Page 53 - Just Enough English Grammar Illustrated Book

3.3 Pronouns Avoid Repetition

Pronouns can be used in place of
nouns to avoid monotonous repetition.

You will often want to refer to the same noun a number of times
within connected sentences. The following example illustrates
how the noun Susan is used several times.

Nouns Susan goes to the pool.
Susan works at Lakewood Pool.
Ben asks Susan if Susan wants a party.

Nouns

The use of another part of speech—pronouns—can avoid
repetition:

Noun Susan goes to the pool.
Pronoun She works at Lakewood Pool.
Ben asks her if she wants a party.

Pronouns

The most common task for pronouns is replacing nouns. Like the
nouns they replace, pronouns refer to people, places, or things.

3.4 Personal Pronouns

Of the various types of pronouns, the most common are the
personal pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. These pronouns
are called personal because they refer most often to people,
although they can also refer to things.

A personal pronoun is a pronoun used to replace
words for people, places, or things.

The characteristics found in most personal pronouns refer to
number, gender, and grammar person. A pronoun’s form provides
information about these characteristics.

You are familiar with the concepts of number and gender of
English nouns (see Chapter 1). Now you will learn to apply the

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