The 11 kinds of pronouns with examples in English Grammars.

What Is a Pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun in a sentence to remove the repetition of noun.
Why? Because repeating the same nouns over and over would make things sound… weird.

🔸 It is a sentence without pronouns:
Sarah picked up Sarah’s bag because Sarah was late.

🔹A sentence with pronouns:
Sarah picked up her bag because she was late.

Much better, right?

👉 Common pronouns: he, she, it, we, they, I, you, me, him, her, us, them.

Table of Contents

Types of Pronouns (with Examples).

There are several kinds of pronouns in English. Let’s go through them one by one, with examples to make them easy to understand.

The 11 kinds of pronouns are listed here in detail. Pronouns are one of the parts of speech that play a major role in the English language. They are used in place of nouns to remove repetitions of nouns. There are 11 kinds of pronouns.

1) Personal Pronoun?

These pronouns refer to specific people or things. They change based on:

Number: one (I) or more (we).
Person: speaker (I), listener (you), or others (they).
Gender: male (he), female (she), neutral (it).
Case: subject, object, or possession.

Examples:

Type	Examples
Subjective	I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Objective	me, you, him, her, us, them
Possessive	mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

In Sentences:

She likes to read.
The teacher called him.
That book is mine.

The Personal pronouns are used for persons. But among them, only one Pronoun is used for animals and things. Pronouns replace nouns to remove repetitions of nouns.

There are seven personal pronouns: “I, we, you, he, she, it, they.”

In grammatical terms, there are three-person pronouns. The first person is “I, we,” the second person is “you,” and the third person is “he, she, it, and they,” which depends on the number (singular or plural) or gender of the noun.

For more details. Click here.

2) Possessive Pronouns?

Possessive Pronouns show possession and ownership of the noun in the sentence.

They are used at the end of sentences like objective pronouns. Possessive pronouns are “mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs. They replace a noun that is already defined in the sentence. Like: I like this car. It is mine.

Now the car is already defined in the sentence, which is replaced by the possessive pronoun. ‘Mine‘. For more information, click here.

Subjective Pronouns	Possessive Pronouns
I	Mine
You	Yours
He	His
She	Hers
It	Its
We	Ours
They	Theirs

Examples within the sentences.

kinds of nouns, adverbs, and kinds

3) Interrogative pronoun:

Interrogative Pronouns are the 'WH pronouns' that are used to form special questions. Let’s define interrogative pronouns by the meaning of the word 'interrogative'. This word derives from the verb interrogate, which means to query or enquire. Interrogative pronouns are those that are used to ask questions and function as pronouns.

For example, who are you? Whom did you talk to? In these two sentences, ‘who’ and ‘whom’ work as pronouns and make questions.

These are five interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which, and whose.

Notice: Two things to keep in mind when using interrogative pronouns.

1) The formula of the interrogative Pronoun:

Interrogative Pronoun + auxiliary verbs/ model verbs + main verbs

Who are you?
What could you bring?
To whom did you talk?
Who did you see today?
With whom did you talk?
Whose is this pen?
Which is your pen?

2) How to find out if it works as a pronoun?

These words should modify the noun. I am going to tell you the method to find out whether it modifies the noun or it does not.

Who are you? Answer this question. "I am John." The answer to who is ‘John' is a noun, and a pronoun can change this noun. 'Him,' I know him. Instead of John, we can use him. So, who is the interrogative pronoun in these sentences?

Next example: Like, how are you? Similar questions, only the Wh-word is changed to how instead of ‘who’. Answer the questions. I am fine. Now, fine is the answer to how, which is not a noun. It works as an adjective and tells the condition of a person. So, how is modifying the main verb, that’s why, how an interrogative adverb, is not a pronoun? For more details.

4. Relative Pronoun?

Pronouns replace nouns. What are relative pronouns? Relative pronouns are used to connect two clauses. In addition. They are used after the preceding nouns (people, things, animals, or ideas) to which it is referring. For example, “the man, who is very brave. or “the teacher, whom we talked to.

Relative pronouns are “who, whom, that, which, whose, when, why, where, whoever, whomever, whenever, wherever.

Relative pronouns	usages	examples
who	person	The man, who is kind
Whom	person	The man whom we talk to
That	Persons, things, and animals	The table that I took.
Which	UK, where I live.	I like the picture that she made.
Whose	shows possession	The cat whose tail is a long.
When	For time.	At the same time, she comes.
Why	Reason, idea	I don’t know why she is late.
Where	Place	UK, where I live.

Relative Pronoun Examples.

Check out the examples given for relative pronouns. Read them carefully and use them in your sentences too.

He is the man whom we know.
She is a student who got a position.
Karachi is a beautiful city where we live.
This is the table that I broke.
The man, whom we know, is ill today.
Whoever comes on time, we will give them the paper.
I will leave the class whenever the principal arrives.
This is the idea that was given by him.
The man who is standing outside the door is our principal.
Let’s join the class, whoever will be the teacher.
I found the student who fled from class.

5) Demonstrative Pronoun?

Demonstrative Pronouns are ‘this, that, these, & those' and are used to point out something or someone. The number of these pronouns is specific. There are only 4 demonstrative pronouns.

Singular Demonstrative pronouns:

This and that.

These two pronouns are used for singular nouns. They follow singular auxiliary verbs (is, was, has, will). Like:

This is a car. (thing)
This was my car. (thing)
That is a car. (thing)
That was near you. (idea)
That has an extended tail. (animal)

What is the difference between this and that?

This is used for singular and near nouns, but is used for far singular nouns.

2) These and those.

These and those are used for plural nouns. They follow plural auxiliary verbs (are, were, have had, will) like:

These are cars. (things)
These were cars. (things)
Those bags are blue. (color of things)
Those are friendly people. (person)
Those are long-legged animals. (animals)

There is a slight difference between demonstrative adjectives and demonstrative pronouns. So, do get bewildered. The same words are used as demonstrative adjectives, too, but they are used before the noun to point out that noun.

Ex.

I saw this man on the road.
Do you like that car?
I have bought those books.

6) Indefinite pronouns.

If you do not know about the name of the noun, the gender of the noun, the quantity of the noun, or even qualify for the noun qualifies. Then what are you supposed to use in place of a noun? The answer is, we use indefinite pronouns. What are Indefinite Pronouns? They are the words used in place of unknown nouns. Like:

Someone is knocking on the door.
I want to go somewhere.
I want to drink a little water.
There is nobody in the room.
There is nobody in the car.
There is nothing in the car.

The indefinite pronouns are used in place of unknown/ uncertain nouns (person, things & place). Some common indefinite pronouns are mostly used in our conversations.

Some, Little, few, all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, each, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, somebody & someone.

Indefinite Pronouns’ meaning and examples.

Indefinite Pronouns.	Example within sentences.	Details
Someone	Someone is climbing the wall.	Person. (more formal)
Somebody	I drank a little water after food.	person (less formal)
Something	She has something in the packet.	things
Somewhere	I want to go somewhere.	Place.
Some	Some of the papers are checked.	amount(countable)
Some	I want to drink some water.	amount (uncountable)
Less	There is less water in the jug.	amount (uncountable)
Few	Few students could pass the class.	Countable nouns.
Fewer	Many things remain to be done.	Countable nouns (number)
Little	Used for two; neither of them.	Amount (uncountable)
Much	There is too much noise.	A large amount.
Enough	It is enough, don’t shout anymore.	As much is required.
another	Additional/different person or thing.	She needs another pen to write.
Either	Either John or Kamran should come.	From two one.
Each	Each of them could ride the horse.	Everyone from two or more people.
Neither	I don’t need either of them.	A greater number of nouns.
Both	They fired both of the workers.	For two persons.
Any	Any of the men could come forward.	For quantity.
All	All the people are present in the hall.	Quantity
Anything	Many things remain to be done.	Things.
Many	Many things remain to be done.	Quantity of nouns.
More	More than 10 people should come in.	A greater number of nouns.
Most	He is the most beautiful girl.	Above all.
None	None of my friends came to the party.	Not any.
Several	Several times, we requested him to join the group.	More than two
Anyone	Anyone can speak English in the class.	Person. No one.

Important notes about the indefinite pronoun

7) Reflexive Pronoun (“Self”, “Selves”)

Pronouns are used in place of nouns to avoid repetition of nouns, but what about reflexive pronouns? Reflexive pronouns in English are also called self-pronouns. More simpler when anyone acts without the help of an outsider. They are used at the end of sentences and refer to the subject. Their structure is created with ‘self’ in the singular and ‘selves’ in the plural at the end of possessive adjectives. For instance:

I	You(singular)	He	She	It	We	You (plural)	Thye
Me	you	him	her	it	us	you	them
Mine	Yours	His	Hers	It	Ours	Yours	theirs
Myself	Yourself	Himself	Herself	Itself	Ourselves	Yourselves	themselves

Usages of the reflexive pronoun.

Reflexive pronouns are used at the end of sentences, and they refer back to the subject. Like:

I washed the clothes myself.
She plays the music herself.
He locked the door himself.
It cuts the rope itself.
You drive the car yourself. (Singular pronouns.)
We went to the park by ourselves.
They cleaned the room themselves.
You should bring everything yourself.

We can use reflexive pronouns after the subject also to emphasize more. It is called an emphatic pronoun. So if you want to emphasize more on something, do use them after the subject of the sentence. Examples within the sentences: click here

8) Exclamatory Pronoun

A pronoun (WH word) that is used to show sudden emotions (surprise) is called an exclamatory pronoun. There is only one exclamatory pronoun, which is what. It follows an exclamation mark (!). Whenever we become surprised suddenly, these words replace the noun. In that case, it is working as an exclamatory pronoun.

Examples:

What! You do not know my name.
What! You did not believe him.
What! She does not accept me.
What! They have not come yet.
What! We could not bring him to the party.

What is the only “WH” word that functions as an exclamatory pronoun? The rest of the WH words are not. We must mix up exclamatory adjectives and exclamatory sentences with them.

9) Emphatic Pronouns.

Emphatic Pronouns (intensive pronouns) are like reflexive pronouns structurally, but their purpose is different. We use emphatic pronouns to show sudden emotions (surprise, anger, and excitement). These words consist of “myself, himself, herself, ourselves, ourselves itself, yourself, and yourselves”. They are used to show that the activities are done without any help and occur after the subject.

Examples:

I myself wrote the letter.
She herself found the solutions.
He himself cleaned the room.
You yourself should cook the food.
They themselves arranged the party.

10) Reciprocal Pronoun?

Each other and one another are called reciprocal pronouns. These pronouns are used to show that two or more people are performing the same (mutual action) activity at the same time. In addition. The result and benefit of the action may be the same or different.

How to use reciprocal pronouns?

Each other and one another are the only two reciprocal pronouns in the English Language. Each other is used for two people only. Like John and Khan are beating each other.

So there were only two people, and they were fighting. As a result, they bet on each other. The outcome of this action affects both of them.

‘One another is used for more than two persons. This means that if any action is carried out by more than two persons at the same time, it has an effect and results on all of them. The children were shouting at one another. Or the girls at the pool are throwing water at one another.

Check out more examples of reciprocal pronouns:

Kamran and Farhan exchanged gifts with one another.
The two cats bite each other.
The mother and daughter were greeting each other.
You should hug each other to finish the conflict.
All the members of the team appreciated one another.
Do they see one another on the ground?
The problem was solved by each other.
I don’t know why they abuse each other.
All the people are slapping one another in the party hall.
The rugby players were dribbling the one another.
I don’t see respect for each other nowadays between brothers.

Worksheet and other exercises on reciprocal pronouns.

11) Distributive Pronoun:

Distributive pronouns are used to talk about persons and things individually. We talk about the person and group of people, and things one by one, rather than collectively. Distributive pronouns are either, neither, both, each, and none. They are singular words followed by singular verbs, too.

For example:

Neither of the students came on time.
Neither of the students came on time.

Examples within the sentence. Click the link.

Either, neither, each, both, any, and none

Download the Free Pronoun Work Sheet with examples (PDF)

Do you want to revise quickly or teach others? Download this printable guide with all 11 types of pronouns + examples.

Download Now