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[[File:Theythem.png|thumb|220x220px|The they/them pronoun user flag.]]
'''Pronouns''' are words that can be used in place of a noun. The most
Some English speakers choose to go by pronouns that are not found in standard English, known as [[neopronouns]], or [[Nounself Pronouns|nounself pronouns]].
In English all pronouns have five grammatical form. The forms are:
* Nominative: Used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence.
He/Him pronouns are typically used by men. In the eighteenth century, when prescriptive grammarians decided that singular they was no longer acceptable as a gender-neutral pronoun, they instead recommended "gender-neutral he."▼
* Accusative: Used when the pronoun is the object of the sentence.
* Pronominal Possessive: Used to show possession of a noun. They function as part of a noun phrase, and always come directly before the noun in question.
* Predicative Possessive: Use to show possession of a noun. They come directly after a linking verb (the word "be" or one of it's other forms). This is the least common form of a pronoun, as it requires a very specific sentence construction. When listing out the forms of a pronoun, this is the form that it most commonly left out.
* Reflexive: Use 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).
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.
== He/Him ==
▲He/Him pronouns are typically, but not always, used by men, masculine-aligned people, or people who want to present masculinely. In the eighteenth century, when prescriptive grammarians decided that singular they was no longer acceptable as a gender-neutral pronoun, they instead recommended "gender-neutral he."
[[File:Hehim.png|thumb|220x220px|The he/him pronoun user flag.]]
Examples:
* Nominative: He (''He'' went to the store.)
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* Reflexive: Himself (He has to drive ''himself'' to school.)
==
She/Her pronouns are typically, but not always, used by women, feminine-aligned people, or people who want to present femininely.
[[File:Sheher.png|thumb|220x220px|The she/her pronoun user flag.]]
Examples:
* Nominative: She (''She'' went to the store.)
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== Singular They ==
The Oxford English Dictionary traces singular "they" back to 1375<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'' (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005.</ref>, and throughout the middle ages and renaissance it was used as a singular gender neutral pronoun, making it one of the oldest pronouns in the English language. However, in the 18th century prescriptive grammarians declared that "they" should only be used when referring to multiple people, and suggested using a "gender-neutral he"
The idea that singular they is grammatically incorrect continued to the modern day, although it is not strictly followed in normal speech, as most people will use "they" when referring to an unknown person without realizing. In the modern day singular they is often used by [[Non-Binary|non-binary]] people as a gender neutral pronoun.
Examples:
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* 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.)
[[Category:Terminology]]▼
== Flag ==
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>
== Resources ==
▲<references />[[Category:Terminology]]
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