What is a Pronoun?
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. We can use a pronoun instead of a noun.
Example
Rohit loves to play football. He also plays volleyball.
Riya is an intelligent girl. She scored highest grades in class.
The students are sitting in ground. They are making so much of noise.
Kinds of Pronoun
1. Personal pronoun
2. possessive pronoun
3. reflexive pronoun
4. Interrogative pronoun
5. relative pronoun
6. demonstrative pronoun
7. Indefinite pronoun
Personal Pronoun
Personal pronouns are used to replace nouns.
Personal pronouns stand for three persons:
- First Person- stands for the person speaking (speaker). (I, we, me, us)
- Second Person- stands for the person(s) spoken to ( listener). ( you)
- Third Person- stands for the person(s) spoken of. (He, she, it, they, them, him, her)
Personal pronouns for people: I, you, he, she, we, they, me, you, him, her, us, them
Personal pronouns for things and animals: it, they, them.
Personal pronoun should have the same gender and number as the nouns that they refer to.
Examples
1.I won the award. ( first person)
- Only you are allowed to attend the party. ( second person)
- He agreed to look after the baby. ( third person)
Possessive Pronoun
A possessive pronoun points towards the owner of something.
Possessive Pronouns List
hers
his
Mine
ours
theirs
Yours
Examples:
The green gloves are mine.
That cat is hers.
The red house is theirs.
The blue hat is mine.
My aunt is a Graphic Designer. This computer is hers.
This is my dress.
This dress is mine.
That is her school.
That school is hers.
Reflexive Pronoun
These pronouns refer back to the subject.
These pronoun refer to the doer of the action.
These are the words ending with “self” or “selves”.
Ex- kriti made herself a promise.
My ten years old sister made the cake herself!
They have hurt themselves.
He does all her projects himself.
Interrogative Pronoun
To interrogate means to ask questions.
So interrogative pronouns are words that are used for asking questions.
Ex – 1. Who was knocking at the door?
2. Whom were you talking to?
3. These shoes are mine; whose are those?
4. What are you trying to hide from me?
Relative Pronouns
These are used to refer back to a noun or pronoun in a sentence.
Sometimes they are also used to join sentences.
Ex – 1. The man who won the grand price is very humble.
2. The lady whom you met is my aunt.
3. The whose door is scratched is my father’s.
4. The vase which you broke was a rare antique.
Points to remember:
(a) Who and whom are used for people.
(b) Whose is used for people a well as objects.
(c) Which is used for objects.
(d) That is used for people as well as objects.
Difference between Interrogative or Relative pronoun ?
The interrogative pronouns who, whom, whose and which are also used as relative pronouns.
Remember that relative pronouns do not form questions while interrogative pronouns are used to ask pronouns.
Demonstrative Pronouns
These are words used to point at something or someone.
Ex – Do you have another pen? This is not writing.
That is the girl who scored the highest in the term-end tests.
That house belongs to her.
Indefinite Pronouns
When we don’t know or are not sure about the identity of an object.
Ex – Someone told Amit that tomorrow is a holiday.
She screamed when she felt something crawling on her leg.
