Pronomens

Pronomens are words that substitute for nouns or noun phrases in sentences. They help avoid repetition and clarify reference, while enabling smooth discourse. Pronomens are usually classified by function rather than form: personal, demonstrative, possessive, reflexive, relative, interrogative, indefinite, and reciprocal.

Personal pronouns encode person and number and, in many languages, gender and case. In English subject forms are I, you, he, she, it, we, they; object forms are me, you, him, her, it, us, them. Possessive determiners include my, your, his, her, its, our, their; possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs. Reflexives are myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. Demonstratives are this, that, these, those. Relative pronouns include who, whom, whose, which, that; interrogatives include who, what, which; indefinite pronouns include anyone, nothing, each.

Pronoun reference must agree with antecedents; English shows limited inflection, whereas many languages have richer gender, number, and case systems. The use of pronouns is also social: gender pronouns and inclusive or neopronouns are widely discussed, and many institutions publish guidelines for pronoun use to respect individual preferences.

Historically, pronouns are among the oldest grammatical elements, with roots in early language families. They serve to maintain cohesion by substituting nouns and enabling various discourse functions without excessive repetition.