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This section will cover the eight kinds of pronouns and how they are used.
Subject Pronouns
Object Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
Demonstrative Pronouns
Interrogative Pronouns
Definite Relative Pronouns
The subject of a sentence is always a noun or a pronoun.
Object pronouns are also called the objective case. These are the object of the verb, the preposition, or the infinitive.
Possessive pronouns are called the possessive case. A possessive pronoun can replace a possessive adjective and a noun to avoid repeating information that has already been made clear.
Reflexive pronouns reflect the verb back to the subject.
One of those girls lost her scarf.
Indefinite Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns stand in for a noun that you are talking about.
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions.
Some Terms
Case - The way the pronoun is used in the sentence. There are three cases:
- nominative
- objective
- possessive
Gender - Tells whether the person is male or female.
Number - Tells whether the pronoun is singular or plural. The number of the pronoun will indicate which verb to use.
Antecedent - The noun a pronoun replaces. It usually appears earlier in the sentence.
Subject pronouns are also called the nominative case. A subject pronoun is the subject of the verb.
I
you
he, she, it
we
you (pl)
they
He wants to go skiing.
He is the pronoun that does the action in the sentence.
Therefore, he is the subject pronoun.
For rules that show how and when to use subject pronouns, click here.
me
you
him, her, it
us
you (pl)
them
He saw her at the movies.
Her is the pronoun that receives the action from the verb. Therefore, her is the object pronoun.
For rules that show how and when to use object pronouns, click here.
mine
yours
his, hers
ours
yours
theirs
Possessive pronouns show ownership. They answer the question "Whose?"
Instead of:
That sandwich is my sandwich.
(possessive adjective + noun)
For rules that show how and when to use possessive pronouns, click here.
Possessive Pronouns
A possessive adjective and a noun can be replace by a possessive pronoun.
my
your
his, her, its
our
your
their
Marcia wore her jacket to school. (possessive adjective + a noun)
Whose jacket? her jacket.
We can say:
That sandwich is mine.
(possessive pronoun)
which
that
Relative pronouns are called relative because they relate to the word their relative clause modifies.
Definite pronouns can stand in for a noun.
who
whom
whoever
Mary worked for Bob, who has been her neighbor for years.
Mary worked for Bob is the main clause (the complete sentence).
who has been her neighbor for years is the subordinate or relative clause.
Note: The subordinate or relative clause relates to Bob. It cannot stand alone.
Use the relative pronoun who if the pronoun is the subject of the verb.
Use whom if the pronoun is the object of the verb, preposition, or infinitive.
Karen invited whom to the party?
Reminder: If you can replace the pronoun him or me into the place where whom belongs, and the sentence makes sense, then use the word whom.
Karen invited him to the party?
Since the sentence makes sense, use the pronoun whom.
For rules that show how and when to use definite relative pronouns, click here.
Indefinite pronouns do not stand in for specific nouns. Indefinite pronouns
always take a singular verb.
one
anyone
everyone
someone
nobody
anybody
everybody
somebody
nothing
anything
everything
something
each
either
neither
all
both
many
none
more
several
some
few
much
enough
less
plenty
Others are:
Both always takes a plural verb.
Both cars were parked at the corner.
For rules that show how and when to use indefinite pronouns, click here.
this
that
these
those
This and that refer to singular things.
These and those refer to plural things.
This is incredible!
That was important.
Those were usually for sale.
These are not mine.
For rules that show how and when to use demonstrative pronouns, click here.
myself
yourself
himself
herself
itself
ourselves
yourselves
themselves
He will handle the job himself.
We treated ourselves to a chocolate fudge sundae.
The cat hurt itself jumping off the balcony.
For rules that show you how and when to use reflexive pronouns, click here.
which
who
whom
whose
what
Which belongs to you?
Who is going to the park?
What will you study now?
Jenny and Carl like watching their favorite show on Thursdays.
The antecedent is in boldface. The pronoun is in italics.
Language Arts: Pronouns - Tutorial
