4/11/2019 What Is a Personal Pronouns?

Examples & Exercises

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Grammar rules › Pronouns › Personal Pronouns

Personal Pronouns
What is a Personal Pronoun?

A personal pronoun is a pronoun that is associated primarily with a particular

person, in the grammatical sense.

When discussing “person” in terms of the grammatical, the following rules apply:

First person, as in “I”

Second person, as in “you”
Third person, as in “It, he, she”

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Personal pronouns may take on various forms depending on number (singular

or plural for the most part). They may also take di erent forms depending on
case, gender, or formality. It is important to note that personal pronouns may
refer to objects, animals, or people.

Personal pronouns provide us with the following information:

The person – Who is speaking?

The number – Is the pronoun plural or singular?
The gender – Is the pronoun feminine, masculine, or neuter?

Examples of Personal Pronouns

The word “he” is an example of a personal pronoun. He is third person (because

he is the person being spoken about), singular, and masculine. The word “we” is
another example of a personal pronoun. We is rst person (because we are
speaking as a group), plural, and neuter.

In the following examples, personal pronouns are italicized.

1. You need to stop lying to me.

EX.
2. We would love for you to join us.
3. Come look at my cat! He has climbed to the top of that tree.

Personal Pronouns as Subject Pronouns

When a personal pronoun takes the place of a noun as the subject of a sentence,
it is both a personal pronoun and a subject pronoun. What is a subject
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pronoun? In essence, it’s any pronoun that is used to replace a common or

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proper noun as a sentence’s subject.

If you are using a personal pronoun to talk about a person, animal, place, or
thing that also happens to be the subject of a sentence, then it is classi ed as
both a personal pronoun and a subject pronoun.

Personal Pronouns as Object Pronouns

When a personal pronoun is the direct or indirect object of a verb, or when it is

used as the object of a preposition, it is called an object pronoun. What is an
object pronoun? It’s any pronoun that is a ected by the action the subject of the
sentence takes.

The personal pronouns that are used as object pronouns are di erent than the
personal pronouns that are used as subject pronouns, but they are just as
important. There are seven object pronouns that also happen to be personal
pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, and them.

How Are Subject Pronouns and Object Pronouns Related to

Personal Pronouns?
Like all personal pronouns, subject pronouns and object pronouns are used to
eliminate repetition within sentences. Additionally, they are always associated
with a speci c person, group, animal, or inanimate object.

Sometimes it can be di cult to tell the di erence between subject and object
pronouns. It can be helpful to remember that a subject is what a sentence is
about, while an object is a ected by the action of the subject.

Just like other personal pronouns, subject pronouns and object pronouns can
take on di erent forms depending on number, i.e. whether they are singular or
plural. Additionally, they can be used with any of the three grammatical persons,
i.e. rst-person, second-person, or third-person.

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Finally, subject pronouns and object pronouns are related to one another and all
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other personal pronouns in that the words used may di er depending on the
natural or grammatical gender of the words they refer to.

Examples of Sentences Containing Both Subject Pronouns &

Object Pronouns
1. I want you to read this book.
EX.
2. You are the fastest runner on the team, and we’re depending on you.
3. They talked to me about acting in the play.
4. We enjoyed hearing her sing.

Comparing Subject and Object Pronouns

Use the following table to compare subject and object pronouns. Notice that
some subject pronouns are identical to certain object pronouns.

Subject Object
Pronoun Pronoun

It It

You You

What What

I Me

He Him

She Her

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We Us

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Who Whom

They Them

Personal Pronoun Exercises

The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how
personal pronouns work. Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

1. __________ often reads until late at night.

EX.

A. He
B. Alan
C. Mary
D. They

2. __________ is running up and down the stairs.

A. The cat
B. She
C. My brother
D. You

3. __________ is from Ireland.

A. Rory
B. My friend
C. He
D. This souvenir

4. Have __________ got a dog, Mary?

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A. Anyone
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C. Someone
D. It

5. We enjoy the roses so much. __________ really liven up the garden.

A. They
B. Its
C. Someone
D. Flowers

6. Melissa isn’t an architect; __________ is an engineer.

A. He
B. They
C. It
D. She

7. Are __________ friends or not?

A. He
B. She
C. We
D. It

8. My doctor was born in Germany. __________ teaches language lessons

in his spare time.

A. They
B. It
C. She
D. He

9. All of my teachers are Americans. __________ come from all over the
country.

A. She
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B. We
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D. Them

10. Our friends are athletes. All of __________ are either strong, fast, or
both.

A. We
B. They
C. Them
D. You

Answers:

1. A – He often reads until late at night.

EX.
2. B – She is running up and down the stairs.
3. C – He is from Ireland.
4. B – Have they got a dog, Mary?
5. A – We enjoy the roses so much. They really liven up the garden.
6. D – Melissa isn’t an architect; she is an engineer.
7. C – Are we friends or not?
8. D – My doctor was born in Germany. He teaches language lessons in
his spare time.
9. C – All of my teachers are Americans. They come from all over the
country.
10. C – Our friends are athletes. All of them are either strong, fast, or
both.

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