What Is a Pronoun? Definition, Types & Examples

WHAT IS A PRONOUN? 

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun to avoid repeating the same noun again and again.
It helps make sentences shorter and smoother.

Example:

Michael is a good boy. Michael loves football. → (Repetitive)

Michael is a good boy. He loves football.
Here, He replaces Michael — so He is a pronoun.

 

TYPES OF PRONOUNS (with Examples & Sentences)

1. Personal Pronouns – These pronouns refer to specific people or things. They change according to person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), number, and gender.

Person	Singular	Plural
1st Person	I, me, my, mine	we, us, our, ours
2nd Person	you, your, yours	you, your, yours
3rd Person	he, him, his, she, her, it	they, them, their, theirs

Examples:

A. I am going to school.

B. She is reading a book.

C. They are watching a movie.

 

2. Reflexive Pronouns – These pronouns reflect back to the subject of the sentence. They end with -self (singular) or -selves (plural).

Examples: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Sentences:

A. She hurt herself while cooking.

B. We enjoyed ourselves at the party.

C. The cat cleaned itself.

 

3. Demonstrative Pronouns – They point to specific things or people.

Examples: this, that, these, those

Sentences:

A. This is my pen.

B. Those are my shoes.

C. That looks interesting.

 

4. Interrogative Pronouns – They are used to ask questions.

Examples: who, whom, whose, which, what

Sentences:

A. Who is your teacher?

B. Which is your favorite color?

C. Whose book is this?

 

5. Possessive Pronouns – They show ownership or possession.

Examples: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

Sentences:

A. This bag is mine.

B. The car is hers.

C. That house is theirs.

 

6. Relative Pronouns – They connect a clause or phrase to a noun or another pronoun.

Examples: who, whom, whose, which, that

Sentences:

A. The man who called you is my uncle.

B. The car that I bought is new.

C. The lady whose son is tall is my teacher.

 

7. Indefinite Pronouns – They refer to non-specific people or things.

Examples: someone, anyone, everyone, nobody, each, few, many, all, some

Sentences:

A. Someone is knocking at the door.

B. Many were invited to the wedding.

C. Each of the boys got a prize.

8. Reciprocal Pronouns – They show mutual action or feeling between two or more people.

Examples: each other, one another

Sentences:

A. The two friends helped each other.

B. The players congratulated one another.

 

9. Distributive Pronouns – They refer to persons or things one at a time.

Examples: each, either, neither

Sentences:

A. Each of the students got a book.

B. Either of the two roads leads to the market.

C. Neither of them was ready.

 

10. Emphatic Pronouns – They are used to emphasize the subject and also end in -self or -selves.

Examples: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Sentences:

A. I myself cleaned the room.

B. She herself baked the cake.

 

SUMMARY 

Type of Pronoun	Function	Examples
Personal	Replaces people/things	I, you, he, she, it
Reflexive	Refers back to subject	myself, themselves
Demonstrative	Points to things	this, that, these, those
Interrogative	Asks questions	who, what, which
Possessive	Shows ownership	mine, yours, ours
Relative	Joins clauses	who, which, that
Indefinite	Refers to unspecified things	anyone, someone, all
Reciprocal	Shows mutual action	each other, one another
Distributive	Refers one by one	each, either, neither
Emphatic	Adds emphasis	myself, himself