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Pronouns
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun (or a noun phrase). For example:
 Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world. (Actress Marilyn Monroe)
(The pronoun she is used in place of a girl, which is a noun phrase. Pronouns are
primarily used to avoid repetition.)
The term pronoun covers many words, some of which do not fall easily under the generic
description of words that replace nouns. There are several different kinds of pronouns,
including:
 Personal pronouns (e.g., he, they)
 Demonstrative pronouns (e.g., this, these)
 Interrogative pronouns (e.g., which, who)
 Indefinite pronouns (e.g., none, several)
 Possessive pronouns (e.g., his, your)
 Reciprocal pronouns (e.g., each other, one another)
 Relative pronouns (e.g., which, where)
 Reflexive pronouns (e.g., itself, himself)
 Intensive pronouns (e.g., itself, himself)

Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns are short words used to represent people or things. The personal pronouns
are I, you, he, she, it, we, and they. They are primarily used to avoid repetition. Look at this
example:
 Myra (David's kitten) looks cute, but he thinks she is evil.
(The personal pronouns "he" and "she" avoid the need to repeat "David" and "kitten.")

Table Showing Personal Pronouns by Case

Below is a table showing the personal pronouns by case (i.e., how they're used)
and person (i.e., how they relate to the speaker). The table includes links to all the key
grammatical terminology associated with personal pronouns.
Subjective Objective Possessive Possessive Reflexive
Person
Case Case Determiner Pronouns Pronouns

First I Me My mine myself

Person Singular

Second you You Your yours yourself

Person Singular

Third he/she/it him/her/it his/her/its his/hers/its himself/herself/itself

Person Singular

First we Us Our ours ourselves

Person Plural

Second you You Your yours yourselves

Person Plural
Third they Them Their theirs themselves
Person Plural

As you can see from the table above, the personal pronouns are categorized by person. There
are three person categories:
 First Person. The first-person personal pronouns (I and we) represent those
speaking.
 Second Person. The second-person personal pronouns (you (singular) and you
(plural)) represent those being addressed/spoken to.
 Third Person. The third-person personal pronouns (he/she/it and they) represent
those who are neither speaking nor being addressed (i.e., everybody else).

Subjective Personal Pronoun

I, you, he, she, it, we, and they are the subjective personal pronouns. These are the versions
used for the subjects of verbs. For example:
 You are happy.
 They won the league.

Objective Personal Pronoun

The objective personal pronouns are me, you, him, her, it, us, and them. These are the versions
used when the personal pronouns are objects (i.e., direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of
prepositions). For example:
 Paul knows her.
(The personal pronoun is a direct object.)
 Paul gave them the letter.
(The personal pronoun is an indirect object.)
 Paul went with him.
(The personal pronoun is an object of a preposition.)

Possessive Personal Pronoun

The possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs. They represent
something that is owned and tell us who the owner is. For example:
 Myra protected the pantry, believing all the food was hers.
(Here, hers represents all the food and tells us the owner is Myra. A possessive
pronoun replaces a possessive determiner and a noun, e.g., her
food becomes hers, my story becomes mine, and their jellybean becomes theirs. Note
that possessive determiners are classified as pronouns too.)

Reflexive Personal Pronoun

The reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves,
yourselves, and themselves. A reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject.
 David did not blame himself for Myra's aggression.
(The subject is David. The reflexive pronoun himself refers back to David.)
Here are some real-life examples of personal pronouns in each case.
Subjective Personal Pronouns (i.e., ones in the subjective case)
 Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world. (Actress Marilyn Monroe)
 We are what we believe we are. (Author CS Lewis)

Objective Personal Pronouns (i.e., ones in the objective case)

  Get the facts first, then distort them. (American author Mark Twain)
 Conscience is the only incorruptible thing about us. (Henry Fielding)
Possessive Personal Pronouns (i.e., ones in the possessive case)
 Build your reputation by helping other people build theirs. (Author Anthony D'Angelo)
 Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose. (US President
Lyndon Johnson)
Reflexive Personal Pronouns
 If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself. (Business
magnate Henry Ford)
 Nature is wont to hide herself. (Philosopher Heraclitus)
There is no "reflexive case." A reflexive pronoun is a type of objective-case pronoun.
Each of the quotations above contains only one example of a personal pronoun. They weren't
easy to find. It is more normal for a sentence to include several types of personal pronoun. The
short (somewhat contrived but grammatically correct) sentence below contains all four types:
 She saw herself and me in theirs. (Here, the personal pronouns
are She (subjective), herself (reflexive), me (objective), and theirs (possessive).

(Point 1) The subjective pronoun "I" can't be the object of a verb or a preposition.
 They found my wife and I under the snowdrift. X
(The subjective pronoun I must be the subject of a verb. Here, it's the direct object of
the verb found. It should read They found me and my wife.)
 I sent condolences from my wife and I. X
(I must be the subject of a verb. After a preposition (in this case, from), you need the
objective pronoun me. It should read from me and my wife.)
 Keep this between you and I. X
(The term between you and I is always wrong. I cannot be the object of a preposition
(in this case, between).)
Native English speakers rarely make this mistake with other personal pronouns. To some ears,
terms like from my wife and I and between you and I are Wrong .

(Point 2) There are no apostrophes in possessive personal pronouns.

Yes, it's true that apostrophes can be used to show possession (e.g., dragon's tooth, newt's
eye), but there are no apostrophes in any possessive personal pronouns. That's a 100% rule.

I like her's better than their's. X

"What about it's?", you might ask. Well, it's (with an apostrophe) is an expansion of it is or it has.
That's another 100% rule. If you use it's, make sure you can expand to it is or it has. If you can't,
it's wrong.

(Point 3) This is good stuff for learning a foreign language.

If you're not someone who says between you and I or someone who puts an apostrophe
in theirs, then the next best reason to care about personal-pronoun terminology is that it will
help you with learning a foreign language.

If you're a native English speaker, then, whether you know it or not, you currently select a
personal pronoun having first determined its:
 Number. Is the personal pronoun representing something singular or plural?
 Person. Is the personal pronoun representing something in the first person (this is
the speaker himself or a group that includes the speaker (I, we)), the second
 person (this is the speaker's audience (you)), or the third person (this is everybody
else (he, she, it, they).)
 Gender. Is the personal pronoun representing something male, female, or neuter?
 Case. Is the personal pronoun representing something which is a subject or an
object?
(Point 4) Don't use myself when giving an order.
A reflexive personal pronoun refers back to the subject. When you give an order (i.e.,
an imperative sentence), the implied subject is "you." This means you can only
use yourself or yourselves in an imperative sentence. You can't use myself.
 Clean yourself up!
(Remember that the reflexive personal pronoun (yourself) must refer back to the
implied "you." ("You" clean yourself up!) That's grammatically okay.)

 Write to myself if there's an issue.

(The reflexive personal pronoun myself cannot refer back to the implied "you." ("You"
write to myself if there's an issue.) That's grammatically not okay. It should
be me not myself.)

(Point 5) "It was me" is acceptable.

People often question whether they should say "It was me" or "It was I." It's a fair question
because a subject complement (in this case, the word after was) is supposed to be written in the
subjective case (i.e., I is correct), but we know that everyone has been saying "It was me" for so
long that "It was I" now sounds wrong or, at the very least, pretentious for many.

Here's the quick answer: you can say either. See also linking verbs.
Key Points

 Don't use a term like my wife and I unless it's the subject of a verb.
 Never say between you and I.
 Don’t put an apostrophe in yours, hers, ours, or theirs.
 If you use it's (with an apostrophe), make sure you can expand it to it is or it has. If
you can't, remove the apostrophe.
 They can be used as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun.

 Ask the person if they voted.

 Don't use myself in an imperative sentence (i.e., an order).

 Arrange a meeting with myself if necessary.

 You can say "It was me" or "It was I."

Demonstrative Pronouns?
The demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these, and those.

Easy Examples of Demonstrative Pronouns

 This is ludicrous.
 Is that yours?
 Eat these tonight.
 Throw those away.
More about Demonstrative Pronouns
Like all pronouns, demonstrative pronouns replace nouns or noun phrases. More specifically, a
demonstrative pronoun stands in for something that has been previously mentioned or is
understood from context (called its antecedent).
 Do you remember the lobster with the blue claw? Can I have that please?
(Here, that stands in for something previously mentioned. The antecedent of that is
the noun phrase "the lobster with the blue claw.")
 This is delicious.
(Here, the context tells us what this represents. The antecedent
of this is lobster or meal.)
 Do you remember the two lobsters holding claws? Can I have those please?
(The antecedent of those is shown in bold.)
 These are delicious.
(Remember that, with demonstrative pronouns, the antecedent does not always
appear in nearby text. The antecedent is often understood from the context of the
speaker's surroundings.)
The singular demonstrative pronouns this and that stand in for singular things (e.g., the lobster
with the blue claw). The plural demonstrative pronouns these and those stand in for plural things
(e.g., the two lobsters holding claws).

As well as telling us whether its antecedent is singular or plural, a demonstrative pronoun also
tell us whether its antecedent is near or distant. That and those stand in for distant things
(e.g., the lobsters in the tank). This and these stand in for near things (e.g., the lobsters on the
plate).

 Paint this but not that. Remove these but notthose.

(Demonstrative pronouns are pretty efficient. They tell us what, how many, and where.
These two short sentences convey the following information: "Paint the nearby wall
I'm pointing to but not the distant wall I'm pointing to. Remove the picture hooks I'm
pointing to but not those distant picture hooks I'm pointing to.")
Remember that demonstrative pronouns stand in for things. (Typically, they stand in for a noun
phrase or a previously expressed idea.) Demonstrative pronouns do not modify nouns.
When this, that, these, and those modify nouns, they are
demonstrative determiners (called demonstrative adjectives in traditional grammar). In the four
examples below, we have demonstrative determiners modifying nouns (shown in bold). In the
first four examples above, the demonstrative pronouns stood in for these nouns.
 This idea is ludicrous.
 Is that bike yours?
 Eat these crumpets tonight.
 Throw those rolls away.

What are Indefinite Pronouns? (with Examples)

An indefinite pronoun refers to a non-specific person or thing.
The most common ones
are all, any, anyone, anything, each, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none,
one, several, some, somebody, and someone.
Like all pronouns, an indefinite pronoun is a substitute for a noun.
Examples of Indefinite Pronouns
Here are some examples of indefinite pronouns (shaded):
 A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read. (Mark
Twain, 1835-1910)
 Of those who say nothing, few are silent. (Thomas Neill)
 Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else. (Will Rogers, 1879-1935)
 Everybody likes a kidder, but nobody lends him money. (Arthur Miller, 1915-2005)
 I don't know anything about music. In my line, you don't have to. (Elvis Presley, 1935-1977)

The Difference between Indefinite Pronouns and Indefinite Adjectives

When a word like all, any, anyone, etc. is used as an adjective, it is known as an indefinite adjective. (In
the examples below, the indefinite pronouns are shaded.)
 All in the lobby must remain seated.
(This is an indefinite pronoun.)
 All personnel in the lobby must remain seated.
(This is an indefinite adjective. It modifies personnel.)
 Please take some to Mrs Chandler.
(indefinite pronoun)
 Please take some lemons to Mrs Chandler.
(This is an indefinite adjective. It modifies lemons.)

Indefinite Pronouns Singular or Plural?

The biggest issue with indefinite pronouns is determining whether they are singular or plural.
Here is a list:
Singular Indefinite Plural Indefinite Indefinite Pronouns Which Can
Pronouns Pronouns be Singular or Plural

Another Both All

Anybody Few Any
Anyone Fewer More
Anything Many Most
Each Others None
Either Several Some
Enough Such
Everybody
Everyone
Everything
Less
Little
Much
Neither
Nobody
No-one
Nothing
One
Other
Somebody
Someone
Something
Interrogative Pronouns
The main interrogative pronouns are what, which, who, whom, and whose. Interrogative
pronouns are used to ask questions. The other, less common interrogative pronouns are the
same as the ones above but with the suffix -ever or -
soever (e.g., whatever, whichever, whatsoever, whichsoever).

Easy Examples of Interrogative Pronouns

 What is that?
 Which is yours?
 Who done it?
 Whom shall we ask?
 Whose is this?
 Whatever did you say?
 Whomsoever did you find?
 Whosever is this?
The suffix -ever and -soever are used for emphasis or to show surprise. (The suffix -soever is
less common as it considered old fashioned.)
Do not confuse interrogative pronouns with interrogative determiners (called "interrogative
adjectives" in traditional grammar), which look the same as interrogative pronouns.
 Which feat is the greater?
(This is not an interrogative pronoun. It is an interrogative determiner. The
word Which modifies feat. Therefore, it's a determiner.)
Do not confuse interrogative pronouns with interrogative adverbs (how, when, why, where),
which are also used to ask questions.
 Who are you and how did you get in here?
I'm a locksmith. And...I'm a locksmith. (from the 1982 TV series "Police Squad!")
(In this example, the answer to the interrogative pronoun who is the noun phrase a
locksmith. The answer to the interrogative adverb how is the unstated adverbial
phrase by virtue of being a locksmith. The answer to a question starting with an
interrogative pronoun will be a noun (typically a person, place, or thing). The answer
to a question starting with an interrogative adverb (how, when, why, where) will be
an adverb (typically a manner, a time, a reason, or a term linked to place, e.g., in the
city.)
Avoid errors with who and whom.
By the far the biggest issue with interrogative pronouns is using who when whom should be
used. Remember that you can only use who when it is the subject of a verb. This is a simpler
idea than you might think. I, he, she, we, and they are just like who because they are also used
as the subjects of verbs (they're even called subjective pronouns). Me, him, her, us,
and them are just like whom because they are not used as the subjects of verbs (they're
called objective pronouns).
 Who knows her?
(The subject of knows is who. Who is correct.)
 Who do you know?
(The subject of know is you not who. Who is wrong.)
 Whom do you know?
Intensive Pronouns
An intensive pronoun is used to refer back to a noun or pronoun in order to emphasize it. Here
is a list of the intensive pronouns:
 myself
 yourself
 herself
 himself
 itself
 ourselves
 yourselves
 themselves
These words can be either intensive pronouns or reflexive pronouns. This page is about their
use as intensive pronouns.

Using Intensive Pronouns

An intensive pronoun refers back to another noun (or pronoun) in the sentence in order to
emphasize it. For example:
 The mayor himself presented the prize.
(The mayor is the noun being emphasized. It is called the antecedent of the intensive
pronoun. The antecedent of a pronoun is the thing the pronoun refers to.)
When used for emphasis, words like "myself," "himself," etc. are called intensive pronouns.

Examples of Intensive Pronouns

In these next examples, the intensive pronouns are shaded, and the people or things being
emphasized (i.e., the antecedent) are in bold.
 She will paint the fence herself.
(The intensive pronoun "herself" emphasizes that "she" will do it. A painter won't paint
it. Her friend won't paint it. Her daughter won't paint it. SHE will paint it.)
 The guides baked these cookies themselves.
(The intensive pronoun "themselves" emphasizes that "the guides" baked the cookies,
i.e., not their mothers.)
 I heard his proposal myself.
(The intensive pronoun "myself" emphasizes that "I" heard the proposal.)
The antecedents of intensive pronouns are not always people. Look at this example:

 The mouse opened the packet itself.

You can test if it's an intensive pronoun by removing it and seeing if you get the same effect by
emphasizing the thing you're trying to emphasize with your voice (shown here in uppercase).
 SHE will paint it.
 I heard the proposal.
 THE MOUSE opened the packet.

(Reason 1) Use intensive pronouns to emphasize things tidily.

Using an intensive pronoun is far slicker than bolding a word, WRITING IT IN UPPERCASE
LETTERS, or underlining it. (These are not good looks!)

When speaking, you can emphasize a word with your voice, so there's an alternative to using
an intensive pronoun. When writing, however, that luxury doesn't exist. As the alternatives
(bolding, uppercasing, underlining) are usually inappropriate, it's worth learning about intensive
pronouns.
Of note, an intensive pronoun can always be removed from a sentence without affecting the
sentence's meaning. An intensive pronoun just provides emphasis. But, that's usually an
important job. It's often the reason the sentence exists.
 Tony will mark the papers himself.

(Reason 2) Avoid mistakes with "myself."

The word "myself" is not a posh version of "me."

 Please email myself or your manager with your availability.

(Remember that an intensive pronoun emphasizes a nearby noun or pronoun, i.e.,
its antecedent. There isn't an antecedent in this example.)
Note: This point is related to reflexive pronouns not intensive pronouns. It is included here for
anyone who came looking for guidance on this point and ended up here.

Key Points
 Intensive pronouns emphasize. That itself is a good reason to learn about them.
 "Myself" is not a highbrow way of saying "me."
 What is a Pronoun?
A pronoun is defined as a word or phrase that is used as a substitution for a noun or noun phrase, which is
known as the pronoun’s antecedent. Pronouns are short words and can do everything that nouns can do
and are one of the building blocks of a sentence. Common pronouns are he, she, you, me, I, we, us, this,
them, that. A pronoun can act as a subject, direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition, and
more and takes the place of any person, place, animal or thing. So coffee becomes it, Barbara becomes
she, Jeremy becomes he, the team becomes they, and in a sentence, Barbara drinks a cup of coffee every
afternoon could become she drinks a cup of it every afternoon, or even she drinks it every afternoon,
where the it would substitute the cup of coffee, not just the coffee.

Without pronouns, we’d constantly have to repeat nouns, and that would make our speech and writing
repetitive, not to mention cumbersome. Without pronouns, Barbara drinks a cup of coffee every
afternoon, she likes to have it before dinner would be Barbara drinks a cup of coffee every
afternoon, Barbara likes to have the cup of coffee before dinner. Using pronouns helps the flow of
sentences and makes them more interesting

 He
 It
 You
 I
 They
 We
 Who
 Him
 Them
 Whoever
 Anyone
 Something
 Nobody

Pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

1. Billy, Caren, and I were playing poker with friends -> We were playing poker with friends.

2. Ellie loves watching movies. -> She loves watching movies, especially if they are comedies.

3. Will Daniel be going to the circus with Sarah? -> Will he be going there with her?

As mentioned, pronouns are usually used to replace nouns, however they can also stand in for
certain adverbs, adjectives, and other pronouns. Almost anytime you refer to a person, animal, place or
thing, you can use pronouns to add interest and make your speech or writing flow better.
In nearly all cases, a pronoun must follow an expression called an antecedent. This basically means that a
pronoun can only really be understood in the context of prior information about the noun. For example, if
we use the pronoun she in a sentence, we will only be able to understand it if we know who she is, thus
an antecedent, perhaps giving the person’s name, is usually supplied first. In the example above Barbara
drinks a cup of coffee every afternoon, if we had never mentioned Barbara or what she drinks, it would be
unclear if we said, She drinks it every afternoon. Your reader would be confused and wonder who she is
and what does she drink, wine, water, lemonade?
Once Barbara has been mentioned, we would use the pronouns she and her later in the writing in order to
stop repeating the proper noun Barbara and possessive proper noun Barbara’s.
Barbara went to the restaurant for dinner with her (Barbara’s) friends. She (Barbara) was very hungry,
but her (Barbara’s) friends would not stop chatting. Eventually, Barbara decided to take matters
into her (Barbara’s) own hands and she (Barbara) demanded that they (Barbara’s friends) stop talking.
Imagine how that sentence would read if it kept repeating Barbara and Barbara’s. Pronouns have acted
to make the writing tighter and, arguably, much more elegant. This is just a basic example of the use of
pronouns, they act in many ways to help make speech and writing more lucid and dynamic.

Types of Pronouns
Pronouns can be divided into numerous categories including:

 Indefinite pronouns – those referring to one or more unspecified objects, beings, or places, such
as someone, anybody, nothing. Notice in the examples below that there is no set position for
where an indefinite pronoun will appear in a sentence.
Indefinite pronoun examples:
1. Anyone
2. Somebody
3. Whichever
4. Whoever
5. Other
6. Something
7. Nobody

Indefinite pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

o Would anyone like a coffee?

o Take whatever you like. Jamie took one cookie and Ben took the other.
o Whoever owns this is in big trouble! I want someone to move this now.

Indefinite pronouns can also be used to create sentences that are almost abstract. Examples could
include: this, all, such and something.

o All was not lost.

o Such is life.
o Something tells me this won’t end well.
 Personal pronouns – those associated with a certain person, thing, or group; all except you have
distinct forms that indicate singular or plural number. Personal pronouns are always specific and
are often used to replace a proper noun (someone’s name) or a collective group of people or
things. Personal pronouns have two main groups, one referring to the subject of the sentence and
one to the object.
The first is used to replace the subject of the sentence: I, you, he, she, it, we, you and they. Notice
that you is repeated as you can be singular, addressing one person, or plural, addressing a group
of people.

Personal pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
 o Jack and David are friends. They play basketball together.
o I have more money than he
o We will be late if you don’t hurry up.

The second group of pronouns replaces the object of the sentence: me, you, him, her, it, us, you,
them. Consider the sentence again:
We will be late if you don’t hurry up.
In the above example, we is the subject of the sentence, but you is the object. Other examples of
pronouns replacing the object:

o Peter sang the song to me.

o Missing the train will cause us to be late.

She packed them tightly in the suitcase.

 Reflexive pronouns – those preceded by the adverb, adjective, pronoun, or noun to which they
refer, and ending in –self or –selves. Reflexive pronouns are used to refer back to the subject or
clause of a sentence. The list of reflexive pronouns includes: Myself, yourself, himself, herself,
itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
Reflexive pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
o Count yourselves
o Annie only had herself to blame.

Peter and Paul had baked themselves cakes.

 Demonstrative pronouns – those used to point to something specific within a sentence. There
are only four demonstrative pronouns – this, that, these, those – but the usage can be a bit tricky
at times. This and that are singular, whereas these and those are plural. As you may have noticed,
there can be some crossover with indefinite pronouns when using this and that.
Demonstrative pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
o I prefer this.
o These are beautiful, but those belong to Danny.
o Did you see that?

While it can be confusing, this, that, these and those can sometimes be used as demonstrative
adjectives. The difference between the two is that a demonstrative pronoun replaces the noun and
a demonstrative adjective qualifies the noun.
I prefer this photo. These flowers are beautiful, but those vases belong to Danny. Did you see
that rainbow?
It should be clear that this, that, these and those in the example above are not pronouns because
they are being used to qualify the noun, but not replace it. A good trick for remembering the
difference is that a demonstrative pronoun would still make sense if the
word one or ones followed it in the sentence.
I prefer this (one). These (ones) are beautiful. Did you see that (one)? Those (ones) belong to
Danny.
 Possessive pronouns – those designating possession or ownership. Examples include: mine, its,
hers, his, yours, ours, theirs, whose. Consider the example:
o This cat is mine.

Mine is indicating possession, that the cat belongs to me. Incidentally, this in the sentence is not a
pronoun but demonstrative adjective as it qualifies the noun cat. You will find that possessive
pronouns often follow phrases that contain demonstrative adjectives.
Possessive pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

o Are these bananas yours?

o This money is ours.

Is the fault theirs or yours?

 Relative pronouns –those which refer to nouns mentioned previously, acting to introduce an
adjective (relative) clause. They will usually appear after a noun to help clarify the sentence or
give extra information. Examples include: who, which, that, whom, whose. Consider the
following sentence:
The man who stole the car went to jail. The relative pronoun who acts to refer back to the
noun man. It acts to open a clause by identifying the man as not just any man, but the one who
stole the car.Relative pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy
identification.
o The table, which sits in the hallway, is used for correspondence.
o The car that crashed into the wall was blue.
o This is the woman, whose key you found.
 Interrogative pronouns –Those which introduce a question. Examples include: who, whom,
whose, what, which. We can usually identify an interrogative pronoun by the fact that they often
appear at the beginning of a question.
Interrogative pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
o Who will come to the party?
o Which do you prefer?
o What do you need?
o Whose clothes are on the floor?
o Whom did you tell?

Whom and who are often confused, and even native speakers will use them incorrectly. Who will
replace the subject of a sentence, whereas whom will replace the direct or indirect object. A good
tip for deciding which to use is that you can replace who in the sentence with a personal pronoun
and it will still make sense. Who will come to the party? I will come to the party. The same
system would not work for Whom did you tell? I did you tell.

 Reciprocal pronouns –Those expressing mutual actions or relationship; i.e. one another.
There are just two reciprocal pronouns in English: one another and each other. They are mainly
used to stop unnecessary repetition in a sentence, but also to reinforce the idea that collective and
reciprocal actions are happening to more than one person or thing.John and Mary gave each
other gifts. Using each other allows us the sentence to be more efficient than: John gave Mary a
gift and Mary gave a gift to John. The countries worked with one another on national security. In
this example, one another works to suggest that the action of working is being reciprocated back
and forth by more than one country.
 Reciprocal pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.

o The boxers punched each other

The couple love one another deeply

 Intensive pronouns – those ending in –self or –selves and that serve to emphasize their
antecedents. These are almost identical to reflexive pronouns, but rather than just referring back
to the subject of the sentence they work to reinforce the action. In many cases, the sentence would
still make sense without the intensive pronoun.
Intensive pronoun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
o I will do it myself.
o We made this pie ourselves.
o A nation speaks for itself through elections.

Notice how the intensive pronoun is working to emphasize the statement. The sentence would
still technically be correct without the intensive pronoun, but it adds some important context to its
meaning.

Pronoun Rules
There are a few important rules for using pronouns. As you read through these rules and the examples in
the next section, notice how the pronoun rules are followed. Soon you’ll see that pronouns are easy to
work with.

 Subject pronouns may be used to begin sentences. For example: We did a great job.
 Subject pronouns may also be used to rename the subject. For example: It was she who decided
we should go to Hawaii.
 Indefinite pronouns don’t have antecedents. They are capable of standing on their own. For
example: No one likes the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.
 Object pronouns are used as direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions. These
include: you, me, him, her, us, them, and it. For example: David talked to her about the mistake.
 Possessive pronouns show ownership. They do not need apostrophes. For example: The cat
washed its