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Questions tagged [pronouns]

A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun or noun phrase.

A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun phrase. Pronouns refer to persons or things that have been previously specified or can be understood from context. They are often classified into subtypes, which include:

  • Personal pronouns (she)
  • Possessive pronouns (your)
  • Demonstrative pronouns (those)
  • Indefinite pronouns (anybody)
  • Relative pronouns (people who work)
  • Interrogative pronouns (Who did it?).
1473 questions
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Why do people use all 3 components in their gender pronouns?

When people talking about their gender pronouns, why do people use all 3 components? For example, I identify myself as a male, so I understand the use of "HE", but why people use "HE/HIM/HIS"? Is it possible to have your gender pronoun as…
Chenxi GE
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Using "I" or "we" to refer to sole proprietorship?

I have a company which consists of only myself. The company has its own distinct name which is registered. Should I use "I" or "we" to refer to my own sole proprietorship when writing marketing materials, introductions, offers, etc? If both are…
snap
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"I showed the monkey himself in the mirror". Why is this sentence grammatical?

I am asking this question for a homework assignment where we have to explain why certain uses of reflexive pronouns i.e. himself, herself, are grammatical or ungrammatical. For one of the questions, we have to explain why the use of the reflexive…
Ng Weixue
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"It is they who lied" or "it is them who lied?"

Which is the correct usage of the third person, plural pronoun? It is they who lied. It is them who lied.
nicholas ainsworth
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"One can do his homework in the library"

One can do his homework in the library. One can do one's homework in the library. Nowadays, are these structures part of colloquial English? The use of one as a pronoun is still in use or is it considered formal if not old-fashioned? In this case…
Dimitris
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Pronoun "it" for baby?

Does anyone know why the word "baby" is referred to by the pronoun "it" rather than a human pronoun. Is there an historical/etymological reason?
Ilana
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11
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2 answers

"The ones" or "those"?

I recently corrected "ghettos, such as the ones found..." to "ghettos, such as those found..." Was I correct, or are both versions right?
HellishHeat
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Is it correct to say, "Jamie and I look forward to seeing you and Kate on Friday?"

Pronouns can be so confusing. Is this appropriate or is there a preferred structure other than this?
user6937
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2 answers

Words that sound all-inclusive, but aren't necessarily all-inclusive

Words like "anywhere" and "everybody" usually have a predefined or implicit context during conversations: Everybody is going out to lunch. Would you like to come too? We are willing to go anywhere - we're starving. In this statement, clearly the…
Sampson
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Adverbial clause as antecedent of pronoun?

Please consider the following sentence: When cars collide, it creates a debris hazard on the road. In a debate, I claimed the sentence is ungrammatical because the pronoun "it" has no antecedent. However, I was unable to find a rule in my 12th…
Reb.Cabin
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Pronouns: a word class or a subclass of nouns?

In the recently published ‘Oxford Modern English Grammar’, Bas Aarts classifies pronouns with nouns and not as a separate word class. In this, he follows the authors of ‘The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language’. Is this now a widely accepted…
Barrie England
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'A or B' - singular or plural

An obvious communicator assumes that the listener is unaware of background information or related issues, and therefore provides them in the advertisement. Its goal will be to create a positive mood or feeling about the product. As a result, movie…
y2k
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4 answers

'The Queen That Never Was' or 'The Queen Who Never Was'?

A documentary drama about the American Wallis Simpson (the influence upon Edward VIII causing him to abdicate the throne of England on 10th December 1936) is titled 'Wallis : The Queen That Never Was'. The piece is written and directed by Paul…
Nigel J
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These vs those before nouns

I have been tutuoring a Chinese boy in English, and I am having trouble explaining to the kid why he shouldn't be using the word, "those", as much as he is. The kid: Those two strategies help Churchill to get to his goal: to express the anger…
compguy24
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Usage of "it" pronoun for animals

Possible Duplicate: Use of “it” and “its” for people and animals I’m an Italian working in an English-speaking company. In school here they usually teach us to refer to animals using the it pronoun. Something like (i.e. talking about a…
napolux
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