Personal Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

The personal pronouns are

I, you, he, she, it, we, they.

They are called personal pronouns because, except for it, they all refer to persons.

These pronouns are among the most troublesome words in our language.

Question: Why are the personal pronouns troublesome?

Answer: Most of these pronouns change in form, depending on the way they are used in a sentence. On the other hand, the nouns that these pronouns stand for do not change.

For example, take the noun George. We can use George as either a subject, a direct object,

or an indirect object.

George can be a SUBJECT: George complained.

                                                              S.                 V.

George can be a DIRECT OBJECT: The noise bothered George.

                                                                                   S.               V.          D.O.

George can be an INDIRECT OBJECT: The noise gave George a headache.

                                                                                            S.        V.          I.O.           D.O.

Obviously, the noun George does not change in form, whether used as a subject, a direct

object, or an indirect object.

But most pronouns change in form, depending on their use. For example, he can be

used as a subject, but not as a direct object or an indirect object.

He can be a SUBJECT: He complained.

                                                S.         V.

For a DIRECT OBJECT, we must use him: The noise bothered him.

                                                                                             S.                V.           D.O.

Also, for an INDIRECT OBJECT we must use him: The noise gave him a headache.

                                                                                                               S.              V.     I.O.         D.O.

The Different Forms of the Personal Pronouns

If we need a pronoun as a SUBJECT, we can use one of the following:

I you he she it we they

If we need a pronoun as a DIRECT OBJECT or an INDIRECT OBJECT, we can use one of the

following:

me you him her it us them

If we need a pronoun TO SHOW POSSESSION, we can use one of the following:

my, your, his her, its our, their,

mine yours hers ours theirs

Note: Only you and it have the same form for subject, direct object, and indirect object.

Pronouns in Combinations

Pronouns and nouns may be combined to form compound subjects, compound indirect

objects, and compound direct objects.

Corey and I attended. (COMPOUND SUBJECT)

   compound S.

Peter showed Corey and me the pictures. (COMPOUND INDIRECT OBJECT)

                                 compound I.O.

The instructor chose Corey and me. (COMPOUND DIRECT OBJECT)

                                                compound D.O.

Composition Hint

Make your writing more interesting and effective by removing unnecessary words.

Note how compound subjects, compound indirect objects, and compound direct

objects can help.

INSTEAD OF: My friends liked the movie. I liked the movie.

WRITE: My friends and I liked the movie.

                              compound S.

INSTEAD OF: You gave Kelly the wrong directions. You gave us the wrong directions.

WRITE: You gave Kelly and us the wrong directions.

                                       compound I.O.

INSTEAD OF: She invited her cousin. She invited me.

WRITE: She invited her cousin and me.

                                                   compound D.O