Is the word thing a pronoun

• #1

This sentence I am confused with is..

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum.

Is ‘thing’ a noun or pronoun? I think it should be a noun as ‘thing’ replaces a noun, but should i be thinking it replaces IT which would be a pronoun?

Any ideas?

• #2

Thing replaces event or incident in this sentence, so it is a pronoun. A funny it… makes no sense at all, if thing were replacing it.

• #3

I think your dictionary will say «thing» is a noun.
«Thing» can form a plural by adding «-s». This is standard behavior for nouns, but unusual for a pronoun.
«Thing» is often introduced by a determiner (article, demonstrative, etc.)—again, standard for nouns, unusual for pronouns.

• #4

Thing is a noun. It is a utility noun — it is an indefinite synonym for any noun:

«What is that thing called?» (thing = object)
«A funny thing happened on the way to the forum.» (thing = incident)
«The thing is, we cannot afford a yacht.» (thing = principle objection.)
«Things could be worse.» (Things = circumstances)

• #5

It is true that «thing» doesn’t refer to a specific item, but many nouns don’t refer to specific items. The noun «car,» by itself, doesn’t say which car it refers to. «Thing» is even more general than most other nouns, but it’s still a noun.

We can construct a hierarchy of increasingly specific nouns:

thing
vehicle
car
convertible

and they’re all nouns!

• #6

It is true that «thing» doesn’t refer to a specific item, but many nouns don’t refer to specific items. The noun «car,» by itself, doesn’t say which car it refers to. «Thing» is even more general than most other nouns, but it’s still a noun.

We can construct a hierarchy of increasingly specific nouns:
thingy
thing
vehicle
car
convertible

and they’re all nouns!

I suggest that my insertion above is even less specific than the other nouns. I wonder if this is a BE usage only? A thingy is something which is not understood at all, as in «If I pull on this thingy [e.g. a knob-like protrusion attached to some sort of mechanical device] I wonder what will happen?»

• #7

I think in this case ‘a funny thing’ is a complete unit, thus this phrase is ‘it’ and then is a pronoun.

• #8

I think in this case ‘a funny thing’ is a complete unit, thus this phrase is ‘it’ and then is a pronoun.

I cannot see that that would be correct.

«A funny thing happened on the way to the forum.» (thing = incident)
«Somethinghappened on the way to the forum.» (thing = incident)

• #9

Thanks guys. From your posts I get the feeling it is a noun. But, I am not really sure why it is not a pronoun (except putting the ‘s’ for a plural).

• #10

Source:

«A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum» (a Stephen Sondheim musical) — Read more over at Wikipedia (Click)

«A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum» (a 1966 farce musical comedy film) — Read more over at Wikipedia (Click)

• #11

«Thing» is a noun, with a very broad meaning.

You would not say «a funny it», or «a funny he», or «a funny she».

The fact that the meaning of «thing» is broad does not mean that it is a pronoun. You can replace «man» or «woman» or «child» or «bureaucrat» or «bartender» by the word «person», but «person» is still a noun, not a pronoun.

• #12

Sure, it’s a noun alright, but it nevertheless has certain algebraic properties, and that makes it a bit like a pronoun.

eg. The cat sat on the mat. The thing was covered in fleas. (to all intents and purposes, ‘the thing’ = ‘it’).

What is a Pronoun?

A pronoun is defined as a word or phrase that is used as a substitution for a noun or noun phrase, which is known as the pronoun’s antecedent. Pronouns are short words and can do everything that nouns can do and are one of the building blocks of a sentence. Common pronouns are he, she, you, me, I, we, us, this, them, that. A pronoun can act as a subject, direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition, and more and takes the place of any person, place, animal or thing. So coffee becomes it, Barbara becomes she, Jeremy becomes he, the team becomes they, and in a sentence, Barbara drinks a cup of coffee every afternoon could become she drinks a cup of it every afternoon, or even she drinks it every afternoon, where the it would substitute the cup of coffee, not just the coffee.

Without pronouns, we’d constantly have to repeat nouns, and that would make our speech and writing repetitive, not to mention cumbersome. Without pronouns, Barbara drinks a cup of coffee every afternoon, she likes to have it before dinner would be Barbara drinks a cup of coffee every afternoon, Barbara likes to have the cup of coffee before dinner. Using pronouns helps the flow of sentences and makes them more interesting

• He
• It
• You
• I
• They
• We
• Who
• Him
• Them
• Whoever
• Anyone
• Something
• Nobody

Pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

1. Billy, Caren, and I were playing poker with friends -> We were playing poker with friends.
2. Ellie loves watching movies. -> She loves watching movies, especially if they are comedies.
3. Will Daniel be going to the circus with Sarah? -> Will he be going there with her?
   

As mentioned, pronouns are usually used to replace nouns, however they can also stand in for certain adverbs, adjectives, and other pronouns. Almost anytime you refer to a person, animal, place or thing, you can use pronouns to add interest and make your speech or writing flow better.

In nearly all cases, a pronoun must follow an expression called an antecedent. This basically means that a pronoun can only really be understood in the context of prior information about the noun. For example, if we use the pronoun she in a sentence, we will only be able to understand it if we know who she is, thus an antecedent, perhaps giving the person’s name, is usually supplied first. In the example above Barbara drinks a cup of coffee every afternoon, if we had never mentioned Barbara or what she drinks, it would be unclear if we said, She drinks it every afternoon. Your reader would be confused and wonder who she is and what does she drink, wine, water, lemonade?

Once Barbara has been mentioned, we would use the pronouns she and her later in the writing in order to stop repeating the proper noun Barbara and possessive proper noun Barbara’s.
Barbara went to the restaurant for dinner with her (Barbara’s) friends. She (Barbara) was very hungry, but her (Barbara’s) friends would not stop chatting. Eventually, Barbara decided to take matters into her (Barbara’s) own hands and she (Barbara) demanded that they (Barbara’s friends) stop talking.

Imagine how that sentence would read if it kept repeating Barbara and Barbara’s. Pronouns have acted to make the writing tighter and, arguably, much more elegant. This is just a basic example of the use of pronouns, they act in many ways to help make speech and writing more lucid and dynamic.

Types of Pronouns

Pronouns can be divided into numerous categories including:

• Indefinite pronouns – those referring to one or more unspecified objects, beings, or places, such as someone, anybody, nothing. Notice in the examples below that there is no set position for where an indefinite pronoun will appear in a sentence.
  Indefinite pronoun examples:
  1. Anyone
  2. Somebody
  3. Whichever
  4. Whoever
  5. Other
  6. Something
  7. Nobody

  Indefinite pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

  • Would anyone like a coffee?
  • Take whatever you like. Jamie took one cookie and Ben took the other.
  • Whoever owns this is in big trouble! I want someone to move this now.

  Indefinite pronouns can also be used to create sentences that are almost abstract. Examples could include: this, all, such and something.

  • All was not lost.
  • Such is life.
  • Something tells me this won’t end well.
• Personal pronouns – those associated with a certain person, thing, or group; all except you have distinct forms that indicate singular or plural number. Personal pronouns are always specific and are often used to replace a proper noun (someone’s name) or a collective group of people or things. Personal pronouns have two main groups, one referring to the subject of the sentence and one to the object.
  The first is used to replace the subject of the sentence: I, you, he, she, it, we, you and they. Notice that you is repeated as you can be singular, addressing one person, or plural, addressing a group of people.

  Personal pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

  • Jack and David are friends. They play basketball together.
  • I have more money than he
  • We will be late if you don’t hurry up.

  The second group of pronouns replaces the object of the sentence: me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them. Consider the sentence again:

  We will be late if you don’t hurry up.

  In the above example, we is the subject of the sentence, but you is the object. Other examples of pronouns replacing the object:

  • Peter sang the song to me.
  • Missing the train will cause us to be late.

  She packed them tightly in the suitcase.

• Reflexive pronouns – those preceded by the adverb, adjective, pronoun, or noun to which they refer, and ending in –self or –selves. Reflexive pronouns are used to refer back to the subject or clause of a sentence. The list of reflexive pronouns includes: Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
  Reflexive pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
  • Count yourselves
  • Annie only had herself to blame.

  Peter and Paul had baked themselves cakes.

• Demonstrative pronouns – those used to point to something specific within a sentence. There are only four demonstrative pronouns – this, that, these, those – but the usage can be a bit tricky at times. This and that are singular, whereas these and those are plural. As you may have noticed, there can be some crossover with indefinite pronouns when using this and that.
  Demonstrative pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
  • I prefer this.
  • These are beautiful, but those belong to Danny.
  • Did you see that?

  While it can be confusing, this, that, these and those can sometimes be used as demonstrative adjectives. The difference between the two is that a demonstrative pronoun replaces the noun and a demonstrative adjective qualifies the noun.

  I prefer this photo. These flowers are beautiful, but those vases belong to Danny. Did you see that rainbow?

  It should be clear that this, that, these and those in the example above are not pronouns because they are being used to qualify the noun, but not replace it. A good trick for remembering the difference is that a demonstrative pronoun would still make sense if the word one or ones followed it in the sentence.

  I prefer this (one). These (ones) are beautiful. Did you see that (one)? Those (ones) belong to Danny.

• Possessive pronouns – those designating possession or ownership. Examples include: mine, its, hers, his, yours, ours, theirs, whose. Consider the example:
  • This cat is mine.

  Mine is indicating possession, that the cat belongs to me. Incidentally, this in the sentence is not a pronoun but demonstrative adjective as it qualifies the noun cat. You will find that possessive pronouns often follow phrases that contain demonstrative adjectives.

  Possessive pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

  • Are these bananas yours?
  • This money is ours.

  Is the fault theirs or yours?

• Relative pronouns –those which refer to nouns mentioned previously, acting to introduce an adjective (relative) clause. They will usually appear after a noun to help clarify the sentence or give extra information. Examples include: who, which, that, whom, whose. Consider the following sentence:
  The man who stole the car went to jail. The relative pronoun who acts to refer back to the noun man. It acts to open a clause by identifying the man as not just any man, but the one who stole the car.Relative pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
  • The table, which sits in the hallway, is used for correspondence.
  • The car that crashed into the wall was blue.
  • This is the woman, whose key you found.
• Interrogative pronouns –Those which introduce a question. Examples include: who, whom, whose, what, which. We can usually identify an interrogative pronoun by the fact that they often appear at the beginning of a question.
  Interrogative pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
  • Who will come to the party?
  • Which do you prefer?
  • What do you need?
  • Whose clothes are on the floor?
  • Whom did you tell?

  Whom and who are often confused, and even native speakers will use them incorrectly. Who will replace the subject of a sentence, whereas whom will replace the direct or indirect object. A good tip for deciding which to use is that you can replace who in the sentence with a personal pronoun and it will still make sense. Who will come to the party? I will come to the party. The same system would not work for Whom did you tell? I did you tell.

• Reciprocal pronouns –Those expressing mutual actions or relationship; i.e. one another.
  There are just two reciprocal pronouns in English: one another and each other. They are mainly used to stop unnecessary repetition in a sentence, but also to reinforce the idea that collective and reciprocal actions are happening to more than one person or thing.John and Mary gave each other gifts. Using each other allows us the sentence to be more efficient than: John gave Mary a gift and Mary gave a gift to John. The countries worked with one another on national security. In this example, one another works to suggest that the action of working is being reciprocated back and forth by more than one country.

  Reciprocal pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

  • The boxers punched each other

  The couple love one another deeply

• Intensive pronouns – those ending in –self or –selves and that serve to emphasize their antecedents. These are almost identical to reflexive pronouns, but rather than just referring back to the subject of the sentence they work to reinforce the action. In many cases, the sentence would still make sense without the intensive pronoun.
  Intensive pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
  • I will do it myself.
  • We made this pie ourselves.
  • A nation speaks for itself through elections.

  Notice how the intensive pronoun is working to emphasize the statement. The sentence would still technically be correct without the intensive pronoun, but it adds some important context to its meaning.

Pronoun Rules

There are a few important rules for using pronouns. As you read through these rules and the examples in the next section, notice how the pronoun rules are followed. Soon you’ll see that pronouns are easy to work with.

• Subject pronouns may be used to begin sentences. For example: We did a great job.
• Subject pronouns may also be used to rename the subject. For example: It was she who decided we should go to Hawaii.
• Indefinite pronouns don’t have antecedents. They are capable of standing on their own. For example: No one likes the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.
• Object pronouns are used as direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions. These include: you, me, him, her, us, them, and it. For example: David talked to her about the mistake.
• Possessive pronouns show ownership. They do not need apostrophes. For example: The cat washed its

Examples of Pronouns

In the following examples, the pronouns are italicized.

1. We are going on vacation.
2. Don’t tell me that you can’t go with us.
3. Anybody who says it won’t be fun has no clue what they are talking about.
4. These are terribly steep stairs.
5. We ran into each other at the mall.
6. I’m not sure which is worse: rain or snow.
7. It is one of the nicest Italian restaurants in town.
8. Richard stared at himself in the mirror.
9. The laundry isn’t going to do itself.
10. Someone spilled orange juice all over the countertop!

Pronoun Exercises

The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how pronouns work. Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

Answers

1. B. This is he speaking.
2. C. Greg is as smart as she is.
3. D. The dog chewed on its favorite toy.
4. B. It could have been anyone.
5. A. Terry is taller than I am.

List of Pronouns

As you read through this list of pronouns, remember that each one of these pronouns is a word that can be used to take the place of a noun. Think about ways to use the pronouns on this list in sentences, as this will increase your understanding.

I

We

Me

Us

You

She

He

Her

Him

They

Them

It

That

Which

Who

Whom

Whose

Whichever

Whoever

Whomever

This

These

That

Those

Anybody

Anyone

Anything

Each

Either

Everyone

Everybody

Everything

Nobody

Neither

No one

Nothing

Somebody

One

Someone

Something

Few

Many

Both

Several

Any

All

Some

Most

None

Myself

Yourself

Ourselves

Yourselves

Herself

Himself

Themselves

Itself

Who

What

Which

Whose

Whom

Pronouns are the major part of a sentence as like a verb. It plays a vital role in a sentence, almost in every sentence you use a pronoun, therefore using pronouns correctly in your sentences is very important. In this article, we will review 10 kinds of Pronouns in English.

Also Read:

• 10 Kinds of Nouns With Definition and Examples
• 10 Kinds of Adjective in English

10 Kinds of Pronouns in English

Pronoun: A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or group of nouns.
The noun or group of nouns that the pronoun takes the place of is called the antecedent.

• The boy said that he was tired.
  In this example, the pronoun “he” is referring back to the noun (antecedent) “boy.”
• Zahra called Ali and invited him to go skating with her.
  In this sentence pronouns are ” him and her”. The antecedent of him = Ali and Antecedent of her = Zahra
• Zahra called Ali and invited Ali to go skating with Zahra. = Awkward and repetitious

Kinds of Pronoun

1. Personal pronouns:

A personal pronoun refers to the person speaking, the person being spoken to, or the person or thing being spoken about.
Personal pronouns are divided into two groups: subjective and objective.
Subjective pronoun: A pronoun which acts as the subject in the sentence (he, she, it, I, we, you, they).
Objective pronoun: A pronoun that acts as the object in the sentence (him, her, it, me, us, you, them).

• The faster runner on the track team is she.
  She = pronoun = subject complement.

Subject complement: Subject complement is a noun or pronoun that refers back to the subject of the verb and gives more information about the subject of the verb. When a pronoun is used as a subject complement it should be used as a subjective case.
Refers to the person speaking = (I, me, we, and us). Refers to the person speaking to = (you). Refers to the person or thing being spoken about = (he, him, she, her, it, they and them)

2. Interrogative pronouns: 

Interrogative pronouns are pronouns that introduce a question.
(who, what, which, whom whose).
The question that interrogative pronoun introduces can be a direct question, in this case, the sentence will end with a question mark, and also it can be an indirect question.

• What do you know about the pronoun and its kind? 
• Fatima asked Khalid what he knew about the pronoun and its kind.

Note: Difference between interrogative pronoun and interrogative adjective.
Interrogative pronouns are used to represent something of which the question is being asked.
Interrogative adjectives modify or else describe a noun.

• Whose are these books? = interrogative pronoun.
• Whose books are these? = interrogative adjective.

3. Indefinite Pronouns:

Indefinite pronouns are those pronouns that refer to an unspecified person, place, thing, or idea.
(all, anyone, both, each, anything, everybody, many, no one, some, someone, etc….)

• All are invited to tonight’s party.
• Everybody is welcome.
• Everybody has to take an examination in order to graduate.
• All of the seniors were excited about graduation.

4. Relative pronouns:

A relative pronoun is used to introduce a subordinate clause.
What is a clause? A group of words containing a subject and predicate sometimes give complete meaning sometimes doesn’t give a complete sense, and is divided into two groups:
Independent clause: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence.
Subordinate clause: A subordinate clause can not stand alone as a sentence and it’s attached to the independent clause.
(Who, whom, whose, which and that)
Note: As you see some of these pronouns also appeared in the interrogative pronouns but it all depends on how they are used in the sentence.
Remember when they are used as relative pronouns they introduce a subordinate clause and relates a subordinate clause to something specific in the independent clause.

• That is the film which was directed by him.
• He is the man who came to my house yesterday.

Note: Remember do not mix relative pronouns with relative adjectives.

The adjective has a noun referent someplace (usually after it.) There are only two relative adjectives, which and what.

• He didn’t tell me what he was going to wear. = Relative pronoun.
• He didn’t tell me what suit he was going to wear. = Relative adjective.

5. Possessive pronouns:

Possessive pronouns are pronoun that shows the ownership.
(His, hers, its, mine, ours, yours, theirs.) A possessive pronoun is used to avoid repeating information that has already been made clear. These useful pronouns make sentences less confusing, as you’ll see when you read the following sentences containing examples of possessive pronouns.

• This is my car, not your car. (Sounds repetitive)
• This car is mine, not yours.
• I didn’t have my book so Ali lent me his book. (Sounds repetitive)
• I didn’t have my book, so Ali lent me his.

6. Reflexive Pronoun:

Reflexive pronouns are pronouns that are used to show that the subject of the sentence is receiving the action of the verb. (Himself, herself, itself, myself, yourself, ourselves and themselves). Read more about reflexive pronouns by clicking here: Reflexive pronouns

• She can handle the situation herself. 
• They have to do their tasks themselves.

7. Intensive pronouns:

These pronouns are used only to place emphasis on the subject.
Note: These pronouns look the same as reflexive pronouns, but they act differently in the sentence and are always placed next to the subject that they are emphasizing. (Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves).

•  You yourself must go to the police station.
• We ourselves will solve the problem.

8. Demonstrative Pronouns:

A demonstrative pronoun is a pronoun that is used to point to something specific within a sentence.
These pronouns can indicate items in space or time, and they can be either singular or plural. (this, that, these, those, none, neither and such)

• This was my mother’s ring.
• These are nice sofas, but they look uncomfortable.

How to Use Demonstrative Pronouns?
Demonstrative pronouns always identify nouns, whether those nouns are named specifically or not.

• I can’t believe this.
• We have no idea what “this” is.

Demonstrative pronouns are usually used to describe animals, places, or things, however, they can be used to describe people when the person is identified.

• This sounds like Haseena singing.

Note: Do not confuse demonstrative adjectives with demonstrative pronouns.
A demonstrative pronoun takes the place of the noun phrase in a sentence.
A demonstrative adjective is always followed by a noun in the sentence.

• These are my friend’s shoes. (Demonstrative Pronoun)
• These shoes are his. (Demonstrative Adjective)

9. Reciprocal pronouns:

Reciprocal pronouns are pronouns that are used to refer to a mutual set of people.
(Each other, each other’s, one another, one another’s).

• We need to help one another to survive.
• They had remembered each other’s phone numbers.

10. Distributive pronouns:

Distributive pronouns are those pronouns that point to persons, places, or things one at a time.
(Each, either and neither)

• Each of the students has done it.
• Either of you has done it.
• Neither of them has done it.

Note: A distributive pronoun is always singular and as such, it should be followed by a singular noun and verb.

• Neither question is easy. (Correct)
• Neither questions are easy (Incorrect)

Without pronouns, we would have to keep on repeating nouns, and that would make our speech and write awkward and repetitive, therefore you have to learn about the pronoun and its kinds to construct your sentence correctly. Please leave a comment below for any inquiries about the pronoun and its kind.

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• 12 Kinds of Verbs in English
• Kinds of Adverbs in English
• Kinds of Paragraphs
• Kinds of Conjunctions