TYPES OF ENGLISH PRONOUN

SYAIFULLAH, M. Pd (WIDYAISWARA BDK BANJARMASIN)

We talk a lot about pronouns today, especially she/hers, he/him, and of

course the age-old palaver over the singular they. But, if you’re really going

to dig into your pronouns, shouldn’t you know all the types that are out

there? We’re here to help. Certain types of pronouns closely relate to one

another, and many words can function as multiple different types of

pronouns, depending how they’re used.

What is a pronoun?

A pronoun is “any member of a small class of words found in many

languages that are used as replacements or substitutes for nouns and noun

phrases, and that have very general reference,” such

as I, you, he, this, it, who, what.

Common types of pronouns

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns take the place of people or things. They can be either

singular or plural, depending whether they refer to one or multiple nouns.

Examples include I, me, we, and us.

Personal pronouns are usually either the subject of a sentence or an object

within a sentence. Each personal pronoun has different forms depending on

its function. For example, if a writer is referring to himself, he should use I if

he’s the subject of a sentence, as in “I saw the dog.” If he’s the object, he

should use me, as in “The dog saw me.”

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns are personal pronouns that also indicate possession

of something. They have singular forms (like my), and plural forms (like our).

These pronouns often appear before the possessed item, but not always.

For example, both “my car” and “the car is mine” both indicate who owns

the car.

Relative pronouns

A relative pronoun starts a clause (a group of words that refer to a

noun). Who, that, and which are all relative pronouns? They can also serve

as other types of pronouns, depending on the sentence. For example, in “I

saw the dog that you own,” the relative pronoun that is the beginning of the

clause that you own, which describes the dog.

Reflexive pronouns

When a subject performs an action on itself, the sentence uses a reflexive

pronoun after the verb. Reflexive pronouns

include myself, himself, themselves, and herself. An example of a reflexive

pronoun is the common expression “I kicked myself.”

Intensive pronouns

Intensive pronouns are similar to reflexive pronouns, but have a different

function in a sentence. An intensive pronoun is not a necessary part of a

sentence and serves only to add emphasis to its antecedent. For example: I

told the children that you yourself would bake the cake today. In this

sentence, yourself is an intensive pronoun that repeats the idea

that you are making the cake. (Better get to it then!)

Indefinite pronouns

Like personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns refer to people or things, but

they don’t have a specific person or thing to reference. Examples of

indefinite pronouns include some, anyone, and everything.

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns point out or modify a person or thing. There are

four demonstrative pronouns: this and that (for singular words),

and these and those (for plural words).

Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns begin questions. For example, in “Who are you?”,

the interrogative pronoun who starts the question. There are five

interrogative pronouns: who, whom, and whose (for questions that involve

people), and which and what (for questions that involve things).
Reciprocal pronouns

Reciprocal pronouns are similar to reflexive pronouns, but they involve

groups of two or more that perform the same action with one another. There

are only two reciprocal pronouns: each other (for groups of two) and one

another (for larger groups).

Distributive pronouns

A distributive pronoun refers to one person, animal, or thing at a time. These

pronouns include each, neither, and either, which should be paired with

plural nouns and singular verbs. Here’s one example: each of the dogs had

a bath today. Or: neither of the packages arrived on time.

Indefinite pronouns don't point to particular nouns. We use them when an

object doesn't need to be specifically identified. There are singular indefinite

pronouns that function as singular nouns, and plural indefinite objects that

function as plural nouns. There are also some indefinite pronouns that

function both ways.

References

https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/what-are-the-types-of-pronouns/

https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/pronouns/types-of-

pronouns.html