Pronouns and Antecedents

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A pronoun is used in place of a noun or another pronoun. The word a pronoun stands for is called the

antecedent.

Kelly loves to read. She reads more science fiction than mysteries.(She is the pronoun. She takes the place of Kelly so Kelly is the

antecedent.).

Subject pronouns can serve as the subject or predicate noun of

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

Object pronouns serve as objects of prepositions, direct objects, and indirect objects.

me, you, him, her, it, them us

Possessive pronouns show possession.

my, mine, his, hers, its, your, yours, our, ours, their, theirs,

your, yours

Reflexive pronouns emphasize the subject and serve a function in the sentence (objects, complements).

Note: The words hisself, theirself, and theirselves do NOT exist!

myself, herself, himself, ourselves, themselves

Intensive pronouns are the same as reflexive, but they serve no use in the

sentence.

Indefinite pronouns refer to unidentified person, places, or things.

Singular

anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one,

somebody, someone, something

Plural both, few, many, several

Singular or Plural (depends on prepositional

phrase that follows pronoun)

all, any, most, none, some

SPECIAL NOTES ABOUT PRONOUNS AND WRITING

• First person pronouns (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours) should almost never be used in expository writing, unless it is a direct quotation.

• Second person pronouns (you, your, yours) should be treated like a plague. Pretend you are stranded on a deserted island and you have a stockpile of food that is has to last until the next cruise ship passes in six months. Second person pronouns are rodents that are trying to steal your food. You must rid the island (your writing) of the rats (second person pronouns)!