An Overview

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Definition: a word or phrase that takes the place of a noun or noun phrase; takes the place of a noun/noun phrase you have already mentioned
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There are subject pronouns, object pronouns, and possessive pronouns
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Examples:
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Subject: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
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Object: us, you, them, me, him, her, it
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Possessive: his, hers, its, our(s), your(s), their(s), my, mine
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Other pronouns: who, us, one, anything, nothing, everything, someone, themselves, myself

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Mark lives down the street. He is my best friend.
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He=pronoun, which refers to Mark
 Kim and I went to the grocery. We bought spaghetti for dinner.
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We=pronoun, which refers to Kim and I
 Jim, Cathy, and Sam saw the play yesterday. They thought it was a great performance.
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They=pronoun, which refers to Jim, Cathy, and Sam

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Definition: the noun a pronoun refers to
 The pronoun must agree with the antecedent in number and gender.
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Singular pronouns must replace singular nouns and plural pronouns must replace plural nouns.
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Masculine pronouns must replace masculine nouns and feminine pronouns must replace feminine nouns.

 Mark lives down the street. He is my best friend.
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He=pronoun (singular)
 Mark=antecedent (singular), which “he” refers to
 John, Tom, and Jill are teachers. They work at the same elementary school.
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They=pronoun (plural)
 John, Tom, and Jill=antecedents (plural), which “they” refers to
 Yesterday the driver took his car to the shop.
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His=pronoun (singular)
 The driver=antecedent (singular), which “his” refers to

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Katie walked to her car
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Her=pronoun, which agrees with Katie (the antecedent)
 “Her” is a singular, feminine pronoun
 A box of donuts was on the table. It was empty.
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It=pronoun, which refers to a box (the antecedent)
 “It” is a singular, object pronoun
 Sam and I were at the game. Did you see us?
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Us=pronoun, which refers to Sam and I
 “us” is a plural, object pronoun

 Neither one of the men knew where his car was parked.
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Neither one=antecedent (singular)
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His=pronoun (singular)
 The policemen disagreed amongst themselves.
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Policemen=antecedent (plural)
 themselves=pronoun (plural)
 Both women found their purses.
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Both=antecedent (plural)
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Their=pronoun (plural
 John found his wallet in his pocket.
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John=antecedent (singular)
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His=pronoun (singular)
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A number of the employees lost their benefits.
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A number of=antecedent (plural)
 their=pronoun (plural)

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Incorrect: If a student wants to learn, they should ask the teacher for help.
 Correct: If students want to learn, they should ask the teacher for help.
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Students=antecedent (plural)
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They=pronoun (plural)
 Also correct: If a student wants to learn, he or she should ask the teacher for help.
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Student=antecedent (singular)
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He or she=pronoun (singular)
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Incorrect: The company lost their contract with Dell.
 Correct: The company lost its contract with Dell.
 Company=antecedent (singular)
 its=pronoun (singular)

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For more information on pronouns and antecedents, consult the following:
 http://www.towson.edu/ows/pro_antagree.htm
 http://www.towson.edu/ows/modulepaa.htm
 http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/pronouns-andantecedents.aspx