Pronouns – Types, Usage & Common Errors

📘 Rule Summary

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun to avoid repetition. Examples: he, she, it, they, myself, who, each, which, etc. Using pronouns correctly requires understanding types, antecedents, and case (subjective, objective, possessive).

📝 Examples

John is tall. → He is tall.

The students studied. → They studied.

This is my book.

She hurt herself.

The man who called is my uncle.

📖 Explanation

🧑‍🏫 Day 13: Pronouns – Replace, Refer, and Clarify

🧠 Without pronouns, language becomes awkward. With pronouns, language flows.

🌱 Level 1 – Beginner (A1–A2): What is a Pronoun?

Type	Purpose	Examples
Personal	Replaces people/things	I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Possessive	Shows ownership	my, your, his, her, our, their
Reflexive	Reflects back to subject	myself, yourself, herself
Demonstrative	Points to things	this, that, these, those

🧠 Sample Sentences:

She is a doctor.
This is my laptop.
I hurt myself.
Those are my shoes.

🌿 Level 2 – Intermediate (B1–B2): Advanced Types & Agreement

✅ 1. Indefinite Pronouns

Use	Examples
Non-specific people/things	anyone, someone, everyone, each, none

Everyone is invited.
Each of them has a task.

✅ 2. Relative Pronouns (connect clauses)

Pronoun	Use	Example
who	subject (people)	The man who called is here.
whom	object (people)	The person whom I met was kind.
which	object (things)	The car which broke down is mine.
that	essential clause	The book that I bought is useful.

✅ 3. Interrogative Pronouns

who, whom, whose, which, what

Who is calling?
Which is better?

✅ 4. Pronoun–Antecedent Agreement

Antecedent: The noun a pronoun refers to.
Pronouns must match the number and gender of their antecedent.

✅ The dog lost its collar.
✅ The boys forgot their bags.

🌳 Level 3 – Professional (C1–C2): Common Errors & Fixes

❌ Ambiguous Pronoun Reference:

Incorrect: John told Mike he won.
(Who is “he”?)

✅ Better: John told Mike that Mike had won.

❌ Misusing Reflexives:

❌ Myself went to the store.
✅ I went to the store.

❌ Singular “they” confusion (use in modern English is correct):

✅ Someone left their umbrella.
(Used when gender is unknown.)

🧠 Tips:

Never use myself instead of I/me.
Use who as subject, whom as object (formal contexts).
Indefinite pronouns (each, everyone) are singular in grammar, though spoken English may vary.

🔁 Practice:

Match the type with the sentence:

This is her phone. → Possessive
Who opened the window? → Interrogative
He cut himself while shaving. → Reflexive