Pronouns are words that can stand in place of a noun. Why would you need a pronoun? There
are lots of different kinds of pronouns and they can do different things.
I, you, he, she, it, we, you, and they, can all replace nouns, no matter how big or small
they are, whether you are replacing only one noun, singular, or many nouns, plural. WE
use THEM all the time. I’LL light the fire. YOU place the flowers
in the vase that YOU bought today… When we use a pronoun, match the pronoun to
the noun. The elephant left footprints in the jungle. Use a singular pronoun to replace
a singular noun. If you want to replace the word ELEPHANT you use the pronoun IT. IT left
footprints in the jungle. Use a plural pronoun to replace a plural noun: For FOOTPRINTS,
you need a plural pronoun. The elephant left THEM in the jungle.
Whenever you use a pronoun, the NOUN you are replacing should be clear. We took the test
in the morning; IT was easy. Here, the word IT refers to TEST. TEST is the “antecedent”
of the word IT. In your writing, be sure you have a clear antecedent, a noun the pronoun
refers to, so that no one gets confused.
This, that, these and those are Demonstrative pronouns. These tell us or “demonstrate”
which or what nouns you want to identify. THESE kittens are cute. THIS steak is raw.
Here, the pronouns are actually telling you something about the subject, so they work
in this sentence as adjectives. But demonstrative pronouns can also work as subjects on their
own: THESE are cute. THIS is raw.
When you want to show possession, you need a “Possessive pronoun”
My, your, his, hers, its, yours, ours, theirs are possessive pronouns. MY hair is a mess.YOUR
speech is excellent. HIS book makes me cry. ITS fur is soft. This magazine is YOURS. OUR
house is a very, very fine house.
Some pronouns are used to ask questions: who, whom, which, and what are interrogative pronouns.
WHO is there? WHOM were you addressing? WHICH chocolate bar is the yummiest? WHAT are you
Some pronouns are called “indefinite” because they don’t describe a specific noun:
all, any, anyone, anything, each, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none,
one, several, some, somebody, and someone. Listen for the indefinite pronouns in these
I’d do ANYTHING for you dear, ANYTHING, for you mean EVERYTHING to me….
Sometimes a pronoun is used to connect part of the sentence to another. When a pronoun
is used to link the parts of a sentence together, it’s called a relative pronoun.
who, whom, that, which, where, when can be used as relative pronouns. Sheridan Whiteside
is famous for being the man who came to dinner and never went home. Gandalf is the wizard
WHOM I most admire. Apple pie is the dessert THAT makes me feel at home. She talks incessantly
WHICH makes it hard to get a word in edgewise. New York is the place WHERE I grew up. Summer
vacation is a time WHEN I can really unwind. A relative pronoun refers to a noun that immediately
precedes it. “The Man Who Came to Dinner” - Here, the pronoun “who” refers to “man,”
making it a relative pronoun. Whichever, whoever, and whomever are also relative pronouns. You
can use whichever notebook most appeals to you.Please give the key to whoever needs to
open that cabinet. I can go to the dance with whomever I wish.