pronoun

Click a letter for the index

Or search the encyclopaedia:

 

 

Go

 

In grammar, a part of speech that is used in place of a noun, usually to save repetition of the noun. For example: ‘The people arrived around nine o'clock’. ‘They’ behaved as though we were expecting ‘them’. Here, ‘they’ and ‘them’ are substitutes for repeating ‘the people’.

‘They’, ‘them’, ‘he’, and ‘she’ are personal pronouns (representing people); ‘this/these’, and ‘that/those’ are demonstrative pronouns (demonstrating or pointing to something: ‘this’ book and not ‘that’ book). Words like ‘that’ and ‘who’ can be relative pronouns in sentences like ‘She said ‘that’ she was coming’ and ‘Tell me ‘who’ did it’ (relating one clause to another), and ‘myself’ and ‘himself’ are reflexive pronouns (reflecting back to a person, as in ‘He did it ‘himself’).

A condor, poised to attack enemies, protects the nation under its wings. Blue symbolizes independence from Spain. Yellow recalls the Federation of Greater Colombia. Red stands for courage. Effective date: 7 November 1900. >>