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'''Pronouns''' are words that can be used in place of a noun or a noun phrase. The most well known example of pronouns are personal pronouns, which can refer to the
==Grammar==
In English all third-person personal pronouns have five grammatical form. The forms are:
*Nominative: Used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence. (''They'' went to the store.)
*Accusative: Used when the pronoun is the object of the sentence. (I met ''them'' today.)
*Pronominal Possessive: Used to show possession/relation to a noun, coming directly before the noun in question. (They walked ''their'' dog today.)
*Predicative Possessive: Used to show possession of a noun, coming directly after a linking verb. This is the least common pronoun form, as it requires a very specific sentence construction that is not common in normal speech. When listing out the forms of a pronoun, this is the form that it most commonly left out. (If I need a phone my friend will let me borrow ''theirs'').
*Reflexive: Used when the subject and the direct object in a sentence are the same. In English, these pronouns always end with -self (singular) or -selves (plural). (They have to drive ''themself'' to school.)
In some pronoun sets two or more of these forms are the same. For example, in the he/him pronoun set the pronominal possessive and the predicative possessive forms are the same (his). In the she/her pronoun set the accusative and the pronominal possessive forms are the same (her). In the they/them set all five forms are different.
==
Since pronouns are commonly gendered, the pronouns one uses are often used as a way to
Despite this, not everyone goes by pronouns that align with their gender. Pronouns are a form of [[Gender Presentation|gender expression]] and are related to one's gender in the same way clothing, hair, and other physical characteristics are related to one's gender. Pronouns may show a relation to one's gender, and comfort or discomfort with a given pronoun set may be an indication of one's gender, but pronouns do not have to correspond to one's gender. Some individuals are [[Pronoun Non-Conforming|pronoun non-conforming]] as a form of [[Gender Non-Conforming|gender non-conformity]]. Anyone of any gender can use any pronouns.
Some individuals may be comfortable going by multiple pronoun sets ([[Multipronouns|multipronomial]]), while some individuals might not use any pronouns at all ([[nullpronoun|nullpronomial]]). Some English speakers go by pronouns that are not found in standard English, known as [[neopronouns]], which includes but is not limited to [[Nounself Pronouns|nounself pronouns]] and [[Emojiself Pronouns|emojiself pronouns]]. Some question their pronouns or are unsure of their pronouns at times ([[Dubitopronomial|dubtiopronomial]]).
==English Pronouns==
==
[[File:
[[File:
He/Him pronouns are typically, but not always, used by men, masculine-aligned individuals, or those who want to present masculinely. During the Middle English and Modern English periods a supposedly masculine personal pronoun (him) was considered gender neutral and said nothing about the gender or sex of the individual, however it later became more strongly associated with only men. In the 18th century, when prescriptive grammarians decided that singular "they" was no longer acceptable as a gender-neutral pronoun, they instead recommended "gender-neutral he" when referring to a generic individual.
{| class="article-table"
|+
!Case
!Pronoun
! Example
|-
|Nominative
|He
|''He'' went to the store.
|-
|Accusative
|Him
|I met ''him'' today.
|-
|Pronominal Possessive
| His
|He walked ''his'' dog today.
|-
|Predicative Possessive
|His
|If I need a phone my friend will let me borrow ''his''.
|-
|Reflexive
|Himself
|He has to drive ''himself'' to school.
|}
===She/Her===
[[File:Sheher.png|thumb|220x220px|The she/her pronoun user flag.]]
[[File:She Her Pronouns.png|thumb|She/Her Pronouns Flag by Geekycorn on DeviantArt|alt=]]
She/Her pronouns are typically, but not always, used by women, feminine-aligned individuals, or those who want to present femininely. The pronoun "she", which first appears in the mid-12th century, and seems to have been created to reduce the increasing ambiguity of the pronoun system at the time.<ref>https://uwm.edu/lgbtrc/support/gender-pronouns/</ref> "She" is occasionally used as a generic gender neutral pronoun in place of "gender-neutral he" as a feminist statement against the bias towards seeing men as the default.
{| class="article-table"
|+
! Case
!Pronoun
!Example
|-
|Nominative
|She
|''She'' went to the store.
|-
|Accusative
|Her
|I met ''her'' today.
|-
|Pronominal Possessive
|Her
|She walked ''her'' dog today.
|-
|Predicative Possessive
|Hers
|If I need a phone my friend will let me borrow ''hers''.
|-
|Reflexive
|Herself
|She has to drive ''herself'' to school.
|}
<br />
==
[[File:Theythem.png|thumb|220x220px|The they/them pronoun user flag.]]
[[File:They them pronoun.png|thumb
The Oxford English Dictionary traces singular "they" back to 1375<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary''
The idea that singular "they" is grammatically incorrect
{| class="article-table"
|+
!Case
!Pronoun
!Example
|-
|Nominative
| They
|''They'' went to the store.
|-
|Accusative
|Them
|I met ''them'' today.
|-
|Pronominal Possessive
|Their
|They walked ''their'' dog today.
|-
|Predicative Possessive
| Theirs
|If I need a phone my friend will let me borrow ''theirs''.
|-
|Reflexive
| Themself or Themselves
|They have to drive ''themself'' to school. OR They have to drive ''themselves'' to school.
|}
In English reflexive pronouns either end with -self when singular and -selves when plural. Before the campaign against singular "they" the word "themself" was used when referring to an individual, while "themselves" was used for a group. Since the singular form was deemed to be "incorrect" the word ''themself'' is often considered to not be a word, with the correct version being themselves. Currently, either themself or themselves may be used when using singular "they".
==
[[File:It its pronouns.png|thumb|220x220px|It/Its Pronouns Flag by Geekycorn on DeviantArt]]
[[File:Alternate it-its.jpg|thumb|Alternative It/Its flag by Cheshire]]
The pronoun "it" is traditionally used for inanimate objects, and occasionally for animals or babies. Some use it/its pronouns as a gender neutral pronoun, however "it" should only be used for someone if said someone confirms it's okay to do so, as to do otherwise is degrading.
The usage of it/its pronouns
{| class="article-table"
|+
!Case
! Pronoun
!Example
|-
|Nominative
|It
|''It'' went to the store.
|-
|Accusative
|It
|I met ''it'' today.
|-
|Pronominal Possessive
|Its
| It walked ''its'' dog today.
|-
| Predicative Possessive
|Its
|If I need a phone my friend will let me borrow ''its''.
|-
|Reflexive
|Itself
| It has to drive ''itself'' to school.
|}
==
[[File:Oneself pronouns.png|thumb|The one/ones pronoun flag by mourningmogaicrew.]]
The pronoun "one" is the formal indefinite third-person pronoun. It is sometimes called a fourth-person pronoun, although fourth-person pronouns do not technically exist in English. It is used to refer to a hypothetical individual or to everyone in general. It is typically only used in formal writing. Occasionally, individuals use one/ones pronouns as a gender neutral pronoun.
The usage of one/ones pronouns by
{| class="article-table"
|+
!Case
!Pronoun
!Example
|-
|Nominative
|One
|''One'' went to the store.
|-
|Accusative
| One
|I met ''one'' today.
|-
|Pronominal Possessive
|One's
| One walked ''one's'' dog today.
|-
|Predicative Possessive
|One's
|If I need a phone my friend will let me borrow ''one's''.
|-
|Reflexive
|Oneself
|One has to drive ''oneself'' to school.
|}
==
The they/them, he/him, she/her pronoun user flags were created by Tumblr user love-all-around1223 on April 14, 2018.<ref>https://love-all-around1223.tumblr.com/post/172939520081/are-there-flags-for-pronouns</ref> The one/ones flag was created by Tumblr user mourningmogaicrew on June 20th, 2021.<ref>https://mourningmogaicrew.tumblr.com/post/654510105426083840/specific-neo-flags-part-2</ref>
==
<references />
[[Category:Terminology]]
[[Category:Pronouns]]
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