Getting to Know Personal Pronouns What is a pronoun?

A pronoun refers to or substitutes a noun in a given sentence.

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

General Rules

Use a Subject Pronoun when… 1. The pronoun is the subject of the sentence.

Heath Ledger is terrific as the Joker in the last Batman movie. He was my favorite actor.

2. The pronoun is used after a “be” verb (am/is/are, was/were, be, being, been).

Aunt Martha was annoyed that I did not defrost the turkey in time. Actually, it was she who forgot.

Use an Object Pronoun when… 1. The pronoun is the object of the sentence; in other words, it receives the action or is acted upon.

Our parents gave Riley a cat for his birthday, but they expected us to clean its litter box.

2. The pronoun is used after the prepositions between, except, and with.

Heather divided the task of canvassing all three neighborhoods between us and them. Use a Possessive Pronoun to show ownership…

The laptop in the break room is mine. Yours is in the conference room next to hers. Special Hints for Special Situations

Paired Pronouns Cover up one of the pronouns or the noun to determine the right pronoun.

Denise and I want to start playing racquetball every weekend. (Subject pronoun needed) It would also be fun if two more people can play with her and me. (Object pronoun needed)

Comparisons with as, as…as, than Read the sentence and add the missing word or phrase to determine the right pronoun. You could alter the meaning of your sentence depending on the pronoun you use, so be cautious.

Even in her stocking feet, Julia is much taller than he. o (Read: Julia is taller than he is.)

Julia likes him more than I. o (Read: Julia likes him more than I do.)

Julia likes him more than me. o (Read: Julia like him more than she likes me.)

Conjoined Pronoun + Noun Cover up the noun that’s next to the pronoun to determine if a subject or object pronoun is needed.

My folder is sitting on the table. o (Read: Folder is sitting on the table. Subject pronoun is needed because it occurs within

the subject of the sentence.)

The administration wanted us part-time faculty to start attending every town hall meeting. o (Read: The administration wanted us to start attending every town hall meeting.)