Pronouns
Pronouns
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. Generally, the noun that is replaced has been mentioned in the writings, and the pronoun refers to that noun. The noun that the pronoun replaces is called the antecedent, meaning that it came before.
Subject Pronouns
Subject pronouns are always the subject of the clause. The following is a list of personal subject pronouns:
Subject Pronouns
- I
- You
- He, She, It
- We
- You all
- They
If the subject of the clause is anything other than a person, then it is always in the third person. For example:
New York City is in the state of New York. It is the largest city in the US. The pronoun – It – refers to New York City. Thus, New York City is the antecedent of the pronoun – It.
The conjugated verb of the predicate must agree with the person, number of the subject. Thus, if the subject is singular, then the verb must also be singular. Likewise, if the subject is plural, then the verb conjugation must be plural. For example:
He is from Texas. She is from California. They are from the US.
He lives in Texas. She lives in California. They live far away from each other.
Notice how the verb – to live – adds an s and changes to to – lives when the verbs are in the third person singular, but the verb does not change for all other people.
I live in Colorado.
You live in Oklahoma.
We live in the US.
Object Pronouns
Direct Object
The direct object pronoun takes the place of a noun or noun phrase/clause that is the direct object of the verb.
Did you read the book? Yes, I read it.
In the above example, the pronoun, – the book – is the direct object of the verb – read. The pronoun – it – refers back to the object – book. Thus, the book is the antecedent of the pronoun – it.
Indirect Object
The indirect object pronoun takes the place of a noun that is the indirect object of the verb.
Did you give the dog the bone. Yes, I gave it to him.
In the above sentence, the pronoun, him, is the indirect object of the verb – give. The direct object was the bone. The bone is the direct object because it was given to the dog. The dog is the indirect object because it received the direct object.
The man gave the dog to his son. The man gave it to him.
IN the above example, the dog is the object that the man gave. It is the direct object. The man’s son is the indirect object because he received the direct object.
It is acted upon, but only indirectly. The bone is the direct object. It is directly acted upon. It is what was given. The dog is the indirect object. In many cases, the indirect object is the object of a proposition. In this case, the pronoun, him, is the object of the proposition, to.
Object pronouns take the action of the verb. The object can be either direct or indirect. Oftentimes, it can be the object of a preposition. To determine whether the object is direct or indirect, ask the question: What is the verb doing? Who is the verb acting upon. For example:
The mother reads a bedtime story to her children.
In the above example, the mother is the subject or the actor who performs the action – reads. The direct object is the object that she reads is – a bedtime story. The indirect object is the object that she reads the bedtime story to – her children.
Using pronouns, the sentence would read –She reads it to them.
The following pronouns are object pronouns.
- Me
- You
- Him, her, it
- Us
- You all
- them
Reflexive Pronouns
If the subject of the verb is also the object, then it is a reflexive verb and takes a reflexive pronoun:
- Myself
- Yourself
- Himself, herself, itself
- Ourselves
- Yourselves
- Their selves
Possessive Pronouns
As the name implies, possessive pronouns donate possession. They are as follows:
- mine
- yours
- his, hers, its
- ours
- yours
- theirs
Examples: Do you see that car. It is mine. I see the one over there. Is it yours.
No, that car is his. And the other car next to it is hers.
The house on the corner is ours. The one across the street is theirs. Where is yours?
Possessive pronouns are similar to possessive adjectives except that they stand along. Possessive adjectives precede the noun they modify with possession. For example.
| Possessive Pronoun | Possessive Adjective |
| This car is mine | This is my car.
|
| That is yours | That is your car. |
| That bike is his. That backpack is hers | That is his bike. That is her backpack. |
| The house is ours | It is our house |
| Is that dog yours? | Is that your dog? |
| The luggage is theirs | That is their luggage. |
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns are used to demonstrate or point to an antecedent. That, this, these, and those are demonstrative pronouns. For example:
This is my idea. We study harder.
That is smart.
In this example, the idea is the antecedent.
Those are his shoes.
Those are his.
In this example, the noun – shoes – is the antecedent.
Indefinite pronouns
Indefinite pronouns refer to a person or things that don’t need to be specifically identified. For example:
- People
- man
- one
- other
- none
- some
- anybody
- everybody
- no one
The indefinite pronoun, man, refers to both males and females. Think of it as a short version of human.
Interrogative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are used in questions. The interrogative pronouns are;
- Who
- What
- Which
- Whose
The antecedent of an interrogative pronoun is the answer to the question: For example;
Who ate the last cookie? (The antecedent to the pronoun – who – is the answer to the question)
What are you doing?
Which is your favorite color?
Whose shoes are those? (Notice the demonstrative pronoun – those).
Reciprocal Pronouns
Reciprocal pronouns include,
- Each other
- One another
Distributive pronouns
Distributive pronouns refer to single entities in large groups of objects. Distributive pronouns include the following:
- either
- each
- neither
- any
- none
Since they refer to single entities, they will always take the third person singular verb. For example;
Either the sun shines or it rains.
Each of the customers pays the same price.
Neither he nor she is eligible to play.
Any of you are fit for the job.
None of you will be able to go to the beach.
Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns are used in subordinate adjective clauses to relate back to an antecedent in the clause it modifies. The following table lists some relative pronouns.
o who
o whom
o whose
o where
o when
o that
o which
For a more comprehensive discussion on relative pronouns, see the lesson on relative clauses.
Examples of Pronouns in Use
I read a book. Have you read it?
In this sentence, the pronoun, I, is the subject of the verb, read. The book is the object of the verb. This is the direct object since it directly takes the action. The antecedent to the pronoun, it, is the book.
I read a book to a child. She must have enjoyed it because she laughed.
Again, the pronoun, I, is the subject of the verb, read. The book is the direct object of the verb. The phrase to a child is the indirect object. The pronoun, it, is the object of the verb, enjoyed. The antecedent is the book.
The bus driver drives the bus. It is his job.
In this sentence, the bus driver is the subject of the verb, drives, the object of the verb is the bus. The antecedent of the pronoun, it, is the act of driving the bus.
The bus driver drives the bus over the pay-bridge. It cost him $5 for the toll fee.
Again, the bus driver is the subject of the verb, drives, the direct object of the verb is the bus. The bridge, is the indirect object of the verb. The phrase, over the bridge, is also a prepositional/adverbial phrase. The antecedent of the pronoun, it, is the pay-bridge.
The dog ate candy. It made it sick.
In this sentence, the dog is the subject of the verb, ate , the object of the verb is candy. There are two pronouns of, it. The antecedent of the first is the act of eating candy; the second is the dog.
The child eats candy with his dinner.
Again, the child is the subject of the verb, eat. The object of the verb is candy. The phrase, with his dinner, is an indirect object and a prepositional/adverbial phrase.
The boat on the other side of the river is ours. Where is yours?
In the above sentence, the antecedent to the pronoun, ours, is the boat.
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are object pronouns with the same subject.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| myself | ourselves | |
| yourself | Yourselves | |
| himself, herself, itself | theirselves |
I watch myself.
Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns are used in subordinate clauses to relate back to an antecedent in the clause it modifies. The following table lists some relative pronouns.
- who
- whom
- whose
- that
- which
The man who works for your brother was at the movies.
The child to whom you gave the candy wants more candy.
The author, whose novel is currently the best seller, wants to write another novel.
I know a secret that you would find interesting.
My favorite food is Thai food, which is the spiciest food in the world.
Like all pronouns, a relative pronoun must refer back to its antecedent.
This quiz will give you a deeper understanding of relative pronouns.