Overview

A pronoun takes the place of, or refers to, a noun, a group of words acting as a noun, or another pronoun in a sentence. The word or group of words to which a pronoun refers is called its antecedent. A pronoun must agree in number, gender, and person with its antecedent. A pronoun should not refer to more than one antecedent. Personal pronouns refer to persons or things and have three cases: nominative, objective, and possessive. The case of a personal pronoun depends on the pronoun's function in a sentence.

The nominative case pronouns include who, I, you, she, he, it, we, you, and they. They can function as a simple subject, as part of a compound subject, or as a predicate nominative. In the following sentence, the nominative pronoun functions as a single subject. We ski every winter. In formal writing, the nominative case pronouns should follow any form of the linking verb be: The best skier is she. Use the nominative case for a pronoun that is in apposition (near or next) to a subject or a predicate nominative. For example: The best skiers, she and George, mastered the most difficult slope.

Objective case pronouns include whom, me, you, her, him, it, us, you, and them. Each can function as the direct or indirect object of either a verb or a preposition: Roland sees her at the slope. In this example, the objective case pronoun, her, is a direct object. Use the objective case for a pronoun that is in apposition to a direct or indirect object or an object of a preposition. For example: Roland watches the best skiers, George and her, at the slope.

Possessive case pronouns include my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, its, our, ours, your, yours, their, and theirs. Possessive case pronouns are used to indicate ownership. They are also used before gerunds, and they never include apostrophes: My jacket weighs more than yours. The pronouns my and yours indicate ownership of two jackets.

When a pronoun is followed by an appositive, choose the case of the pronoun that would be correct if the appositive were omitted: We skiers are an adventurous bunch. In elliptical adverb clauses using than and as, choose the case of the pronoun that you would use if the missing words were fully expressed: Rhonda skies more skillfully than I.