Looking for some extra help with learning the rules of English? You’ve come to the right place! Today we’re talking about Personal Pronouns.

Keep reading to learn all about them!

What are Personal Pronouns?

It’s probably helpful to first remember what is a pronoun – it is a a word that can be used in place of a noun in a sentence.

A personal pronoun is a word that is used in place of a proper noun.

Proper nouns are usually names of people; though it could be used to refer to a pet animal!

Why are they useful?

Take a look at this example:

Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon. Jeff Bezos started the major internet retail company in 1994, and Jeff Bezos has since taken the company to major heights. Jeff Bezos has been the richest person in the world since 2017. In fact, Jeff Bezos is considered the world’s first centi-billionaire.

Sounds a bit odd right? Well that’s what language would be like without personal pronouns!

In reality, we do not keep repeating the name of the same person being spoken about. Instead, we refer to him using a personal pronoun. The same example will make much more sense this way:

Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon. He founded the major internet retail company in 1994, and he has since taken the company to major heights. He has been the richest person in the world since 2017. In fact, he is considered the world’s first centi-billionaire.

What are the Personal Pronouns?

They come in 2 main types.

The nominative pronoun is used in place of the noun when it is a subject i.e. a person doing the action.

• e.g. “Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.” Here, Jeff Bezos is the subject doing the action. Using the nominative pronoun, the sentence can be changed to “He founded Amazon.”

The objective pronoun is used in place of the noun when it is an object i.e. the person who is receiving the action.

• e.g. “The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Barack Obama”. Here Barack Obama is the object who receives the action. Using the objective pronoun, the sentence can be changed to “The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to him.”
• Hint: the object will usually be preceded by a preposition like ‘to’, ‘by’, ‘for’ etc.

e.g. “The book was written by him.”

       “I will sing for them.”

Besides these, there are three other things that determine the pronoun to be used:

1. first, second or third person?

A first-person pronoun refers to the speaker, a second-person pronoun refers to the person being spoken to, and a third-person pronoun refers to the person being spoken of. e.g. “I” is first-person, “you” is second-person, and “he” is third person.

1. singular or plural

Depending on whether there are one or more persons being referred to, different kinds of pronouns can be used. e.g. “I” is singular i.e. referring to one person, while “We” is plural i.e. referring to many persons.

1. masculine or feminine

This is usually needed when referring to a ‘singular third person’, who is either male or female i.e. “he” or “she”

List of Personal Pronouns:

But what about second person plural?

Or in other words, what happens when you are speaking to more than one person.

• In a formal setting, whether you are speaking or writing, you simply use the word “you”.
• In a more informal setting, you can say something like “you both” (if it’s two people), or “you all”. However, avoid using such things in a more formal setting.

The trouble arises when you are reading something, and you do not know whether the ‘you’ is singular or plural.

e.g. “You must eat at this restaurant.”

Here, you can’t be sure that there is only one ‘you’. So, what do you do?

• look at the context i.e. the other information that is given. It will usually tell you what to do. e.g. “You must eat at this restaurant. It’s the perfect place for couples like the two of you.” Here, you can see that “you” refers to two people i.e. plural.
• if there is no other information given, then you can probably assume that it is singular.

Interrogative personal pronouns

• When asking a question, in place of the nominative pronoun, you will use the word “who”

e.g. “Who broke the vase?” “She did it!”

• In place of the objective pronoun, you will use the word “whom.” It will always come after a preposition.

e.g. “To whom did you give the book?” “I gave it to her.”

       “For whom did you bake the cake?” “I baked it for my mother.”

       “By whom was this painting made? “It was painted by Picasso.”

A few more useful rules

• When writing or speaking, you must first introduce the person(s) you are talking about by his or her name. After that, you may begin using the appropriate personal pronouns.

• Avoid ambiguous pronouns i.e. a pronoun that makes it unclear who you are talking about.

e.g. “Tom and Jerry were running down the stairs. He slipped and fell.”

Here you do not know who slipped and fell. In such a case, it is best to use the proper noun instead of a pronoun – “Tom slipped and fell.”

Practice makes perfect!

To help you practice using personal pronouns, try solving this exercise on your own!

Answers: a) Who b) She c) She d) She e) her f) She

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