Download Pronouns can be very useful when standing in for other

Pronouns can be very useful when standing in for other nouns or noun
phrases.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Recognize when pronouns agree with their antecedents
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Pronouns take different forms depending on how they are used in a sentence.
Pronouns should always take the same form as their antecedent, or the phrase they are replacing.
A major benefit of the agreement between pronouns and their antecedent is that it will help the
reader understand which pronouns refer to which antecedents.
TERMS [ edit ]
pronoun
A type of noun that refers anaphorically to another noun or noun phrase, but which cannot
ordinarily be preceded by a determiner and rarely takes an attributive adjective. English examples
include I, you, him, who, me, my, each other.
demonstrative pronoun
a pronoun which replaces a noun whose identity can be understood from the context; it indicates
whether the noun is singular or plural, and whether it is near or far from the speaker or writer
antecedent
In grammar, an antecedent is a noun, noun phrase, or clause to which an anaphor refers in a
coreference. For example, in the passage "I did not see John because he wasn't there", "John" is
the antecedent of the anaphor "he. "
EXAMPLES [ edit ]
Additional examples:
Personal pronoun: She and I went to Japan.
Personal pronoun: We are so much cooler than they.
Possessive pronoun: Her day just got worse.
Possessive pronoun: The night belongs to us!
Intensive pronoun: My baseball was signed by Babe Ruth himself.
Reflexive pronoun: They convinced themselves that they were abducted by aliens.
Relative pronoun: The boy who won the dance contest lives next door.
Relative pronoun: The girl to whom I declared my love lives next door.
Relative pronoun: The shoes that I wore last week are green.
Interrogative pronoun: Where do you think you're going?
Interrogative pronoun: You bring your pants to which dry cleaners?
Interrogative pronoun: Who is the better figure skater?
Demonstrative pronoun: That puppy is way cuter than this one.
Demonstrative pronoun: I want that croissant on the left.
Indefinite pronoun: Nobody is smarter than I!
Indefinite pronoun: Each of the cats is gray and white.
Ambiguous pronoun usage: Bill and Fred saw the movie, but he didn't like it.
Corrected sentence: Bill and Fred saw the movie, but Bill didn't like it.
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Making Pronouns and Antecedents Agree
Pronouns can be very useful when standing in for other nouns or noun phrases. They make
sentences less repetitive by eliminating the need to repeat the same nouns over and over
again. However, they are only useful if the reader always knows what words the pronoun is
replacing, which is known as the pronoun's antecedent. This can partly be done through
word order. Don't separate a pronoun too far from its antecedent, and don't use a pronoun
unless its antecedent has already been established. One other important consideration to
keep in mind is the grammatical rule that governs pronoun usage: make sure your pronouns
and antecedents agree.
The different types of pronouns include the following:
personal pronouns
possessive pronouns
intensive and reflexive pronouns
relative pronouns
interrogative pronouns
demonstrative pronouns
indefinite pronouns
All of them have different forms, even if they may refer to the same antecedent. The form you
should use depends on what grammatical function the pronoun or its antecedent would
perform in the sentence.
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns refer to specific people or things with an antecedent standing in as
the subject or object of a verb. They can be either subjective or objective.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns indicate ownership. Beyond variations by person and number, most
have two different forms depending on whether the pronoun modifies the subject of a
sentence or whether it functions exclusively as an adjective.
For example, these pronouns are the subject:
My cat jumped on the table.
Your book was really good.
Our taxi is coming.
These pronouns are adjectives:
That cat is mine.
Those books are yours.
That taxi is ours.
Intensive Pronouns
Intensive pronouns emphasize a noun or another pronoun, as in: the mayor himself called
me.
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns take the same form as intensive pronouns, but instead of emphasizing a
noun they name the receiver of an action. An example would be: We shopped ourselves to
death. Below is a list of pronoun forms by person, number, and grammatical function.
Personal (Subject)
I
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
Personal (object)
Me
You
Him
Her
It
Us
You
Them
Possessive
My
Your
His
Hers
Its
Our
Your
Their
Possessive (adjective)
Mine
Yours
His
Hers
Its
Ours
Yours
Theirs
Intensive/Reflexive
Myself
Yourself
Himself
Herself
Itself
Ourselves
Yourselves
Themselves
Other categories of pronouns do not have forms for every single category on the list above.
Their forms are determined primarily by their grammatical function or antecedent rather
than by person. Some do have forms that depend on number.
Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns introduce subordinate clauses, linking subjects with their complements.
The main forms are who (subjective form for people and other beings), whom (objective
form for people and beings), and that (for objects):
Person (subject): The girl who wore a yellow dress.
Person (object): The boy whom I like.
Being: The cat who lived next door.
Object: The desk that my mother bought.
Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns introduce questions. The main forms are who/whom (for people and
beings), whose (for possessive pronouns), what (to introduce general questions), and which
(for objects and comparisons):
Person or being: Who wants to go to the movies with me?
Possessive: Whose car is parked outside?
General question: What time is it? What do you think of the weather today?
Comparison: Which book do you think is better, Hamlet or King Lear?
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns point out specific people, places, things, and ideas. The main forms
are this/that (singular) and these/those (plural). These pronouns can either be used for
comparisons or on their own. They are also called determiners and can function as adjectives
for their antecedents:
Comparison: I would rather go to that restaurant than this one.
Alone: I think this book is really good.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns refer to non­specific people or things. Examples include:
all
both
any
few
everyone
each
nobody
some
several
neither
The one you use depends on what number or amount you intend to convey. Above all,
remember to make sure that the antecedent is always clear. Avoid constructions where you
have a pronoun that could refer to multiple things.
That dog is mine.
The title of this image contains a possessive pronoun in adjectival form: that. There are many
different types of pronouns, each possessing different forms. It is important to recognize the
different ways pronouns can be utilized in your own writing.