Personal Pronouns and Its Forms 

Pronouns are one of the most commonly used Parts of Speech in both formal writings and informal conversations.

Today, we shall be discussing in detail the Personal Pronouns and their Forms.

Personal Pronoun is the first kind of Pronouns that springs to our mind whenever we think of Pronouns.

It can be defined as the type of Pronoun used to replace a specific Noun in a sentence. They help to replace a person, an animal or a place in order to avoid making the same repetitions again and again.

· Usage: In a sentence, Personal Pronouns can be used to replace a Noun used earlier.

They function in two ways:

1. As the subject.

2.  As the Object.

· They can be, thus, further categorized as:

1.  Subjective Personal Pronouns – Used as the Subject.

2.  Objective Personal Pronouns- Used as the Object. (couls be Direct , Indirect or Object of Preposition)

·  Conditions:

·  In order to be grammatically correct, Personal Pronouns must agree with the:

Number

a.Singular : I, You, He, She, It , Him, Her

b. Plural:   You,We, They, Them, Us

Gender

a.       Masculine : He, Him

b.      Feminine: She, Her

c.       Neuter It

Person

Please note that a Third Person Plural Personal Pronoun such as ‘they’ which refers to both Masculine and Feminine Gender is called a Generic Pronoun.

·   A Personal Pronoun can function as either of the ways by replacing the Noun or the Noun Phrase.

1.  Subject in a sentence.

2. Object in a  sentence. (Either Direct or Indirect or Object of Preposition)

They, thus help to avoid frequent repetitions and ensure s smoother flow of words or sentences in speech or writing.

·   Personal Pronouns are usually definite and therefore, normally used only when the person or the thing they replace is already mentioned in the sentence which is known as antecedent.

1. The antecedent, most commonly has a backward reference which is hence known as Anaphoric.

e.g.: The teacher called me to the staffroom. She was livid at me.

2. But at times, in formal writings mostly it can have a forward reference too , which shall be clear in the example mentioned below . This is known as Cataphoric.

e.g.:  She walked in to the sunset. For years afterwards, Mary would recall this hour of solitude spent in the dusk, as the best time of her childhood days.

Examples of Personal Pronouns

1. Can you take her to school, today?

2. My husband and I got it from the curio shop.

3. I bought some shoes, but they didn’t fit.

Some more examples from Literature

1. So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you.(Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist)

2.  Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much. (Oscar Wilde)

English Grammar and Composition

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