He Pronoun: Definition, Usage, and Examples

Meaning 1：male pronoun (he)

he 🔊

/hiː/

pron.

Used to talk about a man or boy we already know.

male pronoun 🔊

➕

/meɪl ˈproʊnaʊn/

pron.

Used to refer to a male person or animal that has already been mentioned or is known from the context.

📁 Category：Social Roles 🔖 Level：beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Proto-Germanic *hi-, derived from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe- 'this, here'.

💡 Mnemonic

Think of 'he' as the letter 'h' standing for 'human (male)', plus 'e' as in 'everyone'.

📖 Example

Tom was so proud when he finally finished the 1000-piece puzzle. 🔊 Tom felt a great sense of pride when he completed the 1000-piece puzzle.

🔗 Collocations

he said – a phrase introducing a male's statement

he himself – emphasizing the male subject

he is – the third-person singular masculine form of 'to be'

🔄 Synonyms

that man (noun phrase) – refers to a specific male person

the guy (noun) – informal way to refer to a male person

the boy (noun) – refers to a young male person

🚫 Antonyms

she (pron.) – used to refer to a female person

🌱 Derivatives

him (pron.) – the objective case of 'he'

his (pron.) – the possessive form of 'he'

himself (pron.) – reflexive form of 'he'

📖 Cultural Story

The pronoun 'he' traces back to Old English 'hē', part of the Germanic third-person pronoun system. It is one of the most common words in English, used daily in all contexts.