Pronouns
Pronouns replace nouns. (Pronouns are usually short words.)
Examples:
 Clutching the coin, Maria ran to the shops. She went straight to the counter
and bought the sweets.
("She" is a pronoun. In this example, it replaces the noun "Maria". Pronouns
are used for brevity. Imagine how wearisome a long prose would be if the writer
used the full noun (in this case "Maria") every time.)
The 8-mile walk passes through pasture, parkland and woodland. It takes you
alongside many points of interest including a disused airfield.
("It" is a pronoun. In this example, it replaces "the 8-mile walk".)
Tell Peter that he can use the Ferrari tomorrow.
("He" is a pronoun. It replaces "Peter".)
Personal Pronouns
I, you, he, she, it, we, they and who are all pronouns. As these pronouns often replace nouns representing people, they are called the
'personal pronouns'.
In fact, there are several different types. See the lessons Different
Types of Pronouns.
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PERSONAL PRONOUNS CHANGE!
Personal pronouns change depending on the role they place in the sentence. In general, this does not cause difficulties for native English speakers. The changes are:
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I > me |
he > him |
she > her |
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we > us |
they > them |
who > whom |
'You' and 'it' never change. The pronouns shown first above (like 'I' and 'he') are said to be in the
'subjective case'; whereas, the second versions (like 'me' and 'him') are said to be in the
'objective case'. This is covered more in the lessons Who & Whom.
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WHO & WHOM
'Who' is the personal pronoun which causes the most confusion. In short, use 'who' when it is the
subject of a verb, else use 'whom'.
Who saw whom first?
(The first "who" is the subject of the verb 'to see'. The "whom" is not the subject of a verb.)
This is covered more in the lesson Who & Whom.
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