Inlinguisticsandgrammar, apronounis a word or form that substitutes for anounornoun phrase. It is a particular case of apro-form.
Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of theparts of speech, although many modern theorists would not regard them as a single distinct word class, because of the variety of functions performed by words which are classed as pronounsCommon types include thepersonal pronouns,relative pronouns,interrogative pronouns,demonstrative pronounsandindefinite pronouns.
The use of pronouns often involvesanaphora, where the meaning of the pronoun is dependent on another referential element. This applies particularly to the (third-person) personal pronouns. The referent of the pronoun is often the same as that of a preceding (or sometimes following) noun phrase, called theantecedentof the pronoun. For example, in the sentenceThat poor man looks as if he needs a new coat, the antecedent of the pronounheis the noun phrasethat poor man. (Pronouns used without antecedents are sometimes calledunprecursedpronouns.) Another type of antecedent is that found with relative pronouns, as inthe woman who looked at you, wherethe womanis the antecedent of the relative pronounwho.
