English Pronouns

In both English and French, pronouns are words used to replace a noun to avoid repetition. They allow us to talk about a person, thing, place, or idea without naming it every time.

Examples:

• Lisa is a teacher. She loves her job. → “She” replaces “Lisa”
• I have a car. It is red. → “It” replaces “a car”

There are several types of pronouns in English. Each type has a specific function in a sentence:

Type	Examples	Function
Subject Pronouns	I, you, he, she, it, we, they	Used as the subject of the verb
Object Pronouns	me, you, him, her, it, us, them	Used as the object of a verb or preposition
Possessive Pronouns	mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs	Show ownership
Reflexive Pronouns	myself, yourself, himself, herself…	Refer back to the subject
Demonstrative Pronouns	this, that, these, those	Point out specific people or things
Interrogative Pronouns	who, what, where, when, why…	Introduce a question
Relative Pronouns	who, which, that, whose…	Connect two clauses
Indefinite Pronouns	someone, anyone, everybody, nothing…	Refer to unspecified people or things
Reciprocal Pronouns	each other, one another	Express mutual actions

• To avoid repetition and make your sentences more fluent
• To understand and build both simple and complex sentences
• Because pronouns are used in almost every sentence in English

• Lisa is a teacher. She loves her job. → “She” replaces “Lisa”
• I have a car. It is red. → “It” replaces “a car”
• Tom and I are friends. We go to school together. → “We” replaces “Tom and I”
• This is Peter. He is my cousin. → “He” replaces “Peter”

Replace the underlined nouns with the correct pronoun:

• Sarah is my friend. → ________ is my friend.
• My brother and I play football. → ________ play football.
• I see the cat. → I see ________.

Show answers

• She is my friend.
• We play football.
• I see it.

Subject pronouns are used to indicate who is performing the action in a sentence. In English, unlike French, subject pronouns must always be present — they cannot be dropped.

They are placed before the verb and replace a person, animal, or thing.

Replace the underlined subject with the correct pronoun:

• Marc is tall. → ________ is tall.
• Julie and I are friends. → ________ are friends.
• The dog is hungry. → ________ is hungry.
• Tom and Lisa are tired. → ________ are tired.

Show answers

• He is tall.
• We are friends.
• It is hungry.
• They are tired.

Object pronouns are used to replace a person or thing that receives the action in a sentence. They can appear:

• After a verb → I like him.
• After a preposition → This gift is for you.

Replace the underlined part with the correct object pronoun:

• I know John. → I know ________.
• She is talking to my brother and me. → She is talking to ________.
• Give the keys to Sophie. → Give the keys to ________.
• He loves his dog. → He loves ________.

Show answers

• I know him.
• She is talking to us.
• Give the keys to her.
• He loves it.

Possessive pronouns are used to show that something belongs to someone. Unlike possessive adjectives (my, your, his...), they replace the noun entirely.

Examples:

• This is my book. → This book is mine.
• That’s your pen. → That pen is yours.

Replace the underlined phrase with the correct possessive pronoun:

• This bag belongs to me. → This bag is ________.
• The house belongs to them. → The house is ________.
• These shoes belong to you. → The shoes are ________.
• That pen belongs to Sarah. → The pen is ________.

Show answers

• This bag is mine.
• The house is theirs.
• The shoes are yours.
• The pen is hers.

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject does something to itself. In French, these are equivalent to “moi-même, toi-même, lui-même”, etc.

They are also used for emphasis: I did it myself.

Choose the correct reflexive pronoun for each sentence:

• He looked at ________ in the mirror.
• Be careful, children! Don’t hurt ________.
• We built the house ________.
• She blamed ________ for the mistake.

Show answers

• He looked at himself.
• Don’t hurt yourselves.
• We built the house ourselves.
• She blamed herself.

Demonstrative pronouns are used to point to or identify a specific person or thing. They replace a noun that is either previously mentioned or obvious in the context.

In English, their form depends on the number (singular/plural) and the distance (near/far).

Complete each sentence with this, that, these, or those:

• ________ is delicious! (you are holding a piece of cake)
• Look at ________ birds over there! (they are far away)
• ________ shoes are too small. (close to you)
• I don’t like ________ movie. (referring to a film far away in time or conversation)

Show answers

• This is delicious!
• Look at those birds over there!
• These shoes are too small.
• I don’t like that movie.

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. They are placed at the beginning of the sentence and allow you to ask about people, things, places, time, reasons, or ways of doing things.

Who is used as a subject (who does the action), while whom is used as an object (who receives the action).

In spoken English, who is often used instead of whom, but whom is still preferred in formal writing.

Examples:

• Who called you? → (subject)
• Whom did you call? → (object)
• To whom did you speak? → formal
• Who did you speak to? → informal

Complete each question with the right word:

• ________ do you come from?
• ________ is your best friend?
• ________ is the capital of France?
• ________ book is yours?
• ________ are you talking to? (informal)
• ________ did you invite to the party? (formal)

Show answers

• Where do you come from?
• Who is your best friend?
• What is the capital of France?
• Which book is yours?
• Who are you talking to? (or To whom... in formal English)
• Whom did you invite to the party? (or Who in everyday English)

Relative pronouns are used to connect two clauses and refer back to a noun mentioned earlier. They introduce a relative clause and add information about the subject or object.

📌 Tip: "that" vs "which" vs "who"

• who → for people (subject)
• whom → for people (object), often replaced by who in everyday English
• which → for things
• that → can replace who or which in defining (essential) clauses, but not in non-defining ones

Complete the sentences with the correct relative pronoun:

• The girl _______ lives next door is very kind.
• The artist _______ paintings are famous lives in Italy.
• The bike _______ I bought was expensive.
• The friend _______ I met yesterday is from Canada.
• This is the singer _______ won the contest.

Show answers

• who
• whose
• that (or which)
• whom (or who in informal usage)
• who

Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things in a non-specific or vague way. They are very common in everyday English.

Some are built with endings like -one, -body, -thing depending on whether they refer to a person or a thing.

Complete the sentences with the correct word:

• ________ is calling you on the phone.
• I can’t see ________ in the room. It’s empty.
• Do you want ________ to eat?
• ________ knows the answer. Let’s ask the teacher.
• I told you ________ about the problem.

Show answers

• Someone is calling you on the phone.
• I can’t see anybody in the room.
• Do you want something to eat?
• No one knows the answer.
• I told you everything.

Reciprocal pronouns express a mutual action between two or more people. In French, they correspond to “l’un l’autre”, “les uns les autres”.

There are two main reciprocal pronouns:

📌 Note: Today, each other and one another are often used interchangeably, even though some grammar books recommend using one another when more than two people are involved.

Complete the sentences with the appropriate reciprocal pronoun:

• John and Mary are writing letters to ________.
• We should respect ________ despite our differences.
• The two children were fighting with ________.

Show answers

• John and Mary are writing letters to each other.
• We should respect one another.
• The two children were fighting with each other.

Here is a summary table of the 9 main types of English pronouns covered in this guide:

Complete each sentence with the appropriate pronoun:

1. ________ is speaking? (who)
2. This car is ________. (it belongs to me)
3. He taught ________ to code. (by himself)
4. Give the keys to ________. (Sophie)
5. I didn’t see ________ in the room. (nobody)
6. My friends and I know ________ very well. (mutually)
7. The book ________ is on the table is mine.
8. ________ do you want to eat? (what)
9. He has a brother ________ works in London.
10. Do you know ________ this bag is?

Show answers

1. Who
2. mine
3. himself
4. her
5. nobody
6. each other (or one another)
7. which
8. What
9. who
10. whose