KINDS OF

PRONOUNS
IDENTIFYING PRONOUNS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
The What & Why of
Pronouns
 A pronoun is a word that replaces or refers to a noun
 Used to avoid repetition
 Antecedent= is the noun that the pronoun replaces or refers to
(ante, before; cedo, go)
EXAMPLE: Juan is my cousin. He (Juan) is in your English class.
 Juan = antecedent. He = pronoun.
7 KINDS OF PRONOUNS
1. PERSONAL = refers to persons, (he, she, us)
2. REFLEXIVE = refers back to the subject (himself)
3. INTENSIVE = emphasizes the subject (myself)
4. DEMONSTRATIVE = points to with gesture (that)
5. INDEFINITE = has no definite antecedent (someone, all, some,
many)
6. INTERROGATIVE = question words, who
7. RELATIVE = relates 2 sentences (which)
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
have
SINGULAR PLURAL
1st person 1st person
 I, me, my  we, us, our
2nd person 2nd person
 you, you, your  you, you, your
3rd person 3rd person
 he, him, his
she, her, her  they, them, their
it, it, its
 PERSONAL PRONOUNS
HAVE GENDER
MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTRAL

He She It, its

Him, his Her,hers
himself herself
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
also have
SUBJECTIVE CASE: OBJECTIVE CASE
PROUNOUNS;
Are used in place of
subjects and Are used in place of
predicate nominatives words in the objective
in sentences case in sentences
1st person 1st person
 I or we us
2nd person 2nd person
 you  you
3rd person 3rd person
 he, she, it  them
them
PRONOUNS MUST AGREE IN
NUMBER, GENDER, AND CASE
 WRONG RIGHT
 She (Molly) could  She (Molly) could
not get (Molly’s) not get (Molly’s)
HIS car to start. HER car to start.
(Disagreement in
gender)
 John and I went to
 John and ME went
the store.
to the store. (error
in case)
 One of the girls left  One of the girls left
their sweater her sweater there.
there.
(disagreement in
number)
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS--reflect
back to the subject of a sentence.
 I saw myself in the
mirror.
 Kim wrote a note
to herself.
 Dick shot himself
on the foot.
 They served
themselves last.
INTENSIVE PRONOUN

An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent.

 I myself saw him.

 She herself organized the concert.
 The president himself has denied the rumor.
DEMONSTRATIVE
PRONOUNS

POINT OUT SPECIFIC

PERSONS / THINGS
 I hate this.
 Did Megan give you that?
 She wants these.
 Will you be using those?
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
 Some like it But here, these
hot. are used as
 None wants it Indefinite
cold. adjectives:
 All are happy. Some people
like it cold.
 All are equal,
but some are All animals are
more equal equal, but
than others. some animals
are more
equal.
PROBLEMS WITH
PRONOUNS
 Everyone and Everybody are always
SINGULAR!!
 MOST, SOME, MUCH AND OTHER
PRONOUNS LIKE THESE DEPEND ON THE
ANTECEDENT TO DETERMINE NUMBER AND
AGREEMENT:
FOR EXAMPLE:
 SOME OF THE BUTTER IS LEFT.
 SOME OF THE GIRLS ARE STILL HERE.
PROBLEMS WITH
PRONOUNS The story was exciting, but

they didn't explain what
happened at the end.
 William was very angry with
Jonathan, but no one knew
AMBIGUOUS 
what he had said.
The catalog says that you
(unclear) must pay all fees by May.

REFERENCE
 I saw the ad in the paper,
but now I can't find it.
 If they do not do something
about Syria, we may find
ourselves in a war.
INTERROGATIVE
PRONOUNS
PRONOUNS USED TO INTRODUCE
QUESTIONS:
 What is the answer to the last question?
 Whose book is this?
 Who are you?
 Whom did you send to the store?
Who, Whom, Whose, What, When, Where,
RELATIVE PRONOUNS ARE

 RELATIVE PRONOUN She is a woman.

RELATES TO A She runs for mayor.
PRECEDING WORD
(ANTECEDENT) AND  She is the woman,
JOINS TO IT A who runs for mayor.
DEPENDENT CLAUSE You saw the house.
 2 JOBS: A PRONOUN It is historical landmark.
+ A CONNECTOR
 The house that you
saw is a historical
landmark.
Summary
7 KINDS OF PRONOUNS
 PERSONAL = REFERS TO PERSONS
 REFLEXIVE = ACTION BACK TO SUBJECT
 INTENSIVE = EMPHASIZES ACTION
 DEMONSTRATIVE = POINTS WITH A GESTURE
 INDEFINITE = UNSURE SOME OR FEW
 INTERROGATIVE = QUESTION WORDS
 RELATIVE = JOINS SENTENCES