Pronouns
Most of the time, a pronoun is used to replace a noun. The following are all pronouns: he, she, they, none, and which. There are lots more. As you can see, pronouns are usually short words. They are used to make sentences less cumbersome and less repetitive.
Examples:
- Clutching the coin, Maria ran to the shops. She went straight to the counter and bought the sweets. (She is a pronoun. In this example, it replaces the noun Maria. Pronouns are used for brevity. Imagine how wearisome a long prose would be if the writer used the full noun (in this case Maria every time.)
- The 8-mile walk passes through pasture, parkland and woodland. It takes you alongside many points of interest including a disused airfield. (It is a pronoun. In this example, it replaces the 8-mile walk.)
- Tell the finance team that they can use the minibus tomorrow. (They is a pronoun. It replaces the finance team.)
More Than Just the Personal Pronouns
I, you, he, she, it, we, they, and who are all pronouns. As these pronouns often replace nouns representing people, they are called the personal pronouns. When most people think of pronouns, it is the personal pronouns that usually spring to mind, but, in fact, there are several different types of pronouns, including:
- Personal pronouns (e.g., he, they)
- Demonstrative pronouns (e.g., this, these)
- Interrogative pronouns (e.g., which, who)
- Indefinite pronouns (e.g., none, several)
- Possessive pronouns (e.g., his, your)
- Reciprocal pronouns (e.g., each other, one another)
- Relative pronouns (e.g., which, where)
- Reflexive pronouns (e.g., itself, himself)
- Intensive pronouns (e.g., itself, himself)
As stated at the start, most of the time, a pronoun is used to replace a noun, but a pronoun can also replace another pronoun or a noun phrase (which is basically just a noun made up of more than one word).