Define Pronoun with its types and examples

 Define Pronoun with its types and examples

Pronoun and Its Antecedent: Explanation and Examples

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What is a Pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun to avoid repetition.
Example pronouns: he, she, it, they, we, you, I, him, her, them, us, my, their etc.

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What is an Antecedent?

An antecedent is the noun or noun phrase that a pronoun refers to or replaces in a sentence.

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How They Work Together:

The pronoun must match its antecedent in:

• Number (singular/plural)
• Gender (male/female/neuter)
• Person (first/second/third)

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 Examples:

1.      John loves football. He plays every evening.
→ Antecedent: John
→ Pronoun: He

2.      The students were late because they missed the bus.
→ Antecedent: The students
→ Pronoun: They

3.      Lisa and I went to the market. We bought some fruits.
→ Antecedent: Lisa and I
→ Pronoun: We

4.      I saw the dog. It was barking loudly.
→ Antecedent: The dog
→ Pronoun: It

5.      The children played in the park. They looked happy.
→ Antecedent: The children
→ Pronoun: They

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Important Rules

1.      Clear Reference: A pronoun must clearly refer to a specific antecedent.

2.      Agreement in Number:

o    Singular noun → Singular pronoun

o    Plural noun → Plural pronoun

3.      Agreement in Gender:

o    Use he/him for males, she/her for females, and it for things or animals (if gender is unknown).

1. Personal Pronouns

These refer to specific people or things and change based on person, number, gender, and case (subject/object).

Subject	Object
I	me
You	you
He	him
She	her
It	it
We	us
They	them

Examples:

• She is my sister.
• I gave the book to him.

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 2. Possessive Pronouns

These show ownership.

Adjective Form	Pronoun Form
My	Mine
Your	Yours
His	His
Her	Hers
Its	Its
Our	Ours
Their	Theirs

Examples:

• This pen is mine.
• Their house is big.

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These refer back to the subject of the sentence.

Singular	Plural
Myself	Ourselves
Yourself	Yourselves
Himself / Herself	Themselves
Itself	Itself

Examples:

• He hurt himself.
• We enjoyed ourselves.

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 4. Demonstrative Pronouns

These point to specific things or people.

Singular	Plural
This	These
That	Those

Examples:

• This is my book.
• Those are your shoes.

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5. Interrogative Pronouns

Used to ask questions.

Pronouns
Who, Whom, Whose, What, Which

Examples:

• Who is coming?
• What do you want?

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6. Relative Pronouns

These connect clauses or phrases to a noun or pronoun.

Pronouns
Who, Whom, Whose, Which, That

Examples:

• The boy who won is my cousin.
• The car that she bought is red.

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7. Indefinite Pronouns

These refer to non-specific people or things.

Examples
Someone, Somebody, Something, Anyone, Anything, Everyone, Each, All, Few, Many, None

Examples:

• Everyone is here.
• Something is missing.

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8. Reciprocal Pronouns

These express a mutual action or relationship.

Pronouns
Each other, One another

Examples:

• They love each other.
• The students helped one another.

 1. Reflexive Pronouns

A reflexive pronoun is used when the subject and object of a sentence are the same person or thing. It shows that the action is done by the subject to itself.

Reflexive Pronouns List:

·         Myself

·         Yourself / Yourselves

·         Himself

·         Herself

·         Itself

·         Ourselves

·         Themselves

Examples:

1.      She hurt herself while cooking.

2.      I taught myself to play the guitar.

3.      They enjoyed themselves at the party.

4.      The cat cleaned itself.

5.      We prepared ourselves for the exam.

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2. Emphatic Pronouns

An emphatic pronoun is used to emphasize the subject of the sentence. It is the same in form as reflexive pronouns, but it is used differently.

 Examples:

1.      I myself completed the project.

2.      The Prime Minister himself attended the meeting.

3.      She herself baked the cake.

4.      We ourselves saw the accident.

5.      You yourself said it was true.

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Key Difference between Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns

Reflexive Pronoun	Emphatic Pronoun
The subject and object are the same	Used for emphasis, not as the object
Cannot be removed from the sentence	Can be removed without changing core meaning
Eg: He hurt himself.	Eg: He himself opened the door.