Lesson 5 - Pronouns

PRONOUNS Personal Pronouns Reflexive Pronouns Relative Pronouns Possessive Pronouns Demonstrative Pronouns A Pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. It refers to a person or thing without giving the name. EXAMPLE: Jim has a bicycle. He rides it every day. The words He and it referred to in the second sentence are used for Jim and bicycle. The words He used for Jim and it used for bicycle are called Pronouns. We use pronouns to avoid repetition of the same words, which in this case are Jim and bicycle. Most of the pronouns must be used independently, that is, without a noun following them. EXAMPLE: This is a big house. (This is a pronoun as it occurs independently.) But when a noun follows them, they are no longer pronouns. EXAMPLE: This house is big. (This is followed by the noun, house. Here, this, as a determiner, describes the noun, and so is not a pronoun.)