Pronouns: Definition, Types, Examples & Rules

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns keep us from repeating the same names and nouns over and over, making sentences shorter, smoother, and much easier to read.

Instead of saying, “Sarah forgot Sarah’s keys, so Sarah went back for Sarah’s keys,” we can say, “Sarah forgot her keys, so she went back for them.”

Words such as I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who, someone, this, and mine are all pronouns, but they do different jobs in a sentence. Once you understand the main types, pronouns are fairly easy to recognize.

What Is a Pronoun?

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or noun phrase. The noun that a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent.

For example:

“Maria found her backpack.”

In this sentence, Maria is the antecedent and her is the pronoun referring back to Maria.

Pronouns are useful because without them, everyday language would become repetitive very quickly:

“The dog wagged the dog’s tail because the dog was happy.”

Using pronouns makes the sentence much more natural:

“The dog wagged its tail because it was happy.”

Types of Pronouns

There are several types of pronouns in English. Each type serves a different purpose.

Type	Common Examples	What It Does
Personal	I, you, he, she, it, we, they	Refers to specific people or things
Possessive	mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs	Shows ownership
Reflexive	myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves	Refers back to the subject
Relative	who, whom, whose, which, that	Introduces a relative clause
Demonstrative	this, that, these, those	Points to specific people or things
Interrogative	who, whom, whose, which, what	Asks a question
Indefinite	someone, anyone, everybody, nothing, several	Refers to nonspecific people or things
Reciprocal	each other, one another	Shows a mutual relationship

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns refer to particular people, animals, places, or things. They change depending on who or what is being discussed and whether the pronoun is acting as the subject or object of the sentence.

Person	Subject Pronoun	Object Pronoun
First-person singular	I	me
Second-person singular or plural	you	you
Third-person singular	he, she, it	him, her, it
First-person plural	we	us
Third-person plural	they	them

Subject Pronouns

A subject pronoun performs the action of the sentence.

• I finished my homework.
• She opened the window.
• They walked to school.

Object Pronouns

An object pronoun receives the action of a verb or follows a preposition.

• The teacher called me.
• We invited her to dinner.
• The dog followed them home.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns show that something belongs to someone or something. Common possessive pronouns include mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs.

• That backpack is mine.
• The blue bicycle is hers.
• The final decision is theirs.

Possessive pronouns are different from possessive determiners such as my, your, her, our, and their. A possessive determiner appears before a noun:

“That is my backpack.”

A possessive pronoun stands on its own:

“That backpack is mine.”

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves and refer back to the subject of the sentence.

• I made the sandwich myself.
• She taught herself how to play guitar.
• The children entertained themselves.

Reflexive pronouns can also be used for emphasis:

“The principal herself answered the phone.”

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns connect a noun to additional information about that noun. Common relative pronouns include who, whom, whose, which, and that.

• The teacher who helped me is retiring.
• This is the book that I borrowed.
• The dog, which had been sleeping, suddenly barked.
• The student whose backpack was missing found it.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns point to specific people, places, things, or ideas.

The four main demonstrative pronouns are:

• this
• that
• these
• those

For example:

• This is delicious.
• That belongs to me.
• These are ready.
• Those need to be washed.

When one of these words appears directly before a noun, it functions as a determiner rather than standing alone as a pronoun. Compare:

“That is my car.” Here, that is a pronoun.

“That car is mine.” Here, that modifies the noun car.

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. The main interrogative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which, and what.

• Who called?
• Whom did you invite?
• Whose is this?
• Which do you prefer?
• What happened?

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things without identifying exactly who or what they are.

Common indefinite pronouns include:

• anybody
• anyone
• anything
• everyone
• everything
• nobody
• nothing
• someone
• something
• several
• few
• many
• all
• none

For example:

• Someone left a jacket on the chair.
• Everybody enjoyed the movie.
• Several volunteered to help.
• Nothing was damaged.

Reciprocal Pronouns

Reciprocal pronouns show that two or more people or things are doing the same thing to one another.

English has two main reciprocal pronouns:

• each other
• one another

Examples:

• The two friends helped each other.
• The team members congratulated one another.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

A pronoun should clearly agree with the noun or noun phrase it refers to. This is called pronoun-antecedent agreement.

For example:

“The girls packed their lunches.”

The plural pronoun their agrees with the plural noun girls.

Pronouns should also make it obvious which noun they refer to. Consider this sentence:

“When Emma spoke to Olivia, she was nervous.”

Who was nervous, Emma or Olivia? The pronoun she has an unclear antecedent.

A clearer version would be:

“Emma was nervous when she spoke to Olivia.”

Singular They

They and them can be used as singular pronouns when a person’s gender is unknown, irrelevant, or when they is the pronoun a person uses.

For example:

“Someone left their umbrella in the classroom.”

Singular they has been used in English for centuries and is common in both speech and writing.

Who vs. Whom

Who and whom are both pronouns, but they perform different jobs.

Who acts as a subject:

“Who called you?”

Whom acts as an object:

“Whom did you call?”

A useful shortcut is to mentally replace the word with he or him. If he works, use who. If him works, use whom.

“Who called?” → “He called.”

“You called whom?” → “You called him.”

Common Pronoun Mistakes

• Using an object pronoun as a subject. “Me and Sarah went shopping” should be “Sarah and I went shopping.”
• Using a subject pronoun as an object. “She gave the tickets to Jack and I” should be “She gave the tickets to Jack and me.”
• Using the wrong reflexive pronoun. Avoid using myself simply because it sounds more formal. “Please contact Sarah or myself” should usually be “Please contact Sarah or me.”
• Creating an unclear antecedent. Make sure readers can tell exactly which noun a pronoun refers to.
• Confusing possessive pronouns with contractions. Its is possessive, while it’s means “it is” or “it has.”
• Forgetting agreement. Make sure the pronoun agrees appropriately with its antecedent.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a pronoun in simple terms?

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of or refers to a noun. Words such as he, she, it, they, we, and you are pronouns.

What are some examples of pronouns?

Examples include I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it, we, us, they, them, mine, yours, who, someone, this, and those.

Why do we use pronouns?

Pronouns prevent unnecessary repetition and make sentences easier and more natural to read. Instead of repeating a person’s name several times, we can usually replace later references with pronouns.

What is an antecedent?

An antecedent is the noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers to. In “Marcus forgot his lunch,” Marcus is the antecedent of his.

Is “they” a singular pronoun?

Yes. They can refer to more than one person, but it can also be used as a singular pronoun when a person’s gender is unknown, unimportant, or when an individual uses they as their pronoun.

Is “you” singular or plural?

It can be either. Modern English uses you for one person or for multiple people. The meaning normally becomes clear from context.

Is “my” a pronoun?

In traditional classroom grammar, my is often grouped with possessive pronouns. More precisely, it functions as a possessive determiner because it comes before a noun, as in “my book.” Mine, which can stand alone in “the book is mine,” is a possessive pronoun.

Quick Reference

• Pronoun: a word that replaces or refers to a noun or noun phrase
• Antecedent: the noun or noun phrase a pronoun refers to
• Personal pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
• Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs
• Reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, herself, themselves
• Relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that
• Demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those
• Interrogative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, what
• Indefinite pronouns: someone, anyone, everyone, nothing, several
• Reciprocal pronouns: each other, one another

Quick Practice

1. Replace the repeated nouns with pronouns:

“The dog wagged the dog’s tail because the dog was happy.”

Answer: “The dog wagged its tail because it was happy.”

2. Choose the correct pronoun:

“Lucas and ___ went to the library.” (me / I)

Answer: I

3. Choose the correct pronoun:

“The teacher gave the worksheets to Maya and ___.” (I / me)

Answer: me

4. Identify the pronoun and its antecedent:

“Daniel finished his homework before dinner.”

Answer: The pronoun is his, and its antecedent is Daniel.