Pronoun In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a word or form that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase. It is a particular case of a pro-form. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, although many modern theorists would not regard them as a single distinct word class, because of the variety of functions performed by words which are classed as pronouns. Common types include the personal pronouns, relative pronouns, interrogative pronouns, demonstrative pronouns and indefinite pronouns. The use of pronouns often involves anaphora, where the meaning of the pronoun is dependent on another referential element. This applies particularly to the (third-person) personal pronouns. The referent of the pronoun is often the same as that of a preceding (or sometimes following) noun phrase, called the antecedent of the pronoun. For example, in the sentence That poor man looks as if he needs a new coat, the antecedent of the pronoun he is the noun phrase that poor man. (Pronouns used without antecedents are sometimes called unprecursed pronouns.) Another type of antecedent is that found with relative pronouns, as in the woman who looked at you, where the woman is the antecedent of the relative pronoun who. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or another pronoun in a sentence. Pronouns perform all the functions of a noun in a sentence. The kinds of pronouns are: personal pronouns; I, you, we, he, she, it, me, us, him, her, they, them. example: You and I can bring them some lunch. demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those. example: These apples are larger than those apples. possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs. example: The house on the corner is mine. possessive adjectives: my, your, our, his, her, their, its. example: My house is on the corner. interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which, whose. example: What are you going to do? reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. example: We can paint the kitchen ourselves. reciprocal pronouns: each other, one another. example: We share a birthday and give each other a party each year. relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that. example: The man who lives next door has a beautiful garden. indefinite pronouns: all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, enough, everybody, everyone, everything, few, fewer, less, little, many, more, most, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, none, one, other, others, several, some, somebody, someone, something, such, and they (people in general). example: Everyone has left the building but some are still waiting for a ride.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 10:06:00 +0000
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