9 Types of English Pronouns with Examples: Learners Guide

Need to know the types of English pronouns to use correctly words like: I, Me, My, Mine, myself and more?

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The words above are pronouns. They replace nouns or noun phrases in a sentence. Mastering pronouns and learning vocabulary can help you build confidence and achieve fluency in English.

But, how to use these words correctly?

Using pronouns can be overwhelming for second language learners. This is because there are 9 types of English pronouns. Each type includes a set of different or similar words. Plus. Some pronouns can belong either to one type or other.

For example, “You”, can be a subject pronoun in the sentence: You live in London. But it can also be an object pronoun, in the statement –I want you here, right now. 

This behavior of doubling role increases the difficulties of using pronouns correctly. As a result, learners fail to become fluent in English.

Knowing the types of pronouns and the words they include can help you use them correctly.

Here is what you’re expected to look at:

• What are pronouns
• Subject Pronouns: I, You, He, She, It, We, You, and They
• Possessive Determiners (Adjectives Pronouns): My, Your, His, Her, its, Our, Your, Their
• Possessive Pronouns: Mine, Yours, His, Its, Ours, Yours and Theirs
• Intensive vs. Reflexive Pronouns: Myself, Yourself, Himself, Herself, Itself, Ourselves, Yourselves and Themselves
• Object Pronouns: Me, You, Him, Her, Its, Us, You and Them
• Interrogative Pronouns: What, Where, How and more
• Demonstrative Pronouns: This/That; These/Those
• Indefinite Pronouns: Somebody, Anything, Everywhere and others
• Reciprocal Pronouns: Each Other vs. One Another

What are English Pronouns and Which Types Do They Include?

Simply put, pronouns are words used instead of nouns. To illustrate this, consider reading the statements below:

Statements:

• Lurdes Mutola is a Mozambican former athlete. She lives in Maputo.
• Ângelo is an English teacher. He teaches English in Johannesburg. 

The words “she” and “he”, are pronouns. Both replace the names Lurdes Mutola and Angelo, in the sentences above.

While replacing names, these 2 pronouns give to the reader or listener, 2 relevant information:

First, they highlight the gender of the subject they replace:

• “She,” replaces a FEMALE name: Lurdes Mutola is a woman;
• “He”, replaces a MALE name:  Angelo is a man.

Second, they focus on the role of the pronoun in the sentence:

•  “Lurdes Mutola” is the subject of the first sentence.
• “Angelo” is the subjects of the second sentence.

So, the pronouns “She”, and “He”, stand for these names.

This is the reason why she and he are subject pronouns. Because they play the role of subject in the 2 sentences above. And they belong to the type of Subject pronouns. See nouns you can use to practice these pronouns with.

This take us to the question:

Types of Pronouns and words they Include

1. Subject Pronouns: I, You, He, She and More, to Help You Practice and Achieve Fluency in English.

The name is self-explanatory: these words play the role of subject. Although you and it may also be used as object pronouns.

Take a look:

• I live in this building.
• You own this car.
• He is a bus driver.
• She is a website designer.
• It is an eagle’s nest.
• We work in this company.
• You are the owners of these computers.
• They run this business.

 The pronoun “I”for example, is the subject of the statement” I live in this building”.

The same happens with the words “you”, “he”, “she” and so on, in the statements they are included.

They all are subject pronouns.

2. Possessive Determiners (Adjectives Pronouns): My, Your, His, Her, its, Our, Your, Their

Possessive determiners are other pronouns you need to know if you want to achieve fluency in English. These kind of vocabulary come together with a noun or noun phrase. They are placed before these nouns.

E. g.  

•  I live in this house. It’s my house.
• You own this car. It’s your car.
• He is a bus driver. This is his bus.
• She is a website designer. This is her website.
• It is an eagle’s nest. It is its nest.
• We work in this company. It’s our company.
• You are the owners of these computers. They’re your computers.
• They run this business. It is their business.

The pronoun “my” in the statement: “It is my house”, is a clear example of this.

To highlight the idea of possession, “my” was placed before the noun “house”.

So we say: It is my house.

3. Types of English pronouns: Possessive – Mine, Yours, His and more

The possessive pronouns aren’t placed before nouns. They replace both the pronoun and the noun they refer to. See nouns you can practice with to express emotions & feelings and more.

See this:

• I live in this house. It is my house. It is mine.
• You own this car. It is your car. It is yours.
• He is a bus driver. This is his bus. It is his.
• She is a website designer. This is her website. It  is hers
• It is an eagle’s nest. It is its nest. It is its.
• We work in this company. It is our company. It is ours.
• You are the owners of these computers. They’re your computers. They’re yours.
• They run this business. It is their business. It’s theirs.

In the sample: “… It is my house. It is mine”, you notice that “mine” replaces both my and house, from the previous sentence. Yet the meaning of the sentence is the same. So, “mine” in the referred statement, means my house.

The same happens with other samples under this type of pronouns.

4. Intensive vs. Reflexive Pronouns: Myself, Yourself, Himself and More

4.1. Intensive:

The job of an intensive pronoun is to add emphasis to the subject of a sentence. Achieving fluency in English, also means being capable to use the pronouns with specific purpose.

Check these examples of English pronouns in daily conversation:   

• I own this car. It is my car. The car is mine. I bought it myself.
•  You are a bus driver. This is your bus. The bus is yours. You drive it yourself.
• He is a website designer. This is his website. It is his. He designed it himself.
• She lives in this house. It is her house. The house is her. She built it herself.
• What is that? -It is an eagle’s nest. It is its nest. It is its. The eagle constructed it itself.
• We work in this company. It is our company. The company is ours. We built it ourselves.
• You are the owners of these computers. They’re your computers. They’re yours. You bought them yourselves.
• They run this business. It is their business. It is theirs. They built it themselves.

In the sample “I own this car… I bought it myself”, the speaker could just have said: “I bought it”. The sentence still would make sense.

But they wanted to emphasize that they bought the car, not someone else, so they said “I bought it myself”.

It’s in this sense we use the words above, as intensive pronouns.

But the same words can also be used as reflexive pronouns.

How to use the same words as reflexive pronouns?

Before discussing this, remember:

The words myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves, are intensive pronouns…

 Just under this conditions:

• If they add an emphasis to the noun used as the subject in a sentence.

E. g.

• He is a website designer…he designed this website himself.

This knowledge is essential for mastering English pronouns to achieve fluency.

4.2. Reflexive

When do we use the words in question, as reflexive pronouns then?

Good question!

Here is the answer:

• When the pronouns receive the action of the subject, in a sentence.

The statements below can help you understand and use this type of pronouns to achieve fluency in English.

Have a look:

• I did that because I really love myself. You know it;
• Be careful with the knife. You can cut yourself with it;
• The thief was able to climb the fence, but he hurt himself;
• She couldn’t help with the pain on her leg, so she treated herself;
• The Leopard managed to save itself from being caught by the hunter;
• We took this actions because we wanted to protect ourselves from thieves;
• Do you think we enjoyed the concert? – Sure. Although you didn’t dance you amused yourselves; 
• No one was happy with their performance but, they encouraged themselves not to give up.

The object of the action in this kind of sentence is the proper subject. It’s this that receives the action. So achieving fluency in English also involves using these pronouns in this sense.

The key factor to learning a language is through practice. So practice everyday

5. Types of English Pronouns: Object Pronouns – Me, You, Him, Her, Its, Us, You and Them

Object pronouns include 2 branches: Direct and Indirect.

How to differentiate one, from another?

Here is how:

5.1. Direct

A direct pronoun in a sentence receives the action of the subject.

These sentences can show this:

• I was working with this machine and it hurt me.
• Be careful! That knife is too sharp. It can cut you.
• Jessica is marrying Edmund… She is marrying him the coming weekend.
• She is struggling to fix an issue on her computer. Can you help her?
• I ate an apple at lunch time yesterday. I ate it…
• They invited you, Luis and me to the party. They invited us.
• You both should say thanks to David. He helped you do the task.
• Monica loves her parents. She loves them because they also love her.

English pronouns to achieve fluency: Let’s take sample 1 “I was working with this machine and it hurt me” and ask 2 basic question:

• What did the machine do? – Answer: It hurt
• Who did the machine hurt? – Answer: Me

 “Me” is an object pronoun.

Why do we say “me” is an object pronoun?

 Because it receives the action from the subject.

Like the pronoun “me”, the words above:“you”, “him”, “her”, and others, receive actions from the subject in the sentences above.

So practice the above examples of English pronouns in your daily conversation. To learn vocabulary to practice with like giving directions or making plan, visit the article: “Expressing Life in English”.

5.2. Indirect

Take a look at these examples:

• Can you show me what you are reading?
•  Can I give you his email address?
• We explained him everything about the issue.
• I’ll buy her a new laptop if she succeed in the exam.
• The cat was very hungry. So, I gave a piece of bread to it.
• At last! They told us the secret about how to better use the device.
• Before taking the children to the zoo, he told them amazing stories.

Although earlier we said these words were direct pronouns, here we can’t say so. Why?

Because in these last examples the pronouns don’t receive actions from the subject. Understanding this insights is crucial to learn English pronouns to achieve fluency.

Need a proof?

Let’s apply the test we used earlier, to check if the pronoun “me”, in the sentence:

“Can you show me what you are reading”, receives any action.

Let’s do it:

• Show what? – Answer: what you are reading – “what you are reading” receives the action.
• Show to who? – Answer: to me – “me” doesn’t receive the action.

How to decide whether a pronoun is direct or indirect?

Here is how:

Ask this question:

Does the pronoun receive an action from the subject?

• If the answer is YES, it’s a direct pronoun.
• If the answer is NO, it’s an indirect pronoun.

6. Types of English pronouns: Interrogative – What, Where, How and more

Interrogative pronouns allow the speaker ask question for a specific purpose in an effective way. Achieving fluency in English means using the right pronoun for the right question.

Have a look examples of English pronouns in daily conversation and see what the speaker seeks to know by using the pronouns in these questions:

• “What is this?” – The speaker seeks to know the name, the definition, or what something is about.
• “Whose pen is this?” – The speaker wants to find out the owner of the pen.
• “Where are they going?” – The speaker intend to know the place they are going.
• “Who told you I was here?” – The speaker seeks to know the person who said they were there.
• “To whom was sent the email?” The speaker wants to know the person who the email had been addressed to.
• “How to create an email account?” – The speaker intend to know about the procedure of how to create an email.
• “When did you start running your business?” – The speaker seeks to know about the time they started running the business.
• “Which of these countries would you go if you could?” – The speaker seeks to know about someone’s choice about something.
• “Why is it so difficult to monetize content on the internet?” – The speaker wonders to know the reason why it’s difficult to monetize content on the internet.

Our choice for using each of these words depends on the purpose of the question we aim to ask:

• You want to know the reason why something happens…? – use why.
• You want to know the time something will take place?– use when.  Etc.

The description above shows how crucial it is to master these words. So, practice them if you want to achieve fluency in English language.  

7. Types of English pronouns: Demonstrative Pronouns –This / That; These / Those

Demonstrative pronouns are the easiest words to use, among the pronouns in English. The examples that follow show how to use them and what meaning they carry in a sentence:

“This & that” – What they tell:

– Someone or something, is near or far from the speaker

E.g.

• This is my uncle Mike. –Near the speaker
• That one over there, is his wife, Jane. – Far from the speaker.

“These” & “Those” – Which ideas do they express?

They mean this:

 – Two or more people/two or more things are near or far from the speaker:

E.g.

• These are my uncles, Mike and John. –Near the speaker
• Those ones over there, are their wives Jane and Julia. – Far from the speaker.

This is how we use these words.

8. Types of English Pronouns: Indefinite Pronouns – Somebody, Anything and More

The table below shows: pronouns used for people, things, places and for all the 3 categories. You can practice the examples with basic English vocabulary in daily conversation

People

Things

Places

Examples of English pronouns in daily conversation used for People, Things and Places

To achieve fluency in English language, you have to understand how indefinite pronouns work.

From the table above, we can see that indefinite pronouns have specific use:

• Some are used for people;
• Others are used for things;
• Others, for places;
• Others yet can be used for People, things and places;

9. Types of English pronouns: Reciprocal Pronouns – Each Other vs. One Another

Is there any difference in terms of the use?

YES.

They are used in different way.

Here is how:

Each other (used for 2 people or 2 things).

E.g.

• Pedro and Paulo are close friends. Whenever they meet they hug each other.

The phrase each other in this sentence, tells us 2 things:

• Just 2 subjects (Pedro and Paulo) are involved in the action;
• Subject 1 does something to subject 2, subject 2 does the same thing to subject 1 simultaneously.

One another (used for more than 2 people or things).

E.g.

• Pedro, Paulo and Luis are football players. They enjoy playing football. Look at them, over there, they are kicking the ball to one another.

Like “each other”, the phrase one another carries 2 meanings:

• First: The action includes 2 or more subjects;
• Second: The subjects do the same thing to one another at the same time;

This is how we use the pronouns each other & one another. Understanding this can greatly help you use correctly English pronouns to achieve fluency.

Knowing types of English pronouns is essential for everyday conversations. This is because we use these vocabulary every time we speak and they make our speech sound natural. So practice using them if you want to build confidence.

Remember also to practice vocabulary together with the pronouns and check common English mistakes and how to fix them.

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