22d Pronouns
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 27.)
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 both introduce dependent clauses and relate the information to the rest of the sentence (22m). The interrogative pronoun who and the relative pronouns who and whoever have different forms depending on how they are used in a sentence (27a).
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.