Pronouns: Types, Rules, Questions, Exercise

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Vipra Shrivastava

Vipra ShrivastavaSenior Manager - Content

Updated on Nov 26, 2024 13:30 IST

Pronoun is of many types and is not limited to he, she, it. In English Comprehension paper of MBA entrance tests and other competitive exams, questions related to types of pronoun are often asked in the form of fill in the blanks. Let's understand pronoun here.

What is Pronoun?

As the name suggests, a pronoun is used in the place of a noun which is used earlier in a sentence. In other words, a pronoun is a substitute of a noun. A pronoun can be used instead of a noun or a noun phrase. This means that pronouns are used to avoid repetitions. The antecedent of the pronoun is the noun or a noun phrase that a pronoun replaces.

Understand Pronoun by these simple examples:

  • Sarah is a good girl. She is also a bright student.

Here, ‘she’ is a pronoun which is used to replace the antecedent ‘Sarah’.

  • Sarah is good at sports. She announced that she wanted to take part in a sports event at her school.

Here, the pronoun ‘she’ is the referent as it refers to the noun, ‘Sarah’. The pronoun and the antecedent must agree in terms of numbers and genders.

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Types of Pronouns

There are many types of pronouns. Let’s look at the types of pronouns below:

  • Personal Pronouns: The most common type of pronouns are the personal pronouns. They are used to substitute or replace a person or people. They are sub categorized into two categories, i.e. subjective pronouns and objective pronouns. Pronouns that replace the subject in a sentence are called subjective pronouns. Pronouns that replace the antecedent object are called objective pronouns. For example; I, she, he, you, it, we, they, etc. are all personal pronouns.

Example for Subjective Pronoun: Juan is a talented pianist. He played the piano really well at the party.

Example for Objective Pronoun: I have a gift for your sister. Give it to your sister.

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  • Relative Pronouns: The pronouns which connect the relative clauses to independent clauses are called relative pronouns. They often give some additional information about something in the sentence. They refer to nouns which have been previously mentioned. Pronouns such as that, what, which, who and whom are relative pronouns.

Example:

  1. The library, which is on North Avenue, is being renovated.
  2. Choose whichever dress you like.
  • Possessive Pronouns: Some pronouns are used to indicate possession and ownership. Such pronouns, in a broad sense, are called possessive pronouns. Such as, mine, yours, ours, hers, his, theirs. These pronouns also accompany nouns.

Example:

  1. Is that his book?
  2. No, it’s my book.
  3. Those clothes are mine.
  4. That car is theirs.
  • Reflexive Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns indicates that the subject receives the action. In other words, the subject in the sentence is also the object of the sentence. Reflexive pronouns are used when the action of the subject is performing the action on the subject itself. Here the pronouns end with –self or -selves.

Example:

  1. He told himself that he was so lucky to be alive.
  2. I gave myself enough time.
  • Intensive Pronouns: Intensive pronouns are similar to reflexive pronouns. These pronouns also end with –self or –selves but the only difference is that they add emphasis. They are placed right next to the nouns.

Example:

  1. He built this house (Here himself emphasizes that he personally built the house. He did not hire or ask for help from anybody to build the house.)
  2. I myself am my own worst critic. (Here myself emphasizes the noun I am my worst critic.)
  • Demonstrative Pronouns: These pronouns are used to replace the noun which has already been mentioned before in the sentence. They are also used to indicate the distance either literally or metaphorically. There are majorly four demonstrative pronouns, which are; this, that, these, those.

Example:

  1. That is my card.
  2. Those flowers are beautiful.
  3. Don’t eat this.
  • Interrogative Pronouns: Interrogative pronouns are used in sentences where there is a question. They do as their name suggests. The pronouns which refer to questions related to nouns are the interrogative pronouns.

Example:

  1. What is her name?
  2. Who do you work for?
  3. Whose desk is this?
  • Indefinite Pronouns: As the name suggests, indefinite pronouns refer to an undefined noun. There is no specific replacement of a noun. Pronouns such as everybody, few, neither, either, many, several, some, etc. are indefinite pronouns.

Example:

  1. There are a few candies in the jar.
  2. Everybody is welcome to the party.

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Pronouns Exercises with Answers

Listed below are some pronouns exercises with answers for practice.

Q1. She is as good a student as ____.

A. (a) he (b) him (c) himself (d) herself

Q2. She is not more studious than _____.

A. (a) me (b) I (c) I am (d) myself

Q3. The girl ___ fell off the swing has hurt her knee. 

A. (a) who (b) whose (c) who (d) that

Q4. Neither Thomas nor Ben has done ____ work.

A. (a) his (b) their (c) theirs (d) himself

Q5. He ____ saw the thief. 

A. (a) himself (b) him (c) them (d) themselves

Q6. Shreya and ____ went to Karnataka. 

A. (a) I (b) themselves (c) myself (d) ourself

Q7. Riya was displeased at ____ going there.

A. (a) mine (b) my (c) me (d) I

Q8. Pooja is the maid ____ I have employed.

A. (a) I (b) me (c) whom (d) who

Q9. The letter ____ she wrote reached me late.

A. (a) which (b) that (c) what (d) no change required

Q10. My grandparents live in Italy. We visit ____ often.

A. (a) him (b) her (c) they (d) them

Q11. The cabinate gave _____ consent.

A. (a) his (b) its (c) their (d) theirs

Q12. My niece likes dolls. The barbie is for _____.

A. (a) she (b) her (c) it (d) niece

Q13. My grandparents like folk music. The CD is for _______.

A. (a) them (b) theirs (c) both (d) grandparents

Q14. Shreya is a wonderful piano player. ____ played the piano really well at the party.

A. (a) her (b) she (c) he (d) it

Q15. _____ is welcome to the opening of the cafe.

A. (a) Everyone (b) Everybody (c) All (d) They

Q16. The baby cried all night. ___ needs sleep.

A. (a) she (b) her (c) they (d) it

Q17. We all told the manager we wanted to have _____ salaries paid on time.

A. (a) ours (b) his (c) we (d) our

Q18. Although ______ in the class seemed to follow ______ the teacher said, she never intended to simplify her language. 

A. (a) no one/ anything (b) anybody/ anything (c) nobody/ nothing (d) someone/ something

Q19. We decided to make dinner _____ instead of hiring a catering company for the party.

A. (a) of our own (b) by ourselves (c) ourself (d) oneself

Q20. Children nowadays prefer doing _____ homework with music in the background.

A. (a) them (b) their (c) they (d) his

Q21. The kids watched each gesture of ______ as if their father were a stranger. 

A. (a) them (b) him (c) his (d) himself

Q22. Trademarks enable a brand to distinguish ____ products from ____ of another brand. 

A. (a) their/ it (b) it/ that (c) our/ this (d) its/ those

Q23. I hope you will enjoy _____ at the party. 

A. (a) you (b) yours (c) yourself (d) oneself

Q24. When the woman asked how I got _____ address, I told her that it was given by a relative of _____.

A. (a) my/ me (b) mine/ his (c) her/hers (d) she/ she

Q25. We cannot see through translucent materials, but light can pass through ____.

A. (a) them (b) it (c) their (d) them

Q26. Choose__book you like.

A: (a) Which (b) That (c) Whichever

Q27. On way to office, he felt hungry and told__that he should have eaten before leaving home.

A: (a) Himself (b) Themselves (c) Him

Q28. The cabinet gave __ consent for revising tax rules.

A: (a) Its (b) Their (c) Theirs

Q29. We cannot understand the language of dogs, but we can understand ____emotions.

  1. (a) them (b) it (c) their

Q30. You can eat __ice-cream you like.

A: (a) Which (b) That (c) Whichever

Q31. While reading a book, he was reminded of __own village.

A: (a) Himself (b) Their (c) His

Q32. The examination authority changed __ rules regarding late entry.

A: (a) Their (b) Its (c) Theirs

Q33. Soham sold _ car at a very low price.

A: (a) His (b) Him (c) Their

Q34. The students were asked to choose the game _ they like. 

A: (a) any (b) whoever (c) whichever

Q35. At the airport, we were asked to keep _ belongings away. 

A: (a) Mine (b) theirs (c) our

Q36. Vinney and Max repaired the wall_.

A: (a) himself (b) themselves (c) their

Q37. Simmi will be arriving today but _ will get a bit late. 

A: (a) she (b) I (c) her

Answers:

Q1. (b)  Q2. (c)  Q3. (c)  Q4. (a)  Q5. (a)  Q6. (a)  Q7. (b)  Q8. (c)  Q9. (a)  Q10. (d)  Q11. (c)  Q12. (b)  Q13. (a)  Q14. (b)  Q15. (b)  Q16. (d)  Q17. (d)  Q18. (a)  Q19. (b) Q20. (b)  Q21. (c) Q22. (d)  Q23. (c)  Q24. (c)  Q25. (d) Q26. (C) Q27. (a) Q28. (b) Q29. (c) Q30. (c) Q31. (c) Q32. (b) Q33. (a) Q34 (c) Q35 (c) Q36 (c) Q37 (a)

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