Editor's Corner

Good morning, friends! Today’s topic is pronouns. We’ve talked about pronouns quite a few times before. As Kara explained in a previous Editor’s Corner article, “A pronoun’s duty in life is to step in and take the place of a noun. Pronouns allow us to add variety and avoid sentences like this: ‘Mark hates hospitals because Mark hates getting shots.’”

In short, using pronouns saves time.

Pronouns come in different classes. To help you get the gist, I’ll tell you the classes and show you how each one works in a sentence.

Classes of pronouns:

• Personal: I, you, she, it, we, they, etc.

Example: I want to go to the zoo. [dbb – I takes the place of the noun Donna.]

• Demonstrative: that, this, these, those

Example: That is where I want to go. [dbb – That takes the place of the noun phrase
the zoo.]

• Interrogative: what, which, who, where, and how

Example: Who told you that I often go to the zoo? [dbb – Who represents the person that said I go to the zoo.]

• Relative: that which, that, where, who, etc.

Example: I want to go to the San Diego Zoo, which is world famous. [dbb – Which
takes the place of the San Diego Zoo. These relative pronoun phrases usually add more information to your sentence.]

• Indefinite: all, another, any, each, either, none, some, someone etc.

Example: Someone must want to go with me. [dbb: Someone takes the place of the name of the charming person who might want to go with me.]

• Possessive: My, your, his, its, their, and also mine, yours, etc.

Example: It’s my favorite zoo. [dbb – My takes the place of Donna’s.]

Example: The San Diego Zoo and the Zoo Safari Park are different from one another. [dbb – One another
takes the place of the San Diego Zoo and the Zoo Safari Park.]

• Reflexive and Intensive: myself, yourself, himself, itself, etc.

Example: The San Diego Zoo takes it upon itself to breed a lot of endangered animals. [dbb: Itself in this example is an intensive pronoun.
Itself refers back to the San Diego Zoo to emphasize it.]

Donna Bradley Burcher | Senior Technical Editor | Symitar®

8985 Balboa Ave. | San Diego, CA 92123 | Ph. 619.278.0432 | Ext: 765432

Pronouns she/her/hers

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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