Types of pronouns

The different types of pronouns

1. The term "pronoun" covers many words, some of which do not fall easily under the description given in the section "what are pronouns?". There are many different kinds of pronouns. In general, these do not cause difficulties for native English speakers. The list below is mainly for reference purposes.

Demonstrative Pronouns

These pronouns are used to demonstrate (or indicate). "This", "that", "these" and "those" are all demonstrative pronouns.

This is the one I left in the car.
(In this example, the speaker could be indicating to a mobile phone; in which
case, the pronoun "this" replaces the words "mobile phone".)

Shall I take those?

Indefinite Pronouns

Unlike demonstrative pronouns, which point out specific items, indefinite pronouns are used for non-specific things. This is the largest group of pronouns. "All", "some", "any", "several", "anyone", "nobody", "each", "both", "few", "either", "none", "one" and "no one" are the most common.

Somebody must have seen the driver leave.
(somebody - not a specific person)

Interrogative Pronouns

These pronouns are used in questions. Although they are classified as pronouns, it is not easy to see how they replace nouns. "Who", "which", "what", "where" and "how" are all interrogative pronouns.

Who told you to do that?

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to show possession. As they are used as adjectives, they are also known as "possessive adjectives". "My", "your", "his", "her", "its", "our" and "their" are all possessive pronouns.

Have you seen her book?
(In this example, the pronoun "her" replaces a word like "Sarah's".)

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns are used to add more information to a sentence. "Which", "that", "who" (including "whom" and "whose") and "where" are all relative pronouns.

Dr Adam Sissons, who lectured at Cambridge for more than 12 years, should
have known the difference.
(In this example, the relative pronoun "who" introduces the clause "who studied
at Cambridge for 12 years" and refers back to "Dr Adams Sissons".)

The man who first saw the comet reported it as a UFO.
(In this example, the relative pronoun "who" introduces the clause "who first
saw the comet" and refers back to "the man".)

Absolute Possessive Pronouns

These pronouns also show possession. Unlike possessive pronouns (see above), which are adjectives to nouns, these pronouns sit by themselves. "Mine", "yours", "his", "hers", "ours" and "theirs" are all absolute possessive pronouns.

The tickets are as good as ours.

Shall we take yours or theirs?

Reciprocal Pronouns

Reciprocal pronouns are used for actions or feelings that are reciprocated. The two most common reciprocal pronouns are "each other" and "one another".

They like one another.

They talk to each other like they're babies.

Reflexive Pronouns

A reflexive pronoun ends "...self" or "...selves" and refers to another noun or pronoun in the sentence. The reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves.

John bakes all the bread himself.
(In this example, the reflexive pronoun "himself" refers back to the noun "John".)

Below are some common errors related to pronouns:

NO ONE NOT NO-ONE

There is no hyphen in the word "no one".
No one is qualified to take the
position.
No-one lifted a finger.

              should be 'No one ever died..."
                      (newspaper article)

NONE IS SINGULAR

The word "none" is singular.
None of them was present.
("was" - correct; "were" would be wrong)
None are developed abroad.
(should be "is" - not "are")

          None of his chickens was harmed
                          (This is correct.)
                       (newspaper article)

ITS NOT IT'S

The word "its" (note, no apostrophe) is a possessive pronoun, just like "his", "her" and "my".
Can you see its pale-coloured belly?
Jenkins failed the final test and its re-sit.

"It's" (with an apostrophe) is short for "it is" or "it has". If you cannot substitute "it's" with "it is" or "it has", then it is wrong! This is covered more in the lesson "Apostrophes".

NO APOSTROPHES

There are no apostrophes in absolute possessive pronouns (also called "absolute possessives").
Shall I take yours?
Paul's scores were better than her's.

COMMAS OR NOT?

The first example in Relative Pronouns (left) has commas around the clause "who studied at Cambridge for 12 years"; whereas, the second example does not have commas around "who first saw the comet". These clauses are called "relative clauses".

The first example refers to "Dr Adam Sissons" and the second example refers back to "the man". These are called the "antecedents" of the relative clauses.

When a relative clause (like "who saw the comet") is required to identify the antecedent (in this case "the man"), then no commas are used. When it is just additional information (like "who studied at Cambridge for 12 years"), then commas are required.

This is covered more in the lesson "Which and Who".

Associated lessons:

What are pronouns?
What are nouns?
The different types of nouns