Pronouns

Pronouns take the place of common nouns and proper nouns.  For the most part, they just make English easier. Pronouns make it so that we don't have to keep repeating names of people and items once we have established what we are taking about.  For instance, once you know we are talking about pronouns, we can refer to them as them. 

The most common pronouns we use are subject and object pronouns. A subject pronoun is used to take the place of the subject in the sentence and usually comes at the beginning of the sentence. Object pronouns take the place of objects and are found in the predicates of sentences.

Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns are used to replace the subject -- the main actor -- of a sentence.  Subject pronouns are often at the beginning of sentences (but not always!).

Let's take an example:

Tiffani gave the puppy to her brother. 

What is the subject of this sentence? The subject is the actor doing the verb.  Here, the verb is "gave."  Who gave the money in this instance?  Tiffani did.  Tiffani is the subject.  Now to replace "Tiffani" with a pronoun we know that we need a subject pronoun, we just need to find the right one. 

Let’s take a look at all the subject pronouns that could correctly replace the proper noun, Tiffani.

I opened the window.

No, “I” does not work since I am not Tiffani.

You opened the window.

No, “you” does not work since you are not Tiffani.

She opened the window.

Yes, “she” could work since it’s in gender agreement with Tiffani (feminine).

He opened the window.

No, “he” does not work since he masculine and therefore not in gender agreement with Tiffani.

It opened the window.

No, “it” does not work because we do not refer to humans as "it."

We opened the window.

No, “we” does not work because Tiffani is not more than one person.

They opened the window.

No, “they” does not work because Tiffani is not more than one person. It is becoming increasingly common to use the word "they" to refer to someone who is non-binary or when we do not know someone's gender. If "they" is someone's personal singular pronoun preference, then that is the correct pronoun to use for that person.  However, for the time being, in a grammar context (for instance, on standardized tests that test grammar), "they" refers to more than one person and he, she, it, and he or she are used for singular third person pronouns. 

After plugging in all the possible subject pronouns, "she" is the subject pronoun that properly replaces the proper noun, Tiffani.

Object Pronouns

We can also replace the other nouns in the sentence.  The object of the sentence is the thing being acted upon by the verb. There are two objects in this sentence.  The verb is "gave."  The thing being given is the direct object.  The thing that the direct object is being given to is the indirect object.  For pronoun purposes, these are both objects.   

For example:

Tiffani gave the puppy to her brother.

Which pronoun can properly replace "the puppy?"  We have two choices here.  We can go with it (if we don't know the gender, and it is an animal so not so insulting).  Or, let's say we know that the puppy is a female.  We choose the singular feminine object pronoun: her.

Tiffani gave her to her brother. 

Can we replace "her brother?"

Here we want a singular, masculine object prounoun: him. 

Tiffani gave her to him. 

She gave her to him. 

As you can see, using pronouns really lowers the specificity of a sentence.  But if you already know what you are talking about, it works fine.   Imagine, in conversation, if you can point.  Someone says, "Who gave Jake the puppy?" and someone else could point to Tiffani and say, "She gave her to him."  Everything would make sense!

And, when we do not use pronouns at all, the specificity can sound really repetitive. Read the paragraph.

Tiffani thought to Tiffani’s self, “Is it just Tiffani, or is the temperature really hot in here?” Tiffani went to the window and opened the window, only to have a group of flies come soaring at Tiffani.  Tiffani said a few choice words, and then Tiffani began swatting the pesky flies, managing to hit only a few of the flies when the flies came to rest on the tutoring tables.

Isn’t that the most aggravating paragraph to read? Now read the same paragraph, but with pronouns inserted in the right places.

Tiffani thought to herself, “Is it just me, or is it really hot in here?” She went to the window and opened it, only to have a group of flies come soaring at her.  She said a few choice words, and then she began swatting the pesky flies, managing to hit only a few of them when they came to rest on the tutoring tables.

What a difference a few pronouns make! 

Now let’s look at the different types of pronouns. In order to figure out which type a pronoun is, look at the way the word is used in the sentence.

Personal Pronouns: Represent people or things: I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it, we, us, they, them.

Ex: I came to see you and her today.

Possessive Pronouns: show ownership (possession): mine, yours, hers, his, theirs, ours.

Ex: That desk is mine.

Demonstrative Pronouns: Demonstrate or point out someone or something: This, that, these, those.

Ex: Who’s sitting in that chair? (That points out the chair).

Relative Pronouns: Relate one part of the sentence to another: who, whom, which, that, whose.

Ex: A college that I’d like to visit one day is UCLA. (That relates to college).

Reflexive Pronouns: (Sometimes called intensive pronouns) Reflect back to someone or something else in the sentence: Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

Ex: I always ask for challenging projects, but my teacher never gives them to me.

Interrogative Pronouns: Interrogate (ask a question): who, whom, which whose, what.  

Ex: What in the world was the teacher talking about?

Indefinite Pronouns: Sometimes refer to a specific person, place, or thing that has already been mentioned in the sentence: all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many most, much, neither, no one, nobody, none, nothing, one, other, others, several, some, somebody, someone, and something.

Ex: The teacher said that anyone can play the game, as long as they follow the rules.