Personal pronouns replace proper nouns when referring to a person. English has several forms of personal pronouns, each with person, number, and sometimes gender and case. Some languages distinguish between singular and plural second person pronouns. The use of “they” as a singular pronoun is controversial.
A personal pronoun is a word that replaces a proper noun when referring to a person. Examples of personal pronouns include “I”, “she” and “they”. Some form of personal pronouns appear in every language, although different languages make different use of them.
In English, there are several main forms of personal pronouns. Each pronoun can be in the first person, such as “I” or “me”, in the second person, such as “you”, or in the third person, such as “she” or “he”. Also, every pronoun has a number and some have a gender. “I” is singular while “we” is plural and “he” is masculine while “she” is feminine. Only third person pronouns have gender; First and second person personal pronouns are genderless.
A personal pronoun has not only person, number and sometimes gender, but also case. English nouns typically have no cases, but a personal pronoun changes form depending on the role it plays in the sentence. For example, the first person singular pronoun is “I” if the speaker is the subject of the sentence, but “me” if the speaker is the object. Similarly, “she” and “he” are the subjects of sentences, while the objects are “he” and “her”. These pronouns also have reflexive forms, which are used if the speaker is both the subject and object of the sentence, as in the sentence “I was talking to myself.”
Many languages have personal pronouns that distinguish between singular and second person plural. This is the case in French, where “toi” is singular and “vous” is plural, although “vous” can also be a formal form of address. While English lacks this distinction, it exists in a number of English dialects. For example, South American English speakers sometimes use “y’all” as an informal second person plural pronoun, while Irish English and a number of American dialects have “youse,” which serves the same function.
No personal pronoun is more controversial than “they”. Although “they” is primarily the third person plural, speakers sometimes use it as a pronoun in cases where the number or gender of persons is unknown. Even when “they” refers to a single individual, it is still treated as plural and causes verbs to take plural forms. This usage has a long history, but some grammar writers dispute it due to the way it uses a plural pronoun to refer to a singular subject. Suggested alternatives include “he or she” and neologisms like “sie”.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
