Pronoun
There are eight parts of speech and pronoun is one of them. The word "pronoun" is a combination of two words "pro" and "noun".
Before discussing "pronoun", we need to know the prefix "pro" and the word "noun".
Pro
In the English Language, we have two kinds of affixes one is the prefix and another one is the suffix. They are small words that come before or after the word to change its meaning. Alone, they have meanings but they combine with other words to give birth to completely different words. It means it modifies the word.
To make it more clear, let us take some examples:
helpless, helpful, discourage, incomplete, needful, spotless, unemployment, applicable, harmless, slowly, irregular, irregularly, cleanness,
In the above examples, prefixes and suffixes have been pointed out in red colour and blue colour respectively. In all these examples, they have modified the words. so, we add prefixes or suffixes to the root word to get our desired meaning and to convey our idea in a meaningful way to other people.
Now here we are ready to understand the prefix "pro" completely. so, "pro" is a prefix that means "for" or "in place of" and if we put it before the word "noun", we get a new word that means instead of or in place of. so, when we say the word "pronoun", we are referring in fact to a word that is used instead of a noun.
We know that noun is one of the basic and most important parts of speech and we also know that the only function of a noun is to name. So, a noun is a naming word.
Pronoun Definition
A pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun in a sentence.
For example:
Mike is studying Digital Marketing online.
He will soon be a Digital Marketing expert.
In the above example, the word "Mike" is a noun in the first sentence which functions here as a subject but in the second sentence, the word "he" has been used instead of the noun "Mike". Therefore, the word "he" is a pronoun as it replaces the noun "Mike". So, that's why we say that pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun in a sentence.
Why pronouns are used instead of a noun?
This is a billion-dollar question. The answer to this question makes things much much clearer and it sticks pronoun to one's mind in that it never fades away from the memory
A pronoun is used instead of a noun in a sentence for two reasons:
1. Pronoun is used to avoid the repetition of a noun.
2. Pronoun is used to make our style beautiful.
Let's make it clear with the help of an example.
Bob is a boy.
Bob reads in class 8.
Bob is a good student.
In the above sentences, we can see the repetition of the noun "Bob" which looks awkward. Now let's see how the pronoun eliminates the repetition of the noun "Bob" and how it makes our style beautiful. You will feel it yourself.
Bob is a boy.
He reads in class 8.
He is a good student.
Both sets of sentences can be compared and judge which set of sentences is looking great. it is definitely the second set because of the use of a pronoun instead of the noun "Bob".
Types of pronoun
Adjective pronoun
Demonstrative pronoun
Determinative pronoun
Emphasizing pronoun
Epicene pronoun
Gender-neutral pronoun
Indefinite Pronoun
Intensive pronoun
The interrogative pronoun
Object pronoun
Personal pronoun
Possessive pronoun
Prepositional pronoun
Reciprocal pronoun
Reflexive pronoun
Reflexive possessive pronoun
Resumptive pronoun
Subject pronoun
Substantive pronoun