Pronouns make English sentences clearer and less repetitive. Instead of repeating the same noun, we can use a pronoun to refer to a person, animal, place or thing.
What is a pronoun?
A pronoun is a word that can replace or refer to a noun.
For example:
Maria is a teacher. She works at a school.
The pronoun she refers to Maria.
Personal pronouns
Subject pronouns
- I
- you
- he
- she
- it
- we
- they
Examples:
I am learning English.
She works in Nairobi.
They live in Kenya.
Object pronouns
- me
- you
- him
- her
- it
- us
- them
Examples:
Please help me.
I saw him yesterday.
She invited us.
Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns show ownership.
- mine
- yours
- his
- hers
- ours
- theirs
Examples:
This book is mine.
That car is hers.
The house is theirs.
Possessive determiners such as my, your, his, her, our and their are used before nouns:
my book
your house
their car
Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns include:
- myself
- yourself
- himself
- herself
- itself
- ourselves
- yourselves
- themselves
Examples:
I taught myself English.
She prepared herself.
They introduced themselves.
Demonstrative pronouns
Common demonstratives include:
- this
- that
- these
- those
Examples:
This is my book.
Those are my shoes.
Relative pronouns
Common relative pronouns include:
- who
- which
- that
- whose
- whom
Example:
The woman who lives next door is a teacher.
Indefinite pronouns
Examples include:
- someone
- anyone
- everyone
- nobody
- something
- anything
- everything
Examples:
Everyone is welcome.
Someone called you.
I did not see anyone.
Common pronoun mistakes
Incorrect: Me and John went to school.
More formal standard English: John and I went to school.
Incorrect: This is between you and I.
Correct: This is between you and me.
Incorrect: Everyone should bring their book can be considered problematic by some traditional grammar guides, but singular they is widely used in modern English, including standard British English.
Pronouns are small words, but using them correctly can make a major difference to your English.