Personal Pronouns

A personal pronoun is a pronoun that is associated primarily with a particular person, in the grammatical sense.

When discussing “person” in terms of the grammatical, the following rules apply:

First person, as in “I”

Second person, as in “you”

Third person, as in “It, he, she”

Personal pronouns may take on various forms depending on number (singular or plural for the most part). They may also take different forms depending on case, gender, or formality. It is important to note that personal pronouns may refer to objects, animals, or people.

Personal pronouns provide us with the following information:

The person – Who is speaking?

The number – Is the pronoun plural or singular?

The gender – Is the pronoun feminine, masculine, or neuter?

The word “he” is an example of a personal pronoun. He is third person (because he is the person being spoken about), singular, and masculine. The word “we” is another example of a personal pronoun. We is first person (because we are speaking as a group), plural, and neuter.

In the following examples, personal pronouns are italicized.

You need to stop lying to me.

We would love for you to join us.

Come look at my cat! He has climbed to the top of that tree.