Online Learning: Types of Pronoun

The term "pronoun" covers many words, some of which do not fall easily under the standard definition for a pronoun, "a word that replaces a noun or a noun phrase." Here is a summary of the nine types of pronoun:

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Personal pronouns. For example:

he, they, we

Demonstrative pronouns. For example:

this, that, these

Interrogative pronouns. For example:

which, who, whose

Indefinite pronouns. For example:

none, several, any

Possessive pronouns. For example:

his, yours, ours

Reciprocal pronouns. For example:

each other, one another

Relative pronouns. For example:

which, who, that

Reflexive pronouns. For example:

itself, himself, ourselves

Intensive pronouns. For example:

itself, himself, ourselves

Demonstrative Pronouns

The demonstrative pronouns are "this," "that," "these," and "those." A demonstrative pronoun represents a noun and tells us whether it is singular or plural and whether it is near or far (including in time). For example:

This is the one I left in the car.
Shall I take those?

This table summarizes how demonstrative pronouns are used:

	near	far
singular	this	that
plural	these	those

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Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things without being specific. This is the largest group of pronouns. It includes "all," "some," "any," "several," "anyone," nobody," "each," "both," "few," "either," "none," "one", and "no one," which are the most common ones. Here are some example sentences with indefinite pronouns:

Somebody must have seen the driver leave.
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. (Playwright Oscar Wilde)
I have nothing to declare except my genius. (Playwright Oscar Wilde)

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Interrogative Pronouns

The interrogative pronouns are "what," "which," "who," "whom," and "whose." They are used in questions. Although they are classified as pronouns, it is not immediately obvious how they replace nouns. In fact, the answer to the question (which will be a noun) is the noun represented by an interrogative pronoun. For example:

Who told you to do that?
Which dog won the race?

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Personal Pronouns

The personal pronouns are "I," "you," "he," "she," "it," "we," "they," and "who." More often than not (but certainly not always), they replace nouns representing people. When most people think of pronouns, it is the personal pronouns that spring to mind. Here are some examples of personal pronouns:

We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.
I bought some batteries, but they weren't included. (Comedian Steven Wright)

In the two examples above, the four personal pronouns are in the subjective case because they are all the subjects of verbs. However, personal pronouns can be in other cases too. Here is a table showing the personal pronouns by case:

Person	Subjective Case	Objective Case	Possessive Determiner	Possessive Pronouns	Reflexive Pronouns
First Person Singular	I	me	my	mine	myself
Second Person Singular	you	you	your	yours	yourself
Third Person Singular	he/she/it	him/her/it	his/her/its	his/hers/its	himself/herself/itself
First Person Plural	we	us	our	ours	ourselves
Second Person Plural	you	you	your	yours	yourselves
Third Person Plural	they	them	their	theirs	themselves

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Possessive Pronouns

The possessive pronouns are "mine," "yours," "his," "hers," "ours," and "theirs." A possessive pronoun represents a noun and also tells us who owns it. For example:

The tickets are ours.
Shall we follow his instructions or theirs?

These pronouns are sometimes called absolute possessive pronouns to differentiate them from possessive determiners ("my," "your," "his," "her," "its," "our," and "their"), which are also classified as a type of possessive pronoun. Look at this example with a possessive determiner:

This is Sarah's English book. Have you seen her French book?

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Relative Pronouns

The relative pronouns are "which," "that," and "who" (including "whom" and "whose"). A relative pronoun is used to head a relative clause (or an adjective clause), which adds more information to a sentence. In each example, the relative clause is shaded and the relative pronoun is bold.

Dr Adam Sissons, who lectured at Cambridge for more than 12 years, should have known the difference.

The man who first saw the comet reported it as a UFO.
The dog that stole my dinner is loitering outside.

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Reciprocal Pronouns

The reciprocal pronouns are "each other" and "one another." Reciprocal pronouns are used for actions or feelings that are reciprocated. For example:

They like one another.
They talk to each other like they're babies.

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Reflexive Pronouns

The reflexive pronouns are "myself," "yourself," "herself," "himself," "itself," "ourselves," "yourselves," and "themselves."

A reflexive pronoun ends "-self" or "-selves" and refers to another noun or pronoun in the sentence (usually the subject of the sentence). For example:

The dog bit itself.
Are you talking to yourself?

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Intensive (or Emphatic) Pronouns

The intensive pronouns are "myself," "yourself," "herself," "himself," "itself," "ourselves," "yourselves," and "themselves." (They are the same as the reflexive pronouns, but they are used differently.)

An intensive pronoun (sometimes called an "emphatic pronoun") refers back to another noun or pronoun in the sentence to emphasize it (e.g., to emphasize that it is the thing carrying out the action). For example: