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Glossary of Grammatical TermsSubsections:
The list above shows the different types of pronouns.
A pronoun is a word used to take the place of a noun, which can be a person, place, animal, or thing. We use a pronoun to avoid repeating a noun that has already been mentioned. A pronoun usually comes after the noun it replaces.
- Jim has a toothbrush. He uses it every day.
He and it in the second sentence are pronouns used to replace Jim and toothbrush: He is for Jim and it is for toothbrush. By using pronouns, we don’t have to write or say Jim and toothbrush again.
A pronoun may come before a noun that it replaces. In such an order, it has to be made clear so that a reader or listener knows which noun the pronoun takes the place of.
Examples:
- She, Jenny, is amy elder sister.
(She is a pronoun that replaces the noun Jenny, which is also known as an appositive.) - The only millionaire in the village, he is also the oldest.
How to identify a pronoun in a sentence
A pronoun can also be a determiner, so how can we tell whether it is a pronoun or a determiner? It all depends on how it is used. As a pronoun, it is used independently, that is on its own without a noun following it.
Examples:
-
This is a big house.
(This is a pronoun. It is not followed by a noun.)
-
This house is big.
(This is no longer a pronoun as it is followed by the noun house. It is a determiner that describes or modifies the noun house, which a pronoun does not do.)
