Download PDF – Types of Pronouns as Part of Speech

1. Personal Pronouns: Personal pronouns are used for the first person (the speaker – I) and the second person (the person spoken to – you). We use he, she, it and they to refer to other people and things (third person).

Example: Hina isn’t coming with us. She has to finish homework

Like nouns, pronouns can function as subjects as well as objects. Additionally, there is a possessive case.

The possessive case can further be divided into two as follows:

• Possessive determiners: They function grammatically like adjectives, modifying a noun or nouns. However, they cannot function as nouns in a sentence.

 Example: My father’s house is being sold off. (My modifies father to show his relation to the speaker.)

• Possessive Pronouns: They are personal pronouns in the possessive case which have the grammatical function of nouns.

 Example: Those shoes are mine.

forms of personal pronouns as parts of speech

2. Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns: We use a reflexive pronoun as object of the verb when it refers to the same thing as the subject. Reflexive pronouns are formed by adding “-self” (singular) or “-selves” (plural) to the end of my, your, our, him, her, it or them (as well as the indefinite pronoun one).

Example:

(i) I treated myself with a cookie.

(ii) She imagined herself as the heroine of the movie.

*Exceptions: Transitive verbs like keep, stop, bathe, turn, rest qualify, hide, etc. do not use reflexive pronouns.

Example:

Incorrect – You should keep yourself away from intoxicating substances.

Correct – You should keep away from intoxicating substances.

3. Demonstrative Pronouns: They are used to indicate specific people or things and signify whether they are singular/plural and whether they are close or far from the speaker. Some of the demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these and those.

Example:

This is my pen. (Singular + close by)

Fetch me that. (Singular + not close)

These are really tasty. (Plural + close by)

I want those books right now. (Plural + not close)

4. Indefinite Pronouns: The Indefinite Pronoun is used in place of a noun that is not being specified in the sentence. They are used depending upon whether the nouns being represented are person or thing and whether the noun is singular or plural. Some of the indefinite pronouns are any, somebody, none, whatever, all & many.

Example :

(i) Somebody is knocking at the door. (Person + Singular)

(ii)None of these apples are rotten. (Thing + Plural)

5. Distributive Pronouns: They are the pronouns in which members of a group are considered separately, rather than collectively. Some of the distributive pronouns are each, every, neither, etc.

 Example:

(i) Each ate his own apple. (Pronoun)

(ii) Each boy ate his own apple. (Determiner)

6. Reciprocal Pronouns: These pronouns are used when two or more people act as the subject of a verb and both individually and equally receive the verb’s action. Some of the reciprocal pronouns are each other, one another, etc.

 Example: Mary and I love each other.

7. Relative Pronouns: These are used to connect relative clauses (or adjective clauses) to the main clause in a sentence. Some of the relative pronouns are who, which, what, whose, etc.

 Example:

(i) There’s the man who extorted money from me.

(ii) The letter that I wrote has reached its destination.

8. Interrogative Pronouns: The Interrogative Pronouns are used to ask questions. There are only five of these which are Who, whose, whom, which & what.

Example: Who is your class teacher?