The pronoun him is replacing the word

This ultimate guide gives you a detail look at differences and examples of He, him and himself. We’ll also provide some grammar rules to properly use these words to avoid further confusion.

Now, moving ahead with our sessions on nouns and pronouns – He, Him, Himself. Let’s see how we can use these words by replacing the proper nouns in the sentences.

He, Him and Himself – Uses and Grammar Rules

We are aware by the English grammar rule that a pronoun is a word that will replace a noun in a sentence. Pronouns are used in the sentences so that the language does not become cumbersome with the repetition of same nouns again and again in a single paragraph. Some examples of pronouns are I, me, mine, myself, she, her, hers, herself, we, us, ours and ourselves.

  • We know that the common words of the English grammar He, him, his and himself all refer to a male person or something belonging to him.
  • The word ‘him’ is used to refer to a male person or animal that has just been already mentioned.
  • The words They, them, theirs and themselves are used to refer to a group or something belonging to a group, and so on.

The truth behind the usage of different types of pronouns is that each of them serves a different purpose in a sentence.

Let’s have a look at some sentence examples using ‘he’.

  • He is the man of my life.
  • He is very clever and very handsome too.
  • The criminal received the punishment he deserved.
  • He ‘s the fifth in the line of succession.
  • He brushed her cheek with his lips.
  • He won the trophy of an All Rounder.
  • He is the best athlete in the university.
  • He is intelligent and focused.
  • He has a good friend’s company.
  • He has studied hard to remain on top position.

Him vs Himself with Example Sentences

We have been studying all this time that pronouns in English grammar have their reflexive forms such as myself for I, himself for he, herself for she, ourselves for we, themselves for they, and so on. The golden rule of English grammar states that the use of reflexive pronouns is important as they become necessary when the object in a sentence is the same as the subject.

Understanding that reflexive pronouns are also used to put an emphasis on the subject and also as preposition’s object. Check out the sentences given below to understand the usage of words himself and him.

10 Sentence examples using ‘him’ :

  1. If you see Gaurav give him my love.
  2. I want to love him.
  3. Anita has one son and she adores him.
  4. I don’t know about him.
  5. If Antony comes to see me, ask him to wait.
  6. I don’t want to ask him for help.
  7. I have told him to come.
  8. Robert asked me if I could help him fix his house.
  9. I believe in him.
  10. I shall not disturb him.

Let’s see how we use ‘He’ with ‘Himself’ in the same sentence: 

  1. He himself was not aware of his lost bag.
  2. He himself carried all plants.
  3. He himself helped his friend to bring his broken cycle.
  4. He is so good that he himself wash his own clothes.
  5. He is himself to caring for his elders.
  6. He is himself confident to grow.
  7. He himself has a successful study track.
  8. He himself finished all his work.
  9. He himself removed his class furniture.
  10. He himself clean his room.

Sentences where the subject and object are the same

  • My little son loves to dress himself without taking my help.
  • He injured himself while driving the car.

Sentences where putting an emphasis on the subject

  • The great man himself signed the cricket bat for his little fan
  • He did all the cleaning work by himself.

Sentences where we use reflexive pronouns – Him vs Himself

  • A reflexive pronoun is used in the sentence instead of repeating the pronoun in a sentence and not to make it cumbersome. The word ‘himself’ is a reflexive pronoun and is used for emphasizing when the object and the subject are the same. For example, we can see here,
  • The programmer gave himself a pat on the back when his seniors began implementing the software he created.

Till now we have got a greater understanding of the situation but although you should always avoid using the singular form until it is more widely accepted as good English. Now that you’ve learned and understood the difference between the usage of He-Him-Himself and got detailed information about reflexive pronouns give a thumbs up to yourself!!

ESL/ELL tips for unstressing pronouns, and reducing them by omitting the first sound of certain words. Also learn to stress them to change the meaning of the sentence, but be careful, because the rhythm and intonation of the entire sentence often changes when a pronoun is stressed!

Personal pronouns are the most basic pronouns used to take the place of a noun or a noun phrase. Grammatically, they can be the subject of the sentence (I, he, she, it, you, we, and they) or the object of the sentence (me, him, her, it, you, us, and them).

Personal pronouns are function words; their purpose is to provide a grammatical shortcut rather than to provide details. Like other function words, personal pronouns are not usually stressed.

Let’s look at a few basic sentences to review the grammar.

If I have the sentence, Mary likes Michael, the person Mary is the subject. It will be replaced by the subject pronoun she:

She likes Michael.

Michael is the object of the sentence. He is the receiver of the liking. If I want to replaceMichael with a pronoun, it would be the object pronoun him:

Mary likes him.

I can also replace both the subject and the object with pronouns. This creates the sentence:

She likes him.

In all of those sentences, the personal pronouns, whether they were subject or object pronouns, were unstressed. The pronouns were made smaller by pronouncing them more quickly and quietly. The verb likes, along with the names of the people, were stressed by saying them more loudly and slowly. I’ll repeat all three sentences again.

She likes Michael.
Mary likes him.
She likes him.

Those were very simple sentences, but the pattern remains even if the sentences become more complex, for instance:

We gave them to her.

More slowly, that was:

We gave them to her.

The pronouns wethem, and her were made very small. In fact, the pronouns them and her were reduced to them and her. This is quite common, and is acceptable in all but the most formal speech.

We gave them to her.

The only content word of the sentence gave, carries the main stress.

We gave them to her.

Whenever pronouns are studied, contractions should also be studied. Contractions are, for a very simple explanation, the combination of two words into one, and include an apostrophe. When we take the words he is and use the word he’s instead, we’ve created a contraction.

Subject pronouns are often contracted with the verbs to be, to have, will, and would. Unless a special meaning is intended, these contractions are also unstressed.

They’re working on it.
I think he’s going to be late.
We’ve already tried.
I’d been walking all day.

Although personal pronouns are function words, it doesn’t mean that they can never be stressed. Any word of a sentence can be stressed, but doing so suggests additional meaning.

Stressing personal pronouns often emphasizes that one person or persons is being contrasted with another. A change in pitch often accompanies the pronoun that has been brought into focus through stress. When this happens, the overall rhythm and intonation of the sentence changes, sometimes significantly.

In the original sentence She likes them, the words she and them are unstressed, and the word likes is stressed. If I emphasize the word she, it becomes stressed, and the word likes loses it’s stress.

She likes them.

This gives an implied meaning that someone else does not like them.

A more complex example shows double pronoun contrast occurring within a single sentence.

She likes them, but they don’t like her.

Note that the pronouns them and her cannot be pronounced them and her when then they are stressed in a sentence.

She likes them, but they don’t like her.

Let’s practice with some sentences for you to repeat after me. These sentences have will no stressed personal pronouns:

I brought you some.
You’re going to miss it.
He doesn’t know them at all.
We’re planning to see him later.
It seemed too big for her.

Here are the same sentences with a stressed pronoun. Please repeat after me.

I brought *you some.
*You’re going to miss it.
He doesn’t know *them at all.
*We’re planning to see him later.
It seemed too big for *her.

Translingual[edit]

Symbol[edit]

him

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 language code for Western Pahari languages.

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English him, from Old English him, from Proto-Germanic *himmai (to this, to this one). Cognate with Saterland Frisian him (him), West Frisian him (him), Sylt North Frisian ham, höm (him), Dutch hem (him), German Low German hum, hüm, em (him), German ihm (him, dative).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (UK, US) enPR: hĭm, IPA(key): /ˈhɪm/, unstressed IPA(key): /əm/, [ɪ̈m]
  • Rhymes: -ɪm
  • Homophone: hymn,’em for unstressed in some pronunciations.

Pronoun[edit]

him (personal pronoun, objective case)

  1. A masculine pronoun; he as a grammatical object.
    1. With dative effect or as an indirect object. [from 9th c.]
      • 1529, John Frith, A piſtle to the Chriſten reader [] [1]:

        [] therfoꝛ Chꝛiſt wold not call him abominable / But the verye abomination it ſilf.

    2. Following a preposition. [from 9th c.]
    3. With accusative effect or as a direct object. [from 12th c.]
  2. (now rare) Used reflexively: (to) himself. [from 9th c.]
    • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt [] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts ]:

      Apon a daye apoynted, the kynge arayed hym in royall apparell, and set hym in his seate, and made an oracion unto them.

    • 1765, Oliver Goldsmith, The traveller, or, A prospect of society
      Though poor the peasant’s hut, his feasts though small,
      He sees his little lot the lot of all;
      […]
      But calm, and bred in ignorance and toil,
      Each wish contracting, fits him to the soil.
  3. With nominative effect: he, especially as a predicate after be, or following a preposition. [from 15th c.]
    • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene x]:

      Before my body, I throw my warlike Shield: Lay on Macduffe, And damn’d be him, that first cries hold, enough.

    • 2003, Claire Cozens, The Guardian, 11 Jun 2003:
      Lowe quit the West Wing last year amid rumours that he was unhappy that his co-stars earned more than him.
  4. Alternative letter-case form of Him

Descendants[edit]

  • Jamaican Creole: im
  • Pijin: hem
  • Pijin: -im

Translations[edit]

dative / indirect object

  • Arabic: ـهُ (ar) m (-hu), ـهِ (ar) m (-hi), إِيَّاهُ‎ m (ʔiyyāhu)
  • Armenian: նրան (hy) (nran), իրեն (hy) (iren)
    Old Armenian: նմա (nma)
  • Belarusian: яму́ (jamú)
  • Czech: mu (cs), jemu (cs)
  • Dutch: hem (nl)
  • Esperanto: al (eo), li (eo)
  • Finnish: häntä (fi), hänelle (fi), häneen (fi), hänestä (fi), häneksi (fi) (choice of case depends on context)
  • French: lui (fr)
  • German: ihm (de)
  • Greek:
    Ancient: (personal pronouns) αὐτῷ (autôi), οἷ (hoî); (medial, proximal, distal demonstratives) τούτῳ (toútōi), τῷδε (tôide), ἐκείνῳ (ekeínōi); (Epic demonstratives) τῷ (tôi), (hôi)
  • Hindi: उसे m (use)
  • Hungarian: neki (hu)
  • Italian: gli (it)
  • Latin:  (la), illī, istī (la), huic (la)
  • Macedonian: му (mk) (mu), (long form) нему (mk) (nemu)
  • North Frisian: ham
  • Old English: him (ang)
  • Polish: jemu, mu (pl) (mute form)
  • Portuguese: lhe (pt)
  • Romanian: lui (ro) (stressed form), îi (unstressed form)
  • Russian: ему́ (ru) (jemú)
  • Sicilian: ci (scn)
  • Slovak: mu (sk), jemu (sk)
  • Sorbian:
    Lower Sorbian: jomu
  • Spanish: le (es)
  • Turkish: ona (tr)
  • Ukrainian: йому́ (jomú)
  • Walloon: lyi (wa)
  • West Frisian: him
  • Zazaki: ayrê f, eyrê m

objective after preposition

  • Arabic: ـهُ (ar) m (-hu), ـهِ (ar) m (-hi)
  • Czech: mu (cs), jemu (cs)
  • Dutch: hem (nl)
  • Esperanto: li (eo)
  • Finnish: häntä (fi), hänelle (fi), häneen (fi), hänestä (fi), häneksi (fi) (choice of case depends on context)
  • French: lui (fr)
  • Greek:
    Ancient: (after preposition that governs accusative) αὐτόν (autón), (), τοῦτον (toûton), τόνδε (tónde), ἐκεῖνον (ekeînon), τόν (tón), ὅν (hón); (after preposition that governs dative) αὐτῷ (autôi), οἷ (hoî), τούτῳ (toútōi), τῷδε (tôide), ἐκείνῳ (ekeínōi), τῷ (tôi), (hôi); (after preposition that governs genitive) αὐτοῦ (autoû), οὗ (hoû), τούτου (toútou), τοῦδε (toûde), ἐκείνου (ekeínou), τοῦ (toû)
  • Irish:
    Old Irish: id-, did-, d-
  • Italian: lui (it)
  • Latin: (after preposition that governs the accusative) eum (la), illum, hunc (la), istum; (after preposition that governs the dative)  (la), illī, huic (la), istī (la); (after preposition that governs ablative)  (la), illō, hōc (la), istō
  • Macedonian: му (mk) (mu) (short form), нему (mk) (nemu)
  • Polish: niego, niemu (only after ku, przeciw, przeciwko and dzięki), nim (pl) (only after locative prepositions)
  • Portuguese: ele (pt)
  • Slovak: nemu (sk), neho (sk)
  • Sorbian:
    Lower Sorbian: njomu
  • Spanish: él (es)
  • Walloon: lu (wa)
  • West Frisian: him
  • Zulu: -ye class 1 (most common), -wo class 3, -lo class 5, -so class 7, -yo class 9, -lo class 11

accusative / direct object

  • Arabic: ـهُ (ar) m (-hu), ـهِ (ar) m (-hi), إِيَّاهُ‎ m (ʔiyyāhu)
  • Armenian: նրան (hy) (nran), իրեն (hy) (iren)
  • Belarusian: яго́ (jahó)
  • Belizean Creole: ahn
  • Czech: ho (cs), jeho (cs)
  • Dutch: hem (nl)
  • Esperanto: lin (eo)
  • Finnish: hänet (fi), häntä (fi) (choice of case depends on context)
  • French: le (fr)
  • German: ihn (de)
  • Greek:
    Ancient: αὐτόν (autón), (), τοῦτον (toûton), τόνδε (tónde), ἐκεῖνον (ekeînon), τόν (tón), ὅν (hón)
  • Hebrew: אותו (he) (otó)
  • Hungarian: őt (hu)
  • Irish: é
    Old Irish: a-, id-, did-, d-, -i, -it
  • Italian: lo (it)
  • Latin: eum (la), illum, istum, hunc (la)
  • Macedonian: го (mk) (go) (short form), него (mk) (nego) (long form)
  • Malayalam: അവൻ (ml) (avaṉ)
  • North Frisian: ham
  • Old English: hine (ang)
  • Polish: jego (pl), go (pl) (mute form)
  • Portuguese: o (pt)
  • Romanian: (pe) el (ro) (stressed form), îl (unstressed form)
  • Russian: его́ (ru) (jevó)
  • Slovak: ho (sk), jeho (sk)
  • Sorbian:
    Lower Sorbian: jogo
  • Spanish: lo (es)
  • Telugu: వాణ్ని (vāṇni), అతణ్ని (ataṇni), ఆయన్ని (āyanni)
  • Turkish: onu (tr)
  • Ukrainian: його́ (uk) (johó)
  • Walloon: li (wa) (between 2 consonants), el (wa) (between 2 consonants), l’ (wa) (before or after vowel; the 3 placed before verb), lu (wa) (imperative, after verb)
  • Wolof: ko
  • Zazaki: ayer f, eyer m
  • Zulu: yena class 1 (most common), wona class 3, lona class 5, sona class 7, yona class 9, lona class 11

Translations to be checked

  • Albanian: (please verify) atij (sq)
  • Danish: (please verify) ham (da)
  • Greenlandic: (please verify) una
  • Guaraní: (please verify) i
  • Hindi: (please verify) इस (hi) (is), (please verify) उस (hi) (us)
  • Hopi: (please verify) put
  • Ido: (please verify) il (io), (please verify) ilu (io)
  • Interlingua: (direct/indirect object) (please verify) le (ia), (after preposition) (please verify) ille (ia)
  • Japanese: (please verify)  (ja)
  • Low German: (please verify) em (nds)
  • Ngarrindjeri: (please verify) kin
  • Norwegian: (please verify) ham (no), (please verify) han (no)
  • Spanish: (please verify) le (es), a (please verify) el (es)
  • Swedish: (please verify) honom (sv)
  • Tupinambá: (please verify) i
  • Welsh: (please verify) fe
  • West Frisian: (please verify) him

See also[edit]

See also[edit]

  • he
  • his
  • her
  • them

Noun[edit]

him (plural hims)

  1. (informal) A male person or animal.

    I think this bird is a him, but it may be a her.

    • 1985, Hélène Cixous, Sorties (translated)
      [] daring dizzying passages in other, fleeting and passionate dwellings within the hims and hers whom she inhabits []
    • 2004, Tom Wolfe, I Am Charlotte Simmons: A Novel
      Both hims took a good look at him.
    • 2004, Charles J. Sullivan, Love and Survival, page 68:

      By this time, she had so many questions, but she only hit him up for one answer about those “hims” and “hers.” She asked, “Do both hims and hers reproduce hummers?”

Synonyms[edit]

  • he

Anagrams[edit]

  • HMI

Gayón[edit]

Noun[edit]

him

  1. water

References[edit]

  • Luis Oramas, Materiales para el estudio de los dialectos Ayamán, Gayón, Jirajara, Ajagua (1916)

Irish[edit]

Noun[edit]

him m

  1. h-prothesized form of im

Luxembourgish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /him/

Pronoun[edit]

him

  1. third-person masculine singular, dative: him, to him
    Ech baken him e Kuch.

    I’m baking him a cake.
  2. third-person neuter singular, dative: her, to her; (rarely: it, to it)
    Hie war gëschter mat him am Kino.

    He went to the cinema with her yesterday.

Usage notes[edit]

  • For the use of the neuter for referring to female persons, see hatt.

Declension[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old English him. Originally a dative form; gradually displaced accusative hine.

Alternative forms[edit]

  • himm, hym, im, ym, hem, hime, hyme

Pronoun[edit]

him (nominative he)

  1. Third-person singular masculine pronoun indicating a grammatical object: him.
  2. (reflexive) himself.
  3. Third-person singular neuter pronoun indicating a grammatical object: it.
  4. (impersonal) Third-person singular neuter pronoun indicating a grammatical object one, you.
Descendants[edit]
  • English: him
  • Yola: ham, him, em
See also[edit]

Middle English personal pronouns

nominative accusative dative genitive possessive
singular 1st-person I, ich, ik me min
mi1
min
2nd-person þou þe þin
þi1
þin
3rd-person m he him
hine2
him his his
hisen
f sche, heo hire
heo
hire hire
hires, hiren
n hit hit
him2
his, hit
dual3 1st-person wit unk unker
2nd-person ȝit inc inker
plural 1st-person we us, ous oure oure
oures, ouren
2nd-person4 ye yow your your
youres, youren
3rd-person inh. he hem
he2
hem here here
heres, heren
bor. þei þem, þeim þeir þeir
þeires, þeiren

1Used preconsonantally or before h.
2Early or dialectal.
3Dual pronouns are only sporadically found in Early Middle English; after that, they are replaced by plural forms. There are no third-person dual forms in Middle English.
4Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

References[edit]
  • “him, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 6 May 2018.

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

him

  1. Alternative form of hem (them)

Mizo[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /him/

Adjective[edit]

him

  1. safe
  2. unscathed

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /hiːm/

Adverb[edit]

him

  1. (dialectal) alternative form of heim

Old English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • hym, heom, eom

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /him/

Pronoun[edit]

him

  1. dative of : him
  2. dative of hit: it
  3. dative of hīe: them

Descendants[edit]

  • Middle English: him
    • English: him
    • Yola: ham, him, em
  • Middle English: hem
    • English: ’em, hem
    • Yola: aam

Old Frisian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /hɪm/

Pronoun[edit]

him

  1. dative of ; him

Inflection[edit]

Saterland Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /hɪm/

Pronoun[edit]

him

  1. oblique of hie; him

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  • Marron C. Fort (2015), “him”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Sursurunga[edit]

Verb[edit]

him

  1. to work

Further reading[edit]

  • Sursurunga Organised Phonology Data (2011)

West Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Frisian him, from Proto-Germanic *himmai.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /hɪm/
  • (unstressed) IPA(key): /(ə)m/

Pronoun[edit]

him

  1. object of hy

Yola[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

him

  1. Alternative form of ham
    • 1867, “SONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3:

      Shoo zent him o’ die.

      She sent him one day.

References[edit]

  • Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 108

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The word ‘him’ is a pronoun.

The pronoun ‘him’ is a singular, objective, personal pronoun; a word that takes the place of a singular noun for a male in a sentence as the object of a verb or a preposition.

Example: My brother is leaving for college. I will miss him.

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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 adverbsadjectives, 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.

  1. This is __________ speaking.
    1. John
    2. He
    3. He john
    4. Am
  2. Greg is as smart as __________ is.
    1. I
    2. me
    3. she
    4. we
  3. The dog chewed on __________ favorite toy.
    1. it’s
    2. it is
    3. its’
    4. its
  4. It could have been __________ .
    1. Jerry
    2. anyone
    3. better
    4. more difficult
  5. Terry is taller than __________ am.
    1. I
    2. me
    3. she
    4. we

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

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