1. Pronouns are usually short words. They are used to replace nouns.
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".)
2. "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".
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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 versions shown first above (like "he") are said to be in the subjective case; whereas, the second versions (like "him") are said to be in the objective case. This is covered more in the lessons "Nouns" and
"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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