Welcome to Lesson 5: Pronouns.
In Lesson 4, you learned that a noun names a person, place, thing, or idea.
In this lesson, you will learn how pronouns take the place of nouns. Pronouns help us avoid repeating the same nouns again and again.
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What Is a Pronoun?
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.
Look at these sentences:
Bob is a teacher. Bob teaches English. Bob likes his job.
We don’t need to repeat Bob every time.
We can say:
Bob is a teacher. He teaches English. He likes his job.
He is a pronoun. It takes the place of the noun Bob.
Nouns and Pronouns
Look at how pronouns can take the place of nouns.
| Noun | Pronoun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Bob | he | He is a teacher. |
| Maria | she | She is a student. |
| the book | it | It is new. |
| Bob and Maria | they | They are friends. |
| Maria and I | we | We study English. |
| the students | they | They are ready. |
Pronouns Can Do Different Jobs
In Lesson 3, you learned about subject pronouns:
I – you – he – she – it – we – they
These pronouns can be the subject of a sentence.
Examples
Bob is a teacher. → He is a teacher.
Maria studies English. → She studies English.
The children are playing. → They are playing.
But pronouns can do other jobs, too.
Look at this sentence:
Maria likes Bob.
We can replace Bob with a pronoun:
Maria likes him.
Him is also a pronoun, but it is not the subject.
Three Important Kinds of Pronouns
| Noun / Person | Subject Pronoun | Possessive Pronoun | Object Pronoun |
|---|---|---|---|
| person speaking | I | mine | me |
| person spoken to | you | yours | you |
| one male person | he | his | him |
| one female person | she | hers | her |
| one thing / animal | it | — | it |
| person speaking + one or more other people | we | ours | us |
| two or more other people / things | they | theirs | them |
Subject Pronouns
A subject pronoun tells us who or what is doing or being something.
Bob is a teacher. → He is a teacher.
Maria studies English. → She studies English.
The children are playing. → They are playing.
Possessive Pronouns
A possessive pronoun shows who something belongs to.
It takes the place of a noun or noun phrase showing possession.
This is my book. → This book is mine.
That is your car. → That car is yours.
The phone belongs to Bob. → The phone is his.
The backpack belongs to Maria. → The backpack is hers.
This is our classroom. → This classroom is ours.
That is their house. → That house is theirs.
Notice that a possessive pronoun can stand by itself. We do not put a noun after mine, yours, his, hers, ours, or theirs.
Object Pronouns
An object pronoun can receive the action of the verb or come after a preposition.
Maria likes Bob. → Maria likes him.
Bob talks to Maria. → Bob talks to her.
The teacher helps the students. → The teacher helps them.
Maria studies with Bob and me. → Maria studies with us.
Look at the Difference
The same person can be represented by different pronouns depending on the person’s job in the sentence.
Bob is my teacher.
→ He is my teacher.
He = subject pronoun
I like Bob.
→ I like him.
Him = object pronoun
That book belongs to Bob.
→ That book is his.
His = possessive pronoun
Remember
Pronouns take the place of nouns.
The pronoun we use depends on its job in the sentence:
- Subject pronoun: who or what is doing or being something
- Object pronoun: who or what receives the action or follows a preposition
- Possessive pronoun: who something belongs to
You do not need to memorize all of these pronouns yet. You will learn and practice them more as you continue learning English.
Why Do We Use Pronouns?
Pronouns make English sound more natural.
Instead of:
Maria has a dog. Maria loves Maria’s dog. Maria walks Maria’s dog every day.
We can say:
Maria has a dog. She loves her dog. She walks it every day.
Pronouns help us avoid unnecessary repetition.
Practice
Choose a pronoun that can replace the bold noun or nouns.
- Bob is my teacher. → __________ is my teacher.
- Maria has a new job. → __________ has a new job.
- The dog is sleeping. → __________ is sleeping.
- My parents live in California. → __________ live in California.
- Maria and I study English. → __________ study English.
- I see Bob every day. → I see __________ every day.
- I talk to Maria at school. → I talk to __________ at school.
- I like the book. → I like __________.
Remember
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.
Pronouns help us:
- avoid repeating nouns
- make sentences shorter
- make English sound more natural
Some pronouns are subjects:
I – you – he – she – it – we – they
Other pronouns can do different jobs in a sentence.
Goal
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
- Explain what a pronoun is.
- Recognize pronouns in simple sentences.
- Replace nouns with appropriate pronouns.
- Understand why we use pronouns.
- Recognize that pronouns can have different jobs in a sentence.