What is the collective term for the words 'I', 'you', 'he', 'she', 'it', 'we', and 'they'?

The collective term for “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” “it,” “we,” and “they” is “personal pronouns.” These words stand in for people, animals, things, or groups while identifying grammatical person: first person includes “I” and “we,” second person includes “you,” and third person includes “he,” “she,” “it,” and “they.”

Personal pronouns can change form according to their role in a sentence. For example, “I” becomes “me” as an object, while “she” becomes “her.” They may also show number, possession, reflexive meaning, or—in some cases—gender. “They” can be plural, but modern English also widely uses singular “they” for an individual whose gender is unknown or when a person uses that pronoun.

The word “personal” refers to grammatical person, not only to human beings. The pronoun “it,” for example, is personal in the grammatical classification even though it commonly refers to an object or animal. English pronouns preserve more distinctions than English nouns do.