What is a pronoun?
The words that save you repeating a noun, and how to make sure the reader knows who they mean.
The answer
A pronoun is a word such as she, it or they that stands in place of a noun, so you do not have to keep repeating it.
Examples
Jake lost his coat, so he went back to look for it.
He stands for Jake; it stands for the coat.
We asked Grandma if she wanted to come with us.
The puppies were hungry, so Dad fed them.
Everyone clapped when they heard the news.
Everyone is a pronoun too: it stands for all the people there.
How to spot it
- Ask which noun it stands for. In ‘Jake lost his coat, so he went back’, he means Jake.
- The common ones are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us and them.
- A pronoun stands on its own. If the word sits in front of a noun (this book, my book), it is working as a determiner instead.
The common mistake
Using a pronoun when the reader cannot tell who it means.
‘Sam told Leo that he was late’ could mean either boy. When it is unclear, use the name again. Year 4 is exactly this skill: choosing a pronoun or a noun so the writing is clear without being repetitive.
When it is taught
- First met
- Year 1
- On the pupil word list
- Year 4, as “pronoun”
Year 1 children learn that the pronoun I always takes a capital letter. The word pronoun arrives in Year 4, when children learn to choose between a pronoun and a noun to avoid repetition without confusing the reader.
Try a question
Replace the marked words with a pronoun.
The twins were late because the twins missed the bus.
Show the answer
Answer: they
The twins means more than one person, and here they are doing the missing, so the pronoun is they, not them.
Related terms
- Practise the 11+ skill: Select a pronoun form
More grammar terms
Questions parents ask
Is my a pronoun?
The national curriculum glossary calls my, your, his, her, our and their possessives, and says a possessive can act as a determiner, which is what my does in ‘my book’. Many schools still call these words possessive pronouns. Mine, yours, hers, ours and theirs, which stand alone, are possessive pronouns.
Is it ‘Sam and I’ or ‘Sam and me’?
Use I when it is doing the verb (Sam and I went home) and me when something is done to it or it comes after a preposition (Mum called Sam and me). Take Sam out to check: ‘I went home’, ‘Mum called me’.
When do children learn the word pronoun?
In Year 4, together with possessive pronoun, determiner and adverbial. Children use pronouns in their writing long before that.
Grammar turns up in 11+ English too
Many 11+ English papers include grammar and punctuation questions alongside comprehension. The free diagnostic checks maths, English and both kinds of reasoning, and shows what to practise next. No card is required.