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{{About|the English personal pronoun|other uses|He (disambiguation)}}
'''''He''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|iː}}, unstressed {{IPAc-en|i}}) is a [[grammatical gender|masculine]] [[grammatical person|third-person]], [[grammatical number|singular]] [[personal pronoun]] ([[Nominative case|subjective case]]) in [[Modern English]], as well as being a [[Middle English personal pronouns|personal pronoun in Middle English]].

{{Modern English personal pronouns (table)}}

==Usage==

===People===
"He" can be used as a substitution of a male's name.

===Animals===
"He" and "she" are often used to refer to domesticated animals and sometimes non-domesticated animals of the respective sex.

===Gender neutral===
{{See also|Gender-neutral_pronoun#English}}
A study has shown that "there was a rather extended period of time in the history of the English language when the choice of a supposedly masculine personal pronoun (''him'') said nothing about the gender or sex of the referent."<ref>Susanne Wagner, ''[http://www.freidok.uni-freiburg.de/volltexte/1412/pdf/Diss_Freidok.pdf Gender in English Pronouns]: Myth and Reality'', PhD thesis, [[University of Freiburg|Albert Ludwigs Universität]], 2003. Page 41.</ref>

The use of "he" to refer to a person of unknown gender was often prescribed by manuals of style and school textbooks from the early 18th century until around the 1960s, an early example of which is [[Ann Fisher (grammarian)|Ann Fisher]]'s 1745 grammar book "[[A New Grammar]]".<ref>{{Cite news|title=All-Purpose Pronoun |author=[[Patricia T. O'Conner]] |author2=Stewart Kellerman |newspaper=The New York Times |date=21 July 2009 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/magazine/26FOB-onlanguage-t.html }}</ref>
* A good student always does '''his''' homework.
* If someone asks you for help, give it to '''him'''.
* When a customer argues, always agree with '''him'''.

This may be compared to usage of the word ''man'' to humans in general.
* "All '''men''' are created equal."
* "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for '''mankind'''."
* "'''Man''' cannot live by bread alone."

Gender-specific pronouns were also prescribed when one might presume that most members of some group are the same gender (although in recent times, such presumptions are sometimes seen as offensive).

* A secretary should keep '''her''' temper in check.
* A janitor should respect '''his''' employers.
* Every plumber has '''his''' own tools.
* A nurse should always be kind to '''her''' patients.

===Other===
The pronoun He, with a universally capitalized H, is often used to refer to the [[Abrahamic God|Supreme Being]], or in Christian contexts, to [[Jesus Christ]]; "It", with a capitalized I, is also used when speaking of the Supreme Being's nature or [[Deity|Godhead]], or in Christian contexts, to refer to the [[Logos]]; capitalized "He" and "It" have both been used to refer to the [[Holy Spirit]]. In [[Catholic Church|Catholic Christian]] circles, the [[Blessed Sacrament]] is also referred to with the capitalized pronoun "It".

==Gender==
{{Main|Gender in English}}
The gender system in Modern English is generally ''natural'', ''semantic'' and ''logical''; however it is most similar to languages whose gender systems primarily distinguish between the animate and inanimate, and between the personal and impersonal.<ref>Randolf Sidney Quirk, Geoffrey Greenbaum and Ian Svartvik, ''A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language'', (London: [[Longman]], 1985), p. 314.</ref> In the table ''RP'' stands for ''relative pronoun'' and ''PP'' for ''personal pronoun''.
{{Gender classes in English}}

==Etymology==

===Indo-European===

The reconstructed [[Indo-European language]] provides a [[demonstrative pronoun]] ''ko''.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE233.html 'Ko'], ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', Fourth edition, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000).</ref>

===Germanic===
English is a development of the [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic language family]].

===Old English===
{{Old English personal pronouns (table)}}

Speakers of [[Old English]] (OE) considered each noun to have a [[grammatical gender]] — masculine, feminine or neuter.<ref>Peter S Baker, [http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/resources/IOE/index.html ''Introduction to Old English''], ([[Oxford]]: [[Wiley-Blackwell|Blackwell]], 2003).</ref> Pronouns were generally (but not always)<ref>Greville Corbett, ''Gender'', (Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]], 1991).</ref> selected to have the same grammatical gender as the noun they referred to. For example, ''dæg'' {{IPA-ang|dæj|}} 'day') was masculine, so a masculine pronoun was used when referring to a day or days. The pronoun "he" was written ''he'', as in Present-Day English (PrDE), but pronounced ''hē'' {{IPA-ang|heː|}}, rather like PrDE ''hay.''

===Middle English===
{{Middle English personal pronouns (table)}}

There was one change to the inflection of the masculine pronoun in [[Middle English]]. The OE [[dative case|dative]] form ''him'' replaced the OE [[accusative case|accusative]] ''hine'' {{IPA-ang|hinə|}}. This meant that, in Middle English, there was no distinction between masculine and impersonal, except in the subject case of the third-person singular, until ''it'' from ''hit'' replaced ''him'' in the object case of the impersonal. Some scholars believe that "there was rather an extended period of time in the history of the English language when the choice of a supposedly masculine personal pronoun (''him'') said nothing about the gender or sex of the referent."<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Gender in English pronouns: Myth and reality|author=Susanne Wagner|format=PDF|url=http://www.freidok.uni-freiburg.de/volltexte/1412/pdf/Diss_Freidok.pdf|date=22 July 2004|publisher=[[Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg|Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[English personal pronouns]]
* [[Gender-specific pronoun]]
* [[Generic antecedents]]

{{Modern English personal pronouns}}
{{English gender-neutral pronouns}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik. ''A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language'', Longman, 1985.

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|he}}
*William Malone Baskervill and James Witt Sewel, [http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/wmbaskervill/bl-wmbaskervill-grammar-syntax-pronouns.htm ''An English Grammar''], 1896.'''
*[http://www.bartleby.com/61/75/H0097500.html 'He'], ''[[The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'', Fourth edition, (Boston: [[Houghton Mifflin|Houghton Mifflin Company]], 2000).
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2010}}

[[Category:English grammar]]
[[Category:English grammar]]
[[Category:Middle English personal pronouns]]
[[Category:Middle English personal pronouns]]

Revision as of 17:45, 18 November 2015

This article is about the English personal pronoun. For other uses, see He (disambiguation).

He (/ˈhiː/, unstressed /i/) is a masculine third-person, singular personal pronoun (subjective case) in Modern English, as well as being a personal pronoun in Middle English.

Template:Modern English personal pronouns (table)

Usage

People

"He" can be used as a substitution of a male's name.

Animals

"He" and "she" are often used to refer to domesticated animals and sometimes non-domesticated animals of the respective sex.

Gender neutral

See also: Gender-neutral_pronoun § English

A study has shown that "there was a rather extended period of time in the history of the English language when the choice of a supposedly masculine personal pronoun (him) said nothing about the gender or sex of the referent."[1]

The use of "he" to refer to a person of unknown gender was often prescribed by manuals of style and school textbooks from the early 18th century until around the 1960s, an early example of which is Ann Fisher's 1745 grammar book "A New Grammar".[2]

  • A good student always does his homework.
  • If someone asks you for help, give it to him.
  • When a customer argues, always agree with him.

This may be compared to usage of the word man to humans in general.

  • "All men are created equal."
  • "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
  • "Man cannot live by bread alone."

Gender-specific pronouns were also prescribed when one might presume that most members of some group are the same gender (although in recent times, such presumptions are sometimes seen as offensive).

  • A secretary should keep her temper in check.
  • A janitor should respect his employers.
  • Every plumber has his own tools.
  • A nurse should always be kind to her patients.

Other

The pronoun He, with a universally capitalized H, is often used to refer to the Supreme Being, or in Christian contexts, to Jesus Christ; "It", with a capitalized I, is also used when speaking of the Supreme Being's nature or Godhead, or in Christian contexts, to refer to the Logos; capitalized "He" and "It" have both been used to refer to the Holy Spirit. In Catholic Christian circles, the Blessed Sacrament is also referred to with the capitalized pronoun "It".

Gender

Main article: Gender in English

The gender system in Modern English is generally natural, semantic and logical; however it is most similar to languages whose gender systems primarily distinguish between the animate and inanimate, and between the personal and impersonal.[3] In the table RP stands for relative pronoun and PP for personal pronoun. Template:Gender classes in English

Etymology

Indo-European

The reconstructed Indo-European language provides a demonstrative pronoun ko.[4]

Germanic

English is a development of the West Germanic language family.

Old English

Old English pronouns
Nominative IPA Accusative Dative Genitive
1st Singular iċ [itʃ] mec / mē mē mīn
Dual wit [wit] uncit unc uncer
Plural wē [weː] ūsic ūs ūser / ūre
2nd Singular þū [θuː] þec / þē þē þīn
Dual ġit [jit] incit inc incer
Plural ġē [jeː] ēowic ēow ēower
3rd Singular Masculine hē [heː] hine him his
Neuter hit [hit] hit him his
Feminine hēo [heːo] hīe hiere hiere
Plural hīe [hiːy] hīe heom heora


Speakers of Old English (OE) considered each noun to have a grammatical gender — masculine, feminine or neuter.[5] Pronouns were generally (but not always)[6] selected to have the same grammatical gender as the noun they referred to. For example, dæg [dæj] 'day') was masculine, so a masculine pronoun was used when referring to a day or days. The pronoun "he" was written he, as in Present-Day English (PrDE), but pronounced hē [heː], rather like PrDE hay.

Middle English

Middle English personal pronouns
Below each Middle English pronoun, the Modern English is shown in italics (with archaic forms in parentheses)
Person / gender Subject Object Possessive determiner Possessive pronoun Reflexive
Singular
First ic / ich / I
I		 me / mi
me		 min / minen [pl.]
my		 min / mire / minre
mine		 min one / mi seluen
myself
Second þou / þu / tu / þeou
you (thou)		 þe
you (thee)		 þi / ti
your (thy)		 þin / þyn
yours (thine)		 þeself / þi seluen
yourself (thyself)
Third Masculine he
he		 him[a] / hine[b]
him		 his / hisse / hes
his		 his / hisse
his		 him-seluen
himself
Feminine sche[o] / s[c]ho / ȝho
she		 heo / his / hie / hies / hire
her		 hio / heo / hire / heore
her		 -
hers		 heo-seolf
herself
Neuter hit
it		 hit / him
it		 his
its		 his
its		 hit sulue
itself
Plural
First we
we		 us / ous
us		 ure[n] / our[e] / ures / urne
our		 oures
ours		 us self / ous silue
ourselves
Second ȝe / ye
you (ye)		 eow / [ȝ]ou / ȝow / gu / you
you		 eower / [ȝ]ower / gur / [e]our
your		 youres
yours		 Ȝou self / ou selue
yourselves
Third From Old English heo / he his / heo[m] heore / her - -
From Old Norse þa / þei / þeo / þo þem / þo þeir - þam-selue
modern they them their theirs themselves
  1. ^ Dative case, indirect object
  2. ^ Accusative case, direct object

There was one change to the inflection of the masculine pronoun in Middle English. The OE dative form him replaced the OE accusative hine [hinə]. This meant that, in Middle English, there was no distinction between masculine and impersonal, except in the subject case of the third-person singular, until it from hit replaced him in the object case of the impersonal. Some scholars believe that "there was rather an extended period of time in the history of the English language when the choice of a supposedly masculine personal pronoun (him) said nothing about the gender or sex of the referent."[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Susanne Wagner, Gender in English Pronouns: Myth and Reality, PhD thesis, Albert Ludwigs Universität, 2003. Page 41.
  2. ^ Patricia T. O'Conner; Stewart Kellerman (21 July 2009). "All-Purpose Pronoun". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Randolf Sidney Quirk, Geoffrey Greenbaum and Ian Svartvik, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, (London: Longman, 1985), p. 314.
  4. ^ 'Ko', The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth edition, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000).
  5. ^ Peter S Baker, Introduction to Old English, (Oxford: Blackwell, 2003).
  6. ^ Greville Corbett, Gender, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991).
  7. ^ Susanne Wagner (22 July 2004). "Gender in English pronouns: Myth and reality" (PDF). Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, Longman, 1985.

External links

Look up he in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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