us
Second Person	Singular / plural (masculine or feminine)	You	Your, yours	You
Third Person	Singular (masculine)	He	His	Him
	Singular (feminine)	She	Her, hers	Her
	Singular (neuter gender)	It	Its	It
	Plural (all genders)	They	Their, theirs	Them

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