Parts of Speech:
ESL Common Pronoun Guide
What are common pronouns?
In English there are different types of pronouns. Each type of pronoun has a specific use. Below are commonly used pronouns.
What does 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person mean?
1st person, 2nd person and 3rd person all refer to the point of view of the sentence.
- 1st person refers to the person who is talking
- 2nd person refers to whom the speaker is talking
- 3rd person refers to a person other than the speaker and who the speaker is talking to
We use point of view to choose correct pronouns and verb forms. These Point of View tables use subject pronouns. Subjects can be singular (1 person) or plural (more than 1 person).
Why do we use pronouns?
A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun. Using the same noun in every sentence can be repetitive. Known nouns can be replaced with a pronoun to reference that noun. Below are examples of subject pronouns and object pronouns used to replace nouns.
Sentences without pronouns.
- Bobby plays basketball with Lisa.
- Bobby thinks Bobby is better than Lisa.
Sentences without pronouns.
- He plays basketball with her.
- She likes to play with him.
Below are examples of the noun being replaced by four different types of pronouns: subject, object, possessive and reflexive.
TYPE
- Noun
- Subject Pronoun
- Object Pronoun
- Possessive Pronoun
- Reflexive Pronoun
SARA
- Sara plays basketball.
- She is a good player.
- We watch her on the field.
- This trophy is hers.
- She practices by herself a lot.
SPIDER
- A spider was on the wall.
- It was a big spider.
- My father caught it.
- (not used)
- The spider got itself stuck in a corner.
