The 9 Types of English Pronouns (With Examples and Charts)

English sentence structure may seem complicated, but it’s really just a pattern of grammar rules. Learning the parts of speech, including the different types of English pronouns, can help you provide clear communication in sentences that are easy to read.

There are nine types of English pronouns that you’ll see in everyday writing and use to speak clearly. Learn all the pronouns in English, when you should use each one, and how to use them in a sentence with these helpful pronoun charts.

What is a pronoun?

A pronoun replaces a noun (a person, place, or thing) in a sentence. Like Spanish pronouns and pronouns in other languages, the noun it replaces is known as an antecedent.

For example, in the sentence Matthew went to school, Matthew is the antecedent, meaning the noun that’s getting replaced. You can replace Matthew with the pronoun he to form the sentence He went to school.

We use different types of pronouns to clarify ourselves and to avoid using the same noun over and over.

My mother likes chocolate.
She likes chocolate.

Kelsey and Susan are my friends.
They are my friends.

My car won’t start.
It won’t start.

Some pronouns are short words, such as he or me, while others like whomever or each other are longer. Which one you use depends on what’s happening in a sentence. Then you’ll know which type of pronoun to use from the list included here.

1. English personal pronouns

You don’t want to repeat yourself when you talk about a specific noun, which is why personal pronouns are so helpful. For example, you could say:

Simon found a toy and Simon played with the toy.

It’s a little confusing and repetitive. Instead, you can use pronouns to replace some nouns in the sentence, like this:

Simon found a toy and he played with it.

The English pronoun he replaces the subject noun Simon, and it replaces the object noun toy.

Subject personal pronouns

Even within the personal pronouns, there are two types to know about. Subject personal pronouns replace nouns that perform the action in a sentence.

Maya wrote her name. = She wrote her name.

The subject noun Maya becomes the subject pronoun she in the example above. Here’s a chart of English personal pronouns and how they can be used in a sentence.

Personal Pronouns	Pronunciation	Example
I	ahy	I play the piano.
You	yoo	You play the piano.
He/She/It	hee/shee/it	He/She/It plays the piano.
We	wee	We play the piano.
They	they	They play the piano.

In some cases, such as with I and you, the pronoun doesn’t replace a noun at all. But most of the time, subject pronouns replace another noun.

Object personal pronouns

Object personal pronouns replace the object noun in a sentence. That noun usually comes after the verb, and it receives the action.

Louis lives with Hector, Carl, and Manny.
Louis lives with them.

You can replace the friend names with the pronoun them to create a sentence that’s easier to read.

Object Pronouns	Pronunciation	Example
Me	mee	The teacher talked to me.
You	yoo	The teacher talked to you.
Him/Her/It	him/hur/it	The teacher talked to him/her/it.
Us	uhs	The teacher talked to us.
Them	them	The teacher talked to them.

2. English possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns in English replace a possessive noun, which shows that something belongs to someone. For example:

That couch is Martin’s. = That couch is his.

The couch belongs to Martin, so when the possessive pronoun his replaces Martin’s, it means the same thing.

Possessive Pronouns	Pronunciation	Example
mine	mahyn	The car is mine.
yours	yoorz	The car is yours.
his/hers/its	hiz/hurz/its	The car is his/hers/its.
ours	ouuhrz	The car is ours.
theirs	thairz	The car is theirs.

Some possessive pronouns are tricky, even for English speakers! Its is a possessive pronoun that means something belongs to it, but only when there is no apostrophe (‘). It’s is a contraction that means it is, and it doesn’t show possession.

The dog ate its food.
It’s time to go.

3. English indefinite pronouns

people sitting waiting for an interview using English pronouns

Sometimes you don’t know exactly who you’re talking about in a sentence. That’s when you need indefinite pronouns, which don’t refer to anyone or anything specifically.

For example, the sentence The people who are interested in the job can apply has an entire phrase that can be replaced with one indefinite pronoun like anybody or anyone or somebody.

Anybody can apply.
Everyone can apply.
Somebody can apply.

You don’t know who is interested in the job, so indefinite pronouns like anybody, everyone, and somebody all make sense to use in this sentence.

Singular indefinite pronouns replace singular nouns, which talk about only one person, place or thing, or collective group of people, places or things. The indefinite pronouns beginning with any-, usually appear in questions or with negative verbs. Depending on which pronoun you choose, your sentence may have a different meaning.

Singular Indefinite Pronouns	Pronunciation	Example
anybody	EN-ee-bod-ee	Anybody is welcome.
anyone	EN-ee-wuhn	Anyone can come.
anything	EN-ee-thing	Bring anything you want.
anywhere	EN-ee-wair	I am not going anywhere.
each	eech	Each person needs a ticket.
everybody	EV-ree-bod-ee	Everybody will be there.
everyone	EV-ree-wuhn	Everyone is invited.
everything	EV-ee-thing	Everything you do is wonderful.
everywhere	EV-ree-wair	You can find these everywhere.
little	LIT-l	We know little about it.
much	muhch	Much has happened.
nobody	NOH-bod-ee	Nobody is here.
no one	NOH wuhn	No one understands.
nothing	NUHTH-ing	Nothing is the same.
nowhere	NOH-wair	They are nowhere in the room.
one	wuhn	One can ask questions here.
somebody	SUHM-bod-ee	Somebody is at the door.
someone	SUHM-wuhn	Someone called my phone.
something	SUHM-thing	Something smells good.
somewhere	SUHM-wair	Let’s go somewhere.

Plural indefinite pronouns replace plural nouns, which show more than one thing. Some plural indefinite pronouns indicate that there are a lot of nouns (many), while others show less (few and fewer). A pronoun like both means that there are two nouns you’re referring to.

Plural Indefinite Pronouns	Pronunciation	Example
both	bohth	Both look beautiful.
few	fyoo	Few will attend the party.
fewer	FYOO-er	Fewer know the answer.
many	MEN-ee	Many enjoy living here.
others	UHTH-erz	Others say that the book is very good.

4. English interrogative pronouns

The word interrogative means “to ask questions.” You use interrogative pronouns when you’re asking about what action happened by the noun or subject of the sentence. Interrogative pronouns usually come at the beginning of the question. For example:

Who ordered this coffee? = Laura ordered this coffee.

The interrogative pronoun who replaced Laura in the question. When you put Laura back in the sentence, you get the answer to the question!

Interrogative Pronouns	Pronunciation	Example
whatever	wuht-EV-er	Whatever happened to John?
which	wich	Which works best for you?
whichever	wich-EV-er	Whichever will you choose?
who	hoo	Who ate the last cookie? (when the object is he/she)
whoever	hoo-EV-er	Whoever told you that secret?
whom	hoom	Whom did you tell? (when the object is him/her)
whomever	hoom-EV-er	Whomever did you marry?
whose	hooz	Whose are these?

5. English relative pronouns

The list of English relative pronouns is almost the same as the interrogative pronouns, but they’re used differently. While interrogative pronouns ask a question, relative pronouns provide more information about the subject. This helps you give more context about a person or object when you’re telling a friend about them.

The boy called me. = The boy who I met at the dance called me.

When you add the relative pronoun who and more details after it, you’re giving more information about the boy.

Relative Pronouns	Pronunciation	Example
whatever	wuht-EV-er	Whatever you do is fine with me.
which	wich	My car, which works well, is for sale.
whichever	wich-EV-er	Whichever costs less is the best choice.
who	hoo	The dog who ate the cake is over there.
whoever	hoo-EV-er	Whoever owns this car should move it.
whom	hoom	My teacher, whom I respect, gave me this book.
whomever	hoom-EV-er	Whomever my friend invites will have a great time.
whose	hooz	My neighbor, whose dog barks all night, lives next door.

6. English reflexive pronouns

Reflexive nouns end in -self or -selves. They show that the subject and object in a sentence are the same noun. For example:

Lily bought the scarf for Lily. = Lily bought herself the scarf.
Lily bought the scarf for Lily. = Lily bought the scarf for herself.

Saying Lily bought the scarf for Lily is repetitive. Change the second Lily to herself, and you’ll show that the person who bought the scarf and the person who received the scarf are the same person.

Reflexive Pronouns	Pronunciation	Example
herself	her-SELF	She made herself a cake.
himself	him-SELF	He made himself a cake.
itself	it-SELF	It made itself a cake.
myself	mahy-SELF	I made myself a cake.
ourselves	ahr-SELVZ	We made ourselves a cake.
themselves	thuhm-SELVZ	They made themselves a cake.
yourself	yoor-SELF	You made yourself a cake.
yourselves	yoor-SELVZ	You made yourselves a cake.

7. English intensive pronouns

woman painting trees and bushes on a classroom wall

Intensive pronouns end in -self or -selves, just the same as reflexive pronouns. They put extra attention on a noun in the sentence. You can put it right after the noun or at the end of the sentence. For example:

The artist painted the wall. = The artist himself painted the wall.
The artist painted the wall. = The artist painted the wall himself.

When you add the pronoun himself, you’re emphasizing that the artist is the person who painted the wall. If you remove himself, the sentence still makes sense. These types of English pronouns are not used as frequently as most other pronouns since they can feel repetitive.

Intensive Pronouns	Pronunciation	Example
herself	her-SELF	Hannah herself made this cake.
himself	him-SELF	Boris himself wrote three books.
itself	it-SELF	The house itself is 100 years old.
myself	mahy-SELF	I myself have studied Greek.
ourselves	ahr-SELVZ	We built this treehouse ourselves.
themselves	thuhm-SELVZ	My teachers themselves don’t know the answer.
yourself	yoor-SELF	You yourself know this city best.
yourselves	yoor-SELVZ	You yourselves can find the way.

8. English demonstrative pronouns

A demonstrative pronoun points at a noun in a sentence. For example The pasta tastes good can be said in these two ways:

This tastes good.
That tastes good.

If you replace the pasta with the pronoun this, you’re talking about pasta that is close to you or that you’re specifically eating right now. When you say that, you’re talking about pasta that’s not necessarily yours or not nearby.

Demonstrative Pronouns	Pronunciation	Example
either	EE-thuhr	Either will do.
neither	NEE-thuhr	Neither is my favorite.
none	nuhn	None feels right to me.
that	that	That is wonderful.
this	this	This looks delicious.
these	theez	These are too expensive.
those	thohz	Those are from France.
such	suhch	Such is life.

9. English reciprocal pronouns

The last type of English pronouns are reciprocal pronouns. There are only two reciprocal pronouns, and they show that two subjects or objects have the same relationship.

Tim respects Harvey, and Harvey respects Tim.
Tim and Harvey respect each other.

If you say Harvey and Tim respect each other, it means that Harvey respects Tim, and Tim respects Harvey. Their relationship is reciprocal or mutual.

Reciprocal Pronouns	Sentence
each other	Mike and I love each other.
one another	Mike and I love one another.

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