First, Second and Third Person Pronouns - Definition and Examples (2024)

First person, second person and third person – Does this ring a bell somewhere? Yes, you guessed it right. They refer to pronouns. This article will introduce you to the first, second and third person pronouns and show you how they behave in sentences and how the rest of the sentence behaves when they are used.

What Are First, Second and Third Person Pronouns? – Meaning and Definition
Using First, Second and Third Person Pronouns in Sentences – Verb Conjugation with Examples
Sentence Examples of First, Second and Third Person Pronouns
Check Your Understanding of First, Second and Third Person Pronouns
Frequently Asked Questions on First, Second and Third Person Pronouns in English

What Are First, Second and Third Person Pronouns? – Meaning and Definition

Pronouns, in English grammar, are classified into three types – the first person, the second person and the third person pronouns. The classification mainly reflects different perspectives and points of view of the people involved. In simple terms, it can be said that the first person is used to refer to oneself/ourselves, the second person to refer to the person one is talking to, and the third person to refer to the other person, people or things.

Let us look at some dictionary definitions to have a clearer understanding of what each type of pronoun is. According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the first person is defined as “a set of pronouns and verb forms used by a speaker to refer to himself or herself, or to a group including himself or herself”; the second person as “the form of a pronoun or verb used when addressing somebody” and the third person as “a set of pronouns and verb forms used by a speaker to refer to other people and things”.

The Merriam Webster Dictionary’s definitions of the first, second and third person pronouns are as follows. The first person is defined as “a set of linguistic forms (such as verb forms, pronouns, and inflectional affixes) referring to the speaker or writer of the utterance in which they occur”; the second person as “a set of linguistic forms (such as verb forms, pronouns, and inflectional affixes) referring to the person or thing addressed in the utterance in which they occur” and the third person as “a set of linguistic forms (such as verb forms, pronouns, and inflectional affixes) referring to one that is neither the speaker or writer of the utterance in which they occur nor the one to whom that utterance is addressed”.

Using First, Second and Third Person Pronouns in Sentences – Verb Conjugation

Pronouns, as we already know, are used in the place of a noun to avoid the repetition of the same noun over and over again. According to the noun they substitute, they are classified into three types – the first person, the second person and the third person. These terms, as discussed earlier, also indicate the point of view from which something is said or written.

Apart from being classified into three, they are further classified based on their number as singular and plural. The following table will help in understanding this. Check it out.

Pronoun	Person	Number
I	First person	Singular
We	First person	Plural
You	Second person	Singular/Plural
He	Third person	Singular
She	Third person	Singular
It	Third person	Singular
They	Third person	Plural

The usage of these pronouns is fairly easy; the only factor you have to focus on is the conjugation of the verb with respect to the pronoun used as the subject in the sentence. Let us look at how each of them is conjugated.

Rule 1

When the primary verb in the sentence is a regular verb or an irregular verb, the conjugation of the verb when representing the simple present tense changes according to the pronoun used. This does not apply to the simple past or simple future tenses as they have the same verb form irrespective of the pronoun acting as the subject. Take a look at the following table to understand.

Pronoun	Person (Singular/Plural)	Verb (Singular/Plural)	Example
I	First person singular	Plural verb	I like chocolates.
We	First person plural	Plural verb	We like chocolates.
You	Second person singular/plural	Plural verb	You like chocolates.
He	Third person singular	Singular verb	He likes chocolates.
She	Third person singular	Singular verb	She likes chocolates.
They	Third person plural	Plural verb	They like chocolates.
It	Third person singular	Singular verb	It works well

Rule 2

Verbs such as ‘to be’, ‘do’ and ‘have’ are conjugated in their various forms in accordance with the pronouns in the sentence. Here is a table to make it easier for you to comprehend.

‘To be’ Form of Verbs in the Simple Present Tense
Pronoun	Verb	Example
I	am	I am a nurse.
We	are	We are seventh-grade students.
You	are	You are amazing.
He	is	He is clever.
She	is	She is an architect.
They	are	They are in the lobby.
It	is	It is exactly the way you described it.
‘To be’ Form of Verbs in the Simple Past Tense
Pronoun	Verb	Example
I	was	I was a pilot.
We	were	We were at the park yesterday.
You	were	You were wonderful.
He	was	He was sad.
She	was	She was excited about her brother’s graduation.
They	were	They were exhausted.
It	was	It was completed last week.

When the forms of the verb ‘be’ are used as auxiliary verbs to form the present continuous, past continuous and future continuous tenses, make sure you follow the same conjugation rules.

The table below shows you how different forms of ‘have’ are used with each pronoun. The ‘have’ verb, when used in the present perfect tense, follows the same conjugation rules.

Forms of ‘Have’ in the Simple Present Tense
Pronoun	Verb	Example
I	have	I have a dog.
We	have	We have pasta from Rolling Dough Cafe.
You	have	You have someone waiting for you.
He	has	He has a brother.
She	has	She has a pet hamster.
They	have	They have all the documents.
It	has	It has a nice touch.

Below is a table to help you learn how the ‘do’ is conjugated when used with different pronouns.

Forms of ‘Do’ in the Simple Present Tense
Pronoun	Verb	Example
I	do	I do all the baking in the kitchen.
We	do	We do it regularly.
You	do	You do look like your father.
He	does	He does all the work by himself.
She	does	She does everything sincerely.
They	do	They do the work given to them without any hesitation.
It	does	It does feel good to be here.

The past and future tense forms of both ‘do’ and ‘have’ remain the same for all pronouns. The past forms of ‘do’ and ‘have’ are ‘did’ and ‘had’, respectively. Also, remember that when these verbs (‘to be’, ‘have’ and ‘do’) are used as helping verbs, they have to follow the rules of conjugation. One added characteristic of ‘do’ is that they are used to make negative sentences when other verbs are used as main verbs. Even when this is done, you will have to use the appropriate forms of ‘do’ with respect to the pronoun used.

For example:

I do not like spicy dishes.
We do not like spicy dishes.
You do not like spicy dishes.
He does not like spicy dishes.
She does not like spicy dishes.
They do not like spicy dishes.
It does not look good.

Sentence Examples of First, Second and Third Person Pronouns

Here are a few more examples for you. Check them out.

Beena cooks for her family.
I am on my way to the theatre.
They have everything they need.
We do not know how to finish this experiment.
Sindhu works as a cyber security analyst in Attos, Bangalore.
He is reading ‘The God of Small Things’.
She has finished all her work.
Veena and Reena are participating in the quiz competition.
The cat drinks milk.
The teacher does not let us into the class unless we complete our homework.

Check Your Understanding of First, Second and Third Person Pronouns

Go through the following sentences and fill in the blanks with the right conjugated form of the verb given in brackets in accordance with the noun/pronoun used as the subject.

Frequently Asked Questions on First, Second and Third Person Pronouns in English

What is a first person pronoun?

A first person pronoun is one that is used to refer to the person who is speaking. First person pronouns are used to refer to oneself or ourselves as we speak. First person pronouns in English include ‘I’ and ‘we’.

What is a second person pronoun?

A second person pronoun is one that is used to refer to the person being addressed — in other words, the person/people one is talking to. The second person pronoun in English is ‘you’ (used both for singular and plural subjects).

What is a third person pronoun?

A pronoun that refers to neither the speaker nor the one who is spoken to is called a third person pronoun. Examples of third person pronouns include ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘they’ and ‘it’.