pronoun

 
Pronunciation: /ˈprəʊnaʊn/

noun

  • a word that can function as a noun phrase used by itself and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (e.g. I, you) or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (e.g. she, it, this).

Origin:

late Middle English: from pro-1 'on behalf of', + noun, suggested by French pronom, Latin pronomen (from pro- 'for, in place of' + nomen 'name')

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 which have already been used in the text: Machiavelli set out on 17 December 1507. He travelled 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. Michael Joseph says there has been no breach: ‘The Sunday Times’s promotion 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 sweet coffee, a Swiss traveller 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 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 got him to do three guitars for me. IndefiniteThis is a large group of pronouns which refer less precisely than the others listed above. They include:

somesomeonesomebodysomething
anyanyoneanybodyanything
noneno onenobodynothing
everyoneeverybodyeverythingall
eitherneitherbotheach
For example: As I keep saying, I don’t need you or anybody else to tell me what I can or cannot do. He could hear nothing.