What Is a Pronoun in Writing? (Grammar Rules)
In this post, we define what a pronoun is, explain benefits and drawbacks of using pronouns, and share a few examples of pronouns in action.
In more than two decades of editing, one of the most consistently debated topics is that of the pronoun. I'm not sure why when it's a replacement word for the real article, but the pronoun is one controversial word.
When I started as an editor, some of the debates revolved around whether to use he, she, he/she, he or she, he and/or she, they, etc., when referring to an unnamed person in a magazine article or book manuscript. Over time, the debates have increased and become (at times) very political.
But recently, it seems people don't even know what a pronoun is (and even admit as much in public). So, without getting too divisive, let's address what precisely a pronoun is in writing.
What Is a Pronoun in Writing?
A pronoun is basically a word that replaces a noun.
For instance, my name is Robert. Robert is a proper noun, but if you wanted to replace my name with a pronoun, you might say "he" instead of "Robert." Here's an example:
- Noun version: Robert wrote a piece on pronouns.
- Pronoun version: He wrote a piece on pronouns.
"He" replaces the proper noun "Robert." Make sense?
Here's another example (getting my wife involved):
- Noun version: Robert and Tammy wrote a poem together.
- Pronoun version: They wrote a poem together.
But pronouns can replace more than proper nouns. And the nouns they replace can be inanimate objects. Like a car:
- Noun version: The car stopped at the red light.
- Pronoun version: It stopped at the red light.
What Are the Benefits of Pronouns?
Pronouns are a good thing, because they can help simplify language and avoid monotonous repetition. A story might start off by saying, "Robert did this," but pronouns allow for variation of words as Robert does other things.
And as seen with the "Robert and Tammy" example above, pronouns can help with concision of language. In one syllable, "they" does the work of five syllables ("Robert and Tammy").
What Are the Drawbacks of Pronouns?
One of the main drawbacks of using pronouns is that they can get a little vague. Here's a sample paragraph:
She walked in the room and slammed it down. Then, she looked it over and told her what she thought of her and it. But she said it didn't matter.
When relying solely on pronouns and without any context, this makes very little sense at all. However, the picture gets a little clearer with some nouns included:
Sarah walked in the room and slammed the key down. Then, she looked the kitchen over and told Janet what she thought of her and it. But Janet said it didn't matter.
We still might not know everything that's going on in this scene, but we at least know it involves two women named Sarah and Janet, a key, and a kitchen. I still used pronouns in this second example, but only after identifying the nouns they replaced first.
Final Word on Pronouns
As you can see, pronouns are very helpful in writing. But they should be used to complement nouns, not completely replace them all the time.
There are other debates to be had regarding pronouns, but we'll save those for another time. I hope this post at least helps those who profess not to know what a pronoun is (or who replace pronouns with nouns, verbs, and other words that are not pronouns).
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
