What is a Pronoun?

Define Pronoun - What is a Pronoun?

A pronoun is a short word that replaces a noun or a noun phrase to make a sentence less repetitive.

There are various types of Pronouns and they perform a variety of functions.

Personal Pronouns are I, me, we, us, you, she, her, he, him, it, they, them. But there are other types as well.

Examples:

Susan is a good chess player because she has a good memory.

If pronouns wouldn't exist you would have to repeat "Susan" and write this sentence like this:
Susan is a good chess player because Susan has a good memory.

This sounds very repetitive, doesn't it? If you use Pronouns you avoid repeating the same noun and the sentence sounds better.

Analysis:
Susan (is the ANTECEDENT) is a good chess player because she (is the PRONOUN) has a good memory.

A Pronoun REFERS to and REPLACES an Antecedent (noun)

Sometimes there is no Antecedent.
Example: Someone (Noun) stole my car, he (Pronoun) damaged the garage door.
In this case we don't know whom we are talking about.

Two Pronouns

Peter reads a book about Germany. He likes it.
In the sentence above there are two personal pronouns. The personal pronoun "he" replaces "Peter" while the personal pronoun "it" replaces "book".

Pronouns

Learn the differences among subject pronouns, object pronouns, possessive adjectives, possessive pronouns, and reflexive pronouns.

Basic English Grammar: Pronouns - SHE, HER, HE, HIS

Types of Pronouns

There are personal pronouns, relative pronouns, possessive pronouns, interrogative pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, reflexive pronouns and intensive pronouns.