pronoun
noun
Lucy Brisbane
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What is a pronoun?
A pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns refer to either a noun that has already been mentioned or to a noun that does not need to be named specifically.
The most common pronouns are the personal pronouns, which refer to the person or people speaking or writing (first person), the person or people being spoken to (second person), or other people or things (third person). Like nouns, personal pronouns can function as either the subject of a verb or the object of a verb or preposition: "She likes him, but he loves her." Most of the personal pronouns have different subject and object forms:
There are a number of other types of pronouns. The interrogative pronouns—particularly what, which, who, whom, and whose—introduce questions for which a noun is the answer, as in "Which do you prefer?"
Possessive pronouns refer to things or people that belong to someone. The main possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs.
The four demonstrative pronouns—this, that, these, and those—distinguish the person or thing being referred to from other people or things; they are identical to the demonstrative adjectives.
Relative pronouns introduce a subordinate clause, a part of a sentence that includes a subject and verb but does not form a sentence by itself. The main relative pronouns are that, which, who, whom, what, and whose.
Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of a sentence or clause and are formed by adding -self or -selves to a personal pronoun or possessive adjective, as in myself, herself, ourselves, and itself.
Indefinite pronouns, such as everybody, either, none, and something, do not refer to a specific person or thing, and typically refer to an unidentified or unfamiliar person or thing.
The words it and there can also be used like pronouns when the rules of grammar require a subject but no noun is actually being referred to. Both are usually used at the beginning of a sentence or clause, as in "It was almost noon" and "There is some cake left." These are sometimes referred to as expletives.
Example Sentences
Amanda Seitz, BostonGlobe.com, 13 July 2022 The law also requires parents to be involved if a transgender student seeks to have the school use a preferred name or pronoun, Spicker noted. Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 27 July 2022 One example of misgendering and deadnaming came last month when a conservative social media pundit sent a swarm of Twitter users to harass transgender actor Elliot Page with the wrong pronoun and name. Amanda Seitz, BostonGlobe.com, 13 July 2022 Schools would also have to notify parents if a student requests to be addressed by a different name or pronoun. Reuters, NBC News, 2 June 2022 Green’s first name, a three-letter pronoun, and, well, another word. Jason Gay, WSJ, 9 June 2022 For example, leaders might make a gender assumption in communications with an employee rather than choosing a pronoun that is non-gender-specific or understanding an employee's preferred pronouns. Kelsey Griffis, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2022 At issue: allegedly the boys used the wrong pronoun for a nonbinary classmate. Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic, 3 June 2022 The Virginian-Pilot reports the Moore Center announced last week that Walker, who uses the pronoun they, would be joining the center as a postdoctoral fellow. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 17 May 2022 See More Word History
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin pronomin-, pronomen, from pro- for + nomin-, nomen name — more at pro-, name
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing pronoun
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pronoun
noun