Personal Pronouns

Unlike English nouns, which usually do not change form except for the addition of an -s ending to create the plural or the apostrophe + s to create the possessive, personal pronouns (which stand for persons or things) change form according to their various uses within a sentence. Thus I is used as the subject of a sentence (I am happy.), me is used as an object in various ways (He hit me. He gave me a book. Do this for me.), and my is used as the possessive form (That's my car.) The same is true of the other personal pronouns: the singular you and he/she/it and the plural we, you, and they. These forms are called cases. An easily printable chart is available that shows the various Cases of the Personal Pronouns.

Personal pronouns can also be characterized or distinguished by person. First person refers to the speaker(s) or writer(s) ("I" for singular, "we" for plural). Second person refers to the person or people being spoken or written to ("you" for both singular and plural). Third person refers to the person or people being spoken or written about ("he," "she," and "it" for singular, "they" for plural). The person of a pronoun is also demonstrated in the chart Cases of the Personal Pronouns. As you will see there, each person can change form, reflecting its use within a sentence. Thus, "I" becomes "me" when used as an object ("She left me") and "my" when used in its possessive role (That's my car"); "they" becomes "them" in object form ("I like them") and "their" in possessive ("That's just their way").

When a personal pronoun is connected by a conjunction to another noun or pronoun, its case does not change. We would write "I am taking a course in Asian history"; if Talitha is also taking that course, we would write "Talitha and I are taking a course in Asian history." (Notice that Talitha gets listed before "I" does. This is one of the few ways in which English is a "polite" language.) The same is true when the object form is called for: "Professor Vendetti gave all her books to me"; if Talitha also received some books, we'd write "Professor Vendetti gave all her books to Talitha and me." For more on this, see cases of pronouns.

When a pronoun and a noun are combined (which will happen with the plural first- and second-person pronouns), choose the case of the pronoun that would be appropriate if the noun were not there.

We students are demanding that the administration give us two hours for lunch. The administration has managed to put us students in a bad situation.

With the second person, we don't really have a problem because the subject form is the same as the object form, "you":

"You students are demanding too much." "We expect you students to behave like adults."

Among the possessive pronoun forms, there is also what is called the nominative possessive: mine, yours, ours, theirs.

Look at those cars. Theirs is really ugly; ours is beautiful. This new car is mine. Mine is newer than yours.

Demonstrative Pronouns

The family of demonstratives (this/that/these/those/such) can behave either as pronouns or as determiners.

As pronouns, they identify or point to nouns.

That is incredible! (referring to something you just saw) I will never forget this. (referring to a recent experience) Such is my belief. (referring to an explanation just made)

As determiners, the demonstratives adjectivally modify a noun that follows. A sense of relative distance (in time and space) can be conveyed through the choice of these pronouns/determiners:

These [pancakes sitting here now on my plate] are delicious. Those [pancakes that I had yesterday morning] were even better. This [book in my hand] is well written; that [book that I'm pointing to, over there, on the table] is trash.

A sense of emotional distance or even disdain can be conveyed with the demonstrative pronouns:

You're going to wear these? This is the best you can do?

Pronouns used in this way would receive special stress in a spoken sentence.

When used as subjects, the demonstratives, in either singular or plural form, can be used to refer to objects as well as persons.

This is my father. That is my book.

In other roles, however, the reference of demonstratives is non-personal. In other words, when referring to students, say, we could write "Those were loitering near the entrance during the fire drill" (as long as it is perfectly clear in context what "those" refers to). But we would not write "The principal suspended those for two days"; instead, we would have to use "those" as a determiner and write "The principal suspended those students for two days."

Relative Pronouns

The relative pronouns (who/whoever/which/that) relate groups of words to nouns or other pronouns (The student who studies hardest usually does the best.). The word who connects or relates the subject,student, to the verb within the dependent clause (studies). Choosing correctly between which and that and between who and whom leads to what are probably the most Frequently Asked Questions about English grammar. For help with which/that, refer to the Notorious Confusables article on those words (including the hyperlink to Michael Quinion's article on this usage and the links to relevant quizzes). Generally, we use "which" to introduce clauses that are parenthetical in nature (i.e., that can be removed from the sentence without changing the essential meaning of the sentence). For that reason, a "which clause" is often set off with a comma or a pair of commas. "That clauses," on the other hand, are usually deemed indispensable for the meaning of a sentence and are not set off with commas. The pronoun which refers to things; who (and its forms) refers to people; that usually refers to things, but it can also refer to people in a general kind of way. For help with who/whom refer to the section on Consistency. We also recommend that you take the quizzes on the use of who and whom at the end of that section.

The expanded form of the relative pronouns whoever, whomever, whatever are known as indefinite relative pronouns. A couple of sample sentences should suffice to demonstrate why they are called "indefinite":

The coach will select whomever he pleases. He seemed to say whatever came to mind. Whoever crosses this line first will win the race.

What is often an indefinite relative pronoun:

She will tell you what you need to know.

Indefinite Pronouns

The indefinite pronouns (everybody/anybody/somebody/all/each/every/some/none/one) do not substitute for specific nouns but function themselves as nouns (Everyone is wondering if any is left.)

One of the chief difficulties we have with the indefinite pronouns lies in the fact that "everybody" feels as though it refers to more than one person, but it takes a singular verb. (Everybody is accounted for.) If you think of this word as meaning "every single body," the confusion usually disappears. The indefinite pronoun none can be either singular or plural, depending on its context. None is nearly always plural (meaning "not any") except when something else in the sentence makes us regard it as a singular (meaning "not one"), as in "None of the food is fresh." Some can be singular or plural depending on whether it refers to something countable or noncountable. Refer to the section on Pronoun Consistency for help on determining the number of the indefinite pronouns (and the number [singular/plural] of the verbs that accompany them). There is a separate section on the uses of the pronoun one.

There are other indefinite pronouns, words that double as Determiners: enough, few, fewer, less, little, many, much, several, more, most, all, both, every, each, any, either, neither, none, some

Few will be chosen; fewer will finish. Little is expected.

See the section on Pronoun Consistency for help in determining the number (singular/plural) characteristics of these pronouns.

Intensive Pronouns

The intensive pronouns (such as myself, yourself, herself, ourselves, themselves) consist of a personal pronoun plus self or selves and emphasize a noun. (I myself don't know the answer.) It is possible (but rather unusual) for an intensive pronoun to precede the noun it refers to. (Myself, I don't believe a word he says.)

Reflexive Pronouns

The reflexive pronouns (which have the same forms as the intensive pronouns) indicate that the sentence subject also receives the action of the verb. (Students who cheat on this quiz are only hurting themselves. You paid yourself a million dollars? She encouraged herself to do well.) What this means is that whenever there is a reflexive pronoun in a sentence there must be a person to whom that pronoun can "reflect." In other words, the sentence "Please hand that book to myself" would be incorrect because there is no "I" in that sentence for the "myself" to reflect to (and we would use "me" instead of "myself"). A sentence such as "I gave that book to myself for Christmas" might be silly, but it would be correct.

Be alert to a tendency to use reflexive pronoun forms (ending in -self) where they are neither appropriate nor necessary. The inappropriate reflexive form has a wonderful name: the untriggered reflexive. "Myself" tends to sound weightier, more formal, than little ol' me or I, so it has a way of sneaking into sentences where it doesn't belong.

Bob and myself I are responsible for this decision. These decisions will be made by myself me. If you have any questions, please contact myself me or Bob Jones.

When pronouns are combined, the reflexive will take either the first person

Juanita, Carlos, and I have deceived ourselves into believing in my uncle.

or, when there is no first person, the second person:

You and Carlos have deceived yourselves.

The indefinite pronoun (see above) one has its own reflexive form ("One must have faith in oneself."), but the other indefinite pronouns use either himself or themselves as reflexives. (There is an entire page on the pronoun one.) It is probably better to pluralize and avoid the clumsy himself or herself construction.

No one here can blame himself or herself. The people here cannot blame themselves.

Interrogative Pronouns

The interrogative pronouns (who/which/what) introduce questions. (What is that? Who will help me? Which do you prefer?) Which is generally used with more specific reference than what. If we're taking a quiz and I ask "Which questions give you the most trouble?", I am referring to specific questions on that quiz. If I ask "What questions give you most trouble"? I could be asking what kind of questions on that quiz (or what kind of question, generically, in general) gives you trouble. The interrogative pronouns also act as Determiners: It doesn't matter which beer you buy. He doesn't know whose car he hit. In this determiner role, they are sometimes called interrogative adjectives.

Like the relative pronouns, the interrogative pronouns introduce noun clauses, and like the relative pronouns, the interrogative pronouns play a subject role in the clauses they introduce:

We know who is guilty of this crime. I already told the detective what I know about it.

Objective Pronouns

An objective pronoun acts as the object of a sentenceit receives the action of the verb. The objective pronouns are her, him, it, me, them, us, and you.

Cousin Eldred gave me a trombone. Take a picture of him, not us! Possessive Pronouns

A possessive pronoun tells you who owns something. The possessive pronouns are hers, his, its, mine, ours, theirs, and yours.

The red basket is mine. Yours is on the coffee table. Demonstrative Pronouns

A demonstrative pronoun points out a noun. The demonstrative pronouns are that, these, this, and those.

That is a good idea. These are hilarious cartoons.

A demonstrative pronoun may look like a demonstrative adjective, but it is used differently in a sentence: it acts as a pronoun, taking the place of a noun.

Interrogative Pronouns

An interrogative pronoun is used in a question. It helps to ask about something. The interrogative pronouns are what, which, who, whom, and compound words ending in "ever," such as whatever, whichever, whoever, and whomever.

What on earth is that? Who ate the last Fig Newton?

An interrogative pronoun may look like an interrogative adjective, but it is used differently in a sentence: it acts as a pronoun, taking the place of a noun.

Indefinite Pronouns

An indefinite pronoun refers to an indefinite, or general, person or thing. Indefinite pronouns include all, any, both, each, everyone, few, many, neither, none, nothing, several, some, and somebody.

Something smells good. Many like salsa with their chips.

An indefinite pronoun may look like an indefinite adjective, but it is used differently in a sentence: it acts as a pronoun, taking the place of a noun.

Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun introduces a clause, or part of a sentence, that describes a noun. The relative pronouns are that, which, who, and whom.

You should bring the book that you love most.

That introduces "you love most," which describes the book.

Hector is a photographer who does great work.

Who introduces "does great work," which describes Hector.

Reflexive Pronouns

A reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject of a sentence. The reflexive pronouns are herself, himself, itself, myself, ourselves, themselves, and yourselves. Each of these words can also act as an intensive pronoun (see below).

I learned a lot about myself at summer camp. (Myself refers back to I.) They should divide the berries among themselves. (Themselves refers back to they.) Intensive Pronouns

An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent (the noun that comes before it). The intensive pronouns are herself, himself, itself, myself, ourselves, themselves, and yourselves. Each of these words can also act as a reflective pronoun (see above).

I myself don't like eggs. The queen herself visited our class.

Possessive determiners - Exercise

Choose the correct possessive determiners. Example: I have got a sister. ___ name is Susan. Answer: I have got a sister. Her name is Susan.

Hi Daniel, name is John. This is They have got a pet. pet is a budgie. friend Jason. He's 12. sister is nine.

name is Charlie. Jason and I go to the school. Jason's form teacher is Mrs. Peterson. She

same school. There are 450 boys and girls in has got a pet, too.

pet is a tortoise. Our form teacher is Mr. Smith. I like garden. Now I have a question for you.

lessons. He has two dogs. The dogs love to play in What's Yours, John pet?

Reflexive pronouns, self-pronouns - Exercise

Choose the correct reflexive pronouns from the dropdown menu. myself - yourself - himself - herself - itself - ourselves - yourselves - themselves

1) Robert made this T-shirt

2) Lisa did the homework

3) We helped

to some cola at the party.

4) Emma, did you take the photo by

5) I wrote this poem

6) He cut

with the knife while he was doing the dishes.

7) The lion can defend

8) My mother often talks to

9) Tim and Gerry, if you want more milk, help

10) Alice and Doris collected the stickers

Relative pronouns - who, which, whose - Exercise

Choose one of the following relative pronouns who, which or whose from the dropdown menu.

1) I talked to the girl

car had broken down in front of the shop.

2) Mr Richards,

is a taxi driver, lives on the corner.

3) We often visit our aunt in Norwich

is in East Anglia.

4) This is the girl

comes from Spain.

5) That's Peter, the boy

has just arrived at the airport.

6) Thank you very much for your e-mail

was very interesting.

7) The man,

father is a professor, forgot his umbrella.

8) The children,

shouted in the street, are not from our school.

9) The car,

driver is a young man, is from Ireland.

10) What did you do with the money

your mother lent you?

Relative pronouns - who, which, whose or no pronouns? - Exercise 2

Put in the relative who, which or whose where necessary. Type an x if the relative pronoun can be left out. Example: Peter is the boy ____ rides the blue bike.

Answer: Peter is the boy who rides the blue bike.

1) This is the boy

had an accident.

2) Yesterday I saw a car

was really old.

3) Mandy is the girl

I met on Friday.

4) I haven't seen Frank,

brother is five, for a long time now.

5) The robber stole the car

the lady parked in front of the supermarket.

6) This is the man

house is on fire.

7) Can I talk to the girl

is sitting on the bench?

8) The book

you gave me is great.

9) She likes hamburgers

are hot.

10) Bill Clinton,

was President of the USA, has only one daughter.

Identify the correct choice in each question 1. Have you had any of those? a. personal pronoun pronoun 2. Tim saved himself an extra serving of ice cream, and his brother was jealous. a. personal pronoun pronoun 3. The soldier who spotted the sniper saved the platoon and won a medal. a. personal pronoun interrogative pronoun 4. Kathy knows who will be taking her place. a. personal pronoun pronoun 5. I know you like the flavor of ice cream you have, but please try his and tell me what you think. a. personal pronoun pronoun 6. The snake that startled Melissa was more frightened than she was. a. personal pronoun pronoun 7. Did you find anyone to take your shift next Friday so you can go the concert? a. personal pronoun pronoun b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative

8. Bob smiled and asked, "Would you please hand me that?" a. personal pronoun pronoun 9. When Enid catches the hikers, maybe she should offer them some of her water. a. personal pronoun pronoun 10. Neither of the movies that Margaret wants to see are of interest to Shawna. a. personal pronoun pronoun 11. Rest assured that some of the vegetables will be left and none of the dessert will. a. personal pronoun pronoun 12. Which of these would you like to wear to the awards dinner? a. personal pronoun pronoun 13. Did Gwen want these? a. personal pronoun pronoun 14. The company provided itself every opportunity to succeed. a. personal pronoun pronoun 15. "The West Wing," which is Karen's favorite show, won several Emmys this year. a. personal pronoun pronoun 16. Did the letter carrier bring anything for Eli? a. personal pronoun pronoun 17. The dirt that is piled behind Randy's house is for his new vegetable garden. a. personal pronoun pronoun 18. Would Bob like Sally to come to the presentation or is he more comfortable going alone? a. personal pronoun pronoun 19. Whom did you pick to win the league championship? a. personal pronoun pronoun 20. When Dick finds the key, he will put it some place safe. a. personal pronoun pronoun b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative b. relative pronoun c. indefinite pronoun d. demonstrative pronoun e. reflexive pronoun f. interrogative

Pronouns are words like I, me (personal pronouns) or my, mine (possessive pronouns).

Personal Pronouns

Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns Reflexive Pronouns

subject form object form possessive adjective possessive pronoun

me

my

mine

myself

you

you

your

yours

yourself

he

him

his

his

himself

she

her

her

hers

herself

it

it

its

its

itself

we

us

our

ours

ourselves

you

you

your

yours

yourselves

they

them

their

theirs

themselves