11 Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns are what most people think of when they see the word pronoun. Personal pronouns include words like he, she, and they. The following sentences give examples of personal pronouns used with antecedents (remember, an antecedent is the noun that a pronoun refers to!):
- That man looks as if he needs a new coat. (the noun phrase that man is the antecedent of he)
- Kat arrived yesterday. I met her at the station. (Kat is the antecedent of her)
- When they saw us, the lions began roaring (the lions is the antecedent of they)
- Adam and I were hoping no one would find us. (Adam and I is the antecedent of us)
Pronouns may be classified by three categories: person, number, and case.
Person
Person refers to the relationship that an author has with the text that he or she writes, and with the reader of that text. English has three persons (first, second, and third):
- First-person is the speaker or writer him- or herself. The first person is personal (I, we, etc.)
- Second-person is the person who is being directly addressed. The speaker or author is saying this is about you, the listener or reader.
- Third-person is the most common person used in academic writing. The author is saying this is about other people. In the third person singular there are distinct pronoun forms for male, female, and neutral gender.
| Person | Pronouns | |
|---|---|---|
| First | I, me, we, us | |
| Second | you | |
| Third | Male | he, him |
| Female | she, her | |
| Neutral | it, they, them |
Practice
Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Sandra often put other people’s needs before her own. That’s why people loved (her / me) so much.
- Vindira and Frank always let us know when (he / they) were coming into town.
- I told Bruno (he / it) will need three things in order to be successful: determination, discipline, and dexterity.
Show Answers
- Sandra often put other people’s needs before her own. That’s why people loved her so much.
- Her is the correct choice because it is a singular feminine third-person pronoun.
- Vindira and Frank always let us know when they were coming into town.
- They is the correct choice because it is a plural third-person pronoun.
- I told Bruno he will need three things in order to be successful: determination, discipline, and dexterity.
- He is the correct choice because it is a singular masculine third-person pronoun.
Number
There are two numbers: singular and plural. As we learned in nouns, singular words refer to only one a thing while plural words refer to more than one of a thing (I stood alone while they walked together).
| Person | Number | Pronouns |
|---|---|---|
| First | Singular | I, me |
| Plural | we, us | |
| Second | Singular | you |
| Plural | you | |
| Third | Singular | he, him |
| she, her | ||
| it | ||
| Plural | they, them |
Case
English personal pronouns have two cases: subject and object (there are also possessive pronouns, which we’ll discuss next). Subjec