pronoun

Grammar

A class of words that ‘stand in’ for other words, usually: nouns noun phrases other pronounsPronouns enable the writer and speaker to avoid long-winded repetitions of things that have already been expressed. (See pronouns in use.)Pronouns fall into seven groups:PersonalThe personal pronouns are:I/me, we/us, you, he/him, she/her, it, they/them They are used to refer back to nouns that have already been used in the text:Machiavelli set out on December 17, 1507. He traveled across Lombardy. PossessiveThe possessive pronouns are:mine, ours, yours, his, hers, its, theirs They are used in sentences such as:My cooking’s probably even worse than yours. No matter what so-called evidence emerges, the truth will not change: the fault is theirs, not ours. These are true pronouns because they stand alone, without being attached to a noun, by contrast with my, our, etc., which always come before a noun and are better referred to as possessive determiners.ReflexiveThese are:myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves They are used in sentences such as:“Make yourselves comfortable here,” he snapped. As we tried to calm ourselves with cups of coffee, the arresting officer appeared. DemonstrativeThe demonstrative pronouns are:this, that, these, those When these words stand alone, they are pronouns; for example, in sentences like this:The strong — those in powerful unions — gained even more at the expense of the weak. They can also be used before a noun, in which case they are not pronouns but determiners:This decision will cause greater uncertainty. InterrogativeThese are:who, whom, whose, what, which They are used in the formation of questions:What is homeopathy? RelativeThe relative pronouns are:who, whom, whose, that, which They are used to introduce relative clauses:The artist who did my album cover used an airbrush, and I later got him to do three guitars for me. IndefiniteThis is a large group of pronouns that refer less precisely than the others previously listed. They include: