Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns represent specific people or things. We use them depending on:

number: singular (eg: I) or plural (eg: we)
person: 1st person (eg: I), 2nd person (eg: you) or 3rd person (eg: he)
gender: male (eg: he), female (eg: she) or neuter (eg: it)
case: subject (eg: we) or object (eg: us)

We use personal pronouns in place of the person or people that we are talking about. My name is Josef but when I am talking about myself I almost always use "I" or "me", not "Josef". When I am talking direct to you, I almost always use "you", not your name. When I am talking about another person, say John, I may start with "John" but then use "he" or "him". And so on.

Here are the personal pronouns, followed by some example sentences:

number	person	gender	personal pronouns
number	person	gender	subject	object
singular	1st	male/ female	I	me
	2nd	male/ female	you	you
	3rd	male	he	him
		female	she	her
		neuter	it	it
plural	1st	male/ female	we	us
	2nd	male/ female	you	you
	3rd	male/ female/ neuter	they	them

Examples (in each pair, the first sentence shows a subject pronoun, the second an object pronoun):

I like coffee. / John helped me.
Do you like coffee? / John loves you.
He runs fast. / Did Ram beat him?
She is clever. / Does Mary know her?
It doesn't work. / Can the man fix it?
We went home. / Anthony drove us.
Do you need a table for three? / Did John and Mary beat you at doubles?
They played doubles. / John and Mary beat them.

When we are talking about a single thing, we almost always use it. However, there are a few exceptions. We may sometimes refer to an animal as he/him or she/her, especially if the animal is domesticated or a pet. Ships (and some other vessels or vehicles) as well as some countries are often treated as female and referred to as she/her. Here are some examples:

This is our dog Rusty. He's an Alsatian.
The Titanic was a great ship but she sank on her first voyage.
My first car was a Mini and I treated her like my wife.
Thailand has now opened her border with Cambodia.

For a single person, sometimes we don't know whether to use he or she. There are several solutions to this:

If a teacher needs help, he or she should see the principal.
If a teacher needs help, he should see the principal.
If a teacher needs help, they should see the principal.

We often use it to introduce a remark:

It is nice to have a holiday sometimes.
It is important to dress well.
It's difficult to find a job.
Is it normal to see them together?
It didn't take long to walk here.

We also often use it to talk about the weather, temperature, time and distance:

It's raining.
It will probably be hot tomorrow.
Is it nine o'clock yet?
It's 50 kilometres from here to Cambridge.

Demonstrative Pronouns

demonstrate (verb): to show; to indicate; to point to

A demonstrative pronoun represents a thing or things:

near in distance or time (this, these)
far in distance or time (that, those)

	near •	far ⇒
singular 📗	this	that
plural 📗📗📗	these	those

Here are some examples with demonstrative pronouns, followed by an illustration:

This tastes good.
Have you seen this?
These are bad times.
Do you like these?
That is beautiful.
Look at that!
Those were the days!
Can you see those?
This is heavier than that.
These are bigger than those.

Do not confuse demonstrative pronouns with demonstrative adjectives. They are identical, but a demonstrative pronoun stands alone, while a demonstrative adjective qualifies a noun.

That smells. (demonstrative pronoun)
That book is good. (demonstrative adjective + noun)

Normally we use demonstrative pronouns for things only. But we can use them for people when the person is identified. Look at these examples:

This is Josef speaking. Is that Mary?
That sounds like John.

Possessive Pronouns

We use possessive pronouns to refer to a specific person/people or thing/things (the "antecedent") belonging to a person/people (and sometimes belonging to an animal/animals or thing/things).

We use possessive pronouns depending on:

number: singular (eg: mine) or plural (eg: ours)
person: 1st person (eg: mine), 2nd person (eg: yours) or 3rd person (eg: his)
gender: male (his), female (hers)

Below are the possessive pronouns, followed by some example sentences. Notice that each possessive pronoun can:

be subject or object
refer to a singular or plural antecedent

number	person	gender (of "owner")	possessive pronouns
singular	1st	male/ female	mine
	2nd	male/ female	yours
	3rd	male	his
	3rd	female	hers
plural	1st	male/ female	ours
	2nd	male/ female	yours
	3rd	male/ female/ neuter	theirs

Look at these pictures. Mine is the big one. (subject = My picture)
I like your flowers. Do you like mine? (object = my flowers)
I looked everywhere for your key. I found John's key but I couldn't find yours. (object = your key)
My flowers are dying. Yours are lovely. (subject = Your flowers)
All the essays were good but his was the best. (subject = his essay)
John found his passport but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her passport)
John found his clothes but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her clothes)
Here is your car. Ours is over there, where we left it. (subject = Our car)
Your photos are good. Ours are terrible. (subject = Our photos)
Each couple's books are colour-coded. Yours are red. (subject = Your books)
I don't like this family's garden but I like yours. (object = your garden)
These aren't John and Mary's children. Theirs have black hair. (subject = Their children)
John and Mary don't like your car. Do you like theirs? (object = their car)

Notice that the following (with apostrophe [']) do NOT exist: ~~her's, your's, their's~~

Notice that the interrogative pronoun whose can also be a possessive pronoun (an interrogative possessive pronoun). Look at these examples:

There was $100 on the table and Tara wondered whose it was.
This car hasn't moved for two months. Whose is it?

Interrogative Pronouns

We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions. The interrogative pronoun represents the thing that we don't know (what we are asking the question about).

There are four main interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which

Notice that the possessive pronoun whose can also be an interrogative pronoun (an interrogative possessive pronoun).

	subject	object
person	who	whom
thing	what
person/ thing	which
person	whose

Notice that whom is the correct form when the pronoun is the object of the verb, as in "Whom did you see?" ("I saw John.") However, in normal, spoken English we rarely use whom. Most native speakers would say (or even write): "Who did you see?"

Look at these example questions. In the sample answers, the noun phrase that the interrogative pronoun represents is shown in bold.

question	answer
Who told you?	John told me.	subject
Whom did you tell?	I told Mary.	object
What's happened?	An accident's happened.	subject
What do you want?	I want coffee.	object
Which came first?	The Porsche 911 came first.	subject
Which will the doctor see first?	The doctor will see the patient in blue first.	object
There's one car missing. Whose hasn't arrived?	John's (car) hasn't arrived.	subject
We've found everyone's keys. Whose did you find?	I found John's (keys).	object

Note that we sometimes use the suffix "-ever" to make compounds from some of these pronouns (mainly whoever, whatever, whichever). When we add "-ever", we use it for emphasis, often to show confusion or surprise. Look at these examples:

Whoever would want to do such a nasty thing?
Whatever did he say to make her cry like that?
They're all fantastic! Whichever will you choose?

Reflexive Pronouns

reflexive (adj.) [grammar]: reflecting back on the subject, like a mirror

We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).

There are eight reflexive pronouns:

	reflexive pronoun
singular	myself yourself himself, herself, itself
plural	ourselves yourselves themselves

Look at these examples:

non-reflexive the underlined words are NOT the same person/thing	REFLEXIVE pronouns the underlined words are the SAME person/thing
John saw me.	I saw myself in the mirror.
Why does he blame you?	Why do you blame yourself?
David sent him a copy.	John sent himself a copy.
David sent her a copy.	Mary sent herself a copy.
My dog hurt the cat.	My dog hurt itself.
We blame you.	We blame ourselves.
Can you help my children?	Can you help yourselves?
They cannot look after the babies.	They cannot look after themselves.

Intensive pronouns

Notice that all the above reflexive pronouns can also act as intensive pronouns, but the function and usage are different. An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent. Look at these example reflexive and intensive pronouns (which ones are intensive?):

I made it myself. OR I myself made it.
Have you yourself seen it? OR Have you seen it yourself?
The President himself promised to stop the war.
She spoke to me herself. OR She herself spoke to me.
The exam itself wasn't difficult, but the exam room was horrible.
Never mind. We'll do it ourselves.
You yourselves asked us to do it.
They recommend this book even though they themselves had never read it. OR They recommend this book even though they had never read it themselves.

Reciprocal Pronouns

reciprocal (adj.): given or done in return; [grammar] expressing mutual action

We use reciprocal pronouns when each of two or more subjects is acting in the same way towards the other. For example, A is talking to B, and B is talking to A. So we say:

A and B are talking to each other.

The action is "reciprocated". John talks to Mary and Mary talks to John. I give you a present and you give me a present. The dog bites the cat and the cat bites the dog.

There are only two reciprocal pronouns, and they are both two words:

each other
one another

When we use these reciprocal pronouns:

there must be two or more people, things or groups involved (so we cannot use reciprocal pronouns with I, you [singular], he/she/it)
they must be doing the same thing

Look at these examples:

John and Mary love each other.
Peter and David hate each other.
The ten prisoners were all blaming one another.
Both teams played hard against each other.
We gave each other gifts.
Why don't you believe each other?
They can't see each other.
The gangsters were fighting one another.
The boats were bumping against each other in the storm.

You probably noticed that each other is used in more examples above than one another. That's because in general we use one another (which sounds a little formal) less often than we use each other. Also, some people say that we should use one another only for three or more people or things, but there is no real justification for this.

Indefinite Pronouns

An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not definite". Some typical indefinite pronouns are:

all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody/someone

Note that many indefinite pronouns also function as other parts of speech. Look at "another" in the following sentences:

He has one job in the day and another at night. (pronoun)
I'd like another drink, please. (adjective)

Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some of them can be singular in one context and plural in another. The most common indefinite pronouns are listed below, with examples, as singular, plural or singular/plural.

Notice that a singular pronoun takes a singular verb AND that any personal pronoun should also agree (in number and gender). Look at these examples:

Each of the players has a doctor.
I met two girls. One has given me her phone number.

Similarly, plural pronouns need plural agreement:

Many have expressed their views.

	pronoun	meaning	example
s i n g u l a r	another	an additional or different person or thing	That ice-cream was good. Can I have another?
	anybody/ anyone	no matter what person	Can anyone answer this question?
	anything	no matter what thing	The doctor needs to know if you have eaten anything in the last two hours.
	each	every one of two or more people or things, seen separately	Each has his own thoughts.
	either	one or the other of two people or things	Do you want tea or coffee? / I don't mind. Either is good for me.
	enough	as much or as many as needed	Enough is enough.
	everybody/ everyone	all people	We can start the meeting because everybody has arrived.
	everything	all things	They have no house or possessions. They lost everything in the earthquake.
	less	a smaller amount	"Less is more" (Mies van der Rohe)
	little	a small amount	Little is known about his early life.
	much	a large amount	Much has happened since we met.
	neither	not one and not the other of two people or things	I keep telling Jack and Jill but neither believes me.
	nobody/ no-one	no person	I phoned many times but nobody answered.
	nothing	no single thing, not anything	If you don't know the answer it's best to say nothing.
	one	an unidentified person	Can one smoke here? \| All the students arrived but now one is missing.
	other	a different person or thing from one already mentioned	One was tall and the other was short.
	somebody/ someone	an unspecified or unknown person	Clearly somebody murdered him. It was not suicide.
	something	an unspecified or unknown thing	Listen! I just heard something! What could it be?
	you	an unidentified person (informal)	And you can see why.
p l u r a l	both	two people or things, seen together	John likes coffee but not tea. I think both are good.
	few	a small number of people or things	Few have ever disobeyed him and lived.
	fewer	a reduced number of people or things	Fewer are smoking these days.
	many	a large number of people or things	Many have come already.
	others	other people; not us	I'm sure that others have tried before us.
	several	more than two but not many	They all complained and several left the meeting.
	they	people in general (informal)	They say that vegetables are good for you.
s i n g u l a r / p l u r a l	all	the whole quantity of something or of some things or people	All is forgiven. All have arrived.
	any	no matter how much or how many	Is any left? Are any coming?
	more	a greater quantity of something; a greater number of people or things	There is more over there. More are coming.
	most	the majority; nearly all	Most is lost. Most have refused.
	none	not any; no person or persons	They fixed the water so why is none coming out of the tap? I invited five friends but none have come.*
	some	an unspecified quantity of something; an unspecified number of people or things	Here is some. Some have arrived.
	such	of the type already mentioned	He was a foreigner and he felt that he was treated as such.

* Some people say that "none" should always take a singular verb, even when talking about countable nouns (eg five friends). They argue that "none" means "no one", and "one" is obviously singular. They say that "I invited five friends but none has come" is correct and "I invited five friends but none have come" is incorrect. Historically and grammatically there is little to support this view. "None" has been used for hundreds of years with both a singular and a plural verb, according to the context and the emphasis required.

That's Not My Job! This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

That's Not My Job!

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called a "relative" pronoun because it "relates" to the word that its relative clause modifies. Here is an example:

The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.

In the above example, "who":

relates to "The person", which "who phoned me last night" modifies
introduces the relative clause "who phoned me last night"

There are five basic relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that*

Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for people. Whose is for possession. Which is for things. That can be used for things and people only in defining relative clauses (clauses that are essential to the sentence and do not simply add extra information).**

Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and there is no difference between male and female.

Look at these examples showing defining and non-defining relative clauses:

	example sentences S=subject, O=object, P=possessive		notes
defining relative clauses	S	- The person who phoned me last night is my teacher. - The person that phoned me last night is my teacher.	"that" is preferable
	S	- The car which hit me was yellow. - The car that hit me was yellow.	"that" is preferable
	O	- The person whom I phoned last night is my teacher. - The people who I phoned last night are my teachers. - The person that I phoned last night is my teacher. - The person I phoned last night is my teacher.	"whom" is correct but formal relative pronoun is optional
	O	- The car which I drive is old. - The car that I drive is old. - The car I drive is old.	"that" is preferable to "which" relative pronoun is optional
	P	- The student whose phone just rang should stand up. - Students whose parents are wealthy pay extra.
	P	- The police are looking for the car whose driver was masked. - The police are looking for the car of which the driver was masked.	"whose" can be used with things "of which" is also possible
non-defining relative clauses	S	- Mrs Pratt, who is very kind, is my teacher.
	S	- The car, which was a taxi, exploded. - The cars, which were taxis, exploded.
	O	- Mrs Pratt, whom I like very much, is my teacher. - Mrs Pratt, who I like very much, is my teacher.	"whom" is correct but formal "who" is common in spoken English and informal written English
	O	- The car, which I was driving at the time, suddenly caught fire.
	P	- My brother, whose phone you just heard, is a doctor.
	P	- The car, whose driver jumped out just before the accident, was completely destroyed. - The car, the driver of which jumped out just before the accident, was completely destroyed.	"whose" can be used with things "of which" is also possible

*Not all grammar sources count "that" as a relative pronoun.

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Pronoun Types