Personal Pronouns

What is a personal pronoun?

A personal pronoun is a pronoun that is associated primarily with a particular person, in the
grammatical sense.
When discussing person in terms of the grammatical, the following rules apply:

First person, as in I

Second person, as in you

Third person, as in It, he, she

Personal pronouns may take on various forms depending on number (singular or plural for the most
part). They may also take different forms depending on case, gender, or formality. It is important to
note that personal pronouns may refer to objects, animals, or people.
Personal pronouns provide us with the following information:

The person Who is speaking?

The number Is the pronoun plural or singular?

The gender Is the pronoun feminine, masculine, or neuter?

Examples of Personal Pronouns
The word he is an example of a personal pronoun. He is third person (because he is the person
being spoken about), singular, and masculine. The word we is another example of a personal
pronoun. We is first person (because we are speaking as a group), plural, and neuter. In the
following examples, personal pronouns are italicized.
You need to stop lying to me.
We would love for you to join us.
Come look at my cat! He has climbed to the top of that tree.
Personal Pronoun Exercises

The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how personal pronouns work.
Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.
1.

_____________ often reads until late at night.

1.

He

2.

Alan

3.

Mary

4.

They

Answer: A. He often reads until late at night.

1.

____________ is running up and down the stairs.

1.

The cat

2.

She

3.

My brother

4.

You

Answer: B. She is running up and down the stairs.

1.

_______________ is from Ireland.

1.

Rory

2.

My friend

3.

He

4.

This souvenir

Answer: C. He is from Ireland.

1.

Have ___________ got a dog, Mary?

1.

Anyone

2.

They

3.

Someone

4.

It

Answer: B. Have they got a dog, Mary?

1.

We enjoy the roses so much. ___________ really liven up the garden.

1.

They

2.

Its

3.

Someone

4.

Flowers

Answer: A. We enjoy the roses so much. They really liven up the garden.
What is a subject pronoun?
A subject pronoun is exactly what it sounds like: a pronoun that takes the place of a noun as the
subject of a sentence.
Examples of Subject Pronouns
The subject, or subjective, pronouns are easy to remember: I, you, she, he, it, they, and we. These
pronouns are used to replace the name of a person, animal, or object, and to do the action
suggested by the verb in the sentence. In the following subject pronouns example sentences, the
subject pronouns are italicized.
Should we go swimming before or after lunch?
I really like pizza.
It is easy to understand.
Would you prefer hot cocoa or peppermint tea?
They all lived happily ever after.
What is an Object Pronoun?

An object pronoun is a type of personal pronoun that is normally used as a grammatical object,
either as the direct or indirect object of a verb, or as the object of a preposition. These pronouns
always take the objective case, whether they are indirect object pronouns or direct object pronouns.
Examples of Object Pronouns
Objective pronouns are easy to remember: Me, him, her, us, it, you, them, whom, and what. While
some of these pronouns are the same as subject pronouns, they are used differently in sentences.
The object pronouns in the following examples are italicized.
I want her to listen.
Stop laughing at me.
I told him to stay home and study instead of going out.
Comparing Subject and Object Pronouns
Use the following table to compare subject and object pronouns. Notice that some subject pronouns
are identical to certain object pronouns.
Subject
Pronoun

Object
Pronoun

It

It

You

You

What

What

Me

He

Him

She

Her

We

Us

Who

Whom

They

Them