 Pronouns that are used to refer to persons or things are
called personal pronouns.
 Personal pronouns have three cases, or forms, called
nominative, objective and possessive. The case of a
personal pronoun depends upon the pronoun’s
function in a sentence (whether it is a subject, a
complement, or an object of a preposition).
Case
Singular
Plural
Function
Nominative
I, you, she, he, it
We, you, they
Subject or
predicate
nominative
Objective
Me, you, her, him,
it
Us, you, them
Direct object,
indirect object, or
object of a prep.
Possessive
My, mine, your,
yours, her, hers,
his, its
Our, ours, your,
yours, their, theirs
Replacement for
possessive noun(s)
 Use these rules to avoid errors with the case of
personal pronouns.
 1.
Use the nominative case for a personal pronoun in
a compound subject:
 Paul and I play the guitar. She and I sing duets.
 2.
Use the objective case for a personal pronoun in a
compound object.
 Al’s sister visited Al and her. This is between you and
me.
 Hint: In a sentence with a compound subject or object,
try saying the sentence aloud without the conjunction
and the other subject or object.
 3. Use the nominative case of a personal pronoun
after a form of the linking a verb be.
 The best guitar player is he. The best singer is she.
 4.
Be careful not to spell possessive pronouns with
apostrophes.
 This sheet music is hers. The instruments are theirs.
 It’s is a contraction for it is. Do not confuse it with the
possessive pronoun its.
 5.
Use possessive pronouns before gerunds (verb
forms with –ing that act as nouns).
 Your dancing bothers me. He was not pleased with my
singing.
 Use the nominative case for a pronoun that is in
apposition to a subject or a predicate nominative.
 The judges, she and Mrs. Chiu, will have a difficult
task.[judges is the subject]
 The winners were the pianists, Linda and he. [pianists is
the predicate nominative.
 Use the objective case for a pronoun that is in
apposition to a direct object, indirect object, or an
object of the preposition.
 The audience cheered their favorite performers, Darnell
and her. [performers is the direct object]
 The director gave the stage crew, Lee and him, special
thanks. [stage crew is the indirect object]
 The judges explained the rules to both groups, them
and us. [groups is the object of the preposition “to.”]
 Who is a nominative pronoun; therefore, who is used
for subjects.
 Who won the game?
 Tell me who is in your class.
 Use the objective pronoun whom for the direct or
indirect objects or objects of the preposition.
 Whom are you introducing first? [whom is the direct
object]
 Whom did you say Maria invited to the party?
 Theodore Roosevelt is a president about whom I have
read quite a bit.
 An easy method to use for identifying the correct
usage for who and whom is simply substitution. Use
him or them as a substitute.
 For example:
 Carol wondered (who, whom) she should ask for




directions. Now, make the substitution.
She should ask him for directions.
Lily had to figure out (who, whom) sent her the surprise
package. Now, you make the substitution.
He sent her the surprise package?
Him sent her the surprise package?
 An antecedent is the word or group of words to which
a pronoun refers or that a pronoun replaces. All
pronouns must agree with their antecedents in
number, gender and person.
 Examples:
 Helen Keller did not let her disability prevent her
from getting a college degree.
 Helen and Robert overcame many obstacles in their
lives.
 Tom loves to ride his motorcycle.
 The horse broke its own record for speed.