In the speech, pronouns play an important role. They play a vital role in both writing and speaking. Pronouns account for about 25% of all words used in English. But what exactly is a pronoun? ! We’ll start by defining pronouns and then explore the different types of pronouns. Finally, we’ll give examples of how pronouns can be used in sentences.
There are many topics in English grammar that are very important to learn and pronoun is also one of them. But do you know what is a pronoun, the definition of a pronoun, types of pronouns, and their types? I know you don’t know about it that’s why you are here with me. Now the good news is that after reading this article your all doubts about pronouns will be clear and you will get all the answers that you want.
What is a Pronoun?
Words that represent nouns are called pronouns. It can do everything that nouns can do. Pronouns are one of the most important words in a sentence. They help make sentences shorter and easier to understand.
In simple words, the word that is used in place of a noun is called a pronoun.
There are common pronouns like he, she, you, me, I, we, and us. In addition to being used as subjects and direct objects, pronouns can also be used as indirect objects.
Examples:
- He is my friend.
- I am going to the store.
- We went to the movies.
- They are having a party.
He, I, We, and They are all pronouns in the above examples. These words take the place of a noun in a sentence.
You can use pronouns in place of certain adverbs, adjectives, and other pronouns. This makes your speech or writing more interesting and smooth. You can use pronouns to refer to people, animals, places, and things.
A pronoun must always be related to a previously introduced noun. This is called the “antecedent.” For example, if I say, “He is my friend,” the pronoun “he” is related to the antecedent “, my friend.” If there is no antecedent, then the pronoun is considered an error.
If we do not use a pronoun, then we have to use the noun in that sentence again and again and because of this the structure of the sentence gets spoiled, it does not feel good to read or speak.
For example, let’s have a look at the given sentence:
Ram is a very honest boy, Ram is very intelligent in his studies and Ram is fond of reading English stories.
You can see that the word Ram has been used repeatedly in this sentence. And because of this, the sentence does not feel good to read.
Now, what is the solution to make this sentence attractive and clean? Here we can use pronoun after first every place of noun (Ram). When we use pronoun instead of noun, then the sentence looks like this-
Ram is a very honest boy, He is very intelligent in his studies and he is fond of reading English stories.
As you can see this sentence is looking better than the previous version. We have read what is pronouns and the definition of pronouns till now. Now we have to read different types of pronouns.
Types of Pronouns
There are different types of pronouns. They are:
Subject Pronouns
The subject of a sentence is referred to by the subject pronoun. They replace the subject/object (a noun) of the previous sentence.
For example,
Nancy is my best friend. She always makes me laugh.
In this sentence, “She” is the subject pronoun, and it replaces Nancy.
Object Pronouns
Object pronouns are used as the direct or indirect object of a verb or preposition. They replace the direct/indirect object (a noun) of the previous sentence.
For example,
I saw Nancy at the store. I waved to her.
In this sentence, “her” is the object pronoun, and it replaces Nancy.
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns are used to replace people or things. They can be singular or plural.
There are three different types of personal pronouns:
1st person: I, me, we, us
2nd person: you
3rd person: he, she, it, they, him, her, them
For example,
- I am going to the store.
- You are my best friend.
- He is going to the movies.
- They are having a party.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns show ownership or possession of something. They usually come after a noun in a sentence.
For example,
Nancy’s dog is very cute. He always follows her around.
In this sentence, “He” is the possessive pronoun, and it replaces Nancy’s dog.
Reflexive Pronouns
Pronouns that have the same subject and object are called reflexive pronouns. They usually come after the subject of a sentence.
For example,
I always brush my teeth before bed.
In this sentence, “my” is the reflexive pronoun, and it refers back to the subject “I.”
Reciprocal Pronouns
Reciprocal pronouns are used when two subjects share something. They usually come after the subject of a sentence.
For example,
Nancy and I are friends. We always help each other out.
In this sentence, “We” is the reciprocal pronoun, and it refers to Nancy and the speaker.
Demonstrative pronoun
There is a specific person or thing referred to by demonstrative pronouns. They can be singular or plural.
There are four different demonstrative pronouns:
this, that, these, those
For example,
This is my favorite book.
That is his car.
These are our plates.
Those are their cups.
Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. Usually, they appear at the beginning of a question.
For example,
- Who is your best friend?
- What is your favorite color?
- Where is your house?
- When is your birthday?
- Why are you crying?
- How are you feeling?
Relative Pronouns
These are words that refer to nouns mentioned earlier in the sentence. They help introduce a clause that describes the noun.
There are five different relative pronouns:
who, whom, that, which, where
For example,
- Nancy is the girl who sits in front of me in class.
- The store that Nancy went to is closed.
- The dress which Nancy bought is very pretty.
- Nancy’s house is the one where the party is being held.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things that are not specific. They can be singular or plural.
Some examples of indefinite pronouns are:
anyone, anybody, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, Somebody, someone, something
For example,
- Everyone is going to the party.
- Nobody knows the answer.
- Something smells good.
Intensive pronouns
Intensive pronouns are words that end in -self or -selves. They emphasize their antecedents. Intensive pronouns are very similar to reflexive pronouns, but they work to reinforce the action instead of just referring back to the subject.
For example,
- I did it myself.
- You did a great job by yourself.
- He himself is going to the store.
- They prepared the food themselves.
The use of intensive pronouns can help to emphasize a statement. While the sentence would still be correct without an intensive pronoun, it adds extra context that can give more meaning to what is said.
Pronoun Rules
There are a few key rules when it comes to using pronouns. We will go over these rules with examples in the next section. Once you understand these rules, you will see that working with pronouns is easy! Here are the pronoun rules:
- You can use subject pronouns to begin sentences. For example, I, he, she, we, they
- Subject pronouns may also refer to the subject by a different name. For example, Timmy is a good boy. He always listens to his mom.
- Subject pronouns can also be used after linking verbs. For example, The teacher is she. This sentence means that the teacher is a female.
- Object pronouns are used after action verbs and prepositions. For example, Nancy gave the book to me.
- Indefinite pronouns have no antecedents. They are self-sufficient. For example, Somebody is at the door.
- A relative pronoun introduces a clause that modifies an antecedent. For example, The book that she gave me was very interesting.
- In object pronouns, the action is received by a verb (direct object), to act as the recipient of an action (indirect object), or to show the location/direction of a verb (object of the preposition). For example:
- Please give me the book. (direct object)
- Please give the book to me. (indirect object)
- The book is on the table. (object of the preposition)
Pronouns are important words in English. They are used to replace nouns, which makes sentences less repetitive and easier to read. There are many different types of pronouns, each with its own function and rules. Initially, this might seem confusing, but with a little practice, you’ll get the hang of it!
Pronoun In English Grammar: Conclusion
Everyone wants to learn to speak English. But to speak and write correct English, it is very important to have knowledge of grammar. The pronoun is a very important topic in English Grammar. We also use many pronouns in our ordinary speech. But many people do not know according to the rules of grammar, what is a pronoun. different types of pronouns? definition of the pronoun with examples, pronoun in English grammar.
This article of ours today was about pronouns only. I tried to tell all the things about pronouns in this article. And I am sure that you must have understood all the points very well.
In conclusion, I would like to tell you that if you really liked this article about what is pronoun, definition,s and different types of pronouns with examples then please share it on social media with your friends and family.
