Pronouns

Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun. We can use a pronoun instead of a noun.
Pronouns are words like: he, you, ours, themselves, some, each... If we didn't have pronouns, we
would have to repeat a lot of nouns. We would have to say things like:

 Do you like the president? I don't like the president. The president is too pompous.

With pronouns, we can say:

 Do you like the president? I don't like him. He is too pompous.

Personal Pronouns
I, me, you, he, him, she...

Demonstrative Pronouns
this, that, these, those

Possessive Pronouns
mine, yours, his...

Interrogative Pronouns
who, what, which...

Reflexive Pronouns
myself, yourself, himself...

Reciprocal Pronouns
each other, one another

Indefinite Pronouns
another, much, nobody, few, such...

Relative Pronouns
who, whom, which...

Pronouns Quiz
Test yourself on the above points
Pronoun Case
subjective, objective, possessive

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns represent specific people or things. We use them depending on:

 number: singular (eg: I) or plural (eg: we)

 person: 1st person (eg: I), 2nd person (eg: you) or 3rd person (eg: he)
  gender: male (eg: he), female (eg: she) or neuter (eg: it)

 case: subject (eg: we) or object (eg: us)

We use personal pronouns in place of the person or people that we are talking about. My name is Josef
but when I am talking about myself I almost always use "I" or "me", not "Josef". When I am talking direct
to you, I almost always use "you", not your name. When I am talking about another person, say John, I
may start with "John" but then use "he" or "him". And so on.

Here are the personal pronouns, followed by some example sentences:

personal pronouns

number person gender subject object

1st male/female I me

2nd male/female you you

singular male he him

3rd female she her

neuter it it

1st male/female we us

plural 2nd male/female you you

3rd male/female/neuter they them

Examples (in each case, the first example shows a subject pronoun, the second an object pronoun):

 I like coffee.

 John helped me.

 Do you like coffee?

 John loves you.

  He runs fast.

 Did Ram beat him?

 She is clever.

 Does Mary know her?

 It doesn't work.

 Can the engineer repair it?

 We went home.

 Anthony drove us.

 Do you need a table for three?

 Did John and Mary beat you at doubles?

 They played doubles.

 John and Mary beat them.

When we are talking about a single thing, we almost always use it. However, there are a few exceptions.
We may sometimes refer to an animal as he/him or she/her, especially if the animal is domesticated or
a pet. Ships (and some other vessels or vehicles) as well as some countries are often treated as female
and referred to as she/her. Here are some examples:

 This is our dog Rusty. He's an Alsatian.

 The Titanic was a great ship but she sank on her first voyage.

 My first car was a Mini and I treated her like my wife.

 Thailand has now opened her border with Cambodia.

For a single person, sometimes we don't know whether to use he or she. There are several solutions to
this:

 If a teacher needs help, he or she should see the principal.

 If a teacher needs help, he should see the principal.

 If a teacher needs help, they should see the principal.

We often use it to introduce a remark:

 It is nice to have a holiday sometimes.

  It is important to dress well.

 It's difficult to find a job.

 Is it normal to see them together?

 It didn't take long to walk here.

We also often use it to talk about the weather, temperature, time and distance:

 It's raining.

 It will probably be hot tomorrow.

 Is it nine o'clock yet?

 It's 50 kilometres from here to Cambridge.

Demonstrative Pronouns
demonstrate (verb): to show; to indicate; to point to

A demonstrative pronoun represents a thing or things:

 near in distance or time (this, these)

 far in distance or time (that, those)

near far

singular this that

plural these those

Here are some examples with demonstrative pronouns, followed by an illustration:

 This tastes good.

 Have you seen this?
 These are bad times.
 Do you like these?

 That is beautiful.
 Look at that!
 Those were the days!
 Can you see those?

 This is heavier than that.

 These are bigger than those.
Do not confuse demonstrative pronouns with demonstrative adjectives. They are identical, but a
demonstrative pronoun stands alone, while a demonstrative adjective qualifies a noun.

 That smells. (demonstrative pronoun)

 That book is good. (demonstrative adjective + noun)

Normally we use demonstrative pronouns for things only. But we can use them for people when
the person is identified. Look at these examples:

 This is Josef speaking. Is that Mary?

 That sounds like John.

Possessive Pronouns
We use possessive pronouns to refer to a specific person/people or thing/things (the
"antecedent") belonging to a person/people (and sometimes belonging to an animal/animals or
thing/things).

We use possessive pronouns depending on:

 number: singular (eg: mine) or plural (eg: ours)

 person: 1st person (eg: mine), 2nd person (eg: yours) or 3rd person (eg: his)
 gender: male (his), female (hers)

Below are the possessive pronouns, followed by some example sentences. Notice that each
possessive pronoun can:

 be subject or object
 refer to a singular or plural antecedent

number person gender (of "owner") possessive pronouns

1st male/female mine

2nd male/female yours

singular
male his
3rd
female hers

1st male/female ours

plural 2nd male/female yours

3rd male/female/neuter theirs

 Look at these pictures. Mine is the big one. (subject = My picture)

 I like your flowers. Do you like mine? (object = my flowers)

 I looked everywhere for your key. I found John's key but I couldn't find yours. (object =
your key)
 My flowers are dying. Yours are lovely. (subject = Your flowers)

 All the essays were good but his was the best. (subject = his essay)
 John found his passport but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her passport)
 John found his clothes but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her clothes)

 Here is your car. Ours is over there, where we left it. (subject = Our car)
 Your photos are good. Ours are terrible. (subject = Our photos)

 Each couple's books are colour-coded. Yours are red. (subject = Your books)
  I don't like this family's garden but I like yours. (object = your garden)

 These aren't John and Mary's children. Theirs have black hair. (subject = Their children)
 John and Mary don't like your car. Do you like theirs? (object = their car)

Notice that the following (with apostrophe [']) do NOT exist: her's, your's, their's

Notice that the interrogative pronoun whose can also be a possessive pronoun (an interrogative
possessive pronoun). Look at these examples:

 There was $100 on the table and Tara wondered whose it was.
 This car hasn't moved for two months. Whose is it?

Interrogative Pronouns
We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions. The interrogative pronoun represents the thing
that we don't know (what we are asking the question about).

There are four main interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which

Notice that the possessive pronoun whose can also be an interrogative pronoun (an interrogative
possessive pronoun).

subject object

person who whom

thing what

person/thing which

person whose (possessive)

Notice that whom is the correct form when the pronoun is the object of the verb, as in "Whom
did you see?" ("I saw John.") However, in normal, spoken English we rarely use whom. Most
native speakers would say (or even write): "Who did you see?"

Look at these example questions. In the sample answers, the noun phrase that the interrogative
pronoun represents is shown in bold.

question answer

Who told you? John told me. subject

Whom did you tell? I told Mary. object

What's happened? An accident's happened. subject

What do you want? I want coffee. object

Which came first? The Porsche 911 came first. subject

The doctor will see the patient in

Which will the doctor see first? object
blue first.

There's one car missing. Whose hasn't

John's (car) hasn't arrived. subject
arrived?
We've found everyone's keys. Whose did
I found John's (keys). object
you find?

Note that we sometimes use the suffix "-ever" to make compounds from some of these pronouns
(mainly whoever, whatever, whichever). When we add "-ever", we use it for emphasis, often to
show confusion or surprise. Look at these examples:

 Whoever would want to do such a nasty thing?

 Whatever did he say to make her cry like that?
 They're all fantastic! Whichever will you choose?

Reflexive Pronouns

reflexive (adj.) [grammar]: reflecting back on the subject, like a mirror

We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause.
Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).

There are eight reflexive pronouns:

reflexive pronoun

myself
singular yourself
himself, herself, itself

ourselves
plural yourselves
themselves

Look at these examples:

reflexive pronouns

the underlined words are NOT the same

the underlined words are the SAME person/thing
person/thing

John saw me. I saw myself in the mirror.

Why does he blame you? Why do you blame yourself?

David sent him a copy. John sent himself a copy.

David sent her a copy. Mary sent herself a copy.

My dog hurt the cat. My dog hurt itself.

We blame you. We blame ourselves.

Can you help my children? Can you help yourselves?

They cannot look after the babies. They cannot look after themselves.

Intensive pronouns
Notice that all the above reflexive pronouns can also act as intensive pronouns, but the function and
usage are different. An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent. Look at these examples:

 I made it myself. OR I myself made it.

 Have you yourself seen it? OR Have you seen it yourself?

 The President himself promised to stop the war.

 She spoke to me herself. OR She herself spoke to me.

 The exam itself wasn't difficult, but exam room was horrible.

 Never mind. We'll do it ourselves.

 You yourselves asked us to do it.

 They recommend this book even though they themselves have never read it. OR They
recommend this book even though they have never read it themselves.

Reciprocal Pronouns
reciprocal (adj.): given or done in return; [grammar] expressing mutual action

We use reciprocal pronouns when each of two or more subjects is acting in the same way towards the
other. For example, A is talking to B, and B is talking to A. So we say:

 A and B are talking to each other.

The action is "reciprocated". John talks to Mary and Mary talks to John. I give you a present and you give
me a present. The dog bites the cat and the cat bites the dog.

There are only two reciprocal pronouns, and they are both two words:

 each other

 one another

When we use these reciprocal pronouns:

 there must be two or more people, things or groups involved (so we cannot use reciprocal
pronouns with I, you [singular], he/she/it), and

 they must be doing the same thing

Look at these examples:

 John and Mary love each other.

 Peter and David hate each other.

 The ten prisoners were all blaming one another.

 Both teams played hard against each other.

 We gave each other gifts.

 Why don't you believe each other?

 They can't see each other.

 The gangsters were fighting one another.

 The boats were bumping against each other in the storm.

You probably notice that each other is used in more examples above than one another. That's because
in general we use each other more often than one another, which sounds a little formal. Also, some
people say that we should use one another only for three or more people or things, but there is no real
justification for this.
Indefinite Pronouns

An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not
definite". Some typical indefinite pronouns are:

 all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, few, many,
nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody/someone

Note that many indefinite pronouns also function as other parts of speech. Look at "another" in the
following sentences:

 He has one job in the day and another at night. (pronoun)

 I'd like another drink, please. (adjective)

Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some of them can be singular in one
context and plural in another. The most common indefinite pronouns are listed below, with examples,
as singular, plural or singular/plural.

That's Not My Job!

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

Notice that a singular pronoun takes a singular verb AND that any personal pronoun should also agree
(in number and gender). Look at these examples:

 Each of the players has a doctor.

 I met two girls. One has given me her phone number.

Similarly, plural pronouns need plural agreement:

 Many have expressed their views.

pronoun meaning example

singular

an additional or different person or That ice-cream was good. Can I have

another
thing another?

anybody/anyone no matter what person Can anyone answer this question?

 The doctor needs to know if you have
anything no matter what thing
eaten anything in the last two hours.

every one of two or more people or

each Each has his own thoughts.
things, seen separately

Do you want tea or coffee? / I don't

either one or the other of two people or things
mind. Either is good for me.

enough as much or as many as needed Enough is enough.

We can start the meeting because

everybody/everyone all people
everybody has arrived.

They have no house or possessions.

everything all things They lost everything in the
earthquake.

less a smaller amount "Less is more" (Mies van der Rohe)

little a small amount Little is known about his early life.

much a large amount Much has happend since we met.

not one and not the other of two people I keep telling Jack and Jill but neither
neither
or things believes me.

I phoned many times but nobody

nobody/no-one no person
answered.

If you don't know the answer it's best

nothing no single thing, not anything
to say nothing.
 Can one smoke here? | All the
one an unidentified person students arrived but now one is
missing.

a different person or thing from one

other One was tall and the other was short.
already mentioned

Clearly somebody murdered him. It

somebody/someone an unspecified or unknown person
was not suicide.

Listen! I just heard something! What

something an unspecified or unknown thing
could it be?

you an unidentified person (informal) And you can see why.

plural

John likes coffee but not tea. I think

both two people or things, seen together
both are good.

Few have ever disobeyed him and

few a small number of people or things
lived.

fewer a reduced number of people or things Fewer are smoking these days.

many a large number of people or things Many have come already.

I'm sure that others have tried before

others other people; not us
us.

They all complained and several left

several more than two but not many
the meeting.

They say that vegetables are good for

they people in general (informal)
you.
singular or plural

the whole quantity of something or of All is forgiven.

all
some things or people All have arrived.

Is any left?
any no matter how much or how many
Are any coming?

a greater quantity of something; a There is more over there.

more
greater number of people or things More are coming.

Most is lost.
most the majority; nearly all
Most have refused.

They fixed the water so why is none

coming out of the tap?
none not any; no person or persons
I invited five friends but none have
come.*

an unspecified quantity of something;

Here is some.
some an unspecified number of people or
Some have arrived.
things

He was a foreigner and he felt that he

such of the type already mentioned
was treated as such.

* Some people say that "none" should always take a singular verb, even when talking about countable
nouns (eg five friends). They argue that "none" means "no one", and "one" is obviously singular. They
say that "I invited five friends but none has come" is correct and "I invited five friends but none have
come" is incorrect. Historically and grammatically there is little to support this view. "None" has been
used for hundreds of years with both a singular and a plural verb, according to the context and the
emphasis required.
Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called a "relative" pronoun because
it "relates" to the word that its relative clause modifies. Here is an example:

 The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.

In the above example, "who":

 relates to "The person", which "who phoned me last night" modifies

 introduces the relative clause "who phoned me last night"

There are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that*

Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for people. Whose is for possession. Which is for
things. That can be used for things and people only in defining relative clauses (clauses that are essential
to the sentence and do not simply add extra information)**.

Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and there is no difference between male and female.

Look at these examples showing defining and non-defining relative clauses:

example sentences
notes
S=subject, O=object, P=possessive

defining - The person who phoned me last

relative night is my teacher.
That is preferable
clauses - The person that phoned me last
S night is my teacher.

- The car which hit me was yellow.

That is preferable
- The car that hit me was yellow.

O - The person whom I phoned last Whom is correct but formal. The
night is my teacher. relative pronoun is optional.
- The people who I phoned last night
are my teachers.
- The person that I phoned last night
is my teacher.
- The person I phoned last night is
 my teacher.

- The car which I drive is old.

That is preferable to which. The
- The car that I drive is old.
relative pronoun is optional.
- The car I drive is old.

- The student whose phone just rang

should stand up.
- Students whose parents are
wealthy pay extra.
P
- The police are looking for the car
whose driver was masked. Whose can be used with things. Of
- The police are looking for the car of which is also possible.
which the driver was masked.

non-defining - Mrs Pratt, who is very kind, is my

relative teacher.
clauses
S - The car, which was a taxi,
exploded.
- The cars, which were taxis,
exploded.

- Mrs Pratt, whom I like very much, is

Whom is correct but formal. Who is
my teacher.
common in spoken English and
- Mrs Pratt, who I like very much, is
informal written English.
O my teacher.

- The car, which I was driving at the

time, suddenly caught fire.

P - My brother, whose phone you just

heard, is a doctor.
 - The car, whose driver jumped out
just before the accident, was
completely destroyed. Whose can be used with things. Of
- The car, the driver of which jumped which is also possible.
out just before the accident, was
completely destroyed.

*Not all grammar sources count "that" as a relative pronoun.

**Some people claim that we cannot use "that" for people but must use "who/whom". There is no good
reason for such a claim; there is a long history of "that" for people in defining relative clauses from
Chaucer, Shakespeare and the Authorized Version of The Bible to Fowler's and Churchill.

Pronouns Quiz

1) Pronouns take the place of

a. a noun

b. a verb

c. an adjective

show answer:

2) What do pronouns help us add to our speech and writing?

a. personality

b. variety

c. detail

show answer:

3) What sort of pronouns are the words "he", "me" and "you"?

a. interrogative

b. possessive

c. personal
show answer:

4) What sort of pronoun is the word "we"?

a. singular

b. subject

c. object

show answer:

5) Which personal pronoun is almost always used for a thing?

a. he

b. it

c. they

show answer:

6) To refer to something that is far from you, use the pronoun

a. this

b. that

c. these

show answer:

7) "This is Lisa speaking." In this sentence, what sort of the pronoun is the word "This"?

a. reciprocal

b. demonstrative

c. personal

show answer:
8) Possessive pronouns can be subject pronouns or

a. object pronouns

b. interrogative pronouns

c. indefinite pronouns

show answer:

9) With a singular pronoun the verb should be

a. singular

b. plural

c. singular or plural

show answer:

10) What sort of pronoun are the words "each other" and "one another"?

a. interrogative

b. reciprocal

c. indefinite

show answer:
Pronoun Case

Pronouns (and nouns) in English display "case" according to their function in the sentence. Their function
can be:

 subjective (they act as the subject)

 objective (they act as the object)

 possessive (they show possession of something else)

The following table shows the different forms for pronouns depending on case.

subjective objective possessive

case case case

personal pronouns singular 1st I me mine

2nd you you yours

he him his
3rd she her hers
it it its

plural 1st we us ours

2nd you you yours

3rd they them theirs

relative / interrogative pronouns who whom whose

whoever whomever

which, that, what which, that, what

indefinite pronouns everybody everybody everybody's

A problem of case: Mary and I or Mary and me?

1. Mary and I are delighted to be here today. (NOT Mary and me)
 2. The letter was addressed to Mary and me. (NOT Mary and I)

In 1, Mary and I are subjects, which is why the pronoun takes the subjective case ("I"). In 2, Mary and I
are objects, which is why the pronoun takes the objective case ("me"). An easy way to check the correct
case is to try the sentence without Mary. Would you say "I am delighted to be here" or "Me am delighted
to be here"? Would you say "The letter was addressed to me" or "The letter was addressed to I"?