Pronoun Types
Pronoun Types
Sentence Skills: A Workbook for
Writers, Form A
John Langan
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Pronoun Types
Let’s take a look at three types of
pronouns:
• Subject and Object Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Subject and Object Pronouns
are
the subjects of verbs.
I
you
he, she, it
we
they
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
are
the objects of verbs
or prepositions.
me
you (no change)
him, her, it (no change)
us
them
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Subject Pronouns. . .
. . . are the subjects of
verbs.
Examples:
I am about to leave.
You shouldn’t do that.
She told you so.
We agree with her.
They do, too.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
There are a few rules to
keep in mind about
subject pronouns:
Rule 1: Use a subject
pronoun in spots
where you have more
than one subject. . . .
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Subject Pronouns
Rule 1: Use a subject
pronoun in spots
where you have more
than one subject. . . .
Incorrect:
My sister and me are
about to go to Spain.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
Correct:
My sister and I are
about to go to Spain.
Hint:
Separate the pronouns.
You wouldn’t say, “Me
am about to go to Spain.”
Would you?
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Subject Pronouns
Rule 2: Use a subject
pronoun after forms
of the verb “be.”
Incorrect:
It is him.
Correct:
It is he.
Hint:
Reword the sentence:
He is here.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Subject Pronouns
Rule 3: Use a subject
pronoun after than
or as.
Incorrect:
We don’t need as much
attention as them.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
Correct:
We don’t need as much
attention as they.
Hint:
Mentally add the
“missing” verb at the
end: We don’t need as
much attention as they
(do).
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Object Pronouns. . .
. . .are the objects of
verbs or prepositions.
Incorrect:
I loaned ten dollars to
his wife and he.
The pronoun here is the
object of the
preposition “to.”
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
Correct:
I loaned ten dollars to
his wife and him.
Hint:
Try the pronoun by
itself:
I loaned ten dollars to
him.
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Relative Pronouns. . .
. . .refer to someone or
something already
mentioned in the
sentence, and start a
word group that
gives additional
information about
that person or thing.
A list of relative pronouns:
who
which
whose
that
whom
Examples:
-The only person who loves me
lives in Dallas.
-This is the book that Dr. Brown
assigned last week.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Relative Pronouns. . .
Here are some things to keep in mind about
relative pronouns:
•Whose means belonging to whom.
Ex. This is the man whose car I wrecked.
•Who, whose and whom all refer to people, which
refers to things, and that can refer to either people or
things.
Ex. There is the man who always makes mistakes. He
might lose the job that he got last month.
•Who is a subject pronoun.
Ex. I heard he was the man who won the lottery.
•Whom is an object pronoun. Use it as an object of a verb or
preposition.
Ex. Yes, that is the man to whom the lottery will be
sending millions of dollars.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Possessive Pronouns. . .
. . . show ownership or
possession.
Here’s a list of
my, mine
our, ours
your, yours
your, yours
his
their, theirs
Note: A possessive
her, hers
pronoun
uses
its
an apostrophe
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Possessive Pronouns. . .
Incorrect:
That BMW is hers’.
Correct:
That BMW is hers.
Note: A possessive
pronoun
uses
an apostrophe
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Pronoun Types
Demonstrative Pronouns. . .
. . . point to or single
out a person or thing.
There are four
Rules of thumb:
This and these refer to
things close at hand.
That and those refer to
things farther away.
this these
that those
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc