Study Notes: Pronouns

 

1. What is a Pronoun?

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or noun phrase to avoid repetition.

Example:

Without a pronoun:

Rahul is a student. Rahul is intelligent. Rahul works hard.

With a pronoun:

Rahul is a student. He is intelligent. He works hard.

Here, he is used in place of Rahul.

More Examples

  • Riya is my friend. She is helpful.
  • The dog is hungry. It needs food.
  • Rahul and I are classmates. We study together.
  • The children are playing. They are happy.

2. Why Do We Use Pronouns?

Pronouns are mainly used to:

  1. Avoid unnecessary repetition.
  2. Make sentences shorter and clearer.
  3. Make speech and writing more natural.
  4. Connect ideas smoothly.

Example

❌ Neha went to the library. Neha borrowed a book. Neha read the book at home.

✔ Neha went to the library. She borrowed a book and read it at home.

3. Antecedent

The noun or noun phrase to which a pronoun refers is called its antecedent.

Example:

Rohan lost his pencil.

  • Rohan = antecedent
  • his = pronoun

Another example:

The children finished their homework.

  • children = antecedent
  • their = pronoun

A pronoun should clearly refer to its antecedent.

4. KINDS OF PRONOUNS

The major kinds of pronouns are:

  1. Personal Pronouns
  2. Possessive Pronouns
  3. Reflexive Pronouns
  4. Demonstrative Pronouns
  5. Interrogative Pronouns
  6. Relative Pronouns
  7. Indefinite Pronouns
  8. Distributive Pronouns
  9. Reciprocal Pronouns

5. PERSONAL PRONOUNS

A Personal Pronoun refers to a particular person, animal, or thing.

Examples

I, we, you, he, she, it, they

Three Persons

First Person

The person speaking.

  • I
  • we

Example:

I am a teacher.

We are students.

Second Person

The person being spoken to.

  • you

Example:

You are very kind.

Third Person

The person, animal, or thing being spoken about.

  • he
  • she
  • it
  • they

Example:

He is my brother.

She is my sister.

It is a beautiful flower.

They are my friends.

6. SUBJECT PRONOUNS

A Subject Pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence. It generally performs the action.

Subject Pronouns

I, we, you, he, she, it, they

Examples

  • I play cricket.
  • We study English.
  • You speak well.
  • He works hard.
  • She sings beautifully.
  • It looks beautiful.
  • They play football.

7. OBJECT PRONOUNS

An Object Pronoun is used as the object of a verb or preposition.

Object Pronouns

me, us, you, him, her, it, them

Examples

  • Rahul called me.
  • The teacher praised him.
  • I helped her.
  • She invited us.
  • We met them.
  • The dog followed him.

Subject and Object Pronouns

Subject

Object

I

me

we

us

you

you

he

him

she

her

it

it

they

them

Compare

I helped him.

She called me.

They invited us.

We met them.

8. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

A Possessive Pronoun shows ownership or possession.

Possessive Pronouns

  • mine
  • ours
  • yours
  • his
  • hers
  • theirs

Examples

This book is mine.

That house is ours.

This pen is yours.

The red bag is hers.

The classroom is theirs.

Important Difference

Compare:

This is my book.

This book is mine.

my is a possessive determiner.

mine is a possessive pronoun.

Similarly:

  • my → mine
  • our → ours
  • your → yours
  • her → hers
  • their → theirs

9. REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

A Reflexive Pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence.

Reflexive Pronouns

Personal Pronoun

Reflexive Pronoun

I

myself

we

ourselves

you

yourself

you

yourselves

he

himself

she

herself

it

itself

they

themselves

Examples

  1. I hurt myself.
  2. She taught herself.
  3. He blamed himself.
  4. We enjoyed ourselves.
  5. They introduced themselves.
  6. The cat cleaned itself.

Important Rule

A reflexive pronoun usually refers back to the subject.

Rahul hurt himself.

Rahul and himself refer to the same person.

10. EMPHASISING USE OF REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

Reflexive pronouns can also be used to emphasize a person or thing.

Examples

I myself completed the project.

The principal herself welcomed the guests.

The students themselves prepared the programme.

Here, the reflexive pronouns emphasize the subject.

11. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

A Demonstrative Pronoun points to a particular person, animal, place, or thing.

Main Demonstrative Pronouns

  • this
  • that
  • these
  • those

Rules

This → singular and near

This is my book.

That → singular and far

That is your house.

These → plural and near

These are my shoes.

Those → plural and far

Those are beautiful flowers.

Quick Rule

This → one + near

That → one + far

These → more than one + near

Those → more than one + far

12. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

An Interrogative Pronoun is used to ask a question.

Common Interrogative Pronouns

  • who
  • whom
  • whose
  • which
  • what

Who

Used to ask about a person.

Who is your teacher?

Who called you?

Whom

Traditionally used for the object of a verb or preposition.

Whom did you meet?

Whom did the teacher call?

In everyday modern English, who is also commonly used in such questions.

Whose

Used to ask about possession.

Whose bag is this?

Whose book is on the table?

Which

Used when choosing from a limited number of people or things.

Which is your bag?

Which of these books do you want?

What

Used to ask about a thing, information, or identity.

What is your name?

What do you want?

13. RELATIVE PRONOUNS

A Relative Pronoun introduces a relative clause and connects it to a noun or pronoun mentioned earlier.

Common Relative Pronouns

  • who
  • whom
  • whose
  • which
  • that

Examples

The boy who won the race is my brother.

This is the book that I bought.

The girl whose bag was lost is crying.

This is the house which my father built.

Understanding the Example

The boy who won the race is my brother.

The phrase who won the race gives additional information about the boy.

14. WHO, WHICH AND THAT

Who

Usually refers to people.

The teacher who taught us is very kind.

Which

Usually refers to animals or things.

This is the book which I bought.

That

Can refer to people, animals, or things in many defining relative clauses.

The boy that won the race is my friend.

This is the book that I wanted.

15. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

An Indefinite Pronoun refers to a person or thing without specifying exactly who or what it is.

Common Indefinite Pronouns

  • someone
  • somebody
  • something
  • anyone
  • anybody
  • anything
  • everyone
  • everybody
  • everything
  • nobody
  • no one
  • nothing
  • each
  • either
  • neither
  • many
  • few
  • several
  • all
  • some
  • none

Examples

Someone is knocking at the door.

Everyone enjoyed the programme.

Nobody knew the answer.

Everything is ready.

Anyone can participate.

Nothing is impossible with hard work.

16. DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUNS

A Distributive Pronoun refers to members of a group individually.

Main Distributive Pronouns

  • each
  • either
  • neither

Each

Each refers to every individual separately.

Each of the students received a certificate.

Each of them has a book.

Either

Either means one of two.

Either of the two answers is correct.

Neither

Neither means not one and not the other of two.

Neither of the two boys was absent.

Important

Either and neither generally refer to two people or things.

17. RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS

A Reciprocal Pronoun expresses a mutual relationship or action between two or more people.

Reciprocal Pronouns

  • each other
  • one another

Examples

The two friends helped each other.

The students helped one another.

The brothers respect each other.

The team members congratulated one another.

Both forms are widely used, and in modern English they are often interchangeable.

18. PRONOUN–ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT

A pronoun should agree with its antecedent in number and person.

Singular

Rahul forgot his bag.

Riya forgot her bag.

Plural

The boys brought their books.

The girls brought their books.

Incorrect

❌ The boys brought his books.

Correct

✔ The boys brought their books.

19. PERSON AGREEMENT

A pronoun should match the person being referred to.

First Person

I have completed my homework.

Second Person

You should complete your homework.

Third Person

Rahul has completed his homework.

20. GENDER AND PRONOUNS

Traditional English pronoun choices include:

Masculine

he, him, his, himself

Rahul said he had finished his work.

Feminine

she, her, hers, herself

Riya said she had finished her work.

Neuter

it, its, itself

The dog hurt itself.

Plural

they, them, their, theirs, themselves

The students completed their work.

21. SINGULAR “THEY”

In modern standard English, they/them/their can be used for one person when the person's gender is unknown, unspecified, or when a person uses those pronouns.

Example

Someone left their bag in the classroom.

Every student should bring their notebook.

This is common and accepted in modern English.

22. COMMON ERRORS WITH PRONOUNS

Error 1

❌ Me and Rahul went to school.

✔ Rahul and I went to school.

Error 2

❌ Her and I are friends.

✔ She and I are friends.

Error 3

❌ The teacher called Rahul and I.

✔ The teacher called Rahul and me.

Error 4

❌ Him is my brother.

✔ He is my brother.

Error 5

❌ This books are mine.

✔ These books are mine.

Error 6

❌ Those is my bag.

✔ That is my bag.

Error 7

❌ She did the work by herselfs.

✔ She did the work by herself.

23. PRONOUNS IN QUESTIONS

Pronouns can be used in different types of questions.

Personal

Who are you?

Possessive

Whose pen is this?

Choice

Which do you prefer?

Information

What happened?

Indefinite

Did anyone call me?

24. HOW TO IDENTIFY A PRONOUN

Use these steps:

Step 1

Look for a word that replaces a noun.

Step 2

Find the noun to which it refers.

Step 3

Check what type of pronoun it is.

Example

Riya lost her bag because she was careless.

Pronouns:

  • her → possessive determiner
  • she → personal pronoun

Antecedent:

  • Riya

Another example:

The children enjoyed themselves.

  • children → antecedent
  • themselves → reflexive pronoun

25. QUICK REVISION TABLE

Type of Pronoun

Examples

Main Function

Personal

I, he, she, they

Refers to people/things

Possessive

mine, yours, hers, theirs

Shows possession

Reflexive

myself, himself, themselves

Refers back to subject

Demonstrative

this, that, these, those

Points out

Interrogative

who, whom, whose, which, what

Asks questions

Relative

who, whom, whose, which, that

Connects clauses

Indefinite

someone, anyone, everyone, nobody

Refers generally

Distributive

each, either, neither

Refers individually

Reciprocal

each other, one another

Shows mutual action

26. PRACTICE: IDENTIFY THE PRONOUNS

Identify the pronouns in the following sentences.

  1. She is my best friend.
  2. They are playing football.
  3. This is my notebook.
  4. He hurt himself.
  5. Who is knocking at the door?
  6. Everyone enjoyed the show.
  7. These are yours.
  8. The boy who won the race is my brother.
  9. Someone left a bag here.
  10. The two sisters helped each other.

Answers

  1. She – Personal Pronoun
  2. They – Personal Pronoun
  3. This – Demonstrative Pronoun
  4. He – Personal; himself – Reflexive
  5. Who – Interrogative
  6. Everyone – Indefinite
  7. These – Demonstrative; yours – Possessive
  8. Who – Relative
  9. Someone – Indefinite
  10. Each other – Reciprocal

27. FILL IN THE BLANKS

Choose suitable pronouns.

  1. Rahul is absent because ______ is ill.
  2. Riya and I are friends. ______ study together.
  3. The children are playing. ______ are happy.
  4. This pen belongs to me. It is ______.
  5. She completed the work by ______.
  6. ______ is your favourite subject?
  7. ______ is knocking at the door?
  8. ______ of the two answers is correct.
  9. The two friends helped ______.
  10. ______ is my new school bag.

Suggested Answers

  1. he
  2. we
  3. they
  4. mine
  5. herself
  6. what
  7. who
  8. either
  9. each other
  10. this

28. IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER

  1. A pronoun is used in place of a noun or noun phrase.
  2. Pronouns help avoid repetition.
  3. I, we, you, he, she, it, they are subject personal pronouns.
  4. Me, us, you, him, her, it, them are object personal pronouns.
  5. Possessive pronouns show ownership.
  6. Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject.
  7. Demonstrative pronouns point out people or things.
  8. Interrogative pronouns ask questions.
  9. Relative pronouns connect clauses.
  10. Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things generally.
  11. Distributive pronouns refer to members individually.
  12. Reciprocal pronouns show mutual action.
  13. A pronoun should have a clear antecedent.
  14. A pronoun should normally agree with its antecedent in number and person.
  15. Always choose the pronoun according to its function in the sentence.