Pronouns

     Pretest Pronouns

What would you think if you heard something like this?

One day the doctor asked the doctor's assistant for the doctor's calendar. Then the doctor checked the doctor's calendar to see what appointments the doctor had that day. Then the doctor returned the doctor's calendar to the doctor's assistant for the doctor's assistant to use to schedule the doctor's patients' appointments.

It doesn't sound like we normally speak, does it? That's because this paragraph has no pronouns. We use pronouns to replace nouns to avoid unnecessary repetition.

One day the doctor asked her assistant, James, to hand her the appointment calendar. Then she checked it to see how many appointments she had that day. After that, she returned the calendar to James and asked him to use it to schedule her other patients' appointments.

That sounds a lot better.

Definition: The prefix pro means for or in place of. Pronouns stand in for or replace nouns. This lesson is about personal pronouns, which replace nouns that refer to people or things.

Personal pronouns have:

• Number: They are singular or plural.
• Person: 1^st person is the person speaking, 2^nd person is the person being spoken to, and 3^rd person is the person being spoken about. You can look at the chart below for examples.
• Case: Determines how a pronoun is being used in a sentence (subject, object, or possessive). We'll go over this more in the next lesson.

Personal Pronouns
	Subject		Object		Possessive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1st Person	I	we	me	us	my, mine	our, ours
2nd Person	you	you	you	you	your, yours	your, yours
3rd Person	he, she, it	they	him, her, it	them	his, her, hers, its	their, theirs

Cases of Personal Pronouns

The cases of pronouns tell you how they are being used in a sentence.

Subject		Object		Possessive
I	we	me	us	my, mine	our, ours
you	you	you	you	your, yours	your, yours
he, she, it	they	him, her, it	them	his, her, hers, its	their, theirs

Definition: A subject pronoun (also called a nominative pronoun) is used as the subject of a sentence or as a subject complement following a linking verb. (The subject of a sentence is the person doing the action in a sentence. A subject complement is a word that renames or gives more information about the subject. A linking verb, such as is or seems, connects the subject to the subject complement.)

Hint:

Subject Pronoun as the Subject of a Sentence

A subject pronoun that acts as the subject of a sentence will make sense in the following test sentence:  bit the monster. The subject pronoun will tell us who is doing the biting.

I bit the monster. You bit the monster.

He bit the monster. She bit the monster.

It bit the monster. We bit the monster.

They bit the monster.

Hint: Subject Pronoun as a Subject Complement (Renaming the Subject)

Subject pronouns that are used as subject complements to tell us more information about the subject will fit in this test sentence: The superhero was . In this test sentence, superhero is the subject, and the subject pronoun tells us who the superhero is.

The superhero was I. The superhero was you.

The superhero was he. The superhero was she.

The superhero was it. The superheroes were we.

The superheroes were they.

(Note that when a subject pronoun is followed by a linking verb, you can say the sentence backwards and it will still make sense: The superhero was I ⇒ I was the superhero.)

Note: In informal speech, it is now acceptable to say things like "It's me" instead of "It is I," even though it is not technically grammatically correct.

Definition: An object pronoun (also called an objective pronoun) is used as a direct object, an indirect object, or the object of a preposition. Below are some examples of these concepts. To learn more, follow the links.

Direct object: Brandon sent it. (What did Brandon send? He sent it.)
Indirect object: Brandon sent her the package. (Who was the package for? Her.)
Object of a preposition: Brandon sent the package to her. (Her is the object of the preposition to.)

Hint:

Object pronouns will fit in this test sentence: The monster bit . The object pronoun in this sentence tells us who was bitten by the monster.

The monster bit me. The monster bit you.

The monster bit him. The monster bit her.

The monster bit it. The monster bit us.

The monster bit them.

Notice how it doesn't make sense to use object pronouns in place of subject pronouns, or subject pronouns in place of object pronouns. (The exceptions to this rule are the pronouns it and you, which can be used in either case).

Me bit the monster.	The monster bit I.
Them bit the monster.	The monster bit they.

Definition: possessive pronouns show ownership.

There are two sets of possessive pronouns. My, your, his, her, its, our, your, and their are usually classified as possessive pronouns, but they are more accurately described as possessive adjectives because they always modify nouns.

My pencil fell on the floor, and his pencil ended up on her desk.

The second set of possessive pronouns consists of the words mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs. These pronouns are different from the others because they don't modify nouns. They completely replace the nouns they refer to.

Hey! That's mine, not yours!

Hint:

Note that there are no apostrophes in the possessive pronouns. They are born showing ownership, so it's not necessary to add 's to show ownership. Remember that it's is the contraction for it is while its is the possessive pronoun.

It's a good idea to give your dog its dinner on time!
It's ⇒ It is a good idea ... (contraction)
its dinner ⇒ the dog's dinner (possessive)

Challenging Uses of Cases

Pronouns in Compounds

In sentences that use two pronouns or a noun and a pronoun together, it's easy to become confused about which pronoun to use. If you're not sure which one is correct, consider whether it's part of the subject (doing the action) or part of the object (either receiving the action or after a preposition). Sometimes a pronoun may sound right to you, but you can't always trust your ears. Be especially careful with I and me, which are two of the most common offenders.

Common Error #1: Using Object Pronouns in Place of Subject Pronouns

Error	Correction
Jesse and me went to school.	Jesse and I went to school.
Him and me bought a new puppy last week.	He and I bought a new puppy last week.
Me and them took the bus.	We took the bus.

Notice how in the last example it would sound strange to say they and I, so the best solution is to combine the two pronouns into the single pronoun we.

Common Error #2: Using Subject Pronouns in Place of Object Pronouns

Error	Correction
He met Jeremy and I.	He met Jeremy and me.
Nancy hit Will and I.	Nancy hit Will and me.
Is that hot fudge sundae for Carlos and I?	Is that hot fudge sundae for Carlos and me?
My brother sat right between you and I.	My brother sat right between you and me.

The last two examples use object pronouns because they come after prepositions (for and between).

Hint:

To decide whether you need to use a subject pronoun or an object pronoun, cross out the other pronoun or noun, and use the pronoun that sounds correct when it stands alone.

Jesse and I went to school. (You would say I went, not me went.)
Nancy hit you and me. (You would say Nancy hit me, not Nancy hit I.)
Is that hot fudge sundae for Carlos and me? (You would say for me, not for I.)

Pronoun order can be another tricky topic when dealing with compounds. Writing convention suggests that, out of courtesy, when using the first person pronouns I or me, we generally put these pronouns last, allowing the other names and pronouns to go first.

Sam and I saw a movie on Saturday.
I wrote a story about my cat and me. (Not me and my cat.)

Pronouns Before Nouns

Sometimes for clarity or emphasis, writers use a pronoun and a noun together. People often use an object pronoun when they mean to use a subject pronoun, and vice versa.

Error	Correction
Us writers enjoy writing fiction.	We writers enjoy writing fiction.
The teacher explained the lesson to we students.	The teacher explained the lesson to us students.

Hint:

To decide whether you are using the correct pronoun, ignore the noun and see whether the pronoun is correct on its own.

We writers enjoy writing fiction. (Not Us enjoy writing fiction.)
The teacher explained the lesson to us students. (Not explained the lesson to we.)

Pronouns After Than or As

When sentences use than or as to compare, it can be difficult to choose the correct pronoun.

Error	Correction
Diana is a better speller than me.	Diana is a better speller than I.
He knows a lot more than her.	He knows a lot more than she.
She plays basketball just as well as me.	She plays basketball just as well as I.
We grew as much as them.	We grew as much as they.

At this point you might be wondering why the left column of this chart sounds correct while thinking that the right side sounds a little strange. That's because it's perfectly acceptable to talk that way in casual conversation. However, in formal writing you must follow the examples in the right column. (There are cases in which it's okay to use an object pronoun after than or as, but doing so completely changes the meaning of the sentence.)

Hint:

Ask yourself what is missing in the sentence. That will guide you in choosing the correct pronoun.

Diana is a better speller than I (am).
He knows a lot more than she (does).
She plays basketball just as well as I (do).

In sentences with than or as, different pronouns can create different meanings.

Imaginary monsters scare my little brothers more than (they scare) me.
(The monsters don't scare me as much as they scare my little brothers.)

Imaginary monsters scare my little brothers more than I (scare them).
(I don't scare my little brothers as much as the monsters do.)

She likes him as much as (she likes) me.
(She likes both him and me equally.)

She likes him as much as I (do).
(Both she and I like him the same amount.)

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Definition: Reflexive sounds like reflection, the image in the mirror that bounces back at you. A reflexive pronoun tells us that whoever performs the action in a sentence is also the one on the receiving end of that action. In other words, the reflexive pronoun reflects back to the subject. A reflexive pronoun can be used as the direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition in a sentence.

Reflexive Pronouns
Singular	Plural
myself	ourselves
yourself	yourselves
himself herself itself	themselves

The puppy saw itself in the mirror.
Itself is the direct object in the sentence. The pronoun itself refers back to the subject. The puppy saw the puppy in the mirror.

Hint:

If you're still not sure whom the pronoun is referring to, ask yourself questions to break down the sentence.

Find the subject (doer) and the verb (action): Who saw? The puppy saw.
(The puppy is doing the action.)

Find the object: What did the puppy see? Itself, the puppy.
(The puppy is also receiving the action.)

Know When not to Use Reflexive Pronouns ...

Do not use reflexive pronouns instead of subject or object pronouns.

Error	Correction
Mark and myself went to the movies.	Mark and I went to the movies.
Our teacher gave Sara and myself an award for the best project.	Our teacher gave Sara and me an award for the best project.

...And Recognize the Reflexives That Don't Actually Exist!

There are several nonexistent reflexive pronouns that people commonly use, such as hisself, ourself, theirself, themself, and theirselves. If you use any of these pronouns, here is a simple chart to show you which pronouns to use instead.

Error	Correction
hisself	himself
ourself	ourselves
theirself, theirselves, or themself	themselves

Intensive vs. Reflexive Pronouns

Definition: Intensive is like intense. Something intense is very strong. An intensive pronoun emphasizes a preceding noun, which is often (but not always) the noun immediately before the pronoun. Intensive pronouns look exactly the same as reflexive pronouns, but they are only used for emphasis.

The queen herself gave the knight the award.
The queen gave the knight the award herself.

Herself refers to the queen. Using an intensive pronoun tells the reader (or listener) that it's a big deal that the queen gave the award. After all, she's not just anybody—she's the queen!

Because intensive pronouns are used only for emphasis, they can be removed from a sentence without affecting its meaning. The same is not true of reflexive pronouns, which do cause a change in meaning when removed from a sentence. Look at the following comparison to understand the difference.

Reflexive	Intensive
The queen bought herself a dog. The queen bought something for herself. She is both completing and receiving the action in the sentence.	The queen bought the dog herself. The intensive pronoun herself merely emphasizes the fact that the queen (not someone else) was the one who bought the dog.
Notice how the meaning changes when we remove the reflexive pronoun: The queen bought herself a dog. Did the queen buy the dog for herself, or did she buy it for someone else? Without the reflexive pronoun, there's no way to know for sure.	If the intensive pronoun is removed, the meaning doesn't change: The queen bought the dog herself. The queen still bought the dog regardless of whether the intensive pronoun is in the sentence or not.