Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns.

The nouns they refer to are called antecedents.

Pronouns must always agree with their antecedents in number, gender, and person.

Personal pronouns replace the names of persons, places, things, or ideas.

Read these sentences. Take note of the words in italic face.

• Anna went abroad to look for a job. She is Patricia's sister.

• Uncle Rommel and Auntie Donna picked up Anna from the airport. They also took her around San Francisco.

• The Golden Gate Bridge is beautiful, but it is not made of gold.

The words, she, they, and it are used to take the place of Anna, Uncle Rommel and Auntie Donna, Golden Gate Bridge. They are called noun substitutes.

Noun substitutes are also called pronouns. Pronouns are words used in place of nouns.

Pronouns avoid the unnecessary repetition of nouns in sentences or paragraphs. The words, she, they, and it are pronouns. They have been used in place of nouns to avoid repetition.

A pronoun refers to a noun or an antecedent. The antecedent is the word that is replaced by the pronoun.

For example in the previous sentences, the words Anna, Uncle Rommel and Auntie Donna, Golden Gate Bridge are antecedents.

1. Number - pronouns may be

• Singular - I, you, he, she, it

• Plural - you, us, they, we

2. Gender - pronouns may be

• Masculine - refers to males
  
  - he, him, his

• Feminine - refers to females
  
  - she, her, hers

• Common - refers to either males or females
  
  - they, their, them, theirs, you, your, yours, our, ours, we, us

• Neuter - refers to things without gender or animals in common gender
  
  - it, its

3. Person - refers to the point of view of the person speaking. They may be

• First person - the speaker refers to himself/herself
  
  - I, me, my, mine, our, ours

• Second person - the speaker refers to the person he/she is talking to
  
  - you, your, yours

• Third person - the speaker refers to another person aside from the one he/she is talking to
  
  - he, his, him, she, her, hers, it, its, they, their, theirs

Personal pronouns take the place of names of persons, places, things, or ideas. They are the most commonly used pronouns.

Examples:

• I, me, my, mine

• we, us, our, ours

• you, your, yours

• he, she, it, him, her, his, hers, its

• they, them, their, theirs

Study the table. It shows the different forms of personal pronouns and their number, person, and gender.