Pronouns

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun so that we do not repeat the noun again and again. Personal pronouns have a subject form, which does the action (I, he, she, we, they), and an object form, which receives the action or follows a preposition (me, him, her, us, them). Possessives have two forms: possessive adjectives go before a noun (my book, her bag), while possessive pronouns stand alone and replace the noun phrase (mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs). Reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself, themselves) are used when the subject and the object are the same person, or for emphasis. Demonstrative pronouns point to things: this/these for what is near and that/those for what is far. Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things in a general way (somebody, anything, nothing, everyone), and we usually use some- in affirmative sentences but any- in questions and negatives. Relative pronouns join clauses: who for people, which for things, that for both, whose for possession and where for place. For example: 'The girl who helped me is my cousin; this is her bag, and the blue one is mine.'