Dr. Grammar says:

“What’s wrong with this sentence? Ben is going on holiday because Ben needs a rest from work.”

EXPLANATION:

The personal pronouns in English are:

I, me, you, he, him, her, she, it, we, us, they and them.

They are called personal pronouns as all of these pronouns (except it) are used to refer to people (or animals sometimes), but it, they and them can be used to refer to things too.

Why use personal pronouns?

Personal pronouns are used when a more descriptive noun or noun phrase is not needed. For example:

The teacher set a lot of homework, and the teacher said the homework must be finished by Monday. X

It is not good to repeat “the teacher” and “homework” when they can be replaced by personal pronouns:The teacher set a lot of homework, and she said it must be finished by Monday. √

Now the second time “the teacher” and “homework” are talked about, we can replace them with “she” and “it”. This sounds much better than the first sentence, and is a higher level of English as well.

What do the personal pronouns refer to?

Each personal pronoun can be used to refer to different people/things. Here is a breakdown of their uses:

I and me - the person speaking

You - the person you are speaking to

He and him - a male you are talking about (can be a person or an animal)

She and her - a female you are talking about (can be a person or an animal)

It - a thing (singular, only one thing; can be an animal)

We and us - the person/people speaking, and the person/people listening

They and them - the people, animals or things you are speaking about (plural, more than one)

It is important to choose the correct pronoun to help people understand what you are saying.

I or me?

All the personal pronouns, except it and you, have a subject and object form:

Subject: I          he          she          we          they

Object:  me      him        her          us           them

The subject form goes before the main verb, and the object form is used after the main verb. For example:

I sent her an email.

She sent me an email.

Will he go to the cinema with us?

Will we go to the cinema with him?

They went to the beach and took a picnic with them.

Computers are very useful as they make many jobs easier.

Computers are very useful if you know how to use them.

However, remember it and you are the same in both positions:You need to do your homework for tomorrow.

The homework that the teacher gave you needs to be done for tomorrow.

If you have a mobile phone, please may I use it?

It is a very nice mobile phone.

So…Ben is going on holiday because Ben needs a rest from work.  X

Ben is going on holiday because he needs a rest from work. √

EXERCISE:

Choose the correct personal pronoun from the lesson above to complete the following sentences:

1. Motorbikes are very popular because ……………… are perfect for driving round busy cities.

2. Some people like to listen to music when they study because ……………… can help ……………… concentrate.

3. The doctor gave Susan some medicine because……………… said ……………… was very sick. (The doctor is a man, Susan is a woman.)

4. The teacher said to his students, “……………… would like ……………… to do all the homework for tomorrow so ……………… can finish the book.”

5. David, Greg and Lauren are going to the beach tomorrow. ……………… want to know if ……………… can go as well, but ……………… can’t because ……………… have to finish ……………… school assignment.

Answers:

1. they

2. it, them

3. he, she

4. I, you, we

5. they, I, I, I, my

FURTHER PRACTICE:

Now read anything you can find that is easy to understand and is interesting (try Powell slams penalty “cowardice”). When you read, find the personal pronouns in this lesson and underline them.

When you have found them, try to find the person, people, thing or things that they are referring to.

When you understand all the pronouns in this lesson, try to write your own sentences using them.

Finally, come back next week for more lessons on pronouns!

This material is provided by the Australian Centre for Education and Training (ACET).