The word she is a third-person singular pronoun primarily used to refer to a person who is female. It normally replaces a woman's name in running text, functioning as the subject of a clause (for example, "She arrived").
Forms and grammar
The subject form is she. The objective and possessive forms are related: her is used as an object ("I saw her") and as a possessive determiner before a noun ("her book"), while hers serves as the independent possessive ("The book is hers"). In contexts where a neutral or male referent would be spoken of, English uses different pronouns such as "it" or "he".
- Subject: she
- Object: her
- Possessive determiner: her
- Independent possessive: hers
History
Forms for the feminine third-person pronoun in English have changed over centuries. Old English had feminine pronouns such as heo, which could overlap in meaning with other third-person forms. The specific form she appears in Middle English texts; linguists generally date its regular use to the medieval period rather than to earlier Old English. In 1999 the American Dialect Society named she its word of the millennium, noting its rise in usage after the first millennium.
Use and variation
Today, she is commonly used for women and girls and for people who identify as female. It is also sometimes applied to animals, ships, or other entities in traditions that treat them as feminine. Usage can vary by dialect, context, and personal preference; for example, some speakers use gender-neutral pronouns in contexts where sex or gender is unspecified.
Because pronouns interact with social and linguistic norms, their use can change over time and across communities. When uncertain about which pronoun to use for a particular person, many style guides and communicators recommend asking the individual or following their stated preference.