Chapter 15: Personal Pronouns

1. What is a Pronoun?

Look at these two sentences:

Hari is absent because Hari is ill.
Hari is absent because he is ill.

The first sentence repeats the name "Hari" twice. This sounds clumsy. In the second sentence, we replace the second "Hari" with the word "he". This makes the sentence smoother and more natural.

Definition: A Pronoun is a word used in place of a Noun.

The word "pronoun" literally means "for a noun" (pro = for, noun = name). Pronouns save us from repeating the same noun again and again in speech and writing.

More Examples:

Without Pronoun (repetitive)	With Pronoun (natural)
Sita likes music. Sita plays the sitar every evening.	Sita likes music. She plays the sitar every evening.
The children were tired. The children went to sleep early.	The children were tired. They went to sleep early.
Ramesh and Suresh are brothers. Ramesh and Suresh study together.	Ramesh and Suresh are brothers. They study together.

2. Personal Pronouns and the Three Persons

Read these sentences carefully:

I am young.
We are young.
You are young.
They are young.
He (she, it) is young.

The words I, we, you, he, she, it, they are called Personal Pronouns because they refer to one of the three "persons" involved in any conversation:

The person speaking - called the First Person
The person spoken to - called the Second Person
The person or thing spoken about - called the Third Person

Think of it like a conversation between three people: when Ramesh talks to Sita about Hari, Ramesh is the First Person, Sita is the Second Person, and Hari is the Third Person.

Person	Meaning	Pronouns Used	Example
First Person	the speaker	I, we	I am going home. We are late.
Second Person	the one spoken to	you	You are a good friend. (singular or plural)
Third Person	the one spoken about	he, she, it, they	He works hard. It is broken. They left early.

Note: The word "you" is unusual because it is used for both one person and many people. Compare: "You are late" can be said to a single friend or to a whole group of friends.

3. Forms of the Personal Pronouns

Pronouns change their form depending on their job in the sentence - whether they are the subject (Nominative), show ownership (Possessive), or are the object (Accusative). This is called their "case".

First Person

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	I	we
Possessive	my, mine	our, ours
Accusative	me	us

Second Person

Case	Singular/Plural
Nominative	you
Possessive	your, yours
Accusative	you

Third Person

Case	Masculine (Sing.)	Feminine (Sing.)	Neuter (Sing.)	Plural (All Genders)
Nominative	he	she	it	they
Possessive	his	her, hers	its	their, theirs
Accusative	him	her	it	them

Example sentences showing all three cases:

Nominative: He plays cricket well. (he = subject of the verb)
Possessive: This is his bat. (his = shows ownership)
Accusative: The coach praised him. (him = object of the verb)

4. Possessive Adjectives vs Possessive Pronouns

Notice that most possessive forms have two versions: my/mine, our/ours, your/yours, her/hers, their/theirs. These two forms are used differently.

Possessive Adjectives (my, our, your, her, their, its) are always placed directly before a noun, describing that noun - just like an adjective does.

This is my book.
Those are your books.
That is her book.

Possessive Pronouns (mine, ours, yours, hers, theirs) stand completely alone, in place of a noun phrase. They are not followed by a noun.

This book is mine. (= my book)
Those books are yours. (= your books)
That book is hers. (= her book)
That idea of yours is excellent.

Special case - "his": The word "his" is unusual because it works as both a Possessive Adjective and a Possessive Pronoun without changing its spelling.

This is his book. (Possessive Adjective - followed by noun "book")
This book is his. (Possessive Pronoun - stands alone)

Quick memory tip: If the word is immediately followed by a noun, it is a Possessive Adjective. If it stands by itself at the end of the idea, it is a Possessive Pronoun.

5. Gender of the Third Person Pronoun

Only the Third Person singular pronoun changes according to gender:

Gender	Pronoun
Masculine (male)	he
Feminine (female)	she
Neuter (things, sometimes animals/babies)	it

6. The Many Uses of "It"

The word "it" is one of the most flexible pronouns in English. It has at least eight distinct uses.

#	Use	Example
1	For lifeless things	Here is your book; take it away.
2	For animals when sex is not emphasised	He loves his dog and cannot do without it. The horse fell and broke its leg.
3	For a young child when sex is not emphasised	When I saw the child, it was crying. That baby has torn its clothes.
4	To refer back to an earlier statement or idea	He is telling what is not true, as he knows it.
5	As a temporary or "dummy" subject before the real subject appears later	It is easy to find fault. (Real subject: "To find fault") It is certain that you are wrong.
6	For emphasis (called a "cleft sentence")	It was you who began the quarrel. It was at Versailles that the treaty was made.
7	As a subject for weather/nature verbs where no real noun exists	It rains. It snows. It thunders.
8	To talk about weather, time, or season	It is fine today. It is winter. It is ten o'clock.

Understanding Use #7 (Impersonal "it"): When we say "It rains," the pronoun "it" does not refer to any actual noun. We can think of this as short for "The rain rains" - so "it" is called an Impersonal Pronoun, and the verb used with it (rains, snows, thunders) is called an Impersonal Verb.

7. Agreement Rules: Matching Pronouns to Their Nouns

Since a pronoun replaces a noun, it must "agree" with that noun in three ways: number (singular/plural), gender (masculine/feminine/neuter), and person (first/second/third). Below are the key rules.

Rule 1: Basic Agreement

A pronoun must match the number, gender, and person of the noun it replaces.

Rama is a kind boy. He has lent his bicycle to Govind.
Sita helps her mother in household work. She also does her lesson.
Those beggars are idle. They refuse to work for their living.

Rule 2: Collective Nouns

A Collective Noun (a word for a group, like army, jury, crew, committee) can take either a singular or plural pronoun, depending on meaning.

(a) Use a Singular pronoun when the group is viewed as one single unit:

The army had to suffer terrible privations in its march.
The fleet will reach its destination in a week.
The crew mutinied and murdered its officers.
After a few minutes the jury gave its verdict.

(b) Use a Plural pronoun when the group is viewed as separate individuals:

The jury were divided in their opinions.
The committee decided the matter without leaving their seats.

Rule 3: Two Nouns Joined by "and"

When two or more singular nouns are joined by "and", use a Plural pronoun.

Rama and Hari work hard. They are praised by their teacher.
Both Sita and Savitri are tired; they have gone home.

Exception: If the two nouns joined by "and" refer to the same single person or thing, use a Singular pronoun.

The Secretary and Treasurer is negligent of his duty. (one person holding both posts)

Rule 4: "Each" or "Every" Before Nouns Joined by "and"

When "each" or "every" comes before two singular nouns joined by "and", use a Singular pronoun.

Every soldier and every sailor was in his place.

Rule 5: Nouns Joined by "or", "either...or", "neither...nor"

Generally use a Singular pronoun.

Rama or Hari must lend his hand.
Either Sita or Amina forgot to take her parasol.
Neither Abdul nor Karim has done his lesson.

Rule 6: One Plural and One Singular Noun Joined by "or"/"nor"

Use a Plural pronoun (the pronoun agrees with the noun nearer to it, which is plural here).

Either the manager or his assistants failed in their duty.

Rule 7: Mixed Persons

When a pronoun refers to nouns/pronouns of different persons joined together, First Person plural is preferred over Third Person.

You and I have done our duty.
You and Hari have idled away your time.

Rule 8: Order of Politeness

Good manners require putting yourself last when mentioning yourself alongside others.

Correct	Incorrect
You and I	I and you
You and he	He and you
Hari and I	I and Hari
He and I	I and he

Examples: You and I must work together. Hari and I are old school friends.

Rule 9: Accusative Case After Conjunctions

A very common mistake is using "I" instead of "me" when the pronoun is joined to another word by "and" or "or" in the object position. Always use the accusative form (me, him, her, us, them) when the pronoun is an object.

The presents are for you and me. (not "I")
My uncle asked my brother and me to dinner. (not "I")

Rule 10: "But" as a Preposition

When "but" means "except", it behaves like a preposition, so the pronoun after it must be in the accusative case.

Nobody will help you but me. (not "I")

8. Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Mistake	Correction	Tip
"Me and him went to the park."	"He and I went to the park."	Use nominative case pronouns (I, he) as subjects, and put yourself last.
"Give the book to Sita and I."	"Give the book to Sita and me."	Use accusative case (me) after prepositions and as objects.
"Everyone must do their best" being marked wrong in formal writing	Traditionally: "Everyone must do his best." (Modern usage now accepts "their" as gender-neutral singular.)	Know your context - traditional grammar rules use "his" with singular indefinite words like everyone, but many modern style guides now accept singular "they/their".
Confusing "its" and "it's"	"its" = possessive (its leg), "it's" = it is (it's raining)	Remember: "it's" always expands to "it is" or "it has". If you can't expand it that way, use "its".
Using "mine's" or "her's"	"mine" and "hers" (no apostrophe)	Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe.
"Between you and I"	"Between you and me"	"Between" is a preposition and always takes the accusative case.

9. Quick Summary

A Pronoun replaces a Noun to avoid repetition.
Personal Pronouns show the three persons: I/we (first), you (second), he/she/it/they (third).
Each pronoun has three cases: Nominative (subject), Possessive (ownership), Accusative (object).
Possessive Adjectives (my, your, her) sit before a noun; Possessive Pronouns (mine, yours, hers) stand alone.
"It" has eight distinct uses - from naming objects to describing weather to giving emphasis.
Pronouns must agree in number, gender, and person with their nouns, following special rules for collective nouns, "and", "or", and mixed persons.
Always use the accusative form (me, him, her, us, them) after conjunctions joining an object, and after prepositions like "but" and "between".

10. Exercise A: Identify the Pronoun (Original Exercise, with Solutions)

Instructions: Point out the Pronoun in each sentence and say what noun it stands for.

Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment.
There were doors all round the hall, but they were all locked.
Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage.
"I wish I hadn't cried so much," said Alice.
"You are not attending," said the Mouse to Alice severely. "What are you thinking of?"
"Come back!" the Caterpillar called after her. Alice turned and came back again.
Hari brought his book and laid it on the table.
Karim has lost his dog and cannot find it.
Suresh is at the head of his class, for he studies hard.
Rama, you are a lazy boy.
The camel is a beast of burden. It is used to carry goods across the desert.
The female lion is called a lioness. She has no mane.
The horse fell down and broke its leg.
Birds build their nests in trees.
If the thief is caught, he will be punished.
Train up a child in the way he should go.
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.

Solutions to Exercise A

#	Pronoun(s)	Stands for
1	she, her	Alice
2	they	doors
3	it	the door
4	I, I	Alice (the speaker)
5	you, you	Alice
6	her	Alice
7	his, it	his = Hari's; it = the book
8	his, it	his = Karim's; it = the dog
9	his, he	Suresh
10	you	Rama
11	it	the camel
12	she	the lioness
13	its	the horse's
14	their	birds'
15	he	the thief
16	he	a child
17	Thou	David (an old form of "you")

11. Exercise B: Replace Nouns with Pronouns (Original Exercise, with Solutions)

Rama had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at the watch uneasily, shaking the watch every now and then, and holding the watch to his ear.
The boys went into the garden, where the boys saw a snake.
Very soon the Rabbit noticed Alice as Alice went hunting about, and called out to Alice in an angry tone.

Solutions to Exercise B

Rama had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.
The boys went into the garden, where they saw a snake.
Very soon the Rabbit noticed Alice as she went hunting about, and called out to her in an angry tone.

12. Exercise C: Choose the Correct Pronoun (Original Exercise, with Solutions)

We scored as many goals as ---. (They, them)
Rama and --- were present. (I, me)
Can you sing as well as ---? (They, them)
Let you and --- try what we can do. (I, me)
Wait for Hari and ---. (I, me)
You know that as well as ---. (I, me)
It was --- that gave you the alarm. (I, me)
Between you and ---, I do not believe him. (I, me)
We are not so poor as ---. (They, them)
Rama is as old as ---. (I, me)
He is known to my brother and ---. (I, me)
He is as good as ---. (I, am)
Nobody but --- was present. (He, him)
He and --- were great friends. (I, me)
Whom can I trust, if not ---? (He, him)
Let --- who can answer this question. (He, him)
There isn't much difference between you and ---. (He, him)
None so blind as --- that will not see. (They, them)
It isn't for such as --- to dictate to us. (They, them)

Solutions to Exercise C (with explanations)

#	Answer	Why
1	they	Full sentence implied: "as many goals as they [scored]" - "they" is subject of the hidden verb.
2	I	"I" is the subject (nominative), same as "were present".
3	they	"as well as they [sing]" - subject of hidden verb.
4	me	Object of "let" - accusative case needed.
5	me	Object of "wait for" (preposition) - accusative case.
6	I	"as well as I [know]" - subject of hidden verb.
7	I	Emphatic "it was I" - nominative, subject of "gave".
8	me	Object of preposition "between" - accusative case.
9	they	"as poor as they [are]" - subject of hidden verb.
10	I	"as old as I [am]" - subject of hidden verb.
11	me	Object of "known to" (preposition) - accusative case.
12	I am	"as good as I am" - full clause completes the comparison.
13	he	"Nobody but he was present" - "he" is subject of "was present".
14	I	"He and I were great friends" - both nominative, subjects of "were".
15	him	Object of "trust" - accusative case.
16	him	Object of "let" - accusative case.
17	him	Object of preposition "between" - accusative case.
18	they	"as they that will not see" - subject of hidden clause.
19	they	"for such as they [are]" - subject of hidden verb.

13. Additional Practice Exercises (New)

Exercise D: Fill in the correct Personal Pronoun

The teacher praised the students because ___ had worked hard.
My sister lost her purse; ___ was full of money.
The dog wagged ___ tail happily.
Neither Priya nor Anjali has submitted ___ project.
You and ___ (I/me) should finish this together.
This pen is ___ (my/mine); please return it.
The team celebrated ___ victory.
Give this letter to Rahul and ___ (I/me).
___ is raining heavily outside.
Each boy and each girl brought ___ own lunch.

Solutions to Exercise D

#	Answer	Explanation
1	they	Plural noun "students" needs plural pronoun.
2	it	"purse" is a lifeless object - neuter singular.
3	its	Possessive form for an animal (sex not emphasised).
4	her	"Neither...nor" takes a singular pronoun; both names are feminine.
5	I	Nominative case since it's the subject of "should finish", and politeness places "you" first.
6	mine	Possessive Pronoun - stands alone, not before a noun.
7	its	"Team" is a collective noun viewed as one unit.
8	me	Object of "give" - accusative case, and self placed last.
9	It	Impersonal pronoun used with weather verb "raining".
10	his/her	"Each" before nouns joined by "and" takes a singular pronoun.

Exercise E: Spot and Correct the Error

Me and my friend went to the market.
This is her's new bicycle.
Every student and every teacher gave their opinion.
The book is belong to him.
Its a beautiful morning.
Him and me are best friends.

Solutions to Exercise E

#	Correction	Explanation
1	My friend and I went to the market.	Nominative case needed for subject; politeness order places "I" last.
2	This is her new bicycle.	"her" (Possessive Adjective) is correct before a noun; "hers" never takes an apostrophe.
3	Every student and every teacher gave his/her opinion.	"Every...and every..." takes a singular pronoun.
4	The book belongs to him.	"him" (accusative) is correct after preposition "to"; also fixed verb form.
5	It's a beautiful morning.	"It's" = "It is"; "Its" is possessive and would be wrong here.
6	He and I are best friends.	Nominative case needed as subject of "are"; politeness places "I" last.

14. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

Instructions: Choose the correct option for each question.

A Pronoun is a word used instead of a:
A. Verb B. Noun C. Adjective D. Adverb
Which pronoun is used for the person speaking?
A. You B. He C. I D. They
"You" is a pronoun of which person?
A. First B. Second C. Third D. None
Choose the correct Accusative form of "we":
A. Us B. Our C. Ours D. We
Which of the following is a Possessive Pronoun (not adjective)?
A. My B. Her C. Hers D. Their
In the sentence "This is his book," the word "his" is a:
A. Possessive Pronoun B. Possessive Adjective C. Personal Pronoun in Accusative D. Nominative Pronoun
In the sentence "This book is his," the word "his" is a:
A. Possessive Adjective B. Possessive Pronoun C. Nominative case D. Accusative case
Which pronoun is used for a thing without life?
A. He B. She C. It D. They
In the sentence "It rains," what is "it" called?
A. Personal Pronoun B. Impersonal Pronoun C. Possessive Pronoun D. Demonstrative Pronoun
Choose the correct sentence:
A. It is I who is wrong B. It was I who first protested C. It was me who protested D. It were I who protested
"The jury gave its verdict" - here "jury" is treated as:
A. A single unit B. Separate individuals C. Plural noun D. Proper noun
"The jury were divided in their opinions" - here "jury" is treated as:
A. A single unit B. Separate individuals C. A proper noun D. An adjective
Choose the correct pronoun: "Rama and Hari work hard. ___ are praised by their teacher."
A. He B. They C. It D. She
Choose the correct pronoun: "The Secretary and Treasurer is negligent of ___ duty."
A. their B. his C. its D. her
Choose the correct pronoun: "Every soldier and every sailor was in ___ place."
A. their B. his C. its D. our
Choose the correct pronoun: "Either the manager or his assistants failed in ___ duty."
A. his B. their C. its D. her
Choose the correct order: "___ have done our duty."
A. I and you B. You and I C. Me and you D. You and me
Choose the correct pronoun: "The presents are for you and ___."
A. I B. me C. myself D. mine
"But" in the sentence "Nobody will help you but me" functions as a:
A. Conjunction B. Preposition C. Adverb D. Pronoun
Which sentence correctly uses "It" to describe time?
A. It am ten o'clock B. It is ten o'clock C. It be ten o'clock D. It were ten o'clock

Answer Key with Explanations

#	Answer	Explanation
1	B - Noun	A Pronoun is defined as a word used instead of a Noun.
2	C - I	"I" and "we" are First Person pronouns denoting the speaker.
3	B - Second	"You" denotes the person or persons spoken to.
4	A - Us	"Us" is the Accusative (object) form of "we".
5	C - Hers	"Hers" stands alone as a Possessive Pronoun; the others are Possessive Adjectives used before nouns.
6	B - Possessive Adjective	"His" is followed by the noun "book", making it function as an adjective.
7	B - Possessive Pronoun	Here "his" stands alone at the end, replacing "his book".
8	C - It	"It" is used for lifeless things.
9	B - Impersonal Pronoun	"It" here does not refer to any real noun; it is used with an impersonal verb like "rains".
10	B	"It was I" uses the correct nominative case for emphasis after "it was/is".
11	A - A single unit	Singular pronoun "its" shows the jury is viewed as one whole body.
12	B - Separate individuals	Plural pronoun "their" shows the jury members are viewed individually.
13	B - They	Two singular nouns joined by "and" take a plural pronoun.
14	B - his	Both titles refer to the same one person, so a singular pronoun is used.
15	B - his	"Every...and every..." takes a singular pronoun.
16	B - their	When a plural noun is joined to a singular noun by "or", the pronoun agrees with the nearer plural noun.
17	B - You and I	Correct order of politeness, and nominative case as subject of "have done".
18	B - me	Object of preposition "for" requires accusative case.
19	B - Preposition	"But" meaning "except" acts as a preposition, requiring the accusative pronoun after it.
20	B - It is ten o'clock	"It" is used to state time, and "is" agrees with the singular "it".

js

Monday, July 6, 2026

English Grammar CHAPTER 15: PERSONAL PRONOUNS