Pronouns often take the place of nouns, other pronouns, or other words functioning as a noun. Pronouns serve as short forms so that you do not have to repeat a word or group of words you have already mentioned. A word or group of words that a pronoun replaces or refers to is called the antecedent of the pronoun. (See Chapter 34.)

Here are the categories of pronouns:

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Personal pronouns refer to specific persons or things.

I, me, you, he, she, him, her, it, we, us, they, them

When Keisha saw the dogs, she called them, and they ran to her.

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

Possessive pronouns are personal pronouns that indicate ownership.

my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, its, our, ours, their, theirs

My roommate lost her keys.

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence and end in -self or -selves.

myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves

The seals sunned themselves on the warm rocks.

INTENSIVE PRONOUNS

Intensive pronouns have the same form as reflexive pronouns. They emphasize a noun or another pronoun.

He decided to paint the apartment himself.

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to specific nouns, although they may refer to identifiable persons or things. The following is a partial list:

all, another, anybody, both, each, either, everything, few, many, most, neither, none, no one, nothing, one, some, something

Everybody screamed, and someone fainted, when the lights went out.

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

Demonstrative pronouns point to specific nouns.

this, that, these, those

These are Peter’s books.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions.

who, which, what

Who can help set up the chairs for the meeting?

RELATIVE PRONOUNS

Relative pronouns introduce dependent clauses and relate the information to the rest of the sentence (31m). The interrogative pronoun who and the relative pronouns who and whoever have different forms depending on how they are used in a sentence (34b).

who, which, that, what, whoever, whichever, whatever

Maya, who hires interns, is the manager whom you should contact.

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS

Reciprocal pronouns refer to individual parts of a plural antecedent.

each other, one another

The business failed because the partners distrusted each other.