English Grammar: Pronouns

Pronouns — Introduction

You learned in Grammar Unit One that a pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. Because pronouns can be used in place of nouns, they avoid the monotonous repetition of nouns. The following illustration shows what happens when we repeat the same noun too often in a sentence:

Alice went to Alice's room to dress because Alice was going to a reception given by Alice's club in Alice's honor.

This sentence is very awkward and monotonous because of the tiresome repetition of Alice and Alice's. When we rewrite the sentence and substitute pronouns for Alice and Alice's, we have a much better sentences.

Alice went to her room to dress because she was going to a reception given by her club in her honor.

You should not only learn how to use pronouns effectively, but you should also learn how to use them correctly. Many of the language errors that are commonly made are errors in the use of pronouns. These mistakes occur because some of the pronouns that we use constantly have a number of different forms.

As a student of English you should know how and when to use the different forms of pronouns. In order to do this, you must be familiar with the changes in form that certain pronouns undergo. To illustrate: The pronoun I is used as the subject of a sentence. When this same pronoun is used as the object of a preposition, the form changes to me. It is incorrect to say, "between you and I." The correct form of the pronoun to use in this phrase is me.

Illustrations of Changes in the Forms of Pronouns

I saw the accident. (The pronoun I is the subject.)

Jane saw me at the game. (The pronoun me is the object of saw.)

He won the first prize. (The pronoun he is the subject.)

We met him in the lobby. (The pronoun him is the object of met.)

In the first sentence, the pronoun I is used as the subject of the sentence.

In the second sentence, when this same person is used as the object of a verb, the form changes to me.

In the third sentence, the pronoun he is the subject of the sentence.

In the fourth sentence, when this same pronoun is used as the object of the verb met, the form changes to him.

Kinds of Pronouns

There are five groups or classes of pronouns in English: personal pronouns, interrogative pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and relative pronouns. The personal pronouns include the compound personal pronouns, and the relative pronouns include the compound relative pronouns.