PRONOUN
What Is a Pronoun?
Pronouns
make up a small subcategory of nouns. The distinguishing characteristic of
pronouns is that they can be substituted for other nouns. For instance, if
you’re telling a story about your sister Sarah, the story will begin to sound
repetitive if you keep repeating “Sarah” over and over again.
Example : Sarah has always loved fashion. Sarah
announced that Sarah wants to go to fashion school.
You
could try to mix it up by sometimes referring to Sarah as “my sister,” but then
it sounds like you’re referring to two different people.
Example : Sarah has always loved fashion. My
sister announced that Sarah wants to go to fashion school.
Instead,
you can use the pronouns she and her to refer to Sarah.
Example : Sarah has always loved fashion. She announced
that she wants to go to fashion school.
Personal Pronouns
There
are a few different types of pronouns, and some pronouns belong to more than
one category. She and her are known as personal pronouns. The other personal pronouns are I and me, you, he and him, it, we and us, and they and them. If you learned about pronouns in
school, these are probably the words your teacher focused on. We’ll get to the
other types of pronouns in a moment.
Antecedents
Pronouns are versatile. The
pronoun it can refer to just about anything: a bike, a tree, a
movie, a feeling. That’s why you need an antecedent. An antecedent is
a noun or noun phrase that you mention at the beginning of a sentence or story
and later replace with a pronoun. In the examples below, the antecedent is
highlighted and the pronoun that replaces it is bolded.
Example : My family drives me nuts, but I love them.
The sign was too far away for Henry to read it. Sarah said she is
almost finished with the application.
In some cases, the antecedent
doesn’t need to be mentioned explicitly, as long as the context is totally
clear. It’s usually clear who the pronouns I, me,
and you refer to based on who is speaking.
It’s also possible to use a pronoun
before you mention the antecedent, but try to avoid doing it in long or complex
sentences because it can make the sentence hard to follow.
Example : I love them, but my family drives me
nuts.
Relative Pronouns
Relative
pronouns make up another class of pronouns. They are used to connect relative
clauses to independent clauses. Often, they introduce additional information
about something mentioned in the sentence. Relative pronouns include that, what, which, who, and whom. Traditionally, who refers to people, and which and that refer to animals or things.
Example : The
woman who called earlier didn’t leave a message. All the dogs that got adopted today will be
loved. My car , which is nearly twenty years old, still runs well.
Whether
you need commas with who, which, and that depends on whether the clause is
restrictive or nonrestrictive.
Who vs. Whom – Subject and Object
Pronouns
Now that we’ve talked about relative
pronouns, let’s tackle the one that causes the most confusion: who vs. whom. Who is a subject
pronoun, like I, he, she, we, and they. Whom is
an object pronoun, like me, him, her, us and them.
When the pronoun is the object of a verb or preposition, the object form is the
one you want. Most people don’t have much trouble with the objective case of
personal pronouns because they usually come immediately after the verb or
preposition that modifies it.
Incorrect : Please mail it to I.
Correct : Please mail it to me.
Incorrect : Ms. Higgins caught they passing notes.
Correct : Ms. Higgins caught them passing notes.
Incorrect : Is this cake for we?
Correct : Is this cake for us?
Whom is trickier, though, because
it usually comes before the verb or preposition that modifies
it.
Correct : Whom did you speak to earlier?
Correct : A man, whom I have never seen before,
was asking about you.
Incorrect : Whom should I say is calling?
One way to test whether you
need who or whom is to try substituting a
personal pronoun. Find the place where the personal pronoun would normally go
and see whether the subject or object form makes more sense.
Who/whom did you speak to earlier?
Did you speak to he/him earlier?
A man, whom I have
never seen before, was asking about you. Have I seen he/himbefore?
Whom should I say is calling?
Should I say she/her is calling?
If the object pronoun (him or her)
sounds right, use whom. If the subject pronoun (he or she) sounds
right, use who.
Before we move on, there’s one more
case where the choice between subject and object pronouns can be confusing. Can
you spot the problem in the sentences below?
Incorrect : Henry is meeting Sarah and I this afternoon. There are no secrets
between you and I. It doesn’t matter to him or I.
In each of the sentences above, the
pronoun I should be me. If you remove the other
name or pronoun from the sentence, it becomes obvious.
Incorrect : Henry is meeting I this afternoon. No one keeps secrets
from I. It doesn’t matter to I.
Demonstrative
Pronouns
That, this, these and those are
demonstrative pronouns. They take the place of a noun or noun phrase that has
already been mentioned.
This is used for singular items
that are nearby. These is used for multiple items that are
nearby. The distance can be physical or metaphorical.
Correct : Here is a letter with no return address. Who could have
sent this? What fantastic idea! This is the best thing I’ve heard all day. If
you think gardenias smell nice, try smelling these.
That is used for singular items
that are far away. Those is used for multiple items that are
far away. Again, the distance can be physical or metaphorical.
Correct : A house like that would be a nice place to live. Some
new flavors of soda came in last week. Why don’t you try some of those? Those
aren’t swans, they’re geese.
Indefinite
Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns are used when
you need to refer to a person or thing that doesn’t need to be specifically
identified. Some common indefinite pronouns are one, other, none, some,
anybody, everybody, and no one.
Correct : Everybody was late to work because of the traffic jam.
It matters more to some than others. Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.
When indefinite pronouns function as
subjects of a sentence or clause, they usually take singular verbs.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves:
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
Use a reflexive pronoun when both
the subject and object of a verb refer to the same person or thing.
Correct : Henry cursed himself for his poor eyesight. They booked
themselves a room at the resort. I told myself it was nothing.
Intensive pronouns look the same as reflexive pronouns, but their purpose
is different. Intensive pronouns add emphasis.
Correct : I built this house myself. Did you yourself see Loretta
spill the coffee?
“I built this house” and “I built
this house myself” mean almost the same thing. But “myself” emphasizes that I
personally built the house—I didn’t hire someone else to do it for me.
Likewise, “Did you see Loretta spill the coffee?” and “Did you yourself see
Loretta spill the coffee?” have similar meanings. But “yourself” makes it clear
that the person asking wants to know whether you actually witnessed the
incident or whether you only heard it described by someone else.
Occasionally, people are tempted to
use myself where they should use me because
it sounds a little fancier. Don’t fall into that trap! If you use a -self form
of a pronoun, make sure it matches one of the uses above.
Incorrect : Please call Sarah or myself if you are going to be late.
Loretta, Henry, and myself are pleased to welcome you to the neighborhood.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns come in two
flavors: limiting and absolute. My, your, its, his, her, our, their and whose are
used to show that something belongs to an antecedent.
Example : Sarah is working on her application.
Just put me back on my bike. The students practiced their presentation
after school.
The absolute possessive pronouns
are mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs. The
absolute forms can be substituted for the thing that belongs to the antecedent.
Correct : Are you finished with your application? Sarah already
finished hers. The blue bike is mine. I practiced my speech and the students
practiced theirs.
Some possessive pronouns are easy to
mix up with similar-looking
contractions.
Remember, possessive personal pronouns don’t include apostrophes.
Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are used in
questions. The interrogative pronouns are who, what, which,
and whose.
Correct : Who wants a bag of jelly beans? What is your name? Which
movie do you want to watch? Whose jacket is this?
