Personal Pronouns: Definition, Examples, & Exercises | Albert.io (2024)

Personal pronouns are the most common form of pronoun as they have the ability to replace virtually any noun in a sentence. These pronouns have the power to pretend to be someone or something in a sentence.

For example, the first sentence in a story might read:

• “Bruce Wayne solemnly surveyed the interior of his mansion.”

Bruce Wayne is a proper noun and also happens to be the subject of the sentence. To avoid sounding monotonous and repetitive, authors will often use personal pronouns in place of proper nouns like this:

• “He walked the silent halls, peering through doorways into empty rooms with curtains drawn.”

Since this sentence immediately follows a sentence with a proper noun, the personal pronoun “he” can be used in place of the proper noun without confusing the reader.

However, you do have to be careful when using personal pronouns. Look at the two sentences below and decide which one is written correctly:

• “Apart from his loyal butler, Alfred, he felt totally alone.”

Or,

• “Apart from his loyal butler, Alfred, Bruce felt totally alone.”

Because the writer introduced a second proper noun, Alfred, into the sentence, using the personal pronoun “he” to refer to Bruce Wayne would result in an antecedent error. This means that the reader would assume that “he” meant Alfred since it is the closest proper noun to the personal pronoun.

When you’re ready, test yourself with a quizand practice with our high-quality, standards-aligned questions here.

The Basics of Personal Pronouns

What is a Personal Pronoun?

Personal pronouns are pronouns that refer to a specific person, thing, animal, or group in a sentence.

For example:

• Joe asked Dante where he bought his Nintendo Switch.

The reader understands that both “he” and “his” refer to Dante. If Joe meant someone other than Dante, both Dante and the reader would be very confused.

Additionally, personal pronouns can take the role of most nouns in a sentence, whether subject or object.

For example:

• Claire watched the meteor shower last night; she saw it from her bedroom window.

In this compound sentence, there are two independent clauses that are connected by a semi-colon. In the first independent clause, the subject and object of the sentence are “Claire” and “meteor shower”. In the second independent clause, both of these nouns are replaced: “she” replaced “Claire” as the subject, and “it” replaced “meteor shower” as the direct object.

Finally, when personal pronouns are used, they must have a clear antecedent, or a noun that appeared earlier in the text that is being replaced by the personal pronoun.

For example:

• Mark and Amy brought him lunch.

This sentence is so confusing because the reader has no idea who “him” refers to! Could it be Mark? No, that wouldn’t make sense, because the sentence implies that the lunch is brought for someone else. It cannot be Amy’s lunch, because a masculine personal pronoun is used.

As writers, we must be careful to always have clear antecedents in our sentences if we choose to use personal pronouns (which we should!).

Here is the sentence again with an antecedent added:

• Joe called Mark and Amy to ask if they could bring him lunch.

Now in this sentence, we know who “him” refers to. Even though there is another personal pronoun, “they”, we still know which personal pronoun refers to which proper noun because “they” has to refer to a plural noun (Mark and Amy), and “him” has to refer to a singular, masculine noun (Joe).

What are the different types of pronouns?

In total, there are eight different types of pronouns. This will be a very quick summary, so if you’d like to learn more about these other types of pronouns, visit the Pronoun Overview and Practice page on Albert.

Personal Pronouns: pronouns that refer to a specific person, thing, animal, or group in a sentence.

• When David lost his goldfish, he was very sad.

Demonstrative Pronouns: pronouns that are used to point out specific items

• That is my missing goldfish!

Interrogative Pronouns: pronouns used to ask a question

• Whose goldfish is this?

Indefinite Pronouns: pronouns used to refer to someone or something nonspecific

• Do any of these goldfish belong to you?

Possessive Pronouns: pronouns used to show possession or belonging

• I already told you; it is my goldfish!

Relative Pronouns: pronouns that introduce relative clauses and add information about someone or something introduced earlier in the sentence

• David was exasperated, which only made his quest to retrieve his missing goldfish that much more difficult.

Reflexive/Intensive Pronouns: reflexive pronouns are used when the object of the sentence immediately reflects the subject of the same sentence, while intensive pronouns are used to show emphasis

• David resolved to rescue his goldfish himself, no matter the cost.

What are the similarities between personal pronouns and these other types of pronouns?

Personal pronouns pair most closely with possessive pronouns and reflexive pronouns in sentences.

For example:

• The penguin waddled delightedly toward the water; he trembled in anticipation of his first swim by himself.

What are the differences between personal pronouns and these other types of pronouns?

Conversely, personal pronouns do not often pair with interrogative or indefinite pronouns.

While personal pronouns refer to a specific person, thing, animal, or group in a sentence, interrogative and indefinite pronouns refer to an undefined or nonspecific person, thing, animal, or group.

For example:

If someone asked, “Who made this extravagant chalk drawing on my driveway?” And another person responded, “He did!” without pointing at someone, we still would not know who did the drawing. Since both interrogative and indefinite pronouns lack antecedents, it is very difficult to also use a personal pronoun without introducing an antecedent first.

Return to the top

3 Tips for Understanding Personal Pronouns

Here are some important tips to help you understand personal pronouns:

Tip #1. Personal pronouns can be used to replace a specific person, thing, animal, or group in a sentence

For example:

• As the frog leapt across the lily pads, it snagged a few flies on the way.

In this sentence, the personal pronoun, it, replaces the noun, frog.

Tip #2. Personal pronouns must have an antecedent that comes before the pronoun to make sense

For example:

• Beyonce has released several award-winning albums, but she most recently released “Homecoming”.

In this sentence, the personal pronoun, she, refers back to its antecedent, which is Beyonce.

Tip #3. If another person, thing, animal, or group interrupts the personal pronoun and its antecedent, a personal pronoun cannot be used

For example:

• Pete bought Jake a box of Cheez-Its and a pack of Twizzlers; Jake ate the Twizzlers first because they were his favorite snack.

In this sentence, there are two different snacks that could be the antecedent of they. Therefore, the writer repeats the antecedent, Twizzlers, before using the personal pronoun to avoid confusion.

Now that you understand how personal pronouns function in sentences, review the anchor chart above and complete the review below to fully understand how to use and recognize personal pronouns.

Return to the top

Applying the Basics: Personal Pronoun Review & Practice

The Ultimate List of Antecedents

Refer to the graphic below to learn about different types of pronouns, including personal pronouns:

Return to the top

Personal Pronoun Exercises and Review

Now that you know some common personal pronouns, test your ability to find these pronouns.

Select the personal pronoun in the sentences below. Remember, personal pronouns refer to a specific person, thing, animal, or group in a sentence.

1. Rey searched tirelessly for Luke Skywalker, knowing only he could teach her the ways of the Force.

• In this sentence, he is a personal pronoun that replaces “Luke Skywalker”, and her is a personal pronoun that replaces “Rey”.

2. The Rebel Alliance fought to overthrow The Empire and undo the evil that they had done.

• In this sentence, they is a personal pronoun that replaces “The Empire”.

3. When the Mandalorian’s life was in danger, the Child saved him by using the Force.

• In this sentence, him is a personal pronoun that replaces Mandalorian.

4. As Rey unwillingly left Leia to go on a mission, Leia encouraged her by saying, “I will see you when you get back.”

• In this sentence, her, I, and you are all examples of personal pronouns. Since there are two proper nouns referring to female characters, Leia’s name has to be used a second time to avoid confusion.

5. Kylo Ren was shocked to realize that Supreme Leader Snoke was only a puppet, and that Emperor Palpatine was manipulating him this entire time.

• In this sentence, him is a personal pronoun that could refer to either Kylo Ren or Snoke; however, it is clear that him refers to Snoke based on context clues within the sentence. If Snoke was a puppet, it is most logical that he was the one being manipulated.
• Pro tip: Remember, personal pronouns are pronouns that refer to a specific person, thing, animal, or group in a sentence. They can replace most nouns in a sentence, regardless of whether that noun is a subject or object. However, every personal pronoun must have a clear antecedent, or a noun that comes before it. If there is any possibility of confusing the reader by using a personal pronoun, re-introduce the antecedent before replacing it with one of these pronouns.

For additional practice, check out Personal Pronoun content on Albert.

Return to the top

Try for Yourself: Personal Pronouns Quiz

Feeling confident in your understanding of personal pronouns?

Take this short six-question quiz to see what you’ve learned:

1. Can a personal pronoun exist without an antecedent?

• Answer: No
• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A personal pronoun must have a clear antecedent that comes before it, either within the same sentence or in the sentence immediately prior to it.
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right! Remember, a personal pronoun must have a clear antecedent that comes before it, either within the same sentence or in the sentence immediately prior to it.

2. Can personal pronouns and possessive pronouns be used together in the same sentence?

• Answer: Yes
• Correct Explanation: That’s right! Personal and possessive pronouns are often used together in sentences as long as each pronoun has a clear antecedent.
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right! Remember, personal pronouns can be used with many other types of pronouns as long as each pronoun has a clear antecedent.

3. In this sentence, is the word, “his” a personal or possessive pronoun?

Justin was in a disagreement with his cousin because Justin thought Nike was the best brand while his cousin preferred Adidas.

• Answer: Possessive
• Correct Explanation: That’s right! The pronoun his is possessive because it shows ownership or belonging.
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right! Remember, possessive pronouns show ownership or belonging while personal pronouns replace nouns in sentences.

4. In this sentence, is the word, “we” a personal or possessive pronoun?

Since my friends and I could not agree on a movie to go see together, we went to the mall instead.

• Answer: Personal
• Correct Explanation: That’s right! The pronoun we is a personal pronoun because it replaces a previous group of nouns in the sentence (my friends and I).
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right! Remember, possessive pronouns show ownership or belonging while personal pronouns replace nouns in sentences.

5. In this sentence, is the word, “which” a personal or relative pronoun?

The founders of Jurassic World were genetically-engineering dinosaurs, which turned out to be a terrible idea.

• Answer: Relative
• Correct Explanation: That’s right! In this sentence, the word which is a relative pronoun because it introduces a relative clause that adds information about the process of “genetically-engineering dinosaurs”.
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right! Remember, relative pronouns introduce relative clauses and add information about someone or something introduced earlier in the sentence while personal pronouns replace nouns in sentences.

6. In this sentence, is the word, “that” a personal or demonstrative pronoun?

That is my guinea pig; not yours!

• Answer: Demonstrative
• Correct Explanation: That’s right! That is a demonstrative pronoun because it is used to point out a specific item in the sentence, which is, guinea pig.
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right! Remember, demonstrative pronouns are used to point out specific items in a sentence, while personal pronouns replace nouns in sentences.

For additional practice with personal pronouns, check out our practice on Albert: Personal Pronouns.

Return to the top

Teacher’s Corner for Personal Pronouns

With so many grammatical concepts to master, regular practice of these concepts is necessary. Teachers can use the Common Core English Language Progressive Skills Chart to create both short and long term goals for their students.

For specific standards on the different types of pronouns including personal pronouns, check out the Common Core State Standards site.

Albert’s Personal Pronoun practice allows students to hone their skills as writers, readers, and speakers. When teachers wish to evaluate their students’ progress, Albert’s assessments are pre-made and readily available for teacher use.

Summary for Personal Pronouns

Be sure to check out our grammar course for more personal pronoun practice.

You can also access over 3,400 high-quality questions that address nearly every grammatical concept.

Need help preparing for your Grammar exam?

Albert has hundreds of grammar practice questions with detailed explanations to help you master concepts.