Pronouns are rightly called as the “building blocks of the English language!” These tiny words pack a mighty punch.
Not sure what pronouns are or how to use them? Worry not! In this easy-to-read blog, we provide you with a complete list of the top 100 pronouns in English along with examples. By the time you finish reading this blog, you would have taken several steps further in your journey to speak English fluently.
First things first,
Before we get into the nitty-gritties, here’s an easy explainer. Look at these sentences:
Suzy ate too much at the wedding. So, Suzy got a bad tummy ache. Suzy went to the doctor. The doctor gave Suzy a few pills and Suzy felt better.
What do you think sounds odd here? Come on, make a guess!
We can notice that Suzy is repeated several times. As a result, these sentences become monotonous and repetitive.
This is where pronouns come into play. You can use pronouns in place of nouns. Let’s rephrase the previous example better:
Suzy ate too much at the wedding. So, she got a bad tummy ache. She went to the doctor. He gave her a few pills and she felt better.
See, that’s much better, isn’t it?
Now that you’ve seen pronouns in action, it’s time to explore the most used ones.
Let’s look at the different pronoun types in English:
Also known as subject pronouns, you can replace the sentence’s subject with personal pronouns. They usually represent the person doing the action or the main subject.
Here are a few examples:
| Personal Pronouns | |
| Singular | Plural |
| I | We |
| You | They |
| He | You |
| She | |
| It | |
As the term implies, we use these pronouns to replace the objects in a sentence. It can be used instead of a direct or indirect object. Here are a few examples:
| Object Pronouns | |
| Singular | Plural |
| Us | Them |
| Her | You |
| Him | |
| It | |
| You | |
These words take the place of noun phrases and indicate ownership. The difference between a possessive pronoun and a contraction is that you don’t have to use the apostrophe. They also replace possessive adjectives. Here are a few examples:
| Possessive Pronouns | |
| Singular | Plural |
| Mine | Ours |
| Yours | Yours |
| Hers | Theirs |
| His | |
These words denote the action someone or something did earlier. These pronouns end in “self” or “selves.” Self indicates a singular pronoun, while selves is for plural pronouns. Here are a few examples to help you better understand reflexive pronouns:
| Reflexive Pronouns | |
| Singular | Plural |
| Yourself | Yourselves |
| Myself | Themselves |
| Themself | |
| Himself | |
| Herself | |
| Itself | |
Intensive pronouns are sort of like reflexive pronouns. However, they do not indicate any action something or someone did earlier. Instead, they denote emphasis. They stress the person or object doing an action.
Here is an example of an intensive pronoun in action:
Note that though the intensive pronoun is the same as the reflexive pronoun, the usage differs.
| Intensive Pronouns | |
| Singular | Plural |
| Yourself | Yourselves |
| Myself | Themselves |
| Themself | |
| Himself | |
| Herself | |
| Itself | |
As the name implies, these pronouns are not clear about what they replace. They are used in situations where you need a pronoun, but do not want to explicit about the word it replaces. Here are a few examples:
| Indefinite Pronouns | |
| Another | All |
| Anyone | Anybody |
| Any | Anything |
| Both | Each |
| Either | Everyone |
| Everybody | Everything |
| Many | Few |
| Most | Neither |
| None | No one |
| Nobody | Nothing |
| One | Other |
| Others | Several |
| Somebody | Some |
| Something | Someone |
| Such | |
Relative pronouns are used at the beginning of dependent clauses. They have an antecedent, and it comes right before the pronoun. Here are a few examples:
| Relative Pronouns | |
| As | That |
| What | Whatever |
| Which | Whichever |
| Who | Whoever |
| Whom | Whomever |
| Whose | Whomsoever |
As the term implies, these pronouns denote a question. They leave a question in the minds of the reader. Here are a few examples:
| Interrogative Pronouns | |
| What | Whatever |
| Which | Whichever |
| Who | Whoever |
| Whom | Whomever |
| Whose | Whosesoever |
These pronouns indicate a specific thing or person. Even though the discussed person or thing might not be in the sentence, the reader gets a clear picture of who or what the pronouns is referring to. Here are a few examples:
| Demonstrative Pronouns | |
| Such | That |
| This | These |
| Those | |
These are pronouns that are not commonly used in daily conversations, and you wouldn’t come across them when you learn and speak English. They are used in classic literature or old English. Think of them as the pronouns Shakespeare or Chaucer would use. A few examples include:
| Archaic Pronouns | |
| Thee | Thou |
| Thy | Thine |
| Ye | |
Several pronouns indicate gender. For example, he, him, and his are mal pronouns, while she, hers and her are female. With gender fluidity getting accepted, today it’s common for youngsters to use pronouns that do not indicate their gender identity. These are gender-neutral pronouns and they include:
Besides the different types, pronouns can also indicate point of view. Here are the three types of pronouns in the point of view perspective:
| First Person POV | Second Person POV | Third Person POV |
| I | You | He |
| Me | Yours | His |
| Us | Yourself | Him |
| We | She | |
| Our | Her | |
| Ours | Hers | |
| Ourselves | Himself | |
| Myself | Herself | |
| They | ||
| Them | ||
| Their | ||
| Themselves |
Pronouns help you speak English better! They not only make sure that your grammar is correct but also add spice and interest to your conversations. Enroll in our English fluency classes online and learn more about how to use pronouns to add flair to your daily conversations.
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