Name-only (no pronouns)
Some people use no pronouns at all: you use their name every time, or rephrase. It is a practice, not a set.
- [name]
- [name]
- [name]'s
- [name]'s
The forms
| Subject | [name][name] is here |
|---|---|
| Object | [name]I saw [name] |
| Possessive | [name]'s[name]'s book |
| Possessive (standing alone) | [name]'sthat is [name]'s |
| Reflexive | [name]by [name] |
In a sentence
What it is
No pronouns means exactly that. Where you would say he, she or they, you say the name. Sam is here. I gave Sam the keys. That is Sam's coat. Sam did it without help. Once you stop reaching for a pronoun, the sentence usually finds another way.
It reads as clumsy on paper and sounds fine in the room. English already does this with small children and with people whose name we are trying to remember. The skill is the same: repeat the name, use the passive, or turn the sentence round. Pronouns.page lists all three, plus initials and descriptive nouns like "the pilot".
How to use it
- The name goes where the pronoun would. "Sam is coming and Sam is bringing Sam's dog." Yes, three times. That is the point. (Sam stands in for the person's actual name throughout.)
- Possessive is the name plus 's: Sam's. Reflexive is a rephrase: "Sam did it without help", "Sam did it alone".
- Passive voice does a lot of work: "the phone was answered" instead of "he answered the phone".
- Do not substitute they because it feels smoother. If the person has said no pronouns, they is a pronoun.
- If you slip, say the name and carry on. "He — Sam — is coming."
Getting used to it
- Take one paragraph you wrote about anyone and remove every pronoun from it. Notice which sentences fold easily and which need rebuilding. Those are the ones to rehearse.
- Speak about the person for one minute to a friend using only the name. It feels absurd for thirty seconds and then it does not.
- In writing, initials are allowed: "J's graduation starts soon." Use them if the full name gets heavy.
Who uses this
Name-only comes up on nineteen pages in the library.
That is all this list is. No identity requires a pronoun set, and most imply nothing about pronouns at all.
Binary 1 entry
Transgender 1 entry
Non-Binary 8 entries
Fluid 1 entry
Where it comes from
There is no coinage to record. Using a name instead of pronouns is a practice, not a word, and nobody is credited with starting it. Pronouns.page describes it under "no pronouns" and gives the working techniques: name or initial, passive voice, rephrasing, a descriptive noun, or dropping the pronoun altogether.
Questions people ask
Isn't it exhausting to say the name every time?
Less than you expect. Most sentences have one pronoun in them, and many of those disappear when you use the passive or drop it. "Did you buy Tex a gift?" needs no pronoun at all.
What about forms and systems that force a pronoun?
Pick the option that does least harm and tell the person which box you ticked and why. Some forms have a free-text field; where there is none, the gap is the form's, not yours.
Other sets
Pronouns are one part of it
Twenty questions across six dimensions, about four minutes, then a ranked shortlist rather than a verdict. Scoring runs on your device; nothing you answer leaves it.
Pronouns are a request about language, not a claim about anyone else. Using someone’s pronouns costs nothing and says a lot.