Types of Pronouns

Nouns are the most frequently used part of speech in sentences. However, it looks strange and clumsy if the same noun is repeated in the sentence or paragraph many times. In this case, let us give the noun a pause and replace it with another word that makes the whole passage more pleasant for the eye or ear and, in many cases, better understandable.

The word that substitutes a noun in the sentence is called a pronoun. Apart from doing the same job the noun does, pronouns can have many other meanings and functions. They are more versatile, and their correct use makes your speech and writing more concise and consistent.

Therefore, a pronoun is a major part of speech that substitutes for a noun in a sentence. The noun which is substituted by a pronoun is called an antecedent. For example, in the sentence ‘I love my cat because she is cute,’ the word ‘she’ is a pronoun, and the word ‘cat’ is an antecedent.

We use various pronouns in our speech and writing without noticing what we are using. They perform different functions and have many peculiarities. We can divide them into certain types. They are the following:

• Personal;
• Possessive;
• Indefinite;
• Relative;
• Interrogative;
• Reflexive;
• Intensive;
• Demonstrative;
• Reciprocal.

Let us regard each of these types in more detail.

Personal pronouns

These pronouns replace the names and subjects in the sentence. They help people make a passage feel shorter and sound better.

Wrong❌	Right✔️
The cat was lying on the sofa.	The cat was lying on the sofa.
The cat looked hungry.	She looked hungry.
The cat was waiting for Mary.	She was waiting for Mary.
Mary came and fed the cat.	Mary came and fed .
The cat was happy.	The cat was happy.

A personal pronoun refers to a speaker or people or things a speaker mentions. Very often, we use personal pronouns to replace proper names:
e.g.,

• ✔️ Susan was tired because she had been working hard the whole day.
• ✔️ Henry and John are here now. They are my friends, and I am happy to see them.

Personal pronouns can only replace nouns but not other parts of speech. They perform exactly the same functions that nouns do. So, they can be a subject or object in the sentence. We can refer them to people, animals, and non-living objects or concepts:
e.g.,

• ✔️ The man was sad. He lost his job.
• ✔️ I found this cat under the bench. I took it home.
• ✔️ My car drives faster after I repaired it.

Personal pronouns are divided into subject and object pronouns. Subject pronouns replace sentence subjects, and object pronouns replace the objects.

Subject Pronouns	I, you, we, they, he, she, it	I like this book. You are here for the first time. He is an engineer.
Object Pronouns	me, you, us, them, him, her, it	Give it to me. I will show you around. Ask him this question.

Possessive Pronouns

This type of pronoun is used to specify somebody’s ownership. Apart from expressing possessions, they can be used for speaking about origins and relationships.
e.g.,

• ✔️ This car is mine. (possession)
• ✔️ Mila is my sister. I have many friends, but she wants to introduce me to hers. (relationships)
• ✔️ Bristol is our home, and Cardiff is theirs. (origins)

There are two types of possessive pronouns - determiners and independent ones. However, this subdivision is sometimes rather confusing because possessive determiners are referred to as possessive adjectives. Determiners are always placed before a noun. Independent possessives usually refer to some previously mentioned noun, and they do not have anything after them.

Possessive Determiners (Adjectives)	my, your, our, her, his, its, their	Is that your book? Our house is new. Their decision is not wise.
Independent Possessive Pronouns	mine, yours, ours, hers, his, its, theirs	The book isn’t yours. That house isn’t ours. This way is not theirs.

We can see that the forms of determiners and independent pronouns ‘its’ and ‘his’ coincide.

Indefinite Pronouns

These pronouns do not refer to people or things specifically. They are very general and vague. We use indefinite pronouns when we speak about:

• an unknown person:
• ✔️ Someone was standing at the door.
• a general amount:
• ✔️ Most people arrived, but several of them were still on the way.
• a totality or absence:
• ✔️ I think I know everything, and nothing can impress me anymore.

The indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural. Singular ones perform as singular nouns, and plural pronouns can function as nouns in the plural. However, some pronouns can be used as both singular and plural words. Consider this table:

Singular Indefinite Pronouns	somebody, someone, something, anybody, anyone, anything, everybody, everyone, everything, nobody, no one, nothing, one, each, little, much	One should choose what to do in life. Nothing is as important as your state of mind. Does anybody know how to do this task?
Plural Indefinite Pronouns	few, many, several both	I don’t know what color to choose - black or dark blue. Both are suitable. Few understand the difference. Many like to be respected.
Singular and Plural Indefinite Pronouns	more, most, none, some, any, such	All are accepted. Some of them work perfectly. Can you give me more?

Relative Pronouns

We already know that pronouns substitute for nouns in sentences. However, let us consider the following examples:

• ✔️ Mr. Peters, who is my uncle, arrived yesterday.
• ✔️The bird which does not fly is called a kiwi and lives in New Zealand.

We can see here a specific type of pronouns that do not only substitute for a noun they relate to but provide additional information about this noun. They join dependent clauses to the main clause. Such pronouns are called ‘relative’. In short, a relative pronoun is a word that introduces a relative clause that gives more information about a person, animal, or thing in the main clause. When the word ‘ever’ is added to such a pronoun. It becomes an indefinite relative pronoun.

Relative Pronouns	who, whom, which, whose, that	That is the boy who is my friend. The fox which stole my hen lives in the nearby forest. I bought the car that I liked most of all.
Indefinite Relative Pronouns	whoever, whomever, whichever, whatever	We are friends, whoever says the opposite. Whichever animals live in the nearby forest. We need to protect them all. I need to buy this older car, whatever new models are on sale now.

There are special rules for using relative pronouns correctly. Let us specify just some of them:

1. Whose

In modern English, the relative pronoun ‘whose’ is used to describe some possessions belonging to either living or non-living objects:

• ✔️ I met people whose aim was the same as mine.
• ✔️ The table whose leg is broken stands in the corner.

2. Which and That

These relative pronouns are used to describe non-living objects. We use ‘which’ when the information we want to add is not essential. ‘That’ is used for more important information.

• ✔️ This new red dress, which you see on the sofa, is not mine.
• ✔️ It was the new red dress that I bought in the boutique last Saturday.

3. Who and That

These pronouns refer to the descriptions of people and animals (if they are personalized). ‘Who’ is used to introduce additional information which is not important while ‘that introduces the essential information:

• ✔️ The young guy, who you can see in this photo, is Lisa’s boyfriend.
• ✔️ The young man that won this competition was awarded a valuable prize.

Interrogative Pronouns

These pronouns are used for asking questions though they are the same as relative pronouns by their form. They also replace a noun. If they just determine it, they are considered interrogative determiners.
e.g.,

• ✔️ Whose is this car? (pronoun)
• ✔️ Whose car is this? (determiner)

Let’s have a look at the table:

Interrogative Pronouns	who, whom, whose, what, which	What are these places like? Which is more expensive - a car or a house? Whom did you give your laptop to?
Indefinite Interrogative Pronouns	whoever, whomever, whichever, whatever	Whomever should I ask about this? Whatever did you do about that? Whichever do you prefer to see?

Reflexive Pronouns

These pronouns stand for the object that repeats the same action (thing, person, or idea) expressed and implemented by the subject. Such pronouns are usually placed after the verb or preposition.

The ending of reflexive pronouns is always -self for singulars and -selves for plurals.

Singular Reflexive Pronouns	myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, themself	I will buy myself a new mobile for my birthday. She made herself a cup of coffee. Peter coped with the task by himself.
Plural Reflexive Pronouns	yourselves, ourselves, themselves	We found ourselves completely lost. They gave themselves some time to think. You should not deceive yourselves.

The singular reflexive pronoun ‘themself’ (‘theirself’) has recently appeared in the language to stand for a person that is referred to as neutral gender.

Intensive Pronouns

These pronouns are also known as emphatic ones because they add more stress and intensity to nouns. They have the same form as reflexive pronouns. However, we can easily omit them in the sentence if we do not emphasize things. Usually, such intensifiers follow the subject or object they highlight.

Singular Intensive Pronouns	myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, themself	I myself knew that everything was right. She herself was against that idea. Paul himself made this choice.
Plural Intensive Pronouns	yourselves, ourselves, themselves	We ourselves preferred to play truant. The children themselves were going to bed because they were tired. You yourselves have broken all the ties.

Even if we remove these pronouns from the sentence, it will be correct. However, it will lose the importance you wanted to add to it. So, using these pronouns depends on the purpose of your utterance.

Demonstrative Pronouns

These pronouns replace the noun which has already been used in the previous sentence or part of the sentence. They can also be either singular or plural.

Singular Demonstrative Pronouns	this, that, such, none, neither	Neither of them will understand me. This is a good book. That will solve the problem.
Plural Demonstrative Pronouns	these, those	These are acceptable. Those are old-fashioned.

The demonstrative pronouns can become demonstrative adjectives if we place a noun after them:

• ✔️ This is an interesting article. (pronoun)
• ✔️ This article is interesting. (adjective)

Reciprocal Pronouns

These pronouns are meant to describe an action that is performed by two or more nouns. The use of such pronouns is various, interesting, and important in English. However, there are only two of them - each other and one another.

We use ‘each other’ when we describe an action for two nouns:

• ✔️ We understand each other very well.
• ✔️ Linda and Claire helped each other.

We use ‘one another’ if we want to say that there are three or more nouns that operate together:

• ✔️ Don’t bully one another, or you will be punished.
• ✔️ The soldiers raced to the hut surpassing one another.

Note: We can use reciprocal pronouns in the Possessive Case. We place the apostrophe + s (‘s) at the end of the last part:

• ✔️ We loved each other’s greetings.
• ✔️ People need to respect one another’s ideas.

Summary

To conclude, a pronoun is a part of speech that replaces a noun or extends its meaning in some cases. The use of different types of pronouns is varied. You need to be very attentive not to confuse pronouns with determiners. Determiners have a noun or another pronoun that follows them. Pure pronouns are normally used alone.