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Grammar Review: Pronouns
Pronoun: a word that takes the place of a noun or nouns
A personal pronoun names
 the speaker (first person): I, me, we, us
 the person spoken to (second person): you (singular & plural)
 the person, place, thing, or idea spoken about (third person): he, she, it, him, her,
they, them
 A personal pronoun is singular when it refers to one person, place, thing, or idea.
Ex: I, he, it
 A personal pronoun is plural when it refers to more than one person, place, thing, or
idea.
Ex: we, us, they, them
A pronoun may be used as the subject of a sentence or as an object (DO, IO, or OP).
 The subject pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they.
Ex: She and I are friends.

A subject pronoun can also replace a noun used as a subject complement.
Ex: My favorite person is she.

A pronoun may be used as an object: the direct object of a verb, the indirect object
of a verb, or the object of a preposition.

The object pronouns are: me, you, him, her, it, us, them.
Ex: Sally threw it to Sam. Sally threw him the ball. Sally threw the ball to him.
A pronoun that follows the conjunction than or as must correspond to the subject/object
status of the word with which it is compared. (To double check, fill in any missing words
that complete the meaning of the sentence.)
 If the word with which the pronoun is compared is a subject, the pronoun must be a
subject pronoun.
Ex: John is happier than I. (Double check: John is happier than I am happy.)
If the word with which the pronoun is compared is an object, the pronoun must be
an object pronoun.
Ex: The loud music bothered John more than her. (Double check: The loud music
bothered John more than it bothered her.)
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
Pronoun: a word that takes the place of a noun or nouns
Ex: I am a teacher. Sally gave him a book to read. Those are the best tacos.
Antecedent:
the noun that the pronoun replaces. The prefix ante- means “before,” and
the root –ced- means “go.” An antecedent usually (but not always) goes before a pronoun
and names the person, place, or thing to which the pronoun refers. Sometimes the
antecedent is in an earlier sentence. A pronoun must always agree with its antecedent in
person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), number (singular/plural), and gender (masculine/feminine/neuter).
Ex: This song is old, but I still love it. Sally’s mom drives her to school.
Kinds of pronouns: personal, possessive, interrogative, demonstrative, indefinite,
reflexive (& intensive), relative
Personal pronoun: names the speaker (1st person), the person spoken to (2nd person),
or the person, place, or thing spoken about (3rd person)
Possessive pronoun: a pronoun that shows possession or ownership by the speaker (1st
person—mine, ours); ownership by the person spoken to (2nd person—you, yours); or
ownership by the person, place, or thing spoken about (3rd person—his, hers, its, theirs)

A possessive pronoun takes the place of a noun and its possessive adjective.
Ex: These are my sneakers. = These are mine.
Their instruments are on the shelf. = Theirs are on the shelf.
***Do not confuse possessive pronouns and contractions. A possessive pronoun NEVER has
an apostrophe.
Possessive pronouns
Contractions___
your
you’re (you are)
its
it’s (it is)
their
they’re (they are)
theirs
there’s (there is)
whose
who’s (who is)
Interrogative pronoun: a pronoun that is used to ask a question



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Who and whom are used to ask about persons. Who is used when the pronoun is the
subject of the sentence. Whom is used when the pronoun is the object of a verb or
of a preposition.
Which is used to ask about persons, places, or things.
What is used to ask about places or things and to seek information.
Whose is used to ask about possession.
***If the words which and what come directly before nouns, they act as adjectives, not as
pronouns. If which and what stand alone, they act as pronouns.
Ex: Which picture do you like? (adj.) Which do you like? (pronoun)
***Who vs. Whom: To help you decide whether to use who or whom, turn the question
into a statement. Substitute he or she for who, and use him or her in place of whom to see
which would be correct.
Ex: Question: (Who / Whom) will we pick?
Statement: We will pick (who / whom). = We will pick (he / him).
Demonstrative pronoun: a pronoun that points out a definite person, place, or thing.
A demonstrative pronoun must agree in number (sing./plural) with the noun it points out or
with its antecedent.
 This and that refer to singular nouns or pronouns.
 These and those refer to plural nouns or pronouns.
 This and these point out things that are near.
 That and those point out things that are farther away.
***Like which and what, this, that, these, and those may function as adjectives or as
pronouns in a sentence. When they come directly before a noun, they are demonstrative
adjectives. When they stand alone, they are demonstrative pronouns.
Ex: I love this book in my hand. (adj.) I love this. (pronoun)
Indefinite pronoun: a pronoun that refers to an unspecified person or thing. An
indefinite pronoun that refers to only one person or thing is singular (Ex: each, everyone).
An indefinite pronoun that refers to more than one is plural (Ex: many, several).

Corresponding verbs, adjectives, and pronouns referring to an indefinite pronoun
must agree with the indefinite pronoun in number (singular/plural).
o Ex: Few look to their left before turning. Each of the birds has a long beak.

Some indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural, depending on what they
refer to in a sentence.
o All of the food is gone. (singular) All of the flights were cancelled. (plural)
A chart of indefinite pronouns:
Singular
another
anybody
anyone
anything
each
either
everybody
everyone
everything
neither
nobody
no one
nothing
other
one
somebody
someone
something
Plural
both
few
many
ones
others
several
Either
all
any
most
none
some
***Avoid double negatives! When a sentence contains a negative, such as not or never, use
the indefinite pronoun anyone or anything rather than no one or nothing.
Reflexive & Intensive pronouns (also called “mirror pronouns”):
end in –
self or –selves. The reflexive & intensive pronouns are: myself, yourself, himself, herself,
itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.

These are called mirror pronouns because they reflect back to another word in the
sentence.

A reflexive pronoun’s antecedent is the subject of the sentence. It completes the
meaning of a sentence and generally cannot be left out.
o Ex: Harry splashed himself with water. Did you teach yourself music?

An intensive pronoun is used to emphasize another word (its antecedent), which it
follows directly. An intensive pronoun may or may not refer to the subject of the
sentence. It can usually be left out without destroying the meaning of the sentence.
o Ex: The children themselves are making dinner. I myself made the coffee.

Both reflexive and intensive pronouns must agree with their antecedents in person,
number, and gender. Ex: we ourselves, they themselves, he himself, pencil itself

Do not use reflexive or intensive pronouns in place of personal pronouns.
o Ex: Ron and I repaired the lamp. (not Ron and myself)
This is between you and me. (not between you and myself)