Grammar - Pronouns

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Pronouns are a subgroup of nouns.  Pronouns replace a noun or another pronoun.
 
 
Personal Pronouns
 
There are two types of personal pronouns.
 
Subject Pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, and they.  These pronouns have a subject and verb.
 
For example,
 

It is nice! (It is the subject of is)

David didn't know where he should go.  (He is the subject of should go)

Object Pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, them.  These pronouns are always the object of the verb, they are NEVER the subject.  Object pronouns are having something done to them instead of doing the action.

For example,

Michael gave her the ball. 

(The her isn't doing anything - she's receiving the ball not giving it)

Ownership Pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, its, our, theirs.  These pronouns are used to show ownership.  They answer the question "whose".

For example,

The cat was theirs.

(Whose cat? Their cat)

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns link subordinate or relative clauses to the main clause. 

Definite relative pronouns are: which, that, who, whom.

Indefinite relative pronouns are: what, which, who, whatever, whom, and whomever. 

Remember:

Whom and whom are used to refer to people.

That can refer to people, animals, and things.

Which cannot refer to people.

Question Pronouns

Question pronouns are used to ask questions.  The question pronouns are: which, what, who, whom, and what.

Which cat climbed the tree?

Who took my bike?

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are not generic because they don't really stand for specific noun.
 
Some indefinite pronouns are:  all, any, anybody, both, each, either, everybody, few, many, more, neither, none, one, plenty, several, some, someone.
 
There are some rules for using indefinite pronouns:
 

each, every, anybody, anything, and somebody are always singular so we must use a singular verb and singular personal pronoun (e.g. Each of the girls wants candy for herself)

both, several, few, and many always refer to more than one thing so they are always plural and must be accompanied by plural verbs and plural personal pronouns (e.g. Both of the kids were sick)

all, most, and some can be plural or singular

none is usually plural

      By following the rules for pronouns, students will improve their writing skills.

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Tutorgiant.com provides Pronoun lessons with worksheets.

See some of the lessons in our video library.

PRONOUNS - Lesson (A) Subject Pronouns (Grades 1-3)
PRONOUNS - Lesson (B) Object Pronouns (Grades 1-3)
PRONOUNS - Lesson (C) Order with 'I' or 'Me' (Grades 4-6)
PRONOUNS - Lesson (D) Indefinite Pronouns (Grades 4-6)