What Is A Pronoun?: Your Writing, at Its Best

What Is a Pronoun?
Pronouns make up a small subcategory of nouns. The distinguishing

characteristic of pronouns is that they can be substituted for other
nouns. For instance, if you’re telling a story about your sister Sarah,
the story will begin to sound repetitive if you keep repeating “Sarah”
over and over again.
Sarah has always loved fashion. Sarah announced that Sarah wants to go to
fashion school.
You could try to mix it up by sometimes referring to Sarah as “my

sister,” but then it sounds like you’re referring to two different
people.
Sarah has always loved fashion. My sister announced that Sarah wants to go
to fashion school.
Instead, you can use the pronouns she and her to refer to Sarah.
Sarah has always loved fashion. She announced that she wants to go to
fashion school.
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Personal Pronouns
There are a few different types of pronouns, and some pronouns
belong to more than one category. She and her are known as
personal pronouns. The other personal pronouns are I and me,
you, he and him, it, we and us, and they and them. If you learned
about pronouns in school, these are probably the words your
teacher focused on. We’ll get to the other types of pronouns in a
moment.
Antecedents
Pronouns are versatile. The pronoun it can refer to just about

anything: a bike, a tree, a movie, a feeling. That’s why you need an
antecedent. An antecedent is a noun or noun phrase that you
mention at the beginning of a sentence or story and later replace
with a pronoun. In the examples below, the antecedent is
highlighted and the pronoun that replaces it is bolded.
My family drives me nuts, but I love them. The sign was too far away for
Henry to read it. Sarah said she is almost finished with the application.
In some cases, the antecedent doesn’t need to be mentioned

explicitly, as long as the context is totally clear. It’s usually clear
who the pronouns I, me, and you refer to based on who is speaking.
It’s also possible to use a pronoun before you mention the

antecedent, but try to avoid doing it in long or complex sentences
because it can make the sentence hard to follow.
I love them, but my family drives me nuts.

Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns make up another class of pronouns. They are

used to connect relative clauses to independent clauses. Often, they
introduce additional information about something mentioned in the
sentence. Relative pronouns include that, what, which, who, and
whom. Traditionally, who refers to people, and which and that refer
to animals or things.
The woman who called earlier didn’t leave a message. All the dogs that got
adopted today will be loved. My car , which is nearly twenty years old, still
runs well.
Whether you need commas with who, which, and that depends on
whether the clause is restrictive or nonrestrictive.
Who vs. Whom—Subject and Object

Pronouns
Now that we’ve talked about relative pronouns, let’s tackle the one
that causes the most confusion: who vs. whom. Who is a subject
pronoun, like I, he, she, we, and they. Whom is an object pronoun,
like me, him, her, us and them. When the pronoun is the object of a
verb or preposition, the object form is the one you want. Most
people don’t have much trouble with the objective case of personal
pronouns because they usually come immediately after the verb or
preposition that modifies it.
Please mail it to I.
Please mail it to me.
Ms. Higgins caught they passing notes.
Ms. Higgins caught them passing notes.
Is this cake for we?
Is this cake for us?
Whom is trickier, though, because it usually comes before the verb

or preposition that modifies it.
Whom did you speak to earlier?
A man, whom I have never seen before, was asking about you.
Whom should I say is calling?
One way to test whether you need who or whom is to try

substituting a personal pronoun. Find the place where the personal
pronoun would normally go and see whether the subject or object
form makes more sense.
Who/whom did you speak to earlier? Did you speak to he/him

earlier?
A man, whom I have never seen before, was asking about you.
Have I seen he/him before?
Whom should I say is calling? Should I say she/her is calling?
If the object pronoun (him or her) sounds right, use whom. If the
subject pronoun (he or she) sounds right, use who.
Before we move on, there’s one more case where the choice
between subject and object pronouns can be confusing. Can you
spot the problem in the sentences below?
Henry is meeting Sarah and I this afternoon. There are no secrets between
you and I. It doesn’t matter to him or I.
In each of the sentences above, the pronoun I should be me. If you

remove the other name or pronoun from the sentence, it becomes
obvious.
Henry is meeting I this afternoon. No one keeps secrets from I. It doesn’t

matter to I.
Demonstrative Pronouns
That, this, these and those are demonstrative pronouns. They take
the place of a noun or noun phrase that has already been
mentioned.
This is used for singular items that are nearby. These is used for
multiple items that are nearby. The distance can be physical or
metaphorical.
Here is a letter with no return address. Who could have sent this? What a
fantastic idea! This is the best thing I’ve heard all day. If you think gardenias
smell nice, try smelling these.
That is used for singular items that are far away. Those is used for
multiple items that are far away. Again, the distance can be physical
or metaphorical.
A house like that would be a nice place to live. Some new flavors of soda
came in last week. Why don’t you try some of those? Those aren’t swans,
they’re geese.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns are used when you need to refer to a person or

thing that doesn’t need to be specifically identified. Some common
indefinite pronouns are one, other, none, some, anybody,
everybody, and no one.
Everybody was late to work because of the traffic jam. It matters more to
some than others. Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.
When indefinite pronouns function as subjects of a sentence or

clause, they usually take singular verbs.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves: myself, yourself, himself,

herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
Use a reflexive pronoun when both the subject and object of a verb
refer to the same person or thing.
Henry cursed himself for his poor eyesight. They booked themselves a room
at the resort. I told myself it was nothing.
Intensive pronouns look the same as reflexive pronouns, but their

purpose is different. Intensive pronouns add emphasis.
I built this house myself. Did you yourself see Loretta spill the coffee?
“I built this house” and “I built this house myself” mean almost the
same thing. But “myself” emphasizes that I personally built the
house—I didn’t hire someone else to do it for me. Likewise, “Did you
see Loretta spill the coffee?” and “Did you yourself see Loretta spill
the coffee?” have similar meanings. But “yourself” makes it clear
that the person asking wants to know whether you actually
witnessed the incident or whether you only heard it described by
someone else.
Occasionally, people are tempted to use myself where they should

use me because it sounds a little fancier. Don’t fall into that trap! If
you use a -self form of a pronoun, make sure it matches one of the
uses above.
Please call Sarah or myself if you are going to be late. Loretta, Henry, and
myself are pleased to welcome you to the neighborhood.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns come in two flavors: limiting and absolute. My,

your, its, his, her, our, their and whose are used to show that
something belongs to an antecedent.
Sarah is working on her application. Just put me back on my bike. The

students practiced their presentation after school.
The absolute possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, ours,
and theirs. The absolute forms can be substituted for the thing that
belongs to the antecedent.
Are you finished with your application? Sarah already finished hers. The blue
bike is mine. I practiced my speech and the students practiced theirs.
Some possessive pronouns are easy to mix up with similar-looking

contractions. Remember, possessive personal pronouns don’t
include apostrophes.
Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are used in questions. The interrogative

pronouns are who, what, which, and whose.
Who wants a bag of jelly beans? What is your name? Which movie do you
want to watch? Whose jacket is this?

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What Is a Pronoun?

Pronouns make up a small subcategory of nouns. The distinguishing

You could try to mix it up by sometimes referring to Sarah as “my

Your writing, at its best.

Pronouns are versatile. The pronoun it can refer to just about

In some cases, the antecedent doesn’t need to be mentioned

It’s also possible to use a pronoun before you mention the

I love them, but my family drives me nuts.

Relative pronouns make up another class of pronouns. They are

Who vs. Whom—Subject and Object

Please mail it to me.

Ms. Higgins caught they passing notes.

Ms. Higgins caught them passing notes.

Is this cake for we?

Is this cake for us?

Whom is trickier, though, because it usually comes before the verb

Whom did you speak to earlier?

Whom should I say is calling?

One way to test whether you need who or whom is to try

Who/whom did you speak to earlier? Did you speak to he/him

Whom should I say is calling? Should I say she/her is calling?

In each of the sentences above, the pronoun I should be me. If you

Henry is meeting I this afternoon. No one keeps secrets from I. It doesn’t

Indefinite pronouns are used when you need to refer to a person or

When indefinite pronouns function as subjects of a sentence or

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves: myself, yourself, himself,

Intensive pronouns look the same as reflexive pronouns, but their

Occasionally, people are tempted to use myself where they should

Possessive pronouns come in two flavors: limiting and absolute. My,

Sarah is working on her application. Just put me back on my bike. The

Some possessive pronouns are easy to mix up with similar-looking

Interrogative pronouns are used in questions. The interrogative

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