Basics. Pronouns and Possessives.

Pronouns and Possessives

Pronouns are words that replace nouns in a sentence to avoid repetition, and possessives indicate ownership or a relationship between two entities. Understanding pronouns and possessives is crucial for clear and concise communication in English.

Pronouns

Pronouns can represent people or things. The table below shows subject and object forms of personal pronouns along with examples:

SubjectObjectExample
ImeI see him. / He sees me.
weusWe know her. / She knows us.
youyouYou found it. / It found you.
hehimHe has it. / It has him.
sheherShe wants it. / It wants her.
theythemThey are here. / We see them.
ititIt is here. / We see it.

Possessives

Possessives show ownership or a relationship between two entities. The table below presents possessive forms of pronouns and nouns along with examples:

Possessive PronounPossessive NounExample
my'smy book / John's book
our'sour house / Sarah's house
your'syour car / Tom's car
his'shis dog / Peter's dog
her'sher cat / Emily's cat
their'stheir toys / The children's toys
its'sits tail / The dog's tail

To form questions with possessives, use "whose": Whose book is this?

"Short forms" like mine, yours, and theirs are formed by adding the appropriate possessive pronoun to the noun: This book is mine (my book).

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns like myself, yourself, and themselves refer back to the subject of the sentence:

SubjectReflexive PronounExample
ImyselfI did it myself.
weourselvesWe can do it ourselves.
youyourself (singular), yourselves (plural)You should treat yourself. / You should treat yourselves.
hehimselfHe hurt himself.
sheherselfShe prepared herself for the exam.
theythemselvesThey enjoyed themselves at the party.
ititselfThe cat cleaned itself.

Reflexive pronouns emphasize the subject's involvement in the action or indicate that the subject and object are the same entity.

Check your knowledge with the quiz!