Pronouns in English are fascinating for many reasons: They belong to the ‘closed’ word classes but, at the same time, they carry important social meaning and indicate social hierarchies. Despite being a closed word class, they have undergone significant change from the earliest forms to the forms used in the present day, with a major example being the shift from th-forms, such as thou, to y-forms, such as you. In this class, we will investigate the history, forms, and functions of pronouns in English. We will discuss why we need pronouns, how they are used, and why they are such a good example of language at the interface of grammar and society. We will also discuss phenomena such as ‘bronouns’ and compare pronoun usage in English to pronoun usage in other languages. Attention will also be given to neopronouns and current debates on pronouns in relation to gender identities.