Pronouns III - English Grammar

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Principally, English pronouns can replace nouns or other pronouns. Pronouns like "she," "who," "none," and "you" are used to make sentences less repetitive. There are several types of pronouns, including personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, interrogative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, reflexive pronouns, relative pronouns, and intensive pronouns.

What are pronouns?

Pronouns are words, that replace nouns, noun phrases or noun clauses.
Have a look at the following examples

• Larry will come to the party. He will come to the party. (He is a pronoun and replaces the noun Larry)

• I need to talk to Julie. I need to talk to her.

• Please, visit my family. Please, visit us.

What kinds of pronouns are there in the English language?

These are the distinguished pronouns presented in the grammar video:

Subject Pronouns

• They may be used to express the subject within a sentence.
  • I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they are subject pronouns.

Object Pronouns

• They may be used to express the object within a sentence.
  • me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them are object pronouns. (e.g. I love her.)

Reflexive Pronouns

• They are used as an object that refers back to the subject of the sentence.
  • myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves are reflexive pronouns. (e.g. Ouch! I hit myself with a hammer.)

Possessive Pronouns

• They are used to express a noun indicating ownership or possession.
  • mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs are possessive pronouns.

Demonstrative Pronouns

• They are used to point and to identify a noun indicating number and distance.
  • this, that, these, those are demonstrative pronouns.

Relative Pronouns

• They are used to link one phrase or clause to another one.
  • who, whom, that, which, whoever, whomever, whichever are relative pronouns. (e.g. You may invite whomever you want to the party.)

Interrogative Pronouns

• They are used to ask questions.
  • who, what, where, when, whom, which, whoever, whomever, whichever, etc. are interrogative pronouns. (e.g. What did you say?)

Indefinite Pronouns

• They are used to refer to an identifiable but not specified person or thing.
  • all, another, every, any, some, nothing, several, each, many, few, etc. are indefinite pronouns. (e.g. A few give everything for nothing.)

further exercises:

• Pronoun Basics
• Pronouns II