personal pronoun

American  

[pur-suh-nl proh-noun] / ˈpɜr sə nl ˈproʊˌnaʊn /

noun

Grammar.

1. any one of the pronouns used to refer to the speaker, or to those to or about whom the speaker is speaking, as, in English, I, me, we, us, you, he, she, it, they, him, her, them.

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personal pronoun British  

noun

1. a pronoun having a definite person or thing as an antecedent and functioning grammatically in the same way as the noun that it replaces. In English, the personal pronouns include I, you, he, she, it, we, and they, and are inflected for case

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personal pronoun Cultural  

1. A pronoun that represents a person in a sentence. Personal pronouns have different forms depending on their case, gender, and number, as follows:

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Etymology

Origin of personal pronoun

First recorded in 1660–70

Example Sentences

Some transgender, nonbinary or gender-fluid people use they, them and their as a gender-neutral singular personal pronoun.

From Washington Times • Sep. 27, 2023

Megumi, who uses they as a personal pronoun, knew the man who did it, and where to find him.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2023

Much of that conversation has centered on language: Unlike English, German has no equivalent to “they/them” for a personal pronoun, and most nouns referring to people are gendered as male or female.

From New York Times • Nov. 30, 2022

Seeing both versions across from each other helps emphasize that each personal pronoun has its counterpart.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

You may attempt to defend your enervating use of the passive voice by pointing out that the only alternative is excessive reliance upon the first person personal pronoun or upon the pontifical We.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker