Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Here are the different types of pronoun in the English language.

Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns replace the noun that is the subject of the sentence.

He would like to sit down.

They are not happy with their meal.

That building is so big it blocks the sun.

She hadn't thought about how many people would be coming to dinner.

We would like to sit at a window table.

Object Pronouns

Object pronouns replace the noun that is the object of the sentence.

Come with us to the movies.

Take her to the hospital if she is sick

Amelia won't bring it home.

Your friend wants to play with you.

Tell him I said no thank you.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns replace nouns as either the subject or the object of a sentence.

That bike is not hers.

His one is not the same.

Theirs is the green one.

That’s mine!

The red house is ours.

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject of the sentence is the same as the object of the verb in the sentence.

She hurt herselfplaying tennis.

They can cook for themselves this weekend

He blamed himself for the accident.

You can show yourself out.

Intensive Pronouns

These pronouns emphasize the subject. An intensive pronoun is different from a reflexive pronoun because it can be removed without altering the meaning of the sentence.

The President himself ordered them to stop.

The event itself went really well.

The lawyers themselves couldn't even figure it out.

We would love to make all of the arrangements ourselves.

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific person, amount, or thing. They are placed in the same position in a sentence that nouns take.

Everyone	He told everyone to take out their pens.
Everybody	Everybody needs to take a holiday once in a while.
Everywhere	They looked everywhere for the lost cat.
Everything	I did everything I could but it was no good.
Someone	Is there someone who can help me?
Somebody	Somebody. left their bag behind.
Somewhere	Let’s go somewhere fun on the weekend.
Something	He dropped something on his way out.
Anyone	Anyone can learn a new language with LingQ
Anybody	Does anybody here know first aid?
Someone	Is there someone who can help me?
Somebody	Somebody. left their bag behind.
Somewhere	Let’s go somewhere fun on the weekend.
Something	He dropped something on his way out.
Anyone	Anyone can learn a new language with LingQ.
Anybody	Does anybody here know first aid?
Anywhere	Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.
Anything	Do you have anything you want to say to me?
No one	Sorry, no one here is interested.
Nobody	Nobody wants to eat here, let’s go somewhere else.
Nowhere	I have nowhere to go.
Nothing	There is nothing to do here, it's so boring.

Questions

Questions are formed when we use indefinite pronouns with the words "every", "some", and "any". The answer to these questions is usually "yes" or "no".

Did everyone eat already?

Have you done anything interesting today?

Has he been everywhere he needed to go?

Negative Questions

These questions can be made negative by using the following structure. The expected answer to these questions is "no".

Didn’t everyone eat already?

Haven’t you done anything interesting today?

Hasn’t he been everywhere he needed to go?

Questions with the indefinite pronoun "some" can be made negative in the following way. The expected answer to these kinds of questions is "yes".

Aren’t you looking for something like this?

Don’t I know you from somewhere?

Shouldn’t somebody be watching the children?

Wouldn’t someone like to try these cakes?