English Grammar

Pronoun



A pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun.
For example, you could say, "Lisa is a nice girl". Then you could replace the noun "Lisa" with the word "She" and get the following sentence: "She is a nice girl". "She" is a pronoun.



Types of pronouns in English grammar




Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns can be divided into various different categories according to their role in a sentence, as follows :




Subjective Pronouns

The personal pronouns I, you, we, he, she, it, and they are known as subjective pronouns because they act as the subjects of verbs :

I you he she it we you they
je tu il elle il / elle / ça (non-humain) nous vous ils / elles
أنا أنتَ/أنتِ هو هي هو/هي    (لغير العاقل) نحن أنتم/أنتن هم/هن

Examples :
•    She saw Catherine.
•    We drove Nick home.
•    I waved at her.
•    He loves playing cards.
•    It is sunny outside.
•    My dog is my only friend. He is always by my side.
•    My new car is fantastic! She goes like a bomb.



Objective Pronouns

The personal pronouns me, you, us, him, her, it, and them are called objective pronouns because they act as the objects of verbs and prepositions :

Objective pronouns المقابل في اللغة العربية
English Français الاستخدام ضمير مفعول
Me moi / me / m’ المفرد المتكلم (ياء المتكلم) (نى) يخبرني/يحبني/يعطيني...
You toi / te / t’ المفرد المُخَاطب (كاف المخاطبة) (ك) يخبرك/يحبك/يعطيك...
Him le / lui / l’ المفرد الغائب (هاء الغيبة للمذكر) (ه) يخبره/يحبه/يعطيه...
It lLe / lui / la / elle / l’ (non-humain) المفرد (هاء الغيبة لغير العاقل) (ها) قراءتها/كتبتها/اصلحتها...
Us nous الجمع المتكلم (نا الفاعلين) (نا) يخبرنا/يحبنا/يعطينا...
Yous vous الجمع المُخاطب (كم) يخبركم/يحبكم/يعطيكم...
Them leur / les / eux الجمع الغائب للعاقل وغير العاقل (هم) يخبرهم/يحبهم/يعطيهم...

Examples :
•    Catherine saw her. I saw her.
•    Nick drove us home.
•    She waved at me.
•    I gave her a present.
•    It’s a present for her.

Subjective pronouns / Objective pronouns
Table setting out the different forms

SINGULAR PLURAL
subjective objective subjective objective
first person I me we us
second person you you you you
third person he/she/it him/her/it they them




Possessive Pronouns

The personal pronouns :
     • mine, yours, hers, his, ours, and theirs are known as possessive pronouns:
They refer to something owned by the speaker or by someone or something previously mentioned.
Possessive pronouns indicate ownership.


Possessive Pronouns
Mine le mien / la mienne / à moi ملكي
Yours le tien / la tienne / à toi ملكك
His le sien / à lui ملكه
Hers la sienne / à elle ملكها
Its le sien / la sienne (non-humain) ملكه (غير العاقل)
Ours le nôtre / la nôtre / à nous ملكنا
Yours le vôtre / la vôtre / à vous ملككم
Theirs le leur / la leur / à eux / à elles ملكهم

Examples :
•    That book is mine.
•    John’s eyes met hers.
•    Ours is a family farm.

Personal pronouns and possessives

Personal subject pronouns go before the verb:
•    I stayed at home.
•    You need another blanket.
•    He wants to buy a new car.
•    She is studying Catalan.
•    It barks a lot. (It is used to refer to things, animals and the weather: It is raining).
•    We never eat garlic.
•    You read a lot.
•    They are good friends.

However, we place the auxiliary verb before subject pronouns in questions:
•    Can you help me?
•    Has she got the comic?
•    Does he write very often?

Personal object pronouns come after verbs and prepositions:
•    She loves me.
•    We sent you a letter.
•    We went with him.
•    He adores her.
•    I saw it with my own eyes.
•    They have just invited us to their wedding.
•    Margaret believes in you.
•    We don't like them.

A possessive adjective is followed by a noun:
•    This is my van.
•    Your lorry is very big.
•    His house is enormous.
•    Her face is beautiful.
•    Its wing is broken.
•    Our engagement will be announced tomorrow.
•    Your son is very clever.
•    Their work was excellent.

A possessive pronoun is not followed by a noun, that is, it stands alone:
•    This book is mine.
•    This pencil case is yours.
•    Mary is a relative of his.
•    I've found hers.
•    Ours need watering.
•    Yours are bigger than mine.
•    These are your notebooks and those are theirs.




Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns include myself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves. These are used when the object is the same as the subject.

English Français عربي
Myself Moi / Moi-même نفسي
Yourself Toi / Toi-même نفسك
Himself Lui / Lui-même نفسه
Herself Elle / Elle-même نفسها
Itself Lui-même / Elle-même (non-humain) نفسه - نفسها (غير العاقل)
Ourselves Nous / Nous-mêmes أنفسكم
Yourselves Vous / Vous-même أنفسنا
Themselves Leur / Eux-mêmes أنفسهم

For example, in the sentence "he hurt himself", he and himself refer to the same person.
•    I fell and hurt myself.
•    The children had to look after themselves.
•    I sent myself to bed.
•    We must help ourselves.
•    Daisy prepared herself for the journey.
•    He cut himself while shaving.
•    He could hurt himself!
•    She trusts herself.




Intensive Pronouns

"Intensive" means "giving force or emphasis."
An intensive pronoun (myself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves) adds emphasis to a statement.
The intensive pronoun can be removed from the sentence to leave a complete sentence with a similar meaning, except the subject will be less reinforced.
Intensive pronouns can appear immediately after the subject they reinforce (strong position) or at the end of the clause (slightly weaker position).

Examples :
•    I myself baked the cake.
•    The queen herself recommended this restaurant.
•    Have you yourself been there?
•    The project itself wasn't difficult.
•    We will do it ourselves.

Forms of the personal pronouns

Person Number (& gender) Subject Object Possessive Reflexive
First Singular I me mine myself
Plural we us ours ourselves
Second Singular you yours yourself
Plural yourselves
Third Masculine Singular he him his himself
Feminine Singular she her hers herself
Neuter / inanimate singular it its itself
Gender-neutral singular (epicene) they them theirs themself
Plural themselves




Demonstrative Pronouns

"Demonstrative" means "showing, making something clear."

A demonstrative pronoun is a pronoun that is used to point to something specific within a sentence. These pronouns can indicate items in space or time, and they can be either singular or plural.

The demonstrative pronouns are: this, that, these, those.

Use "this" and "these" to talk about things that are near in space or in time.

Use "that" and "those" to talk about things that are farther away in space or time.

This Proximity and singular Proximité et singulier للمفرد القريب
These Proximity and plural Proximité et pluriel للجمع القريب
That Distant and singular Distant et singulier للمفرد البعيد
Those Distant and plural Distant et pluriel للجمع البعيد

Demonstrative pronoun Traduction      ترجمة
This Ce, Cette, Ceci, Celui-ci, Celle-ci, C’ هذا
These Ces, Ceux-ci ذلك
That Ce, Cette, Cela, Celui-là, Celle-là هذه
Those Ces, Ceux-là تلك

Examples :
This is my house. C'est ma maison. هذا منزلي. (للقريب)
These are my books. Ce sont mes livres. هذه كتبي. (للقريب)
That is my house. Celle-là est ma maison. ذلك منزلي. (للبعيد)
Those are my books. Ces mes livres. تلك كتبي. (للبعيد)




Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions.
The interrogative pronouns are : who, whom, whose, what, and which.

An interrogative pronoun normally appears at the start of a question, but it may instead appear in the middle or at the end, depending on the phrasing. A question can also include more than one interrogative pronoun.

In English, the wording of the questions follows the following formula :

question word - auxiliary verb - subject- verb - complement

Question word : (who, whom, whose, what, and which)
Example : Who did you see yesterday at the party?

The second formula you can use to form questions in English is without an auxiliary verb :

question word - main verb - subject- complement

For example, in the question “ Who ate the cake at the party? ” there’s no auxiliary verb.

Interrogative pronoun
who Whom whose what which
qui qui à qui que, quel que, quel
مًن مًن لمن ماذا اى

Pronoun Use for asking about Utiliser pour poser des questions sur تستخدم لطرح الأسئلة حول
Who When asking about a person and name l'identité d'une personne (qui) هوية الشخص (من)
Whom when asking about a person or name l'identité d'une personne (qui) هوية الشخص (من)
Whose Enquiring about possession or owner l'appartenance (à qui) الإنتماء (لمن)
What Asking for general information l'identité d'une chose (quoi, que) هوية الشيء (ماذا)
Which When you have a limited choice un choix إختيار

Subject Object
person who whom
person whose (possessive)
thing what (for a thing, when there are many things)
person/thing which (for a thing, when there aren’t many things)

Pronom Examples Exemples أمثلة
Who Who is it? Qui est-ce? من هذا؟
Who left her ring on the table ? Qui a laissé sa bague sur la table ? من ترك خاتمه على الطاولة؟
What What are you saying ? Que dis-tu ? ماذا تقول؟
What happened ? Que s'est-il passé ? ماذا حدث؟
What day is it ? Quel jour sommes nous ? في أي يوم نحن؟
Which Which dress do you prefer? Quelle robe préfères-tu? أي فستان تفضلين؟
Whose Whose phone is it? De qui est-ce le téléphone? هاتف من هذا؟




Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns are pronouns that link different parts of a sentence.
The relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, which, where, when, what, why and that.

The use of relative pronouns in restrictive relative clauses :
Function in the sentence Reference to
Person Things
Subject who, that which, that
Object who/whom/that which, that
Possessive whose whose

English Traduction en Français
who people and sometimes pet animals Les personnes et parfois les animaux de compagnie
which animals and things animaux et choses
that people, animals and things; informal les personnes, les animaux et les choses ; informel
whose possessive meaning; sens possessif ;
for people and animals usually; pour les personnes et les animaux
sometimes for things in formal situations généralement ; parfois pour des choses dans des situations formelles
whom people in formal styles or in writing; often with a preposition; rarely in conversation; used instead of who if who is the object des personnes dans des styles formels ou par écrit ; souvent avec une préposition ; rarement en conversation; utilisé à la place de who si who est l'objet

Many interrogative, demonstrative, and relative pronouns look exactly the same. In order to tell the difference, you must analyze how these pronouns are being used in a sentence. If they are being used to ask a question, they are interrogative. When you use them to show or point to something, they are demonstrative. You will know if a pronoun is relative if 1) the pronoun introduces describing information about a noun or 2) the pronoun is acting like a conjunction.

Examples :
•    Interrogative: Whom did you ask about the movie times?
     (The pronoun whom is being used to ask a question.)

•    Relative: Dave is the person whom you asked about the movie times.
     (The pronoun whom is being use to introduce additional information about Dave.)

•    Demonstrative: That is the book I found.
     (The pronoun that shows which book I found. It may help you to imagine someone pointing to the book.)

•    Relative: I found the book that you lost. (book I found = book you lost)
     (The pronoun that connects the two sentences You lost the book and I found the book.
     It also gives us some describing information about the book.)






Examples sentences:
•    She lives in Kiev, which is the capital city of Ukraine.
•    Spaghetti, which many of us enjoy, can be messy.
•    This is the book that everyone is talking about.
•    I really liked the book that you gave me.
•    She wrote to the person whom she had met last month.
•    The teacher whom you wrote has answered your questions.
•    I have a friend whose cat is annoying.
•    We didn’t bring the receipt, which was a big mistake.
•    The girl who called yesterday came to see you.
•    People who are clever can always find a way.
•    Grandma remembers a time when radio shows were popular.
•    Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. - Erma Bombeck





Reciprocal Pronouns

Reciprocal means that two people or groups do the same thing to each other. They treat each other in the same way.
For example, Joe loves Kate, and Kate loves Joe. So we can say, "Kate and Joe love each other."

There are two reciprocal pronouns in English :

Each other and one another. Peter and Mary helped one another.
= Peter helped Mary and Mary helped Peter.

• We sent each other Christmas cards.
= We sent them a Christmas card and they sent us a Christmas card.

• They didn’t look at one another.
= He didn't look at her and she didn't look at him.

We also use the possessive forms each other’s and one another’s :
They helped to look after each other’s children.
We often stayed in one another’s houses.

Examples sentences:
•    The cat and the dog like each other.
•    The two politicians hate each other.
•    We must stop fighting one another.
•    They gave each other Christmas presents.
•    They can't hear one another.




Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that do not refer to any specific person or thing.

Person Place Thing
All everyone everywhere everything
everybody
Part (positive) someone somewhere something
somebody
Part (negative) anyone anywhere anything
anybody
None no one nowhere nothing
nobody

We use indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things without saying exactly who or what they are. We use pronouns ending in -body or -one for people, and pronouns ending in -thing for things :
•    Everybody enjoyed the concert.
•    I opened the door but there was no one at home.
•    It was a very clear day. We could see everything.

We use a singular verb after an indefinite pronoun:
•    Everybody loves Sally.
•    Everything was ready for the party.

When we refer back to an indefinite pronoun we normally use a plural pronoun :
•    Everybody enjoyed the concert. They stood up and clapped.
•    I will tell somebody that dinner is ready. They have been waiting a long time.

We can add -'s to an indefinite pronoun to make a possessive.
•    They were staying in somebody’s house.
•    Is this anybody’s coat?

We use indefinite pronouns with no- as the subject in negative clauses (not pronouns with any.)
•    Anybody didn’t come >> Nobody came.

We do not use another negative in a clause with nobody, no one or nothing :
•    Nobody came.
•    Nothing happened.

We use else after indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things in addition to the ones we already mentioned.
•    All the family came, but no one else.
•    If Michael can’t come we’ll ask somebody else.
•    So that's eggs, peas and chips. Do you want anything else?

Indefinite Pronouns List
Pronoun Meaning Example

s
i
n
g
u
l
a
r

another an additional or different person or thing That ice-cream was good. Can I have another?
anybody / anyone no matter what person Can anyone answer this question?
anything no matter what thing The doctor needs to know if you have eaten anything in the last two hours.
each every one of two or more people or things, seen separately Each has his own thoughts.
either one or the other of two people or things Do you want tea or coffee? / I don't mind. Either is good for me.
enough as much or as many as needed Enough is enough.
everybody/ everyone all people We can start the meeting because everybody has arrived.
everything all things They have no house or possessions. They lost everything in the earthquake.
less a smaller amount "Less is more" (Mies van der Rohe)
little a small amount Little is known about his early life.
much a large amount Much has happened since we met.
neither not one and not the other of two people or things I keep telling Jack and Jill but neither believes me.
nobody/ no-one no person I phoned many times but nobody answered.
no single thing, not anything nothing If you don't know the answer it's best to say nothing.
one an unidentified person Can one smoke here? | All the students arrived but now one is missing.
other a different person or thing from one already mentioned One was tall and the other was short.
somebody/ someone an unspecified or unknown person Clearly somebody murdered him. It was not suicide.
something an unspecified or unknown thing Listen! I just heard something! What could it be?
you an unidentified person (informal) And you can see why.

p
l
u
r
a
l

both two people or things, seen together John likes coffee but not tea. I think both are good.
few a small number of people or things Few have ever disobeyed him and lived.
fewer a reduced number of people or things Fewer are smoking these days.
many a large number of people or things Many have come already.
others other people; not us I'm sure that others have tried before us.
several more than two but not many They all complained and several left the meeting.
they people in general (informal) They say that vegetables are good for you.

s
i
n
g
u
l
a
r

/

p
l
u
r
a
l

all the whole quantity of something or of some things or people All is forgiven.
All have arrived.
any no matter how much or how many Is any left?
Are any coming?
more a greater quantity of something; a greater number of people or things There is more over there.
More are coming.
most the majority; nearly all Most is lost.
Most have refused.
none not any; no person or persons They fixed the water so why is none coming out of the tap?
I invited five friends but none have come.
some an unspecified quantity of something; an unspecified number of people or things Here is some.
Some have arrived.
such of the type already mentioned He was a foreigner and he felt that he was treated as such.


Examples of Indefinite Pronouns
1. All are welcome to come to the birthday party tonight.
2. Lizzie gave that book to someone and never got it back.
3. Anyone can play the game as long as they follow the rules.
4. Does anybody have a clue where the dog went?
5. Everyone knows it is impolite to point at someone.
6. No one came forward to admit the crime, so the whole class was punished.
7. Everyone had a great time at the Christmas party.
8. At the Thanksgiving dinner, each brought a plated dish to make the meal complete.
9. Marie told nobody the secrets that went on at her house.
10. Someone called to tell me the horrible news.
11. Although it could have happened to anyone, it happened to me.
12. When I looked around the house, I did not see anything out of the ordinary.
13. During my trip to the mall, I did not see anyone I knew.
14. I knocked on the door, but there was not anybody there.
15. Some will do anything to gain the attention of others.
16. Someone walked past the window and shouted.
17. Anyone in their right mind would know better than to do that.
18. Michael walked in and handed the piece of paper to someone.
19. Anyone would have agreed the woman in the black dress was gorgeous.
20. Some have the power to coax others to do what they want while others lack the power to do anything but follow.
21. After I painted my walls a deep shade of purple and installed jet black carpet, my room may be considered too gloomy for some.
22. I really just needed some time away from everyone.
23. After the story of the plane crash hit the news, many called for information on loved ones aboard the flight.
24. Sometimes I wonder why anyone shops at this store.
25. Very few came to visit the crabby old woman on the corner, leaving many to wonder if anyone cared about her at all.
26. If anyone cared about her, they certainly had an odd way of showing it.
27. Does anybody know a good place where I can go to get my nails done?
28. Normally during the holidays, everyone leaves campus.
29. I was told not to worry and that everything would be taken care of.
30. One of the great things about that cabin is that everything is included.
31. Anyone can plainly see that she was asking for trouble.
32. Anybody who came along would know something awful has happened here.
33. Everyone wandered aimlessly down the street wondering what would become of the space ships that occupied the otherwise clear blue sky.
34. I needed to see if anyone was interested in dating my cousin.
35. Someone really needs to come and mow my lawn.
36. Is anyone available to babysit for me on Tuesday?
37. My parents always told me that anything is possible.
38. Everyone enjoyed the food and the company.
39. Anyone that has ever lived in the city will never take for granted the peace of the country.
40. Someone whispered in my ear, but when I turned around there was not anybody there.
41. Few came to the wedding after the bride had a melt down and lashed out at her family and friends.
42. Everyone at the wedding could see how happy he made her.
43. After the festivities, everyone was invited back to the house for the after-party.
44. Some just do not know when to quit while they are ahead.
45. Someone should sue the pants off of that guy!
46. Anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it.
47. Mary wanted some, but I do not have any.
48. Someone drank all the soda.
49. Can anyone tell me why it is raining again?
50. Everybody loves to eat chocolate.
51. No one likes to eat vegetables.
52. Someone will clean up the kitchen.
53. No one was home at the neighbor's.
54. Everyone brought canned goods to the charity drive.
55. All were late to the party.

brief summary :
Pronoun Type Members of the Subclass Example
Possessive mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs The white car is mine
Reflexive myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves He injured himself playing football
Reciprocal each other, one another They really hate each other
Relative that, which, who, whose, whom, where, when The book that you gave me was really boring
Demonstrative this, that, these, those This is a new car
Interrogative who, what, why, where, when, whatever What did he say to you?
Indefinite anything, anybody, anyone, something, somebody, someone, nothing, nobody, none, no one There's something in my shoe

List of Pronouns
Pronoun Traduction      ترجمة
All Tout لكل
Any Tout أي
Anybody N'importe qui

اي شخص
Anyone N'importe qui أي واحد
Anything N'importe quoi اى شى
Both Tous les deux على حد سواء
Each Chaque كل
Either Non plus إما
Everybody Tout le monde الجميع
Everyone Toutes les personnes كل واحد
Everything Tout كل شىء
Few Peu قليل
He Il هو
Her Sa لها
Herself Se نفسها
Him Lui له
Himself Lui-même نفسه
I je أنا
It Il هذا
Itself Lui-même بحد ذاتها
Many Beaucoup كثير
Me Moi أنا
Most Plus عظم
Myself Moi même نفسي
Neither Ni لا هذا ولا ذاك
No one Personne لا أحد
Nobody Personne لا أحد
None Aucun لا شيء
Nothing Rien لا شيئ
One Un واحد
Ourselves Nous-mêmes أنفسنا
Several Nombreuses العديد من
She Elle هي
Some Certains بعض
Somebody Quelqu'un شخص ما
Someone Quelqu'un شخصا ما
Something Quelque chose شيئا ما
That Cette أن
Them Leur معهم
Themselves Se أنفسهم
These Celles-ci هذه
They Ils هم
This Ce هذه
Those Ceux أولئك
Us Nous لنا
We nous نحن
What Quelle ماذا
Which Lequel التي
Whichever

Quel que soit أيما
Who Qui من الذى
Whoever Quiconque من
Whom Qui من
Whomever Quelqu'un لمن
Whose Dont ملك من
You Toi أنت
Yourself Toi même نفسك
Yourselves Vous-même أنفسكم