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Personal Pronouns

March 14, 2014 by Bret Tutor

Personal Pronouns


I lost 20 pounds.

Specific things or people are represented by personal pronouns. These pronouns are used based on:

  • Number: singular (I) or plural (we)
  • Person: 1st person (I), 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he)
  • Gender: male (he), female (she) or neuter (it)
  • Case: subject (we) or object (us)

Personal pronouns are often used in place of the individual being spoken about. My name is Emily, but when I talk about myself I use me or I and not Emily. Whenever I am speaking directly to you, I generally use you and not your actual name. Whenever I speak about another individual, such as Susan, I might begin by saying Susan, but often use she or her later on.

Personal pronouns are outlined in the chart below, as well as some examples:

number person gender personal pronouns
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 all of the cases, the first example will show you a subject pronoun, while the second will show you an object pronoun:
I, me

  • I lost 20 pounds.
  • Sherry worked out with me.

You

  • Do you want to go to the movies this weekend?
  • I enjoy spending time with you.

He, him

  • He has an appointment with the specialist.
  • Are you going with him?

She, her

  • She likes baking cookies for the troops.
  • Are you going to help her?

It

  • It stopped working yesterday.
  • Can you fix it?

We, us

  • We got a new puppy.
  • My mom and dad took us.

You

  • Do you have any change for a 20?
  • Can you trade me bills?

They, them

  • They ate at Long John Silvers.
  • Tim and I joined them.

Whenever we are speaking about just one thing, we normally use it, but there are a few different exceptions to the rule. Sometimes, we might refer to animals as she/her or he/him, especially when they are a family pet. In some countries, ships are treated as females and called she/her. Examples of this are:

  • Sam is such a beautiful cat. He likes to play a lot too.
  • The USS Arizona was an amazing ship, but she was destroyed in Pearl Harbor.
  • My last car lasted a long time. I was sad to see her breakdown.
  • Canada is a beautiful country. You have to make the time to visit her one of these days.

When referring to a single individual, we might not always know whether we should use he or she. In this case, multiple solutions exist to solve the problem.

  • If the teenager wants to go to the concert, he or she should get permission first.
  • If the teenager wants to go to the concert, he should get permission first.
  • If the teenager wants to go to the concert, they should get permission first.

It is used when we are making remarks or statements:

  • It is a lot of fun to be around Tim.
  • It is always good to be on time.
  • It‘ is hard to find a good babysitter in town.
  • Is it hard to find a job?
  • It doesn’t take long to get to work.

It is also used quite often when talking about temperature, time, weather and distance:

  • It‘s going to snow all day tomorrow.
  • It is 30 degrees outside.
  • Is it far from here?
  • It is five in the afternoon.
[slickquiz id=26]

Filed Under: Pronouns Tagged With: Grammar, Personal Pronouns

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