The list above shows the different types of pronouns.
A pronoun is a word used to take the place of a noun, which can be a person, place, animal, or thing. We use a pronoun to avoid repeating a noun that has already been mentioned. A pronoun usually comes after the noun it replaces.
o Jim has a toothbrush. He uses it every day.
He and it in the second sentence are pronouns used to replace Jim and toothbrush: He is for Jim and it is for toothbrush. By using pronouns, we don’t have to write or say Jim and toothbrush again.
A pronoun may come before a noun that it replaces. In such an order, it has to be made clear so that a reader or listener knows which noun the pronoun takes the place of.
Examples:
o She, Jenny, is my elder sister.
(She is a pronoun that replaces the noun Jenny, which is also known as an appositive.)
(She is a pronoun that replaces the noun Jenny, which is also known as an appositive.)
o The only millionaire in the village, he is also the oldest.
How to identify a pronoun in a sentence.
A pronoun can also be a determiner, so how can we tell whether it is a pronoun or a determiner? It all depends on how it is used. As a pronoun, it is used independently, that is on its own without a noun following it.
Examples:
o This is a big house.
(This is a pronoun. It is not followed by a noun)
o This house is big.
(This is no longer a pronoun as it is followed by the nounhouse. It is a determiner that describes or modifies the noun house, which a pronoun does not do.)
