Pronoun – Definition & Types

Pronoun: Definition & Types-Learn English step by step

Pronoun: is used in place of a specific noun mentioned earlier in a sentence so that you don’t have to keep saying/writing that particular noun.

Example:

• John is a good boy. He plays cricket.
• Teacher Evaluated answer papers. she evaluated every answer strictly.

Types of Pronoun:

• Subject Pronouns
• Object Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns
• Reflexive Pronouns
• Intensive Pronouns
• Relative Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns
• Interrogative Pronouns

Subject pronouns are subject of the verb in a sentence. A subject pronoun normally replaces the subject/object (a noun) of the previous sentence.

Example:

• John can’t play cricket today. He has gone to his friend home.
• Mary is a good artist. She sang a song.

Object pronouns:  object or indirect object in a sentence replacing the antecedent object. This form of the pronoun is also used after prepositions.

Example:

• Tell her that you’ll bring the cake.
• Give it to your brother.

Possessive pronouns: replace the nouns of the possessive adjectives: my, our, your, her, his, their. The possessive pronouns are mine, ours, yours, hers, his, its, theirs.

Example:

• I lost my bat, school attendant found one which was mine. (Here, ‘mine’ refers to ‘my bat’)

Reflexive pronoun: redirects a sentence or a clause back to the subject, which is also the direct object of that sentence. A reflexive pronoun comes when the subject performs its action upon itself. Here, ‘itself’ is a reflexive pronoun.

Example:

• Since she is her daughter, she gave herself a chance. (Here, ‘herself’ is the direct object of the clause and the same person is the subject)
• The phone restarts itself.

Intensive pronouns: add emphasis/importance but do not act as the object in the sentence. They can appear right after the subject.

Example:

• She will do it herself. (Here, ‘herself’ is not an object)
• I myself saw the thief running.

Relative pronouns: introduce the relative clause. They are used to make clear what is being talked about in a sentence. They describe something more about the subject or the object.

The relative pronouns are:

Example:

• I like the painting, which is my career too.
• John plays cricket, who also has won the last match.

Demonstrative pronouns: indicate the closeness of or distance from the speaker, either literally or symbolically.  This, these, that, and those are the demonstrative pronouns. They also work as demonstrative adjectives when they modify a noun. However, demonstrative pronouns do not modify anything rather replace the nouns/noun phrases.

Example:

• That is my dress.
• This is my pencil.

Interrogative pronouns:  Asks questions. They are what, which, who, whom, and whose.

Example:

• What was the name of your dog?
• Which is your favourite movie?