Pronouns © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

What is a pronoun? A pronoun replaces nouns or other pronouns in a sentence so that you do not have to repeat them. In the following sentence, her is a pronoun that replaces Traci: Traci gave me her number. The noun or pronoun that a pronoun replaces is called the antecedent. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Common Pronouns: © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Keep in mind the following points about pronouns: A pronoun must agree with the noun it refers to in number: Both must be singular (one) or plural (more than one). The Trans sold their house. The pronoun their agrees with the Trans because both are plural. If a pronoun refers to a singular noun, it must also match that noun in gender: he for masculine nouns, she for feminine nouns, and it for genderless nouns. Mike likes his coffee hot. His agrees with Mike because both are singular and masculine. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Indefinite Pronouns and Collective Nouns Indefinite pronouns (like anybody, everyone, and somebody) often take singular verbs. Collective nouns (like audience, class, and group) are often singular, unless the people in a group are acting separately. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Pronouns A pronoun should refer to only one noun, and it should be clear what that noun is. UNCLEAR: Manuel told Robert that he had to work. [Which one of them had to work?] CLEAR: Manuel told Robert to work. A pronoun should replace the subject of the sentence, not repeat it. INCORRECT: The letter carrier, he came at noon. CORRECT: The letter carrier came at noon. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Important pronoun types: © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Pronoun Types A subject pronoun serves as the subject of a verb: She likes canoeing. An object pronoun either receives the action of the verb: Carol took me to the store. Or is part of a prepositional phrase: Raul gave the watch to me. Possessive pronouns show ownership: That car is mine. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Be careful with pronoun usage in the following types of sentences: Those with more than one subject or object: Lula and I work together. Lula works with Joe and me. Those presenting comparisons: Collette drives faster than I. Collette likes Tina more than me. (This means Collette likes Tina more than she likes me.) Those with who or whom. Who is always a subject; whom is always an object. Rick is the man who works at my company. Rick is the man to whom I sent the memo. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Complete the following sentence with the correct pronoun: The company laid off all of ____ employees. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: The company laid off all of its employees. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Complete the following sentence with the correct pronoun: (continued 1) No one wants to have ____ identity stolen. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: (continued 1) No one wants to have his or her identity stolen. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Complete the following sentence with the correct pronoun: (continued 2) Each of the brothers had ____ own bedroom. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: (continued 2) Each of the brothers had his own bedroom. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Complete the following sentence with the correct pronoun: (continued 3) April and ____ go to the movies every Saturday night. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: (continued 3) April and I go to the movies every Saturday night. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Complete the following sentence with the correct pronoun: (continued 4) Johnny Depp is the actor _____ played Edward Scissorhands. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: (continued 4) Johnny Depp is the actor who played Edward Scissorhands. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Complete the following sentence with the correct pronoun: (continued 5) The person with ____ you spoke no longer works at this office. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Answer: (continued 5) The person with whom you spoke no longer works at this office. © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Finding and Fixing Pronoun Problems © 2016 by Bedford/St. Martin’s