Pronouns
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or another pronoun. Pronouns help the unnecessary repetition of nouns in your writing and speech.
Consider the examples given below.
- Mr. Peter gave Mr. Peter's pen to Mr. Peter's wife, Mrs. Peter; Mrs. Peter was grateful for the pen.
- Mr. Peter gave his pen to his wife, Mrs. Peter; she was grateful for it.
The sentences given above express the same idea, but the second sentence sounds much better than the first one.
A pronoun gets its meaning from the noun it stands for. This noun is called the antecedent. Here's an example:
- Although John is poor, he is honest. (John is the antecedent of the pronoun he.)
There are different kinds of pronouns. Most of them have antecedents, but a few do not.
Sections in this article
Pronouns
Kinds of pronouns
Personal pronouns
Possessive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns
Relative pronouns
Correct usage of personal pronouns