PRONOUNS

Generally pronouns stand for (pro +

noun) or refer to a noun, an individual
or individuals or thing or things (the
pronoun's antecedent) whose identity
is made clear earlier in the text.
Example:
Manish eats unwashed meat
everyday, now he is suffering from
typhoid.
Personal Pronouns: Personal
Pronoun is used for the name of a
person viz. First Person (the person
that speaks), Second Person (the
person spoken to) and Third Person
(the person spoken of/about) or a
pronoun expressing a\distinction of
person.
 PERSONAL PRONOUNS
NOMINATIVE GENITIVE ACCUSATIVE
CASE/ CASE/ CASE/
SUBJECTIVE POSSESSIVE OBJECTIVE
CASE CASE CASE
First person I MY ME
WE OUR US

Second You Your You

person

Third person He, She, It His, Her, Its Him, Her, It

They Their Them

* NOTE : In the second person singular and plural forms are the same.
Demonstrative Pronouns: A
pronoun that points out an intended
referent. The family of
demonstratives has:
this/that/these/those/such

Example:
I will never forget this experience.
(referring to a recent experience)
Interrogative Pronouns: A pronoun
used in a question. In English, the five
Interrogative pronouns are What,
Which, Who, Whom, and Whose (they
also used as relative pronouns). These
require no antecedent.
Example:
What kind of questions gives you
trouble?
Who is guilty of this crime?
Relative Pronouns: Relative
pronouns are those that connect a
clause or a phrase to a noun or a
pronoun. Examples of relative
pronouns include who, whom,
which, that, whoever, whomever,
whichever etc.
Example:
I like those who respect me.
I regret the mistakes that I
committed during teenage.
Emphatic Pronouns: The Emphatic or
Intensive pronouns (such as myself,
yourself, herself, ourselves, themselves)
consist of a personal pronoun plus self or
selves and emphasize a noun.
Example:
I myself don't know the answer.
He himself shot the lion.
Reflexive Pronouns: The Reflexive
pronouns, which have the same forms
as Intensive pronouns, indicate that
the subject of the sentence also
receives the action of the verb.
Example:
Students who cheat on this quiz will
only hurt themselves.
The caterpillar curled itself into a ball.
Indefinite Pronouns: The
indefinite pronouns like
Everybody/Everyone
Anybody/Anyone/Somebody/Someone/
All/Each/Every/One do not substitute
for specific nouns, but function
themselves as nouns.
Example:
Everyone is afraid of the dark.
Each of my students is laborious.
Reciprocal Pronouns: The
reciprocal pronouns are Each Other
and One Another.
Example:
My mother and I give each other a
hard time.
If more than two people are involved,
then one another will be used.
Rule I: In a general sentence, if
pronouns of different persons are used
together, then the order in which they
appear should be: second person +
third person + first person (2,3,1)
Example:
You, he and I have been selected to
represent the national cricket team.
You, John and I are best friends.
Rule II: In a sentence showing
confession of fault/blame, while using
different persons together, the order
should be: first person + second person
+ third person (1,2,3)
Example:
I, you and he are responsible for the
team’s failure.
Rule III: When two singular nouns are
joined by ‘and' and only the first one is
preceded by an article, it refers to
one/same person/thing. Thus, the
pronoun used should be singular.
Example:
Gurudev Tagore, the poet and dramatist,
was a glittering star in his time.
The Chairman and CEO has changed her
style of work.
Rule IV: In case of a comparison, the subject
of a sentence must be compared with another
subject or subjective case, not the objective
case.
Example:
Ramesh is taller than I (am).
She is as noisy as I (am).

Comparisons are shorthand sentences which

often omit words, such as those in the
parentheses.

Note: Comparisons usually follow than or as.

Rule V: In formal writing the Subjective case
should follow the to be verb.

Example:
It is I. (Grammatically correct & formal)
It is me. (Grammatically incorrect & informal)
That is I. (Grammatically correct & formal.)
That is me. (Grammatically incorrect &
informal)
Rule VI: After a preposition, the objective
case is preferred to the subjective case. (After
a preposition comes the object of the
preposition)

Example:
It is a present from Sarthak and me.
Keep the secret between you and me.

Note: “From” and “between” are prepositions.

 PRACTICE EXERCISE
1. John is a person (who/whom)
everyone loves.
2. Experience is the name that
everybody gives to (his/her/their)
mistakes.
3. Of (who/whom) do you speak?
4. My father doesn’t approve of
(I/me/my) singing.
5. It is (I/me).
6. It was (her/she) at the window.
7. Keep the secret between you and
(me/I).
8. Neither Sita nor Gita learnt from
(her/she/their) mistakes.
9. The baby hurt (its/his/it’s) leg.
10. Rohit is more nervous than (she/her).
11. One must have faith in
(himself/herself/oneself).
12. With (who/whom) do you bank?
13. The brothers kept on distributing
sweets among (each other/one
another).
14. It is of (I/me) to take care of my
sister.
15. Let you and (I/me) decide what
we can do.
16. It will be (we/us) who decide on
this matter.
 PRACTICE EXERCISE
1. Whom
2. His
3. Whom
4. My
5. I
6. She
7. Me
8. Her
9. Its
10. She
11. Oneself
12. Whom
13. One another
14. Me
15. Me
16. We
Thank You