Pronouns: Substitution Over Repetition

What is a Pronoun?

Repetitive words in a sentence or paragraph can be tiring to read. Good thing pronouns exist. “Celina borrowed a book weeks ago, but Celina has not read the book yet” sounds too long. A pronoun is a word that substitutes a noun. As you already know, a noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. A pronoun stands for any of those. “Celina borrowed a book weeks ago, but she has not read it yet” sounds better. The noun a pronoun substitutes is called an antecedent.

This image highlights the pronouns and antecedents in the sentence, "Celina borrowed a book weeks ago, but she has not read it yet." 'Celina' is an antecedent in the sentence and 'she' is the corresponding pronoun. 'Book' is another antecedent with the corresponding pronoun being 'it.'

Cases of Pronouns: Nominative, Objective, Possessive

To use pronouns properly, we must know their different cases. Pronouns change forms depending on how they relate to the other words in a sentence. A pronoun can be a subject (nominative case), an object of a verb or a preposition (objective case), and an indication of ownership (possessive case).

Nominative Case	Objective Case	Possessive Case
	*Singular*
I	me	my, mine
you	you	your, yours
he, she, it	him, her	his, her
		hers, its
	*Plural*
we	us	our, ours
you	you	your, yours
they	them	their, theirs

1. The Nominative Case

A pronoun used as a subject of a verb is in the nominative case.

I live to the fullest. [ I is the subject of the verb live.]
They created a chaos. [They is the subject of the verb created.]
She and I joined the contest. [She and I are the subjects of the verb joined.]

NOTE: Common usage error occurs when more than one subject is used. In the last example, some would mistakenly use me instead of I and say, “She and me joined the contest.” Remember that the sentence calls for a subject pronoun which is I. To avoid this mistake, test the sentence by simplifying it.

Wrong: Me joined.
Correct: I joined.

2. The Objective Case

A pronoun used as a direct or indirect object of a verb is in the objective case.

Isabel left him. [Him is the direct object of the verb left.]
The professor gave us good grades. [Us is the indirect object of the verb gave; us tells to whom the professor gave good grades.]
The president failed him and me. [Him and me are direct objects of the verb failed; they tell whom the president failed.]

NOTE: Common mistakes occur when more than one pronoun is used in the objective case. In the last example, some would mistakenly use the nominative case I instead of me. To avoid confusion, remember that me is an object of a verb that tells whom or to whom an action is performed. Whom did the president fail? Me. To whom was the letter addressed? Me.

Pronouns in Prepositional Phrases

Aside from being an object of verb, a pronoun is also used as an object of preposition, which forms a prepositional phrase. A prepositional phrase contains a preposition that occurs before a noun or pronoun. When used as an object of preposition, make sure the pronoun is in the objective case.

with them
because of you
near me
for him

NOTE: When more than one noun or pronoun is used in a prepositional phrase, do not be misled by the word that precedes the pronoun. Use the objective case of the pronoun/s involved.

Jake was working with Holt and her yesterday.
She will not win without Mom and me.
Phoebe will never come near them or us.

3. The Possessive Case

A pronoun used to show ownership or possession is in the possessive case.

His heart has always been hers.
You shouldn’t take what isn’t yours.
Its left door is broken.

NOTE: Do not put an apostrophe in the word its when it is used in the possessive case. It’s is a contraction of it is or it has, while its is a pronoun indicating possession.

The machine is on its last legs. [Its is a possessive pronoun with machine as the antecedent.]
It’s hard to believe him. [It’s means it is.]

Types of Pronouns

Now that you know how to use a pronoun in different cases, let’s discuss more about the its types. Remember that some of the pronouns belong to more than one category.

1. Personal Pronouns

A personal pronoun is a word that substitutes a person’s name. Pronouns in the nominative and objective cases are personal pronouns. They are you, I, me, she, her, he, him, they, them, it, we, and us.

Ren works out when she is not busy.
She said love is enough, but it is not.

2. Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun connects clauses to one another. It adds details in the sentence which may be restrictive or nonrestrictive. Relative pronouns include that, what, which, who, where, and whom.

Mom was mad about the exam that failed.
What scares me is its unpredictability.
Allena, who just turned 15, was born in the island.
To whom are you listening?

NOTE: To avoid confusion about who and whom, keep in mind that who is a subject pronoun, while whom is an object pronoun. Try this trick: If you can answer or replace whom with him or her, use whom. In short, if you can use him, use whom. To whom are you listening? To him.

Jonathan is my best friend whom I’ve known for five years. [Test the sentence: I’ve known him for five years.]

On the other hand, use who if you can answer or replace it with she or he. Who turned 15? She did.

He was the one who decided to leave. [Test the sentence and replace who with he: He decided to leave.]

3. Demonstrative Pronouns

A demonstrative pronoun substitutes for a noun or noun phrase. That, this, these and those are demonstrative pronouns.

During the lockdown, she learned how to cook, paint, and dance. These skills are useful for her work.

4. Indefinite Pronouns

An indefinite pronoun is used to refer to non-specific person, thing, place, or idea. Indefinite pronouns include: one, other, none, some, anybody, everybody, and no one. When used as a subject, indefinite pronouns usually take singular verbs.

He can talk to anybody.
Some of the coffee was spilled.

5. Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Reflexive and intensive pronouns both end in -self or -selves: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. However, they differ in use.

Use a reflexive pronoun when both the subject and object of a verb are the same.

Chester taught himself how to ride a motorcycle. [Himself refers to Chester who is both the subject and the object of the verb taught.]
My classmates locked themselves in. [Themselves refers to classmates who is both the subject and the object of the verb locked.]

Use an intensive pronoun to add emphasis to the noun or pronoun it refers to.

I wrote it myself. [Myself adds emphasis to the pronoun I. “I wrote it myself” means the same thing as “I wrote it.”]
It is Amanda herself who is at fault. [Herself adds emphasis to the noun Amanda. The sentence would mean the same as “It is Amanda who is at fault.”]

6. Possessive Pronouns

We’ve discussed possessive pronouns earlier, so let’s just have more examples. Possessive pronouns are used to show possession or ownership. These include: my, mine, our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs, her, hers, his, it, and its.

NOTE: Do not use an apostrophe on possessive pronouns unless it serves what you mean.

I like the book and its ending. [Its refers to book.]
His faith in the government remains strong; mine’s gone. [Mine’s is a contraction of mine is. Mine refers to faith.]