Welcome to the Pronoun Chapter of English Grammar! Explore the transformative role of pronouns in language. From personal to possessive, reflexive to demonstrative, we delve into their usage and importance.
What is Pronoun?
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun or noun phrase, functioning as a substitute to avoid repetition. It refers to a person, object, place, or thing in a sentence. Pronouns include personal pronouns (e.g., he, she, they), possessive pronouns (e.g., his, hers, theirs), reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself, yourself), demonstrative pronouns (e.g., this, that), and many others.
Pronouns Definition
Pronoun (सर्वनाम): A word used in place of a Noun. (Noun के बदले प्रयुक्त होने वाले शब्द को Pronoun कहते हैं।)
Noun के repetition से बचने के लिए ही Pronoun का प्रयोग किया जाता है। किसी भी वाक्य में एक ही Noun का प्रयोग बार-बार करने से वाक्य की सुन्दरता खत्म हो जाती है। यही मुख्य कारण है, कि Noun के बदले Pronoun का प्रयोग किया जाता है।
जैसे: Mrs. Shukla, being a good teacher, she is liked by all the students. (She का प्रयोग Noun “Mrs. Shukla” के स्थान पर हुआ है।)
Types of Pronouns
- Personal Pronouns (पुरूषवाचक सर्वनाम): I, Me, We, Us, You, He, Him, She, Her, It, They, Them.
- Possessive Pronouns (अधिकारवाचक सर्वनाम): Mine, Ours, Yours, His, Hers, Theirs.
- Reflexive Pronouns (निजवाचक सर्वनाम): Myself, Ourselves, Yourself, Yourselves, Himself, Herself, Itself, Themselves, Oneself.
- Emphatic or Emphasizing Pronouns (दबावसूचक सर्वनाम): Myself, Ourselves, Yourself, Yourselves, Himself, Herself, Itself, Themselves, Oneself का प्रयोग जब Subject (कर्त्ता) पर दबाव डालने के लिए किया जाता है, तब ये Emphatic या Emphasizing Pronouns कहलाते हैं।
- Reciprocal Pronouns (पारस्परिक-संबंधवाचक सर्वनाम): Each Other, One Another.
- Demonstrative Pronouns (संकेतवाचक सर्वनाम): This, That, These, Those.
- Interrogative Pronouns (प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम): Who, Whom, Whose, Which आदि, प्रश्न पूछने के लिए प्रयुक्त होते हैं।
- Indefinite Pronouns (अनिश्चयवाचक सर्वनाम): Everybody, Somebody, Nobody, Anybody, Everybody, Someone, No One, Anyone, Everything, Something, Nothing, Anything, All, Some, Any, Both, Another, Much, Few, Little.
- Distributive Pronouns (व्यष्टिवाचक सर्वनाम): Each, Either, Neither, Every, None Etc.
- Relative Pronouns (संबंधवाचक सर्वनाम): Who, Whom, Whose, Which, That आदि, संबंध जोड़ने के लिए प्रयुक्त होते हैं।
आइए अब सभी के बारे में विस्तार से जानते हैं-
PERSONAL PRONOUN
Personal Pronoun: A personal pronoun is a word that replaces a noun or noun phrase to refer to a person or thing.
These pronouns include “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” “it,” “we,” and “they.”
Personal pronouns indicate-
- the speaker (first person- I, We),
- the person spoken to (second person- You), or
- the person or thing being spoken about (third person- He, She, It, They).
पुरूषवाचक सर्वनाम ऐसे शब्द है जो किसी व्यक्ति या वस्तु को दर्शाने के लिए संज्ञा या संज्ञा वाक्यांश के स्थान पर प्रयुक्त किए जाते हैं। इस सर्वनाम से पुरुष, स्त्री या वस्तु प्रकट होती है।
Examples of Personal Pronoun:
- I am a student. मैं विद्यार्थी हूँ।
- You are a teacher. तुम अध्यापक हो ।
- We played cricket. हमने क्रिकेट खेली।
- They will go to Agra. वे आगरा जायेंगे।
- He passed the examination. वह परीक्षा में सफल हो गया।
- She failed in the examination. वह परीक्षा में असफल हो गयी।
- It drank water. उसने पानी पिया।
- It is a comfortable chair. यह एक आरामदायक कुर्सी है।
उपर्युक्त वाक्यों में I, You, We, They, He, She तथा It का प्रयोग Personal Pronoun की तरह है। यहाँ It का प्रयोग पक्षियों, जानवरों और वस्तु के लिए तथा निर्जीव वस्तुओं के लिए हुआ है।
Types of Personal Pronoun
Personal Pronoun तीन प्रकार के होते हैं-
- First Person (उत्तम पुरुष): I, We
- Second Person (मध्यम पुरुष): You
- Third Person (अन्य पुरुष): He, She, It, They
First Person: इसका प्रयोग बात करने वाले के लिए होता है; जैसे- I, We (और इनसे बनने वाले शब्द)। “I” एकवचन है और “We” बहुवचन (Plural Number) है।
Second Person: इसका प्रयोग बात सुनने वाले के लिए होता है; जैसे- You. Second Person में केवल You (और इससे बनने वाले शब्द = तुम, आप) आता है।
जब You का प्रयोग छोटे व्यक्ति के लिए किया जाता है तो उसका अनुवाद ‘तुम‘ होता है, और जब You का प्रयोग बड़े व्यक्ति (सम्मानित व्यक्ति) के लिए किया जाता है तो उसका अनुवाद ‘आप‘ होता है; जैसे-
- You are a good boy. तुम अच्छे लड़के हो।
- You taught us English. आपने हमें अंग्रेजी पढ़ायी थी।
Third Person: इसका प्रयोग उस व्यक्ति, वस्तु, जानवर या पक्षी के लिए होता है जिसके विषय में बातें की जा रही हों या बातें की गयी हों या बातें की जाने वाली हों।
Third Person में He, She, It और They (तथा इनसे बनने वाले शब्द) आते हैं।
- He का प्रयोग Singular Number तथा Masculine Gender में होता है।
- She का प्रयोग Singular Number तथा Feminine Gender में होता है।
- It का प्रयोग Singular Number तथा Neuter Gender में होता है।
- They का प्रयोग Plural Number में होता है।
Personal Pronoun के Case (कारक) के निर्धारण की जानकारी प्राप्त करने के लिए निम्न तालिका का ध्यानपूर्वक अध्ययन कीजिए-
| Pronoun सर्वनाम |
Subject/ Subjective Case/ Nominative Case |
Object/ Objective Case/ Accusative Case |
Possessive Adjective/ Possessive Case |
Possessive Pronouns/ Possessive Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | I | me | my | mine |
| We | We | us | our | ours |
| You | You | you | your | yours |
| He | He | him | his | his |
| She | She | her | her | hers |
| It | It | it | its | – |
| They | They | them | their | theirs |
ध्यान दीजिए कि Possessive Case में-
- I के साथ my, mine का प्रयोग होता है;
- We के साथ our, ours का प्रयोग होता है;
- You के साथ your, yours का प्रयोग होता है;
- She के साथ her, hers का प्रयोग होता है;
- They के साथ their, theirs का प्रयोग होता है;
- लेकिन He के साथ केवल his का और It के साथ केवल its का ही प्रयोग होता है।
Examples:
- This book is mine. (Pronoun की तरह)
- That is yours. (Pronoun की तरह)
- I respect my teacher. (Adjective की तरह)
- We help our friends. (Adjective की तरह)
- His book is dirty. (Adjective की तरह)
- This is his. (Adjective की तरह)
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Possessive Pronoun: A possessive pronoun is a type of pronoun that shows ownership or possession. It indicates that something belongs to someone or something else.
Common examples of possessive pronouns include “mine,” “yours,” “his,” “hers,” “its,” “ours,” and “theirs.”
- These pronouns replace possessive determiners (such as “my,” “your,” “his,” etc.) and function as standalone words in a sentence.
Personal Pronoun के Possessive Case जो Pronoun की तरह प्रयुक्त होते हैं, उन्हें Possessive Pronouns कहते हैं। जैसे- Mine, Ours, Yours, His, Hers, Theirs.
| Nominative Case | Accusative Case | Possessive Adjective | Possessive Pronouns |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | me | my | mine |
| We | us | our | ours |
| You | you | your | yours |
| He | him | his | his |
| She | her | her | hers |
| It | it | its | × |
| They | them | their | theirs |
Examples of Personal Pronoun:
- This book is mine. (Pronoun की तरह)
- That is yours. (Pronoun की तरह)
REFLEXIVE PRONOUN
Reflexive Pronoun: A reflexive pronoun is a type of pronoun that refers back to the subject of a sentence or clause. It is used when the subject of the sentence is also the object of the verb or action.
Common reflexive pronouns include “myself,” “yourself,” “himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “ourselves,” “yourselves,” and “themselves.”
Personal Pronoun के Adjective forms- my, our, your, him, her, them, it में— self/selves जोड़कर Reflexive Pronoun बनाये जाते हैं तथा वाक्य में Object के स्थान पर इनका प्रयोग होता है। Reflexive Pronoun कर्ता (Subject) के स्थान पर प्रयुक्त नहीं होते हैं।
My, your, him, her में self तथा our, your, them में selves बढ़ाया जाता है; जैसे-
- Your + self = yourself (एक व्यक्ति के लिए)
- Her + self = herself;
- My + self = myself,
- Him + self = himself;
- Our + selves = ourselves;
- Your + selves = yourselves; (एक से अधिक व्यक्तियों के लिए)
- Them + selves = themselves (एक से अधिक व्यक्तियों के लिए)।
Definition of Reflexive Pronoun:
Reflexive Pronoun वह सर्वनाम है जिससे प्रकट हो कि कार्य का प्रभाव कर्ता (Subject) पर ही पड़ता है, किसी अन्य व्यक्ति पर नहीं पड़ता है। (In a Reflexive Pronoun, the action done by the subject turns back upon it.)
Examples of Reflexive Pronoun:
- The boys hid themselves. (लड़कों ने अपने आपको छिपा लिया।)
- The old man hanged himself. (बूढ़े व्यक्ति ने स्वयं को फांसी लगा ली।)
- If you do so, you will hurt yourself. (यदि तुम ऐसा करोगे तो तुम अपने आपको चोट पहुँचाओगे।)
- I covered myself with a blanket. (मैंने अपने आपको कम्बल से ढक लिया।)
EMPHATIC PRONOUN
Emphatic Pronoun: An emphatic pronoun is a type of pronoun that is used to emphasize or intensify the subject or object of a sentence. It is employed to add emphasis or highlight a particular person or thing.
Examples of emphatic pronouns include “myself,” “yourself,” “himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “ourselves,” “yourselves,” and “themselves.”
जिन शब्दों का प्रयोग Reflexive Pronouns की तरह होता है, उन्हीं शब्दों का प्रयोग Emphatic Pronouns की तरह भी होता है। Emphatic Pronouns का प्रयोग दृढ़ता (Emphasis) प्रकट करता है।
Examples of Emphatic Pronoun:
- I myself will do it. (मैं इसे स्वयं करूंगा।)
- He himself said so. (उसने स्वयं ही ऐसा कहा था।)
- She herself says so. (वह स्वयं ही ऐसा कहती है।)
- They themselves admitted their guilt. (उन्होंने स्वयं ही अपना अपराध स्वीकार किया था।)
- It was told so by the teacher himself. (मास्टर साहब द्वारा स्वयं ही ऐसा कहा गया था।)
संकेत– सामान्यतः Emphatic Pronoun का प्रयोग Emphasis (बल, जोर) प्रकट करने के लिए Subject के तुरन्त बाद किया जाता है लेकिन ऐसा होना आवश्यक नहीं है।
- I will do it myself.
- She painted the entire mural herself.
- He fixed the car by himself.
- They built the house themselves.
- We wrote the report ourselves.
RECIPROCAL PRONOUN
Reciprocal Pronoun: A reciprocal pronoun is a specific type of pronoun used to indicate a mutual action or relationship between two or more subjects. It expresses the idea of reciprocity, meaning that the action performed by one subject is reciprocated by another subject.
Common reciprocal pronouns include “each other” and “one another.”
जो सर्वनाम दो Pronouns से मिलकर बने और परस्पर सम्बन्ध व्यक्त करे, उसे Reciprocal Pronoun (परस्परवाचक सर्वनाम) कहते हैं।
Examples of Reciprocal Pronoun:
- The two brothers love each other.
- These three friends helped one another.
इन वाक्यों में each other और one another का प्रयोग परस्परवाचक सर्वनाम (Reciprocal Pronoun) की तरह हुआ है।
ध्यान रखें कि—
- Each other और One another ही दो ऐसे शब्द हैं जिनका प्रयोग Reciprocal Pronoun की तरह होता है।
- Reciprocal Pronoun का प्रयोग Objective Case में होता है।
- Each other का प्रयोग दो व्यक्तियों के लिए होता है और One another का प्रयोग दो से अधिक व्यक्तियों के लिए होता है।
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN
Demonstrative Pronoun: A demonstrative pronoun is a type of pronoun used to point out or indicate specific people, objects, or locations. It helps to identify or refer to something in relation to its position in space or time.
Common demonstrative pronouns include “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those.”
- “This” and “these” are used to indicate people, objects, or locations that are nearby or in the present context,
- while “that” and “those” are used for referring to people, objects, or locations that are farther away or in a different context.
संकेतवाचक सर्वनाम (Demonstrative Pronoun) का प्रयोग किसी संज्ञा (Noun) की ओर संकेत करने के लिए होता है।
Examples of Demonstrative Pronoun:
- This is a pen.
- These are good pens.
- That is a book.
- Those are good books.
इन उदाहरणों में This, That, These और Those क्रमश: pen, book, pens और books की ओर संकेत कर रहे हैं अतः ये संकेतवाचक (Demonstrative Pronouns) हैं।
ध्यान रखें कि–
- This और That एकवचन (Singular Number) के Pronouns हैं।
- This का बहुवचन These है और That का बहुवचन Those है।
- This और These पास के Nouns की ओर संकेत करते हैं।
- That और Those दूर के Nouns की ओर संकेत करते हैं।
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN
Interrogative Pronoun: An interrogative pronoun is a pronoun used to introduce questions and seek information.
Common examples include “who,” “whom,” “whose,” “which,” and “what.”
- “Who” refers to people, “whom” indicates the object of a verb or preposition,
- “whose” shows possession,
- “which” asks for a choice or selection, and
- “what” inquires about an unknown entity or concept.
प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम (Interrogative Pronoun) वह सर्वनाम है जिसका प्रयोग प्रश्न पूछने के लिए किया जाता है। (A Pronoun used for asking question is called an Interrogative Pronoun.)
Examples Interrogative Pronoun:
- What is this? यह क्या है?
- Who are you? तुम कौन हो?
- Which is your house? तुम्हारा मकान कौन-सा है?
- Whose is this book ? यह पुस्तक किसकी है?
- Whom do you want to see? तुम्हें किससे मिलना है?
- Who broke the window? खिड़की किसने तोड़ी ?
उपर्युक्त वाक्यों में गहरे रंग के शब्दों का प्रयोग प्रश्न पूछने के लिए किया गया है अतः ये प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम (Interrogative Pronouns) हैं।
ध्यान रखें कि–
Who, Whom, Whose का प्रयोग व्यक्तियों के लिए होता है। Who का प्रयोग कर्ता कारक (Nominative Case) के रूप में, Whom का कर्म कारक (Objective Case) के रूप में तथा Whose का सम्बन्ध कारक (Possessive Case) के रूप में प्रयोग होता है।
- Who is the new employee in the office?
Who won the game last night? - Whom did you invite to the party?
To whom did you give the gift? - Whose book is this on the table?
Whose car is parked in front of the house?
What का प्रयोग सामान्यतया किसी वस्तु के लिए किया जाता है।
- What is your favorite food?
- What time is the meeting?
- What are you doing this weekend?
Which का प्रयोग व्यक्ति, वस्तु या जानवर के लिए होता है किन्तु इससे Selection (छाँट) का ही भाव प्रकट होता है; जैसे–
- Which is your friend? तुम्हारा मित्र कौन-सा है?
- Which of these cows is yours? इन गायों में तुम्हारी गाय कौन-सी है?
टिप्पणी– निम्नलिखित वाक्यों को ध्यानपूर्वक पढ़िए और इनके अन्तर को समझिये-
- What is your father? तुम्हारे पिताजी क्या कार्य करते हैं?
My father is an engineer. मेरे पिताजी इन्जीनियर हैं। - Who is your father? तुम्हारे पिताजी का क्या नाम है?
Sri. R.C. Gupta is my father. मेरे पिताजी का नाम श्री आर.सी. गुप्ता है।
INDEFINITE PRONOUN
Indefinite Pronoun: An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that does not refer to any specific person, thing, or amount. It is used to refer to non-specific or unknown entities.
Examples of indefinite pronouns include “someone,” “anyone,” “everyone,” “something,” “anything,” “everything,” “nothing,” “some,” “any,” “all,” “none,” and “both.”
अनिश्चयवाचक सर्वनाम (Indefinite Pronoun) वह सर्वनाम है जिससे कोई निश्चित व्यक्ति या वस्तु प्रकट न हो।
Examples of Indefinite Pronoun:
- Some are born great. कुछ (व्यक्ति) महान उत्पन्न होते हैं।
- Many of them were Indians. उनमें से बहुत-से (व्यक्ति) भारतीय थे।
- All were drowned. सब (सब के सब) डूब गये।
- Do good to others. दूसरों के साथ भलाई करो।
- We did not see any of them. हमने उनमें से किसी को नहीं देखा।
- Somebody has stolen my watch. किसी ने मेरी घड़ी चुरा ली है।
- Few escaped unhurt. कुछ (व्यक्ति) बिना चोट खाये बच गये।
इन वाक्यों में Some, Many, All, others, any, Somebody तथा Few से किसी भी निश्चित व्यक्ति का ज्ञान नहीं होता है अतः ये शब्द अनिश्चयवाचक सर्वनाम (Indefinite Pronouns) हैं।
DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUN
Distributive Pronoun: A distributive pronoun is a pronoun used to refer to members of a group individually or separately. It distributes the action or the noun to each member of the group.
Common distributive pronouns include “each,” “either,” “neither,” and “both.”
- “Each” refers to every individual in a group,
- “either” refers to one of two options,
- “neither” refers to none of the options, and
- “both” refers to two or more things collectively.
विभागसूचक सर्वनाम (Distributive Pronoun) वह सर्वनाम है जिसका प्रयोग कुछ व्यक्तियों या वस्तुओं में से प्रत्येक के लिए किया जाता है। कुछ विद्वान इसे विभागसूचक सर्वनाम न कहकर प्रत्येकवाचक सर्वनाम कहना अधिक पसन्द करते हैं।
Examples of Distributive Pronoun:
- Neither of you can go. तुममें से कोई भी नहीं जा सकता.
- Each of the boys will get a prize. इन लड़कों में से प्रत्येक को पुरस्कार मिलेगा।
- Neither of you will pass this year. तुममें से कोई भी इस वर्ष पास नहीं होगा।
- None can do it. कोई भी (व्यक्ति) यह (कार्य) नहीं कर सकता।
- Either of you can go. तुममें से कोई भी जा सकता है।
उपर्युक्त वाक्यों में Neither, Either, None, Each का प्रयोग विभागसूचक सर्वनाम (Distributive Pronoun) की तरह हुआ है।
RELATIVE PRONOUN
Relative Pronoun: A relative pronoun is a pronoun used to introduce a dependent clause and connect it to a noun or pronoun in the main clause. It relates the information in the dependent clause to the noun or pronoun it modifies.
Common relative pronouns include “who,” “whom,” “whose,” “which,” and “that.”
- “Who” refers to people,
- “whom” indicates the object of a verb or preposition,
- “whose” shows possession,
- “which” refers to things or animals, and
- “that” can refer to both people and things.
सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम (Relative Pronoun) वह सर्वनाम है जिसका प्रयोग किसी संज्ञा (Noun) से सम्बन्ध प्रकट करने के लिए होता है।
Examples of Relative Pronoun:
- I know the man who came here yesterday. (मैं उस व्यक्ति को जानता हूँ जो कल यहाँ आया था।)
- Here is the boy who is my friend. (जो लड़का यहाँ पर है वह मेरा मित्र है।)
- Where are the boys who want to see me ? (जो लड़के मुझसे मिलना चाहते हैं, वे कहाँ है?)
- The boy who works hard must succeed. (जो लड़का कठिन परिश्रम करेगा, वह अवश्य सफल होगा।)
- Those whom the gods love die young. (जो व्यक्ति देवताओं के प्रिय होते हैं, वे जल्दी मर जाते हैं।)
उपर्युक्त वाक्यों में Who तथा Whom का प्रयोग Relative Pronoun की तरह हुआ है। वाक्य 1 में Who का सम्बन्ध Man से; वाक्य 2 में Who का सम्बन्ध Boy से; वाक्य 3 में Who का सम्बन्ध Boys से; वाक्य 4 में Who का सम्बन्ध Boy से तथा वाक्य 5 में Whom का सम्बन्ध Those सर्वनाम से है अतः इन्हें Who और Whom का Antecedent (पूर्ववर्ती) कहेंगे।
संकेत– Relative Pronoun का Number और Gender वही होता है जो उससे पूर्व प्रयुक्त Noun या Pronoun (अर्थात Antecedent) का होता है।
Relative Pronoun का प्रयोग दो वाक्यों को जोड़ने के लिए होता है। For Example:
- Here is the girl. The girl was jumping in the class.
Here is the girl who was jumping in the class. - You are the man. I wanted to see.
You are the man whom I wanted to see. - Where is the servant? His cycle was stolen yesterday.
Where is the servant whose cycle was stolen yesterday? - This is the book. I bought it last year.
This is the book which (that) I bought last year. - My father gave me a pen. It has been stolen today.
The pen that my father gave me has been stolen today.
उपर्युक्त उदाहरणों से स्पष्ट है कि Who, Whom, Whose, That (which) और Which का प्रयोग Relative Pronouns की तरह हुआ है और ये दो वाक्यों को जोड़कर एक मिश्रित वाक्य (Complex Sentence) बनाते हैं।
सामान्यतया Relative Pronoun से पहले उसका Antecedent आता है, किन्तु कभी-कभी Antecedent स्पष्ट नहीं होता है अर्थात लुप्त रहता है; जैसे–
- Whom the gods love die young. (Those whom the gods love die young.)
- Where are the boys I called? (Where are the boys whom I called?)
- Take anything you like. (Take anything that you like.)
Who, Whom और Whose का प्रयोग सामान्यतया व्यक्तियों के लिए होता है। Who का प्रयोग Nominative Case में, Whom का प्रयोग Objective Case में तथा Whose का प्रयोग Possessive Case में होता है; जैसे–
- Everyone likes the boy who speaks the truth.
- This is the boy whom all praise.
- This is the girl whose marks are highest.
इन वाक्यों में Who का प्रयोग Nominative Case में, Whom का प्रयोग Objective Case में तथा Whose का प्रयोग Possessive Case में हुआ है।
Which का प्रयोग जानवरों (Animals) तथा निर्जीव वस्तुओं के लिए होता है; जैसे–
- The time which is lost is lost forever.
- The books which you see on the table are not mine.
- The horse which I bought yesterday has died today.
That का प्रयोग प्रायः निर्जीव वस्तुओं के लिए किया जाता है; जैसे–
- Hari has lost the pen that I gave him yesterday.
- Ravi has lost the book that he bought today.
कभी-कभी Whose का प्रयोग बेजानदार वस्तु के लिए भी हो जाता है; जैसे–
- The triangle whose three sides are equal is called an equilateral triangle.
Summary of All Pronouns
Pronouns are a diverse category of words that serve as substitutes for nouns or noun phrases. They play a crucial role in language by helping to avoid repetition and enabling efficient communication. Here is a summary of different types of pronouns:
- Personal Pronouns: Refer to specific individuals or groups, such as “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” “it,” “we,” and “they.”
- Possessive Pronouns: Indicate ownership or possession, such as “mine,” “yours,” “his,” “hers,” “theirs,” and “ours.”
- Reflexive Pronouns: Reflect the action back to the subject, emphasizing self-involvement, such as “myself,” “yourself,” “himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “ourselves,” “yourselves,” and “themselves.”
- Emphatic Pronouns: Used to emphasize or intensify a noun or pronoun in a sentence. Examples include “myself,” “yourself,” “himself,” “herself,” “itself,” “ourselves,” “yourselves,” and “themselves.” For instance, “I myself completed the task” or “They themselves organized the event.”
- Demonstrative Pronouns: Point to specific people or things, such as “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those.”
- Interrogative Pronouns: Used to ask questions, such as “who,” “whom,” “whose,” “what,” and “which.”
- Relative Pronouns: Connect clauses and introduce relative clauses, such as “who,” “whom,” “whose,” “which,” and “that.”
- Indefinite Pronouns: Refer to non-specific or unknown people or things, such as “anyone,” “someone,” “everyone,” “nothing,” “something,” “anybody,” “somebody,” “everybody,” “nobody,” and “anywhere.”
- Distributive Pronouns: Refer to members of a group individually or separately. Examples include “each,” “every,” “either,” “neither,” and “any.” For example, “Each of the students has their own book” or “Either of the options is acceptable.”
- Reciprocal Pronouns: Indicate a mutual relationship or action, such as “each other” and “one another.”
These pronouns, with their variations and functions, contribute to effective communication and help create inclusive and respectful language environments.
FAQs of Pronoun
1. What are the different types of pronouns?
There are several types of pronouns, including personal pronouns (e.g., I, you, he, she, it, we, they), possessive pronouns (e.g., mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs), reflexive pronouns (e.g., myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves), demonstrative pronouns (e.g., this, that, these, those), interrogative pronouns (e.g., who, whom, whose, what, which), relative pronouns (e.g., who, whom, whose, which, that), indefinite pronouns (e.g., anyone, someone, everyone, nothing, something), reciprocal pronouns (e.g., each other, one another), emphatic pronouns (e.g., myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves), and distributive pronouns (e.g., each, every, either, neither, any).
2. Why do some people use “they” pronouns?
Some people use “they” pronouns as a gender-neutral or non-binary option to reflect their gender identity. Gender identity exists on a spectrum, and not everyone identifies strictly as male or female. Using “they” pronouns for such individuals respects their self-identified gender and acknowledges their unique identity. It is essential to use the pronouns that individuals prefer to create an inclusive and affirming environment.
3. Can pronouns change over time?
Yes, pronouns can change over time. An individual’s understanding and exploration of their gender identity may evolve, leading them to choose different pronouns that align with their authentic self. It’s important to respect and honor someone’s pronoun preferences at any given time, even if they have changed. Using the correct pronouns demonstrates support for their identity and fosters a more inclusive and understanding society.