Summary
The pronoun is the word that replaces a noun so as not to repeat it: in "Ana vino y ella trajo el pan", ella is a pronoun referring to Ana. Thanks to pronouns, a text does not keep repeating the same words.
There are several types of pronoun. Personal ones (yo, tú, él, nosotros, me, te, se) point to the people of the discourse. Demonstratives (este, ese), possessives (mío, tuyo), numerals (dos) and indefinites (alguien, nada) work like determiners, but without accompanying a noun, because they replace it. There are also relatives (que, quien) and interrogatives (qué, quién).
Key points
- The pronoun replaces a noun so as not to repeat it.
- Personal: yo, tú, él, nosotros, me, te, se…
- Demonstrative (este), possessive (mío), numeral (dos), indefinite (alguien).
- Unlike the determiner, it does not accompany the noun: it replaces it.
- Relative: que, quien, cual (they join clauses).
- Interrogative and exclamative: qué, quién, cuánto.
- They avoid repetition and give the text cohesion.