1. Pronouns
When using pronouns, use them only after the noun to which they refer has
been clearly identified. Often when we write, we are so familiar with our
subject that we forget that the reader may not know who, or what the
subject is. "He gave them to her," seems to be a good sentence;
unfortunately we do not know what any of the pronouns refer to.
Personal Pronouns
In English, personal pronouns are the one area of grammar where it is
necessary to pay attention to case, that is, whether something is a subject,
object or possessive. Reflexive pronouns are also included in the following
table; they are used to provide emphasis in certain situations such as
pride of accomplishment, surprise, elation, etc.
Person subject/ predicate object possessive possessive + noun reflexive
nominative
SINGULAR First I me mine my myself
e.g. I have a book. e.g. Give me the book. e.g. The book is mine. e.g. It is my book. e.g. I did it myself.
Second you you yours your yourself
e.g. You have a book. e.g. I will give you the book. e.g. The book is e.g. It is your book. e.g. You did it yourself.
yours.
Third he / she / it him / her / it his / hers / its his / her / its himself/herself
e.g. He/she/ it has a e.g. I will give him/her/it the e.g. The book is e.g. It is his/her book. e.g. He did it himself / She did it
book. book. his/hers. herself.
PLURAL First we us ours our ourselves
e.g. We have some e.g. Give us the books. e.g. The books are e.g. They are our e.g. We did it ourselves.
books. ours. books.
Second you you yours your yourselves
e.g. You have some e.g. I will give you the e.g. The books are e.g. They are your e.g. You did it yourselves.
books. books. yours. books.
Third they them theirs their themselves
e.g. They have some e.g. I will give them the e.g. The books are e.g. They are their e.g. They did it themselves.
books. books. theirs. books.
Relative Pronouns
The main problem with relative pronouns is distinguishing between who
and whom. A simple way to determine which one is needed is to substitute
a personal pronoun for the relative pronoun. If the personal pronoun used is
he or she , then who should be used; if the personal pronoun used is him or
her, then use whom. Look at the relevant sentences in the following chart.
Pronoun Used for Usage Example
who person/people subject pronoun I liked the woman. She was so friendly.
(Replace ‘she’) ® I liked the woman who was so friendly.
that thing/things subject pronoun I wanted the dress. It was such a good price.
(sometimes people) (Replace ‘it’) ® I wanted the dress that was such a good price.
I liked the woman. She was so friendly.
(Replace ‘she’) ® I liked the woman that was so friendly.
object (pronoun) The dress was a good price. I saw it at Baileys.
(Replace ‘it’) ® The dress that I saw at Baileys was a good price.
which thing/things subject pronoun The dress was a good price. I saw it at Baileys.
(Replace ‘it’) ® The dress, which I saw at Baileys, was a good price.
object pronoun I wanted the dress. It was such a good price.
(Replace ‘it’) ® The dress, which I wanted, was such a good price.
whose person/people possessive pronoun I have a friend. His parents are rich.
(Replace ‘his’) ® I have a friend whose parents are rich.
whom person/people object pronoun The girl is Susan. I like her a lot.
(Replace ‘her’) ® The girl whom I like a lot is Susan.
object after a preposition She is the girl. I told you about her.

2. (Replace ‘it’) ® The dress, which I wanted, was such a good price.
whose person/people possessive pronoun I have a friend. His parents are rich.
(Replace ‘his’) ® I have a friend whose parents are rich.
whom person/people object pronoun The girl is Susan. I like her a lot.
(Replace ‘her’) ® The girl whom I like a lot is Susan.
object after a preposition She is the girl. I told you about her.
(Replaces ‘her’) ® She is the girl about whom I told you / She is the girl whom I told you about.
where place there/it The shop is downtown. We work there.
(Replace ‘there’) ® The shop where we work is downtown.