Pronouns

We use pronouns in place of nouns and noun phrases:

• The children were in the garden. They were getting wet.
• [pointing to a parcel]
• A: What’s in that?
• B: I don’t know. It*’s for* you.
• You don’t need to make me a cup of tea. I’ll do it myself.

Pronouns can also act as the head of noun phrases, with pre- and postmodifiers and complements:

• A: Did you mean you think she’s wrong?
• B: Yes, I meant just that. (premodified pronoun)
• I made cakes and she ate them all. (postmodified pronoun)
• We’re looking for someone young and energetic. (pronoun and complement)

There are different types of pronouns.

Examples	Type of pronoun
I/me, you, we/us, she/her, it, they/them	personal
mine, ours, hers	possessive
ourselves, myself, himself	reflexive
who, whose, which, what	interrogative
this, that, these, those	demonstrative
-body, -one, -thing, one, you, they	indefinite
each other/each other’s, one another/one another’s	reciprocal
who, whom, whose, which, that	relative

Determiners used as pronouns

Some determiners can also be used as pronouns (i.e. without a noun following and when the meaning is clear without including the noun):

• A: Have you read any poems by Lorca?
• B: Yes. I’ve read a few.

See also

• Determiners used as pronouns