The (Pretty) Pronoun Page
You get tired of using the same noun over and over and over again.
You're talking about Fred, say. Fred did this, Fred did that, Fred went here, Fred wet his pants.
Whew! It's nice to break up all those Freds.
You need a word to take the place of Fred. A more general term that will replace a noun.
Enter the pronouns. He, she, it, we, you, they, etc.
Note: There is no such thing as an "amateur" noun. . .
Sometimes if you over use pronouns, the noun they replace gets lost.
This seems especially true with the pronoun "it."
"It is raining." WHAT??? is raining?
Huh?
On the other hand, confusing uses of "it" are what make some bumper stickers work: "Teachers do it with class" for instance.
But this is almost always naughty so don't do it.
The word a pronoun replaces is called an "antecedent."
There's a whole skill covered in this program about having and, better yet, not having, confusing antecedents.
If you'd like to take a minute to look it over (just click "Back" on your browser when you want to return here.), click [Unclear Antecedents].
Examples of pronouns:
Fred is my friend. (no pronouns yet)
He and I go fishing together. ("he" takes the place of Fred; "I" takes the place of Victor.)
Or we used to until he got busted for fishing without a license.( "we" takes the place of Fred & Victor; "he" takes the place of Fred.)
They are all pronouns. (And so is "they")
Personal Pronouns :
"Personal pronouns" are the ones we use for people. Duh!
What makes it a little tricky is that we have three ways, or "cases", of using them in sentences:
1. Nominative. This means that the pronoun is being used as the subject of the sentence, or, in the case of a , used as the word being linked. Here's one being a subject: linking verb
He is the loser.
Here's the same one being linked:
The loser is he.
2. Possessive. This means a pronoun used to show possession. His deal. Her fault. Their problem.
3. Objective. This means a pronoun used as the direct or indirect object of a sentence, or as an object of a preposition.
Here's a direct object one:
Susan threw him across the room.
And here's an object of a preposition:
Susan gave the engagement ring back to him.
These two are discussed in more detail elsewhere in the program: Direct Object and Indirect Object. More about prepositional phrases may be found: Prepositional Phrases.
Pronoun Chart
Most grammar books will have a chart showing all the possible personal pronouns..
If you like working with computers, try doing your own chart.
If you don't like to work with computers (or you really are as lazy as people say), you may use the chart in this program. Just click: Pronoun Chart.
What is a big deal is making sure, when wanting to write in "standard" English, that you do not misplace them.
Do not say "to he" which is using a nominative pronoun in an objective spot.
You gotta say "to him".
Examples:
I gave him their ball.
"I" is first person, nominative, singular (I love the sound of that!)
"him" is third person objective, singular.
"their" is third person possessive plural.
In standard English, do not say: "Me gave he them ball."
Unless you are either Tarzan or wish you were.
To return to Step Two, please click : Step Two.
