Pronoun: Definition, Types & Examples

THE PRONOUN

DEFINITION
CLASSIFICATION
Personal pronouns
Demonstrative 'the same' used as personal pronoun
Adverb used instead of personal pronoun Forms used for reference to preceding idea
Reflexive pronouns
Reciprocal pronouns Relative pronouns
Relative pronouns with antecedent
Older relative forms 'Which' used for reference to persons
Relative adverbs instead of relative pronouns Relative clause without relative pronoun
Indefinite and general relative pronouns
Indefinite pronouns
Compounds with 'thing' and  'body'
'Somewhat,' 'aught,' 'naught,' 'nought' Neuter accusative used as adverb
Interrogative pronouns
Limiting adjectives used as pronouns Intensifying adjectives used as personal pronouns
Demonstrative adjectives used as pronouns 'Each' used as predicate appositive Determinatives
Indefinite adjectives used as pronouns Indefinite 'one' referring backward or forward
Absolute indefinite 'one'
Accusative of indefinite pronouns used adverbially
Indefinite pronouns used as nouns 'One' with the force of 'I'
Numeral adjectives used as pronouns Cardinal numeral adjectives used as pronouns
Ordinal numeral adjectives used as pronouns
Possessive adjectives used as pronouns
Origin Possessive pronouns used as nouns
Indefinite relative adjectives used as pronouns Interrogative adjectives used as pronouns.

Definition and Classification of Pronoun

A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun. As a pronoun always has the same syntactical functions as a noun some grammarians say it is not a distinct part of speech.

But as it often has a marked distinctiveness of form and usually shows peculiarities of usage it is quite clear that it is a distinct part of speech. Although it is never the name of a person or thing, as is a noun, yet it has to do with nouns in that it is used instead of a noun that is used elsewhere or is suggested by the context. Thus it permits us to avoid the unpleasant repetition of a noun or the unnecessary naming of a person that is already known. It is a formal convenience of great importance. There are seven classes of pronouns, two of them with subdivisions.

1. PERSONAL PRONOUNS

These pronouns are: I, me, thou, thee, he, him, she, her, it; we, us, ye, you, they, them. For politeness' sake the pronoun of the first person stands last when used in connection with other pro nouns: 'He, you, and I had better do it.' 'It is important for you and me to be there.' The speaker employs I or me instead of his own name, or, when he includes others, he uses we or us: 'I know it.' 'He knows me.' 'We know it.' 'He knows us.'

You is used in direct address instead of the name of the person spoken to: 'You know it.'

He, she, it, they, them, are used instead of nouns that have been previously mentioned: 'I shall talk with Henry about the matter this evening and shall discuss it (referring to the antecedent mat ter) with him' (referring to the antecedent Henry). Henry found that he (referring to the antecedent Henry) was mistaken.' 'Henry and James found that they (referring the antecedents Henry and James) were mistaken.' 'John said that he didn't do it, and I believe it' (referring to the antecedent that he didn't do it). These pronouns always have an antecedent, i.e. a noun, pronoun, clause, or sentence to which they refer. Sometimes such is used with the force of it, they, or them.
Sometimes it refers to a person: 'Would you like to marry Malcolm? Fancy being owned by that! Fancy seeing it every day!'  Sometimes, like the relative which, it is used to denote a quality, state, rank, dignity: 'She is a queen and looks it.'

My, mine, thy, thine, his, hers, its, our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs, were once used as personal pronouns, as the genitive forms to I, thou, he, she, it, we, you, they, and are sometimes still so used.
They are now usually possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns.

a. Demonstrative 'The Same' Used as Personal Pronoun.

In older English the demonstrative the same was often used as the equivalent of a personal pronoun-he, she, it, they: 'But he who shall endure unto the end, the same (he) shall be saved' (Matthew, XXIV, 13). 'The natives, thinking we were determined to pay not the least consideration, at length ceased to apply for the same' (Cook's Voyage, V. 1755, A.D. 1772-1784), now it. This usage survives in legal and commercial language.

b. Adverb Used instead of Personal Pronoun.

Where the refer ence was to things it was common in Old, Middle, and early Modern English to employ a compound adverb instead of a per sonal pronoun preceded by a preposition: 'Mr. Sherleys letters were very breefe in answer of theirs this year. I will forbear to coppy any part theróf' (Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation, p. 303, A.D. 1630-1648). Similarly: thereuth, therefór, thereón, thereupón, etc. Therefore (= on account of that) has become differ entiated from therefór in spelling, pronunciation, and meaning, hence has been retained as a useful new word, but the other compounds, apart from legal and poetical language, are now little used. We feel the pronominal forms as clearer and more concrete. For instance, in the example from Bradford the ad verbial form therof, as adverbs in general, cannot express the plural idea contained in the context and is much more abstract than the pronominal form of them, which impresses us today as delightfully concrete as against the vague thereof.

In older English, hence or from hence and thence or from thence often had the force of from it, them, and in literary style are some times still so used: 'My Flora was my sun All other faces borrowed hence Their light and grace' (Suckling, Love's World, II, A.D. 1641). 'They went into one tent and carried thence silver and gold and raiment' (II Kings, VII, 8). 'A leopard shall watch over their cities: everyone that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces' (Jeremiah, V, 6).

c. Forms Used for Reference to Preceding Idea.

When the refer ence is to the general idea contained in a preceding word, clause, or sentence, the pronoun employed is it, or where there is more or less emphasis to be conveyed the demonstrative pronouns this, that, or sometimes still as in older English, such, which are used as emphatic personal pronouns: 'I have more than once had the pleasure of meeting him, but he has doubtless forgotten it.' 'Do thou grant, Lord, That, when wrongs are to be redressed, such (or now more commonly it or this) may be done with mildness' (Bailey, Festus, 77, A.D. 1845). 'Many were accordingly of the opinion that the army should take this course and abandon the original destination to Caxamalca. But súch (now more com monly this) was not the decision of Pizarro' (Prescott, The Conquest of Peru, Book III, Ch. III). 'Both Edith and I were delighted to hear that the trip had already done you and Nannie good. I was sure that such (more commonly this) would be the case' (Theo dore Roosevelt, Letter to Henry Cabot Lodge, Aug. 8, 1908). 'I would be entirely willing to be presented privately at court, or call on the leading public men in the different countries, if this did not involve foolish and elaborate functions' (ib.). 'I may have offended, but thát (or sometimes súch) was not my intention.' 'He does stare dreadfully, though, but I suppose all artists do thát.
If there are two references in the sentence to something that precedes and the idea is felt as important, this is used for the first reference and it employed for the second since the idea has already been represented as important: 'He could not tell even his daughter that after such a life as this, after more than fifty years spent in the ministration of his darling cathedral, it especially behoved him to die as he had lived-at Barchester. He could not say this to his eldest daughter; but had his Eleanor been at home, he could have said it to her' (Trollope, Last Chronicle, Ch. XLIX).

In the predicate relation, the adverb so competes here with that, it, and sometimes such: How the conversation took that particular turn I do not know, but só (or sometimes such) it was.' 'He is discouraged, and só am I.' 'M. Caillaux's return to the scene as the director of the financial affairs of his country was marked yesterday by the dismissal (for such it was) of M. Robineau, Governor of the Bank of France' (The New York Times, June 28, 1926). Sometimes both so and that or so and it are put to good use in the same sentence: 'Listen, friend dear, dear friend... I may call you so, for you have been that to me.' 'She is shy, but it is a peculiarity of hers that she never looks it and yet is intensely so.' Similarly, so is often used as objective predicate, i.e. is predicated of an object: 'She made life interesting just because she found it so.

With reference to the thought contained in a preceding statement both it and so are used in the object relation, but it is positive and definite, while so lacks definiteness and is quite vague: 'He said she must go, and he said it with a peculiar look of determination in his eyes,' but in answering the question 'Is he going?' we may say: 'He says so,' 'I think so,' 'I suppose so.' So is largely associated with certain verbs be afraid, fear, believe, hear, hope, say, suspect, tell, think, trust, etc.: 'Are you going to come home late today?' 'I fear so.' So is very common after the pro-verb do, i.e. the do that is employed to avoid the repetition of a verb that has just been used: 'I haven't called on him yet, but I hope to do so soon.' Sometimes the statement referred to by so follows it: 'I have never, when I could have done so, taken the trouble to read original reviews of this little book' (Saintsbury, Essays, quoted from Kruisinga's Handbook of Present-Day English, II, p. 229).

The adverbs or adverbial phrases hence or from hence and thence or from thence were once widely used, and in literary style are sometimes still used, instead of it, this, or that dependent upon a preposition: Learn courage hence!' (Pope, Odyssey, XII, 251, A.D. 1725) now usually from it, from this. They could present to Parliament everything which favored their own purposes, keep back everything which opposed them; and thence (now usually on account of that) more effectually deceive the nation' (James Mill, British India, II, v, ix, 702, A.D. 1817).

2. REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

These pronouns are: myself, ourself (= myself), thyself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. They refer to the subject of the proposition in which they stand, indicating that the action performed by the doer passes back to him, or is associated with him: 'He is worrying himself to death.' 'I am sitting by myself.' For the older forms, me, you, etc., which are still sometimes. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries its self was sometimes used instead of itself. In early Modern English, the older plural forms our self, your self, them self were still lingering, but were a little later re placed by ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

The reflexive form can refer only to the subject of the proposition or clause in which it stands: 'I know that he blames Howard, not himself.' Hence, if the pronoun in the subordinate clause refers to the subject of the principal proposition, a personal pro noun is used: 'He knew that she despised him.' This usage has become well established in English, but it is sometimes disregarded: 'He judged they knew Hóward and not himself' (H. G. Wells, The Sleeper Awakes), instead of him. It is probable, however, that the author, Mr. Wells, uses himself here as short for him himself; but the stress is not so strong but that a stressed simple. him would suffice. This emphatic form in -self is older usage, but it is still quite common: 'Professor Ogburn denied that there had been a feud between himself and the cháirman of the consumers' board' (The New York Times, Aug. 15, 1933). The more natural form in present usage is a simple personal pronoun. Notice in the subordinate clause of the following sentence the use of both personal pronoun and reflexive, each employed properly: 'When youth desired to become personal, or middle age showed a tendency to grow silly, she chilled them alike, and had the art to leave them not angry with her, but with themselves' (Phillpotts, Beacon, I, Ch. I).

With these reflexives the reference is definite. For indefinite reference we employ oneself or one's self.

3. RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS

These pronouns are: each other, one another. They express mutual action or relation on the part of the persons indicated by the subject: 'These two never weary of each other.'
In early Modern English, either other was sometimes used instead of each other. For older forms which are still sometimes used.

4. RELATIVE PRONOUNS

There are two groups:

a. Relative Pronouns with Antecedent.

The relative pronouns of this group, like the personal pronouns in I. above, have an antecedent, but they differ from them in two points. The per sonal pronouns may stand in either a principal or a subordinate clause, but these relative pronouns always stand in a subordinate adjective clause, where they have two offices to fill. They not only perform the function of a pronoun, referring back to the antecedent noun or pronoun, but they have also the function of a conjunction, i.e. they have conjunctive force, linking the subordinate clause to the principal clause. These relative pronouns are who, which, that, as, but, but that, but what (colloquial), the indefinites whoever, whatever, and whichever, and other less common forms: 'He makes no friend who never made a foe.' 'I have read the book which you lent me.' 'I met a man that I knew.' 'I had the same trouble as you [had].' 'He has not such a large fortune as my brother [has].' 'Not a soul in the auditorium or on the stage but what (or but or but that) lived consummately in those minutes' (Arnold Bennett, Leonora, Ch. VI). 'Someone in the crowd, whoever it was, demanded fair play.' 'He stumbled over something, whatever it was, and fell.' 'I'll send you one of my boys, whichever of them (or whichever one) you prefer.' 'You may use either of the expressions, whichever sounds best to you.' The antecedent is often the idea contained in some preceding word or words: 'He is rich, which I unfortunately am not.' 'I said nothing, which made him still more furious.' 'The rain washed away the tracks, which prevented the trains from run ning.' 'He has a very fine auto, which accounts for his popularity among the girls.' Compare 8 b (last par.). Where the reference is indefinite, whatever or whichever must be used: 'He is one of the moderns, whatever that may mean.' 'The leper looked or listened, whichever he was doing, for some time.'

aa. Older Relative Forms.

In Middle English who that was often used for simple who, and the which, which that for simple which.
In early Modern English, the who was sometimes used for simple who, as in Shakespeare's Winter's Tale, IV, IV, 537, and the which for simple which, and indeed is sometimes still so used.

bb. Which' Used for Reference to Persons.

In older English definite which, i.e. which with a definite antecedent, referred to both persons and things. In early Modern English this which could still refer to persons: 'Our Father which art in heaven' (Matthew, V, 9). 'A couple of women, one of which leaned on the other's shoulder' (Goldsmith). This which now always refers to things. It often refers to a noun denoting a person, but the reference is not to a concrete person but to some quality in him, so that the reference is in reality to a thing: 'He is exactly the man which such an education was most likely to form' (Trollope).
On the other hand, the in definite which in b below may refer to concrete persons.

cc. Relative Adverbs instead of Relative Pronouns.

We often use the relative adverbs where, whence (in choice language; in plain prose replaced by from which), whither (in choice language; in plain prose replaced by to which), when, why, and in older English also how (now replaced by in which) instead of the relative pro noun which preceded by a preposition: 'We shall soon come to the house where ( in which) I live.' "The old home is a place whither (in choice language; in plain prose to which) in thought I often go.' It is difficult to discover the source whence (in choice language; in plain prose from which) these evils spring. There are times when (= at which) he is very much discouraged.' 'I do not know the reason why (= for which) he did it.' 'We perceive not the ways and manner how (now in which) they are produc'd' (Locke, Human Understanding, A.D. 1690). In older English, there, there as, and where as were often used instead of where.
When is used with reference to a preceding statement: 'The whole nation was jubilant, when, like a bolt from the blue, news arrived of a serious reverse.' 'I saw him a month ago, since when I haven't seen anything of him.' In early Modern English, whether was often employed instead of whither. In older English, where the reference was to things, where often entered into compounds with prepositions wherewith, whereon, whereupon, whereof, etc.: 'the bed whereon (now on which) he lay'; 'the condition whereof (now of which) I spake.' Only one of these com pounds is a living form, namely, whereupon, which is still used in narrative where the reference is to a preceding statement: 'He refused to act with them, whereupon they ejected him from the room. The other adverbial forms, apart from legal and poetical language, are now little used. Notice that in all these examples the reference is definite.

The relative adverbs when, where, whither, came into common use here for definite reference in the Middle English period. When, where, whither, could not usually be so used in Old English since they at that time still had only indefinite or general force. As they, toward the end of the Old English period, gradually ac quired more definite force, they became available for definite reference. In Old English, however, it was not uncommon to employ determinative adverbs instead of relative pronouns where there was a reference to definite persons or things. The determinative adverb par was used where we now use where: 'on bære byrig bær se cyning ofslægen læg' (Old English Chronicle, A.D. 800) = 'in the town where the King lay slain,' originally 'in the town, there: the King lay slain,' the determinative pær pointing forward, like an index finger, to the following explanatory clause. In wide use was the determinative adverb be, pointing forward to a follow ing explanatory clause. If there was a preposition used, it stood immediately before the verb: 'mid bæm folce be he ofer was' = 'with the people that he was placed over, had the command of,' originally with the people, those: he was placed over,' the pe pointing forward, like an index finger, to the following explanatory clause.

dd. Relative Clause without Relative Pronoun.

It is quite com mon in English to dispense with the relative forms altogether:
'Here is the book you lent me.' In fact, however, such clauses are not without a connective. In this sentence the definite article before book is a determinative that, like an index finger, points to the following explanatory clause.

b. Indefinite and General Relative Pronouns.

The meaning here is always indefinite or general, hence there can be no reference to a definite antecedent; but these pronouns have the same conjunctive force as the relatives in a, linking the subordinate clause in which they stand to the rest of the sentence. These pronouns are: who, whoever, whosoever, whoso (archaic), what, whatever, what soever, whatso (archaic); what, what one, what ones, what (so)ever one(s), which, which one, which ones, which(so)ever one(s), indefinite relative adjectives used as indefinite relative pronouns. These pronouns are most common in substantive clauses, i.e. in subject clauses and object clauses. The subject clause is the subject of the principal verb. The object clause is the object of the principal verb or the object of a preposition. Subject clause: 'It is not known to me who did it.' Object clause, object of the principal verb: 'I did not see whom he struck.' 'I do not know to whom he gave it.' 'He knows what I said.' 'But I never touched the cards, I took what were given me.' 'I told him which of the books I wanted.' 'Here are my roses. Pick whichever one(s) you like best.' Object clause, object of a preposition, preposition and object form ing a unit called prepositional clause: 'I am glad to get these books, and I shall be grateful for whatever ones you may give me in the future.' A few additional examples follow, illustrating these constructions: Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.' 'The two boys are equally bright, so that it is impossible for me to tell which of them is more promising.' 'The boys in our group are all such fine fellows that I can't tell you which one (or which ones) I like most.' 'I think that all the girls would dance with you, so that you may select whichever of them pleases you most.' 'I think that all the girls would dance with you, so that you may select from among them whichever one (or whichever ones) you like most.' 'As I have not read all the new books, I cannot tell you which (or more accurately which one or which ones) I like most.' 'Here are some new books. You may have whichever one (or whichever ones) you choose.'

The pronouns in ever are used also in adverbial concessive clauses: 'I am going whatever he may say.' 'He will find difficulties whichever of these ways he may take.' "The task will be difficult whichever of the brothers may undertake it.'

In contrast to usage in a, which and whichever refer here to either a person or a thing a survival of once universal usage.

aa. Older Use of 'Whether.'

In older English, whether was much used as an indefinite relative pronoun referring to two persons or things, sometimes with reference to three, and this older usage lingers on in archaic prose and in poetry: 'Whether (now usually which) of the two was the stronger and the fiercer it would be hard to tell' (Kingsley, The Heroes, II, II, 122, A.D. 1856). 'We came in full View of a great Island or Continent (for we knew not whether)' (Swift, Gulliver's Travels, II, I, A.D. 1726), now 'we knew not which.' The form whether is now usually a conjunction.

5. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

When we desire to convey an indefinite or general impression, we often avoid the use of a noun and employ instead of it an in definite pronoun. The following are the most common: somebody, anybody, everybody, nobody; something, somewhat, anything, every thing, aught, nothing, naught or nought; a body (now little used, though once common), a person, a man, a fellow (colloquial), a chap (colloquial), all with the force of the indefinite pronoun one; a party, with the force of somebody, a person, originally a technical legal term, which later came into more general literary use with this broader meaning, now confined to employment in popular or jocular language; every man = everybody; man = nobody; men; people; folks, in England folk, both now less common than formerly, giving place to people; the personal pronouns, we, you, they, as described in 33 g; a thing, things; whatever (see f below); muchwhat many matters; a whit; a bit, a little bit, a good bit; a good deal; plenty, sometimes in American English and British dialect a plenty, a survival of older British usage; a host (literary); a number, a small number, a good number, a large number, any number (stronger than a good number), numbers, im mense numbers; a lot or lots (colloquial); a heap or heaps (col loquial); no end; a world or worlds (colloquial); oceans; a sight (colloquial) = a lot; a heap sight (popular American English); a jolly sight (colloquial British); a smart chance, a smart, a right smart, or right smart, in American dialect a considerable quantity or part; a hell (colloquial) expressing feeling considerable; a power, once literary, now popular = a lot; a couple, usually two, but in loose colloquial speech sometimes = a small number. In slang and dialect there are many others: oodles, scads, stacks, etc. = lots. In the literary language there are a number of pronouns associated with the negative form of statement: 'He hasn't the shadow of a claim, the ghost of a chance.' 'There's not a shred of evidence.' 'It doesn't make a particle of difference. Of course, some of the pronouns given above may be used after a negative: 'He hasn't a blessed (or single) bit of modesty. Many of these pronouns, or in the case of compounds their basal components, are old nouns that have in large measure lost their original concrete meaning.

Examples:

There was somebody here this morning to see you.
I'll offer to go if anybody else will.
Everybody knows that.
The effort to please everybody usually results in pleasing nobody. He has generally seen something of foreign countries.
There was something of bustle as well as of sorrow all over the house.
He liked to hear of their births, marriages, and deaths, and had some thing of a royal memory for faces.
He was something of a humorist and dry joker. I must get you into bed at once-instantly or I shall have you down with pneumonia or something tomorrow.
He broke his leg or something (i.e. some other part).
I have something important (or of importance') to announce.
He is something of a philosopher.
Is there anything I can do for you?
Has anything important (or 'of importance') happened lately?
Have you seen anything of John lately? She is anything but strong.
Everything depends upon that.
Pace is everything. The book did everything but sell.
I know nothing about it.
I have seen nothing of him recently.
I have nothing important (or of importance') to report.
The fire is too hot for a body to kneel over (Charles Reade, The Cloister and the Hearth, Ch. II).
If a person can't afford a thing, he must do without it.
A man's religion is the chief fact about him (Carlyle). In such a case what is a man to do?
A fellow feels queer under such circumstances. You might give a chap (referring to the speaker, spoken of as representing people in general) a civil answer.
There was a party (popular somebody) here last evening to see you. What is every man's business is no man's business.
Men are blind to their own faults.
People may get a little impatient when their toes are trodden on. How folk put up with such a din was a mystery (J. B. Priestley, The Good Companions, Ch. VI).
That's what folks say.
In ordinary life we use a great many words with a total disregard of logical precision (Jevons).
You can talk a mob into anything (Ruskin). They say there is no danger.
In Germany they manage things better.
If she says a thing (= something), it must be done (Thackeray, The Virginians, Ch. II).
Things are going better now.
I gave him a bit of my mind. The question is attracting a good deal of attention.
He has plenty of money.
Remember to let it have a plenty of gravel in the bottom of its cage (Longfellow, Kavanagh, Ch. XV).
He was a host of debaters in himself.
"There are a large number of things that I want to say,' or instead of a large number we may repeat the noun: 'The entrance to the floor given to executive offices was like the lobby of a pretentious hotel waiting room in brocade and tapestry; then something like an acre of little tables with typists and typists and typists, very busy, and clerks and clerks and clerks with rattling papers' (Sinclair Lewis, Dodsworth, Ch. II). There are any number of people who believe that.
Numbers of people from New England and elsewhere have traveled this way (Richard Smith, A Tour of Four Great Rivers, I, p. 23, A.D. 1769). Numbers of Pen's friends frequented this very merry meeting
(Thackeray, Pendennis, I, Ch. XXX).
There were a large number there.
There were only a small number there.
There is a lot (or lots) of time. We had a lot (or lots) of fun yesterday, and we shall have a lot (or lots) today.
There are a lot (or lots) of men who can do that.
He has had a heap (or heaps) of trouble.
I have had no end of trouble.
There are no end of people here that I don't know (George Eliot).
My opponent has made no end of charges. It will do you a world (or worlds) of good.
He has oceans of money.
It done him a sight of good (Dialect Notes, I, p. 393).
There was a sight of folks at meetin' today. There will be a smart chance of peaches this season. There was a smart of things you were doing, too (Hergesheimer, Lonely Valleys, V). He raises a right smart of cotton (Dialect Notes, III, p. 398).

Directing the work, and Yankee-like, doing right smart of it himself (Tourgee, Fool's Errand, p. 88). Right smart o' (of) fish up there (R. H. Barbour, Pud Pringle Pirate, Ch. XII). They were making such a hell of a noise that I couldn't study.

'But a hell of a lot of good it did me' (Anderson and Stallings, Three American Plays, p. 75) (ironical).

I've a power of things to do at home (Mrs. H. Wood, Dene Hollow, 'I lost a couple of dollars' or in loose colloquial speech 'a couple (treated as an adjective) dollars.'

Besides these indefinite pronouns there is another group, given in VII e below as they are of different origin. The two groups of indefinite pronouns compete with each other, some of them with out a difference of meaning, as in the case of somebody or someone, some of them with differentiated meaning, as in the case of some (a fair amount) and something (a small amount, a slight trace): 'I should like to have some of his patience.' 'She has something of her mother's sweetness. On the other hand, something some times means something of value: 'There is something in what you say.'

a. Compounds with Thing' and 'Body.'

Of the forms given above, the compounds with thing arose in the eleventh century and those with body in the fourteenth century, at a time when body was an exact equivalent of person, hence before it developed the tinge of compassion, as in 'She is a poor, feeble, fragile old body.' The old meaning of person still occurs occasionally in the literary language: 'The little children of both sexes were nearly always nice enough to take into a body's lap' (Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad, 2). 'Life was, indeed, a strange thing, and would a body comprehend it, then must a body sit staring into the fire, thinking very hard, unheedful of all idle chatter' (J. K. Jerome, Paul Kelver, I, Ch. I). It survives chiefly in dialect, especially Scotch: 'Gin (if) a body meet a body-coming through the rye, Gin a body kiss a body Need a body cry?' (R. Burns). It was the concrete meaning of thing and body that at first brought these compounds into use and established them in the language. They distinguished life from the lifeless and were thus more concrete than older some, which competed in part with them. Similarly, the adverbial accusatives (c below) any place, some place, no place, etc., by reason of the concrete force of place are often used in popular speech instead of the literary compound adverbs any where, somewhere, nowhere, etc.: 'I can't find it any place.' 'I am going some place today. The common people employ also compound adverbs here, but they use the more concrete genitive forms anywheres, somewheres, nowheres, instead of the literary uninflected forms anywhere, somewhere, nowhere.

b. 'Somewhat,''Aught,' 'Naught,' 'Nought.'

Of the indefinite pronouns in this group somewhat, aught, naught or nought, are in plain prose not now so common as they once were, being now largely confined to archaic or poetic language. As pronouns aught and naught still have a limited field of usefulness in rather choice language: 'for aught (or more commonly anything or all) I know.' 'Their plans will come to naught' (or more commonly nothing). 'Religion was a part of men's daily lives, but the principles of Christianity were set at naught at the first bidding of expediency' (Beerbohm Tree, Henry VIII, 12), in this set expression still common, although nothing is sometimes used in its stead. As a pronoun naught is now more common than nought, but as a noun, used as the name of the figure 0, nought is the usual form. Some what is now usually replaced by something, aught by anything, naught by nothing.

c. Neuter Accusative Used as an Adverb.

The neuter accusative singular or plural of a number of these pronouns is employed also as an adverb. Somewhat is used both as pronoun and as adverb: 'This argument has lost somewhat (pronoun) of its force.' 'He is somewhat (adverb) better this morning. The pronoun muchwhat (= many matters) has not been used in the present period, but the adverb muchwhat formed from it was very common in the seven teenth century: 'God's dealings are muchwhat (now replaced by pretty much) the same with all his servants' (Richard Baxter, Autobiography, Ch. X, A.D. 1698). Also nothing is used as both a pronoun and an adverb: 'He has nothing (pronoun) in him.' 'Nothing (adverb) daunted, he began again.' 'It helps us nothing (adverb) in such a difficulty to say that,' etc. In older English, nothing was much more widely used as an adverb than now, often where now some other word or expression must be used: 'For the Indians used then to have nothing so much corne' (Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation, p. 118, A.D. 1630-1648), now 'For the Indians then didn't use to have nearly so much corn.' Something, anything, aught, naught, are now little used as adverbs, although this usage was in older English not uncommon. Some thing still lingers as an adverb in certain expressions: 'It was shaped something like a cigar.' 'He walks sómething like his father.' Something like, anything like, nothing like, are employed as compound adverbs: 'He has given the institution something like (about) $10,000.' 'The $10,000 he has given the institution is not anything like (nearly) adequate to its present needs.'

'This cloth is nothing like as good' (not nearly so good). A whit, a bit, a good bit, a lot or lots (colloquial), a heap or heaps (colloquial), a sight (colloquial and popular), a heap sight, a good sight, right smart (dialect), plenty, no end, etc., are much used adverbially: 'I don't care a whit for what he thinks of me.' 'Wait a bit.' 'I think a good deal of him.' 'He is a lot (or lots, or a good deal) better.' 'He is heaps better.' 'I'd a sight rather not do it' (Dialect Notes, III, p. 369). 'It will cost a sight of money' (Concise Oxford Dictionary). 'Smallpox is a heap sight worse than measles' (Dialect Notes, III, p. 398). 'He knows it a good sight better than you.' 'He said the water had been on the rise right smart of time already.' 'That is plenty good enough for me.' 'You are no end cleverer and stronger' (Farrar, Eric, 55). 'I heard you rummaging around in there no end' (Albert Payson Terhune, Treasure, Ch. V).

d. Indefinite Pronouns Used as Nouns.

Some of the indefinite pronouns in this group are used as nouns: 'They are nobodies, somebodies' (plural nouns). 'She then proceeded to relate the little nothings that had passed since the winter.' 'There was an indefinite something about his manner that always attracted my attention.' Something is often employed as a substitute for a word that is not remembered: 'I just caught the five something train.'

e. 'Else' after Indefinite Pronouns.

Some of the indefinite pro nouns in this group, though themselves compounds, enter into a close relation to the adverb else, which often follows them, forming with it new compound pronouns: somebody else's child,' 'nobody else's business.' Compare 40 (3rd par.). Somebody and something enter into a close relation to the indefinite adjective other, forming with it a compound pronoun with pronounced indefinite force: Somebody or other will find something to criticize about it.' 'There is something or other about him that is un pleasant.'

f. 'Whatever.'

In Old English, simple what was used as an indefinite pronoun with the force of something, anything. In com position with ever it is sometimes still used, in its strengthened form with the force of anything, usually followed by else: 'The torrent bursts in on me and pours over my wasted bulwarks, resolves high aims and whatever else' (M. Dods, Gosp. John, II, XIV, 218, A.D. 1892). Though this whatever is not much used as an indefinite pronoun, its accusative is widely employed as an adverb with the force of at all: 'I feel no anxiety whatever.' 'I'll agree to anything whatever.' 'I'll support my claim against any man whatever.' This adverbial whatever is much less widely used in the sense of at any rate: "Thank the Lord you are not a coward, whatever' (Ralph Connor, Glengarry School Days, Ch. VI). 'Your face and breast seem very badly bruised and cut.'-'Aye, yes,' said Macdonald, 'the breast is bad whatever' (id., The Man from Glengarry, Ch. V).

6. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

When the situation is so indefinite that we are aroused to in quire after the exact state of things, we do not use nouns at all but employ certain indefinite pronouns, which we now call interrogative pronouns, since by giving them a peculiar intonation we indicate that they are intended to ask for an explanation of the indefinite situation and that we are expecting an answer. These pronouns are who (whose, whom), what, what one(s), which, which one(s), the last three of which are interrogative adjectives used as pronouns: 'Who did it?' 'What did he want?' 'Here are the books. Which one is yours?' or 'Which are yours?'

In older English, whether was much used as an interrogative pronoun referring to two persons or things, sometimes with refer ence to three: 'Whether (now which) of them twain did the will of his father?' (Matthew, XXI, 31). Whether (now which of the two) would you advise me, to purchase some post by which I may rise in the state, or lay out my wife's fortune in land?' (Smollett, Roderick Random, Ch. XVI, A.D. 1748). This old pronoun sur vives in poetry and in archaic prose: 'Whether (now in plain prose which of the two) would ye? gold or field?' (Tennyson, Gareth and Lynette, 333). Whether is now usually a conjunction.

a. Interrogatives in Rhetorical Questions.

Interrogative pronouns are used also in rhetorical questions, i.e. questions which do not expect an answer but express the indefiniteness or un certainty present in the mind of the speaker: 'Well, what in the world will happen now?' Such a question, however, often has the force of a negative statement: 'What is the use?' = 'There is no use.

b. Indirect Questions.

The usual interrogative pronouns are used also in indirect questions, i.e. indirect ways of asking a question, or indirect reports of them: 'Tell me who did it,' indirect form instead of 'Who did it?' 'Tell me what he wanted,' an indirect form instead of 'What did he want?' 'Take these hats to John and ask him which one is his,' an indirect way of asking a question through another person. 'I asked him to whom he gave it,' an indirect report of the question 'To whom did you give it?' 'After my talk on juvenile books he asked me what ones I would recommend for the new town library,' an indirect report of the question: 'What ones would you recommend for the new town library?' Such interrogatives are interrogative conjunctive pronouns, i.e. they bind the clause to the principal proposition.

c. Origin of Interrogative Pronouns.

Notice that the interrogative pronouns who, what, which, are identical in form with the indefinites who, what, which, in IV b above. The interrogatives have developed out of the indefinites and are still indefinites, differing only in that they, by means of a peculiar intonation, indicate that the speaker is asking for an explanation of the in definite situation and is expecting an answer.

7. LIMITING ADJECTIVES USED AS PRONOUNS

In this class there is a tendency for the substantive form of limiting adjectives to develop into pronouns. The reciprocal pronouns were once the substantive forms of limiting adjectives used as pronouns, but they have further developed into real pronouns. The substantive forms of a number of limiting adjectives are used as pronouns.

There are seven groups:

a. Intensifying Adjectives Used as Personal Pronouns.

The intensifying adjectives myself, ourself (= myself), thyself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves, are often used for emphasis instead of the personal pronouns:
'Did you ever know a woman to pardon another for being handsomer than herself' (= she herself is)? 'Most people do not realize how closely the mute creatures of God resemble ourselves in their pains and griefs.' 'You are not yourself today.
With all these pronouns the reference is definite. The intensifying adjective oneself or one's self is often used as an emphatic indefinite pronoun: 'One is often not oneself' (or one's self). 'If it were said to oneself (or one's self) one would resent it' (Oxford Dictionary).

b. Demonstrative Adjectives Used as Demonstrative Pronouns.

These pronouns point out in various ways living beings and life less things. The reference often becomes clear with the help of a gesture or the situation or context. These pronouns frequently point of themselves backward or forward to individuals already mentioned or to be mentioned or described, or point backward to the idea contained in some word or group of words or in an entire sentence. Some of these pronouns indicate the individual by giving his place in a series or by including each individual in the series. In this important category we employ the substantive forms of the demonstrative adjectives, namely: this, this one, these; that, that one, those; them, once frequently used instead of those in literary language, still common in popular speech; whose (in literary style) that one's; the one, the ones; such, such a one (in older English such one), such (pl.) or such ones; in older English such (pl.) or suchlike (pl.), now the like; the same, the same one (or ones); the identical one (or ones); the very one (or ones); one and the same; the former, the latter; the first (one), the second (one), etc.; the last (one); both; either; neither; one-one or more commonly the one the other, t'other (in older English), the other one, in older English often simple other instead of the other or the other one; in older English sometimes another with the force of the other, as an once sometimes had definite force; the other ones, always referring to a preceding noun and emphasizing the idea of individual units; the others, sometimes referring to a preceding noun and emphasizing the idea of a definite group, some times used absolutely without reference to a preceding noun; each, each one, one and all, each and all; every one (or earlier in the period simple every), in early Modern English also with the forms euerich, euerichone; every soul, every man jack, every mother's son- all = every one but with more concrete force; all; half.  .........

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