🔤Grammar Guide: Pronouns

Choosing clear pronouns and avoiding common pronoun errors

A pronoun takes the place of a noun so writers do not have to repeat the same noun too often.

Problem:
The council reviewed the proposal, and the council delayed the vote because the council wanted more information.
Better:
The council reviewed the proposal and delayed the vote because it wanted more information.

Hint: Pronouns are useful, but they must be clear. Readers need to know whom or what the pronoun refers to.

Making pronoun references clear

A pronoun should point clearly to the noun it replaces.

Problem:
After the council rejected the proposal, they objected.
Better:
After the council rejected the proposal, residents objected.

Problem:
The committee gave the staff its recommendation.
Better:
The committee gave its recommendation to the staff.
The staff gave its recommendation to the committee.

Hint: The original sentence does not make clear whether its refers to the committee or the staff.

Using the right pronoun form

Use subject pronouns when the pronoun is the subject of a sentence or clause. Use object pronouns when the pronoun receives the action of a verb or follows a preposition.

Subject pronouns:
I, he, she, we, they, who

Object pronouns:
me, him, her, us, them, whom

This rule applies to all pronouns, but I and me often cause trouble when another person is named too.

Hint: If a sentence has a compound subject or object, check the pronoun by dropping the other person’s name: The director thanked me. I attended the meeting. The message was for me.

A pronoun that receives the action of a verb needs the object form:
Problem: The director thanked Donna and I.
Better: The director thanked Donna and me.

A pronoun used as a subject needs the subject form:
Problem: Donna and me attended the meeting.
Better: Donna and I attended the meeting.

A pronoun after a preposition also needs the object form:
Problem: The message was for Donna and I.
Better: The message was for Donna and me.

Courtesy note: Put yourself last when naming yourself with another person: Donna and I attended the meeting. The director thanked Donna and me.

Matching pronouns to the nouns they replace

A pronoun should clearly match the noun it replaces. Singular nouns usually take singular pronouns. Plural nouns usually take plural pronouns.

Awkward:
Each student should bring his or her notebook.
Better:
Students should bring their notebooks.
Also acceptable:
Each student should bring their notebook.

Note: Singular they and its forms are widely accepted when gender is unknown, irrelevant, or intentionally not specified. But rewriting the sentence is sometimes clearer than forcing a pronoun choice.

Using who and whom

Use who when the pronoun is doing the action. Use whom when the pronoun receives the action of a verb or follows a preposition.

When the pronoun is doing the action, use who:
Problem: Whom spoke at the hearing?
Better: Who spoke at the hearing?
Also correct: The resident who spoke first supported the proposal.

When the pronoun receives the action, whom may be correct:
Formal:
Whom did the committee invite?
The resident whom the committee invited spoke first.
More natural:
Who did the committee invite?
The committee invited the resident to speak first.

After a preposition, whom is the formal choice:
Formal:
To whom should the letter be sent?
The person to whom the letter was addressed had moved.
More natural:
Who should the letter be sent to?
The letter was addressed to a person who had moved.

Hint: In formal writing, whom may be expected when the pronoun is an object. But in everyday writing, whom can sound stiff. Rewriting the sentence may sound more natural.

Using myself, yourself, and other reflexive pronouns

Use reflexive pronouns when they refer back to the subject or add emphasis.

Correct uses:
I reminded myself to send the agenda.
She introduced herself at the meeting.
They prepared themselves for the hearing.

The guidelines below also apply to yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, and themselves.

A reflexive pronoun can also add emphasis:
Correct:
I wrote the memo myself.

Do not use a reflexive pronoun as a formal-sounding substitute for an ordinary pronoun. Do not use myself when me is the correct pronoun:
Problem:
Please send the agenda to Donna and myself.
Correct:
Please send the agenda to Donna and me.

In this sentence, me is the correct pronoun. Myself does not refer back to the subject.

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