What are the 3 major categories of Pronouns?
1. Gender
Masculine: He, Him, His
When a man/boy/male is talked about, it is understood that pronouns he, him, or his are used.
Feminine: She, Her, Hers
- for woman/female/girl
Neutral: It, Its
-for a thing, idea, plant, or even animal. For animals, the usage varies. Some just want to use 'it', or 'its' especially if their sexuality is unsure. But many, especially those who have pets, use masculine or feminine pronouns.
2. Number (Agreement in Number)
What is an antecedent?
An antecedent is a part of a sentence, specifically a noun, that is later replaced by a pronoun.
example:
"Maria watched the newly released movie. She is very happy."
'Maria' is replaced by 'she' in the second sentence.
Maria, therefore, is the antecedent for 'she', as it is the one being replaced by the pronoun she.
Using the above example, agreement of number means that both the pronoun and its antecedent must have the same number.
Meaning, that if the antecedent is singular, the pronoun should be singular as well. And if plural, the pronoun should be plural as well. Why? Because when nouns are replaced with pronouns, following this rule will make sure that the meaning of the sentence is not changed.
see example:
"The student will submit her project after lunch."
'Student' here is a noun and is the subject. 'Student' is singular, therefore the pronoun used to replace the student is singular as well which is 'her'. This does not mean that automatically 'her' is used, it always depends on the gender of the person talked about. The antecedent 'student' is singular, so the pronoun that replaces it, which is "she", is singular too.
another example:
"All students will submit their projects tomorrow."
'Students' is plural, so the pronoun that later replaced it is plural too which is 'their'.
The antecedent is plural and the pronoun is plural.
3. Person
There are three levels of person in a sentence or speech under this category.
First-person Pronouns:
These refer to the speaker or writer.
Second-person pronouns:
These refer to the readers or listeners spoken to or addressed to.
YOU, YOUR, & YOURS
Third-person pronouns:
These are those people talked about by the first person and second person.
they, them, their, theirs, themselves, him, his, himself, her, she, herself, hers, it, & its
COMMON MISTAKE
One of the common mistakes under this category is the change of person.
For example:
"I joined a classical choir, and you have to attend practice every day."
It may sound proper but it is not. The grammar is wrong.
You joined a classical choir, and I have to attend practice every day? It is not me who joined a classical choir!
Instead, it should be written this way:
"I joined a classical choir, and I have to attend practice every day."
Note: The pronouns used in the sentence must be consistent with their antecedents to avoid confusion from the readers.
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