3 ms·

My first response to reading this was "dude isn't a pronoun", but after thinking about it, I realize it is being used more and more as a pronoun and not just as

by cout 5y ago

My first response to reading this was "dude isn't a pronoun", but after thinking about it, I realize it is being used more and more as a pronoun and not just as a noun. I wonder what other words can be used as a pronoun?

hunter2_ 5y ago
A name for the male segment of this class of words is "bronoun," which includes things like bro, man, guy, etc. Basically anything you can use in place of a name, so long as the grammatical usage is namelike. "That guy doesn't have a clue." -- guy is a noun "Guy doesn't have a clue." -- guy is a pronoun (you can tell because "he" also works grammatically) However, I think these would need to be in the initial position(s) when slash-delimiting one's pronouns, because the final position is for a possessive form. That is, they're analogous to "he" but not analogous to "his" (and using them like "him" would be a stretch, as far as I can figure...), which might be what got GP in hot water.
- wearywanderer 5y ago
  > "Guy doesn't have a clue." -- guy is a pronoun (you can tell because "he" also works grammatically) You don't think that's merely people being lazy and leaving off a word that can be inferred ('That')? This is something I often do in casual conversation, particularly vocal conversations: "I am wondering what you mean" - 'I' is a pronoun "Wondering what you mean" - 'Wondering' is now the pronoun??? Clearly not. It's just a way that people are lazy and sloppy with grammar when correct grammar isn't important.
  - hunter2_ 5y ago
    This is convincing. But to answer your "wondering" question: nope, because "he/him/his," nor their analogues (person, number, gender, etc.), don't work there.
UnpossibleJim 5y ago
It really isn't a pronoun, but goes into the implicit versus explicit thing. If your pronouns are "He/Him" you want to be called "Man", implicitly. If I don't say "Dude", explicitly, how are they to know?... Plus, I've met several people who chafe at being called "Dude", and I prefer it TBH. "Hey, dude" or "Dude's got good coding practices" are perfectly fine by me, but I'm also in my 40's and it shows =/

by cout 5y ago

hunter2_ 5y ago

A name for the male segment of this class of words is "bronoun," which includes things like bro, man, guy, etc. Basically anything you can use in place of a name, so long as the grammatical usage is namelike. "That guy doesn't have a clue." -- guy is a noun "Guy doesn't have a clue." -- guy is a pronoun (you can tell because "he" also works grammatically) However, I think these would need to be in the initial position(s) when slash-delimiting one's pronouns, because the final position is for a possessive form. That is, they're analogous to "he" but not analogous to "his" (and using them like "him" would be a stretch, as far as I can figure...), which might be what got GP in hot water.

wearywanderer 5y ago
> "Guy doesn't have a clue." -- guy is a pronoun (you can tell because "he" also works grammatically) You don't think that's merely people being lazy and leaving off a word that can be inferred ('That')? This is something I often do in casual conversation, particularly vocal conversations: "I am wondering what you mean" - 'I' is a pronoun "Wondering what you mean" - 'Wondering' is now the pronoun??? Clearly not. It's just a way that people are lazy and sloppy with grammar when correct grammar isn't important.
- hunter2_ 5y ago
  This is convincing. But to answer your "wondering" question: nope, because "he/him/his," nor their analogues (person, number, gender, etc.), don't work there.

UnpossibleJim 5y ago

It really isn't a pronoun, but goes into the implicit versus explicit thing. If your pronouns are "He/Him" you want to be called "Man", implicitly. If I don't say "Dude", explicitly, how are they to know?... Plus, I've met several people who chafe at being called "Dude", and I prefer it TBH. "Hey, dude" or "Dude's got good coding practices" are perfectly fine by me, but I'm also in my 40's and it shows =/