Pronouns in English (with Arabic): Types, Rules, 40+ Examples & Exercises

What are Pronouns?

A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun: “Sara is kind. She helps everyone.”

الضمير كلمة تحل محل الاسم: «سارة طيبة. هي تساعد الجميع.»

Core Pronoun Sets

1) Subject & Object

Person	Subject	Object	Arabic (approx.)
1st sg.	I	me	أنا / إيّاي
2nd sg.	you	you	أنتَ/أنتِ
3rd sg.	he / she / it	him / her / it	هو / هي / هو (لغير العاقل)
1st pl.	we	us	نحن / إيّانا
2nd pl.	you	you	أنتم/أنتن
3rd pl.	they	them	هم / هن

2) Possessive

Function	Forms	Example	Arabic
Possessive adjectives (before a noun)	my, your, his, her, its, our, their	my book	كتابي
Possessive pronouns (stand alone)	mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs	This book is mine.	هذا الكتاب لي

3) Reflexive

Singular	Plural	Use
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself	ourselves, yourselves, themselves	Subject = object → I cut myself.

Also: each other / one another = reciprocal (متبادَل): They love each other.

Types & Usage

Demonstrative: this/that/these/those → This book, those cars. الإشارية: هذا/هذه/هؤلاء/ذلك/تلك
Relative: who, whom, whose, which, that → The girl who called… ضمائر الوصل
Interrogative: who, whom, whose, which, what → Who is he? الاستفهامية
Indefinite: someone, anyone, everyone, no one, something, nothing, each, either, neither, many, few, several, all, both, none. النَّكرة/غير المحددة
Dummy “it/there”: It’s raining. There is a park near here. ضمير شكلي

Key Rules & Tips

After prepositions use object forms: to me, for her, with us.
بعد حروف الجر نستخدم ضمائر المفعول: to me, for her, with us.
I vs me: “Tom and I are ready.” / “Come with Tom and me.”
I و me: قبل الفعل I، وبعد حروف الجر me.
Possessive adjective vs pronoun: That is my car. The red one is mine.
ملكي قبل الاسم/ضمير ملكية مستقل: سيارتي / الخاص بي.
its vs it’s: its = possessive; it’s = it is / it has.
its / it’s: its ملكية، it’s = it is/has.
Reflexives when subject = object, or for emphasis: “I did it myself.” Avoid “between you and I” → “between you and me”.
الانعكاسية عند اتحاد الفاعل والمفعول، أو للتوكيد.
Singular “they” (gender-neutral) is common: “A student should bring their ID.”
They المفرد المحايد شائع: “على الطالب أن يجلب بطاقته”.
Who vs whom: who (subject), whom (object, formal). Everyday English often uses who for both.
who/whom: who للفاعل، whom للمفعول (رسمي)، وكثيرًا ما نستخدم who فقط.

40+ Examples (EN ⇄ AR)

I am ready.
أنا جاهز/جاهزة.
Please call me.
من فضلك اتصل بي.
He loves her.
هو يحبها.
We trust them.
نحن نثق بهم.
Is this your bag?
هل هذه حقيبتك؟
This pen is mine.
هذا القلم لي.
The cat cleaned itself.
القط نظّف نفسه.
We helped ourselves.
ساعدنا أنفسنا.
She did it herself.
فعلته بنفسها.
They helped each other.
ساعدوا بعضهم البعض.
This is my friend.
هذا/هذه صديقي/صديقتي.
Those are her keys.
تلك مفاتيحها.
Who is at the door?
من عند الباب؟
Whose jacket is this?
لمن هذه السترة؟
The person who called left no name.
الشخص الذي اتصل لم يذكر اسمه.
The book that I bought is great.
الكتاب الذي اشتريته رائع.
There is a shop nearby.
هناك متجر قريب.
It is raining.
إنها تمطر.
Someone is waiting for you.
هناك شخص ينتظرك.
Nobody knows the answer.
لا أحد يعرف الإجابة.
Each student has their ID.
كل طالب لديه بطاقته.
Please sit with us.
من فضلك اجلس معنا.
Give it to her.
أعطه لها.
Between you and me, it’s a secret.
بينك وبيني، إنه سر.

Show 18 more

Is that theirs?
هل ذاك لهم؟
These are ours.
هذه لنا.
She told him the truth.
قالت له الحقيقة.
They invited you and me.
دعوناك أنت وأنا.
For whom is this message? (formal)
لمن هذه الرسالة؟ (رسمي)
Which do you prefer?
أيّهما تفضّل؟
I hurt myself.
جرحتُ نفسي.
He introduced himself.
قدّم نفسه.
We organized it ourselves.
نظّمناه بأنفسنا.
This tastes good.
هذا طعمه جيد.
Those were expensive.
تلك كانت غالية.
Everyone is here.
الجميع هنا.
None of them agreed.
لم يوافق أحد منهم.
Either is fine.
أيٌّ منهما مناسب.
Neither works.
لا هذا ولا ذاك يعمل.
They said it themselves.
قالوا ذلك بأنفسهم.
Is she with them or with us?
هل هي معهم أم معنا؟
Whose are these?
لِمَن هذه؟

Common Mistakes

✗ It’s tail is long. → ✓ Its tail is long. possessive ≠ it’s
✗ Between you and I… → ✓ Between you and me…
✗ Me and Sara went… → ✓ Sara and I went…
✗ He did it by him. → ✓ He did it by himself.
✗ These ones / those ones (redundant). → ✓ These / those.
✗ The girl which… → ✓ The girl who… (people: who)

its = ملكية، it’s = it is/has.
بعد حروف الجر: me/her/us…
ترتيب مهذّب: Sara and I.
استخدم الانعكاسية: myself/himself…
قل These/Those بدون “ones”.

Exercises

1) Choose the correct form

Please sit with (I / me).
(She / Her) and Omar are colleagues.
Is this seat (your / yours)?
The manager spoke to (we / us).
He did it by (him / himself).

2) Fill in the blanks

Give the keys to ____ (they / them).
____ is raining today. (It / There)
____ called me? (Who / Whom)
Each student must show ____ ID. (his / their)
Is that car ____? (their / theirs)

3) Replace the underlined noun with a pronoun

I saw Fatima yesterday. → __________
The children are playing. → __________
This is my phone. → __________
He bought a gift for Ali and me. → __________

4) Correct the mistake

Between you and I, it’s cheap.
The cat lost it’s toy.

Answers

1) me • She • yours • us • himself

2) them • It • Who • their (singular “they”) • theirs

3) I saw her. • They are playing. • This is mine. • He bought it for us.

4) Between you and me… • The cat lost its toy.

1-Minute Quiz

Choose the best answer.