Question 1

What is a pronoun?

Accepted Answer

A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun so you do not have to repeat it: Priya has a ball. She throws it. Here she replaces Priya and it replaces the ball. Common pronouns include I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, mine, myself, this, who and someone.

Question 2

What are the different types of pronouns?

Accepted Answer

The main types are personal (I, me, she, them), possessive (mine, yours, theirs), reflexive and emphatic (myself, themselves), demonstrative (this, that, these, those), interrogative (who, what, which), relative (who, which, that, whose), indefinite (someone, everybody, none) and reciprocal (each other, one another). Each type does a different job.

Question 3

When do you use who and when do you use whom?

Accepted Answer

Use who for the subject, the one doing the action, and whom for the object, the one receiving it. Test by answering with he or him: He called, so Who called? I called him, so Whom did you call? Whom is formal; in everyday speech who is normal in both places, as in Who did you give it to?

Question 4

What is the difference between its and it's?

Accepted Answer

Its shows possession: The dog wagged its tail. It's is short for it is or it has: It's raining; it's been a long day. To check, replace the word with it is or it has. If the sentence still makes sense, write it's. Like his, hers and theirs, possessive its never takes an apostrophe.

Question 5

Is it "my friend and I" or "my friend and me"?

Accepted Answer

Use I when the pair is the subject and me when it is the object. Drop the other name to test: My friend and I went (I went), but She invited my friend and me (she invited me). Give it to Ravi and I is a common overcorrection; after to, me is the standard form. Me and Ravi went is casual speech.

Question 6

Is it "taller than I" or "taller than me"?

Accepted Answer

Both are standard: taller than I is formal, and taller than me is the normal informal choice. The formal version comes from finishing the hidden clause: She is taller than I am. When the meaning could split, write the clause out: She likes him more than I do, or She likes him more than she likes me.

Question 7

What is the difference between reflexive and emphatic pronouns?

Accepted Answer

They use the same words, such as myself and themselves, for different jobs. A reflexive pronoun receives the action of its own subject: I hurt myself. An emphatic pronoun only adds stress: I baked the cake myself. Remove the word: if the sentence breaks, it was reflexive; if it still works, it was emphatic.

Question 8

What is the difference between each other and one another?

Accepted Answer

For most modern usage guides there is no real difference: both show an action going both ways, and they are interchangeable. The traditional rule, which some style guides still prefer, keeps each other for two and one another for three or more. Both take 's for possession: each other's ideas, one another's homes.

Question 9

Is it correct to use they for one person?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Singular they is standard English for one person whose gender is unknown or not relevant, as in Someone left their umbrella, and major style guides such as APA and the AP Stylebook accept it. The pattern is centuries old. It still takes a plural verb: they are, not they is. It is also right for someone who uses they.

Question 10

What is the difference between whose and who's?

Accepted Answer

Whose shows ownership or asks about it: Whose bag is this? Who's is short for who is or who has: Who's at the door? Replace the word with who is or who has; if the sentence still works, write who's. Whose can also refer to things: the tree whose branches touched the roof.

Question 11

What are relative pronouns?

Accepted Answer

Relative pronouns connect a describing clause to the noun it describes: The boy who won is my friend. Use who and whom for people, which for things, whose for possession, and that for people or things. That usually introduces essential detail (the book that I lent you); which often adds extra detail set off by commas.

Question 12

What are demonstrative pronouns?

Accepted Answer

Demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these and those, used to point at something without naming it. This and these are for things near you; that and those for things farther away, in space, time or thought. This and that are singular, these and those plural: These are my shoes, not This are my shoes.

Question 13

What are subject pronouns?

Accepted Answer

Subject pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we and they, the pronouns that do the action of a sentence: She sings. They laugh. Use I for yourself, you for the person spoken to, and he, she, it or they for others. You can mean one person or many; the context shows which.

Question 14

What are object pronouns?

Accepted Answer

Object pronouns are me, you, him, her, it, us and them, the pronouns that receive an action. They follow the verb or a preposition such as to, for or with: Ravi called her. She gave it to me. An object pronoun never does the action itself, so Him runs is wrong; He runs is right.

Question 15

What is the difference between my and mine?

Accepted Answer

My needs a noun after it; mine stands alone. Say This is my book or This book is mine, never This book is my. The same pairs are your and yours, her and hers, our and ours, their and theirs. Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe, so her's and your's are wrong.