Complete Guide to English Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Subject Pronouns

• I
  • Used as the subject when referring to yourself
    • Example: I went to the store.
• You
  • Used to address one or more people directly
    • Example: You should try this cake.
• He
  • Used to refer to a male person or animal
    • Example: He loves playing basketball.
• She
  • Used to refer to a female person or animal
    • Example: She writes beautiful poetry.
• It
  • Used for objects, animals (when gender is unknown), or concepts
    • Example: It started raining.
• We
  • Used when referring to yourself and others as a group
    • Example: We are going on vacation.
• They
  • Used for multiple people/things or a single person of unspecified gender
    • Example: They arrived late to the party.

Object Pronouns

• Me
  • Used as the object when referring to yourself
    • Example: The teacher gave me homework.
• You
  • Used when addressing someone as the object
    • Example: I’ll help you with that.
• Him
  • Used as the object when referring to a male
    • Example: I gave him the book.
• Her
  • Used as the object when referring to a female
    • Example: We invited her to dinner.
• It
  • Used as the object for things or concepts
    • Example: I picked it up from the ground.
• Us
  • Used as the object when referring to yourself and others
    • Example: They sent us a letter.
• Them
  • Used as the object for multiple people/things
    • Example: I saw them at the mall.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive Adjectives

• My
  • Shows possession for yourself
    • Example: My car is red.
• Your
  • Shows possession for the person being addressed
    • Example: Your phone is ringing.
• His
  • Shows possession for a male
    • Example: His laptop is new.
• Her
  • Shows possession for a female
    • Example: Her garden is beautiful.
• Its
  • Shows possession for an object or animal
    • Example: The dog wagged its tail.
• Our
  • Shows possession for a group including yourself
    • Example: Our house is on the corner.
• Their
  • Shows possession for multiple people/things
    • Example: Their car broke down.

Absolute Possessive Pronouns

• Mine
  • Shows absolute possession for yourself
    • Example: That book is mine.
• Yours
  • Shows absolute possession for the person addressed
    • Example: This seat is yours.
• His
  • Shows absolute possession for a male
    • Example: The blue jacket is his.
• Hers
  • Shows absolute possession for a female
    • Example: The victory was hers.
• Ours
  • Shows absolute possession for a group including yourself
    • Example: The decision was ours.
• Theirs
  • Shows absolute possession for multiple people
    • Example: The choice was theirs.

Demonstrative Pronouns

• This
  • Points to something nearby or current
    • Example: This is my favorite song.
• That
  • Points to something farther away or past
    • Example: That was a great movie.
• These
  • Points to multiple things nearby
    • Example: These are my new shoes.
• Those
  • Points to multiple things farther away
    • Example: Those were the good old days.

Reflexive Pronouns

• Myself
  • Refers back to “I” or “me”
    • Example: I hurt myself while cooking.
• Yourself
  • Refers back to “you” (singular)
    • Example: You should treat yourself to a day off.
• Himself
  • Refers back to “he” or “him”
    • Example: He taught himself to play guitar.
• Herself
  • Refers back to “she” or “her”
    • Example: She prepared herself for the interview.
• Itself
  • Refers back to “it”
    • Example: The cat cleaned itself.
• Ourselves
  • Refers back to “we” or “us”
    • Example: We found ourselves lost in the woods.
• Yourselves
  • Refers back to “you” (plural)
    • Example: Make yourselves at home.
• Themselves
  • Refers back to “they” or “them”
    • Example: The students taught themselves the material.

Interrogative Pronouns

• Who
  • Asks about a person
    • Example: Who wrote this letter?
• Whom
  • Asks about the object of an action
    • Example: Whom did you invite?
• Whose
  • Asks about possession
    • Example: Whose jacket is this?
• Which
  • Asks about choice between specific options
    • Example: Which do you prefer?
• What
  • Asks about things or choices
    • Example: What happened here?

Relative Pronouns

• Who
  • Connects clauses referring to people
    • Example: The person who called earlier left a message.
• Whom
  • Connects clauses referring to people as objects
    • Example: The candidate whom we selected is starting tomorrow.
• Whose
  • Shows possession in connected clauses
    • Example: The author whose book won the prize is here.
• Which
  • Connects clauses referring to things or animals
    • Example: The car, which was red, drove away.
• That
  • Can replace who or which in certain cases
    • Example: The movie that we watched was exciting.

Indefinite Pronouns

• Anyone/Anybody
  • Refers to any person
    • Example: Anyone can learn to cook.
• Everyone/Everybody
  • Refers to all people
    • Example: Everybody loves ice cream.
• Someone/Somebody
  • Refers to an unspecified person
    • Example: Somebody left their keys.
• No one/Nobody
  • Refers to no person
    • Example: Nobody knows the answer.
• Something
  • Refers to an unspecified thing
    • Example: Something smells good.
• Nothing
  • Refers to no thing
    • Example: Nothing could stop them.
• Anything
  • Refers to any thing
    • Example: Did you find anything interesting?
• Everything
  • Refers to all things
    • Example: Everything went according to plan.