'''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 personindividual or peoplegroup speaking (first -person), the personindividual or peoplegroup being spoken to (second -person), or other peopleindividuals or things (third -person). In many Indo-European languages, including English, third -person personal pronouns can be gendered.
Someone who doesn't use pronouns is denominated as [[nullpronominal]].
==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 it'sis 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.
==Pronoun Usage==
Since pronouns are commonly gendered, the pronouns one uses are often used as a way to identityidentify the gender of a person. Because of this, using the wrong pronouns, intentionally or accidentally, is one of the most common forms of misgendering. [[Transgender]] peopleindividuals often change pronouns along with names as part of their transition.
Despite this, not alleveryone people gogoes 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 peopleindividuals are [[Pronoun Non-Conforming|pronoun non-conforming]] as a form of [[Gender Non-Conforming|gender non-conformity]]. PeopleAnyone of any gender can use any pronouns.
Some peopleindividuals may be comfortable going myby multiple pronoun sets ([[Multipronouns|multipronounmultipronomial]]), while some peopleindividuals might not use any pronouns at all ([[nullpronoun|nullpronomial]]). Some English speakers choose to go by pronouns that are not found in standard English, known as [[neopronouns]], withwhich 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==
===He/Him===
[[File:Hehim.png|thumb|220x220px|The he/him pronoun user flag.]]
[[File:He him pronouns.png|thumb|220x220px|He/Him Pronouns Flag by Geekycorn on DeviantArt|alt=]]
He/Him pronouns are typically, but not always, used by men, masculine-aligned peopleindividuals, or peoplethose 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 eighteenth18th 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.
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===She/Her===
[[File:Sheher.png|thumb|220x220px|The she/her pronoun user flag.]]
[[File:She Her Pronouns.png|thumb|220x220px|She/Her Pronouns Flag by Geekycorn on DeviantArt|alt=]]
She/Her pronouns are typically, but not always, used by women, feminine-aligned peopleindividuals, or peoplethose 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.
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===They/Them===
[[File:Theythem.png|thumb|220x220px|The they/them pronoun user flag.]]
[[File:They them pronoun.png|thumb|220x220px|They/Them Pronouns Flag by Geekycorn on DeviantArt|alt=]]
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 middleMiddle agesAges and renaissanceRenaissance, 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 multiplea peoplegroup, and suggested using a "gender-neutral he" as an alternative.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=d68sHzfpWVMC</ref> ReasonReasons given for this are: 1) Latin did not have a singular, gender neutral pronoun, and since Latin was a more prestigious language, prescriptivists thought that English should be more like Latin., and 2) When plural pronouns are used certain verbs change form (ie: "he was" vs "they were"). These verbs always change when '"they'" is used, even when used for a singlean personindividual. This was an unacceptable inconsistency according to prescriptivists.
The idea that singular "they" is grammatically incorrect continues to the modern day, although it is not strictly followed in normal speech. Most peopleindividuals will use "they" when referring to an unknown personindividual without realizing it. In the modern day singular "they" is often used by the [[Non-Binary|non-binary]] peoplecommunity as a gender neutral pronoun. They/Them pronouns are typically, but not always, used by peoplethose who want to present in a gender neutral way or otherwise don't want to present masculinity or femininely.
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|They have to drive ''themself'' to school. OR They have to drive ''themselves'' to school.
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In English reflectivereflexive pronouns either end with -self when singular and -selves when plural. SinceBefore the singularcampaign formagainst ofsingular "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. HoweverCurrently, either themself or themselves may be used when using singular "they".
===It/Its===
[[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 people use it/its pronouns as a gender neutral pronoun, however this "it" should only be used for asomeone personif ifsaid theysomeone sayconfirms it's okay to do so, as to do otherwise is dehumanizingdegrading.
The usage of it/its pronouns by a person is sometimes considered an example of [[neopronouns]], because, despite being a naturally occurring pronoun in English, it's not the traditional usage of the pronoun when used for aan personanimate being.
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===One/Ones===
[[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[[wikipedia:grammatical person|fourth-person]] pronoun, although fourth -person pronouns do not technically exist in English, but it's also referred as impersonal or zero person. It is used to refer to a hypothetical personindividual or to peopleeveryone in general. It is typically only used in formal writing. Occasionally, peopleindividuals use one/ones pronouns as a gender neutral pronoun.
The usage of one/ones pronouns by a personsomeone is sometimesoccasionally considered an example of neopronouns, because, despite being a naturally occurring pronoun in English, it's is not the traditional usage of the pronoun when used for a specific personindividual.
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==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> 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>
==See also==
* {{See Wikipedia}}
==Resources==
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