List of Pronouns in English

Pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. Pronouns are an essential part of the way we communicate with each other. There are various kinds of pronouns which have their meanings. A set of examples of each type of pronoun along with a complete list of all pronouns in English is given in this article for reference.

What is a Pronoun? Definition and Meaning

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. In simple words, a pronoun is used to avoid the repetition of nouns.

The Collins Dictionary defines pronouns as: ‘A pronoun is a word that you use to refer to someone or something when you do not need to use a noun, often because the person or thing has been mentioned earlier.’

• Examples are ‘it’, ‘she’, ‘something’, and ‘myself’
• Examples are ‘it’, ‘she’, ‘something’, and ‘myself’
• Example: Simran is on leave because she is ill.
• – Here, ‘she’ is the pronoun used in the place of the noun (Simran).

Types of Pronouns List

There are various types of pronouns, and each of them has a specific use and meaning.

Types of Pronouns List
Personal Pronoun	Used to refer to people, animals, birds, and non-living things	I, me, we, us, you, he, him, she, her, it, they, them	I teach him social science.
Reflexive Pronoun	Used to refer if the doer has to face both the action and the result	Myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, herself, himself, itself, oneself, themselves	Presently, I cook myself.
Demonstrative Pronoun	Used to demonstrate/point to specific nouns/things	This, that, these, those, such, one, ones	This is the dress your aunt brought from Canada.
Distributive Pronoun	Use to separate a person or thing from a group of persons or things	Each, either, neither, every, none	Either of these two pens is yellow.
Relative Pronoun	Used to refer to some other noun or pronoun, generally known as antecedent and has the ability of conjunction	Who, whom, whose, which, that	I have a daughter whom I love very much.
Interrogative Pronoun	Used to ask question	Who, whom, whose, which	By whom was the Mahabharat written?
Possessive Pronoun	Used to show ownership or possession of something	Mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs	Your handwriting is better than mine.
Reciprocal Pronoun	Used to demonstrate a mutual relationship between two or more than two people	Each other, one another,	The two boys hate each other.
Universal/Indefinite Pronoun	Used to refer to unspecified people or things	Everybody, somebody, nobody, anybody, someone, no one, anyone, everything, something, nothing, anything, all, some, any, both, another, much, few, little, every, each	Everybody loves food.
Emphatic/Emphasizing Pronoun	Used to put pressure on the subject	Myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves, oneself	You, yourself, are responsible for all the trouble.

I. Personal Pronoun List

Those pronouns that are used for three persons, like first person, second person and third person, are called personal pronouns.

The situation with Personal Pronouns		Subject	Object	Possessive Adjectives	Possessive Pronouns
First Person (1)	Singular	I	Me	My	Mine
	Plural	We	Us	Our	Ours
Second Person (2)	Singular/Plural	You	You	Your	Yours
Third Person (3)	Singular	She, He, It	Her, Him, It	Her, His, Its	Hers, His, –
	Plural	They	Them	Their	Theirs

Nominative Case	Objective Case
I	Me
She	Her
He	Him
We	Us
They	Them
It	It
You	You

RULES

1. If a pronoun is used before the verb of a sentence, it is in the nominative case. If the pronoun is used after the verb, then the objective case is used.

Example: He used to play with me.

2. When different pronouns are used in the same sentence, and there is no suggestion of any bad thing, then they are put in order of 231, i.e. first second person, then third person and finally, the first person.

Example: You, he and I are going to the Christmas party.

3. While using different pronouns in a sentence, if one’s fault has been accepted or something bad has been said, then the pronouns are kept in order 123.

Example: I, you and he have committed this crime.

4. When the pronoun is in the plural form, then the pronoun should be in order of 123.

Example: We, you and they should now get ready to attend the carnival.

5. Objective case is used after verbs, like, between, but, except and prepositions.

Example: There is no sort of conflict between you and me.

6. Use of pronoun ‘It’. ‘It’ is used for:

– time and weather

Example: It is autumn.

– young child unless we wish to refer to the sex

Example: It is a baby.

– animal, bird and non-living thing

Example: It is a lion.

– natural incidents

Example: It was a volcanic eruption.

– emphasizing nouns or pronouns following

Example: It was you who was responsible for the loss to the company.

II. Reflexive Pronoun List

When words like ‘self’, ‘yourself’, ‘yourselves’, ‘ourself’, etc are used in the sentence, then Reflexive Pronoun is used.

Example: Supriya prides herself a lot on being able to work smoothly even at the time of examination.

RULES

1. Reflexive pronoun is used if the doer (subject) has to face both the action and the result.

Example: She was herself responsible for the injury.

2. Generally, after these words, we use reflexive pronouns:

– Absent | enjoy | avoid | avail | pride | acquit | reconcile | amuse | resign | avenge | apply | exert | adapt | adjust

Example: Ram exerts himself a lot at the time of examination.

Example: They enjoyed themselves a lot during the vacation.

3. Reflexive pronoun is not used with words such as:

– Qualify | keep | turn | bathe | stop | hide | move | rest

Example: You should keep away from naughty boys.

III. Demonstrative Pronoun List

A pronoun that demonstrates some nouns instead of which it is used is termed a demonstrative pronoun.

Example: The food in India is spicier than that of Italy.

RULES

1. ‘This’ and ‘that’ are used for singular nouns, whereas ‘these’ and ‘those’ are used for plural nouns.

Example: This is my birthday dress.

Example: Those are the pair of shoes I bought from the Diwali fair.

2. When two nouns are mentioned in a clause or a sentence, then ‘this’ is a substitute for the latter and ‘that’ is a substitute for the former.

Example: Both health and time management are essential, i.e., this (time management) gives us opportunities and that (health) gives us energy to work.

3. To avoid rewriting the ‘singular countable noun’ in a sentence, ‘one’ is used, while to avoid rewriting the ‘plural countable noun’, ‘ones’ is used and not ‘one’s’.

Example: These are the new curtains, but those are the old ones.

4. ‘Such’ is a demonstrative pronoun when it is used as a substitute for a noun.

Example: She is the house owner, and as such (house owner), she has the right to restrict the entry of people into her property.

IV. Distributive Pronoun List

A distributive pronoun is generally used to separate a person or thing from a group of persons or things.

Example: None of his five children looked after him.

RULES

1. ‘Either’ is a distributive pronoun that is used in the meaning of ‘one of two’.

Example: Either of these two chocolates contains nuts.

2. ‘Any’ or ‘one’ is a distributive pronoun that is used in the meaning of ‘any one of more than two persons or things’.

Example: One of these four men has stolen the necklace.

3. ‘Neither’ is a distributive pronoun that is used in the meaning of ‘none of the two’.

Example: Neither of these two boys is creative.

V. Relative Pronoun List

A relative pronoun is used to refer to some other noun or pronoun, generally known as antecedent and has the ability of conjunction.

Example: I met Sunita, who was returning from the office.

RULES

1. Relative Pronouns (who/which/that) are used as the subject of subordinate clause.

Example: He enjoys watching movies that employ lots of special effects.

2. Relative Pronouns (whom/which/that) are used as the object of the verb in subordinate clause.

Example: I have a cat whom I adore a lot.

3. If two antecedents are used joined by ‘and’, one of which is a ‘human being’ and the other an ‘animal or thing’, then the Relative Pronoun ‘that’ is used after it.

Example: The girl and her doll that I saw yesterday have been kidnapped.

4. ‘That’ is used after superlative degree.

Example: Mr. Roy is the most courageous man that I have ever seen.

5. If All is used for a person, then ‘who/that’ is used after it, not whom/which.

Example: All who/that are interested in doing this work can start from tomorrow.

6. If all is used for an object, then ‘that’ is used after it, not who, whom, which.

Example: All that glitters is not gold.

VI. Interrogative Pronoun List

Interrogative pronouns are used for asking questions.

Example: Whose pen is this?

RULES

1. ‘Who’ is used to know the ‘subject’.

Example: Who is in the kitchen?

2. ‘Whom’ is used to identify the ‘object’.

Example: Whom has she invited?

3. ‘Whose’ is used to know the ‘owner’.

Example: Whose flat is this?

4. Preposition + whom is used, but Preposition + who is not used.

Example: By whom was the Arthashastra written?

5. When the preposition is to be used at the end of the sentence, ‘who’ is used at the beginning of the sentence.

Example: Who was the Arthashastra written by?

6. When one has to choose between two or more, ‘which’ will be used.

Example: Which is your sister in the crowd?

VII. Possessive Pronoun List

A possessive pronoun is used to show ownership or possession of something. (Refer to table I in the ‘personal pronoun’ category)

Example: Her dress is unique, but mine is ordinary.

RULES

1. Possessive pronouns are not used before nouns.

Example: Our office was closed for three days.

2. Possessive Pronouns are used as the subject of the verb of a sentence.

Example: Hers is a beautiful dress.

3. Possessive Pronouns are used as the object of the verb of a sentence.

Example: Save your time and mine too.

4. Possessive Pronouns are used as the object of a preposition in a sentence.

Example: Your furniture is better than mine.

5. ‘Apostrophe’ is not used before ‘s’ in Possessive Pronoun. It is wrong to use your’s, her’s, it’s etc.

Example: The cow had a cloth tied around its neck.

VIII. Reciprocal Pronoun List

A reciprocal pronoun is used to demonstrate a mutual relationship between two or more than two people.

Example: After the farewell, the college students bid each other goodbye.

RULES

1. ‘Each other’ is used for two persons or things, while ‘one another’ is used for more than two persons or things.

Example: The two friends enjoy each other’s company.

Example: Due to property issues, those five brothers hate one another.

IX. Universal/Indefinite Pronoun List

Universal/indefinite pronoun is used to refer to unspecified people or things.

Example: Somebody has helped him.

RULES

1. These pronouns include anybody, somebody, nobody, everybody, someone, everyone, etc., which indicate singular nouns.

Example: Everybody knows God.

Example: Everyone loves music.

2. This pronoun also includes all, both, some, many, etc., which indicate plural nouns.

Example: All are hardworking here.

Example: Many have completed the assignment.

X. Emphatic/Emphasizing Pronoun List

An emphatic pronoun is used to put pressure on the subject.

Example: She hurt herself.

Examples of Pronouns in Sentences

Here are some examples of pronouns in sentences:

• When I saw the baby, it was crying. (Personal Pronoun)
• You will hurt yourself. (Reflexive Pronoun)
• That sort of people are brilliant. (Demonstrative Pronoun)
• Everyone of them was occupied. (Distributive Pronoun)
• He is the boy who teaches my son. (Relative Pronoun)
• Who helps you with the household chores? (Interrogative Pronoun)
• Your colours are new, but mine are old. (Possessive Pronoun)
• The two girls love each other. (Reciprocal Pronoun)
• Everybody opposes him. (Universal/indefinite pronoun)
• We ourselves cooked the food with the available ingredients. (Emphatic pronoun )

Conclusion

Pronoun is a word used in the place of a noun. In simple words, a pronoun is used to avoid the repetition of nouns. Pronouns can be classified into different types based on their functions. Pronouns are an essential part of the way we communicate with each other. We use pronouns as a way to identify or refer to someone. That is why pronouns are used.

List of Pronouns- FAQs

Define a pronoun.

Pronoun is a word used in the place of a noun. In simple words, a pronoun is used to avoid the repetition of nouns.

Mention the different types of a pronoun.

Pronouns can be classified into different types based on their functions. The different types of pronouns are: Relative Pronouns, Possessive Pronouns, Reflexive Pronouns, Demonstrative Pronouns, Interrogative Pronouns, Indefinite Pronouns, Personal Pronouns, Subject Pronouns, Object Pronouns, Reciprocal Pronouns, Intensive Pronouns.

How does the Collins Dictionary define a ‘pronoun’?

According to the Collins Dictionary, ‘A pronoun is a word that you use to refer to someone or something when you do not need to use a noun, often because the person or thing has been mentioned earlier.’ Examples: ‘it’, ‘she’, ‘something’, and ‘myself

Give some examples of Pronouns.

Some examples of pronouns are: I, he, him, you, we, him, her, yours, theirs, someone, where, when, yourselves, themselves, oneself, is, hers, when, whom, whose, each other, one another, everyone, nobody, none, each, anywhere, anyone, nothing, etc.

Why are pronouns used?

Pronouns are an essential part of the way we communicate with each other. We use pronouns as a way to identify or refer to someone. That is why pronouns are used.