Pronouns - take the place of a noun
click here for more about using "me" and "I".
Subject Pronouns (SP)-are the subject of the sentence
I
we
he
she
it
they
you
sp v adv adv
I ran very quickly.
Who is this sentence about? I
sp v p A op
He went to a store.
Who is this sentence about? he
sp c sp hv v A do
She and I are taking a test.
Who is this sentence about? she, I
Object Pronouns -do an object job in a sentence (OP)(DO)
me
us
him
her
it
them
you
sp v p op
She talked to them.
to is a preposition.
to what? them.
them is the object of the preposition (op).
since "them" is doing an object job, we use an object pronoun.
sp v do
He asked me.
asked whom? me
this makes me a direct object.
since "me" is doing an object job, we use an object pronoun. (instead of the subject pronoun "I").
Possessive Pronouns (PPA)- show ownership and tell "which one" (adj)
my
our
his
her
its
their
your
ppa
That is their dog.
Which dog? their dog. Since "their" tells which one, it's an adjective.
Since "their" tells who the dog belongs to, "their" is possessive.
ppa
Its bowl is empty.
Which bowl? Its bowl. Since "Its" tells which one, it is an adjective.
Since "Its" tells who the bowl belongs to, it is possessive.
ppa
Your mom is funny.
Which mom? Your mom. Since "your" tells which one, it is an adjective.
Since "your" tells who mom belongs to, it is possessive.
Reflexive pronouns (self pronouns)- refer back to a noun in the sentence and usually follow a verb or preposition.
myself
yourself
himself (not hisself)
herself
itself
ourselves (change the f to v and add -es. Self becomes selves)
themselves
yourselves
EX: John wanted to read the book himself. (himself refers to John).
I drew the picture myself. (myself refers to I).
We heard her say it ourselves. (ourselves refers to we).
Don't use a reflexive pronoun if the sentence doesn't have the noun it refers to.
WRONG: She cooked dinner for Bob and myself. (you can't use myself because it doesn't refer back to any words in the sentence. Myself isn't referring to she or to Bob.)
RIGHT: She cooked dinner for Bob and me. (for is a preposition, so you need an object pronoun to be the OP.)