PRONOUN

A pronoun is used in place of a noun or nouns. Common pronouns include he, her, him, I, it, me, she, them, they, us, and we. Here are some examples:

INSTEAD OF: Luma is a good athlete.

She is a good athlete. (The pronoun she replaces Luma.)

INSTEAD OF: The beans and tomatoes are fresh-picked.

They are fresh-picked. (The pronoun they replaces the beans and tomatoes.)

A subjective pronoun acts as the subject of a sentence—it performs the action of the verb. The subjective pronouns are he, I, it, she, they, we, and you.

He spends ages looking out the window.

After lunch, she and I went to the planetarium

An objective pronoun acts as the object of a sentence—it receives the action of the verb. The objective pronouns are her, him, it, me, them, us, and you.

Cousin Eldred gave me a trombone.

Take a picture of him, not us!

A possessive pronoun tells you who owns something. The possessive pronouns are hers, his, its, mine, ours, theirs, and yours.

The red basket is mine.

Yours is on the coffee table

A demonstrative pronoun points out a noun. The demonstrative pronouns are that, these, this, and those.

That is a good idea.

These are hilarious cartoons.

A demonstrative pronoun may look like a demonstrative adjective, but it is used differently in a sentence: it acts as a pronoun, taking the place of a noun.

A relative pronoun introduces a clause, or part of a sentence, that describes a noun. The relative pronouns are that, which, who, and whom.

You should bring the book that you love most.

That introduces "you love most," which describes the book.

Hector is a photographer who does great work.

Who introduces "does great work," which describes Hector.

An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent (the noun that comes before it). The intensive pronouns are herself, himself, itself, myself, ourselves, themselves, and yourselves. Each of these words can also act as a reflective pronoun (see above).

I myself don't like eggs.

The queen herself visited our class.