Pronouns in English
Using Pronouns Clearly
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Using Pronouns Clearly
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Learning goal
I can recognise the main types of pronouns in English and use them accurately in sentences.
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Words you connect with pronouns
Use this to surface prior knowledge such as he, she, it, mine, this, myself, or each other. Invite students to notice which pronoun types already seem familiar.
Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns stand in for nouns.
They help us avoid repetition by naming the speaker, the listener, or the person or thing being talked about.
Examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they.
Emphasise that these are the pronouns students meet most often, and that later slides split them into subject and object forms.
Subject and object forms
Object pronouns
me, you, him, her, it, us, them
Used after a verb or preposition.
Sam called me.
The gift was for them.
Subject pronouns
I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Used as the subject of a verb.
She laughed.
They arrived early.
A common error is using an object pronoun where a subject pronoun is needed, such as 'Me and Alex went'. Model the standard form 'Alex and I went'.
Choosing the right personal pronoun
Use a subject pronoun before the verb.
Use an object pronoun after the verb or preposition.
Check what job the word is doing in the sentence.
He saw us.
The teacher spoke to her.
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Which sentence uses personal pronouns correctly?
Her saw we.
He saw us.
Him saw us.
He saw we.
Checks the core rule from slides 3–4: subject pronoun before the verb, object pronoun after the verb.
Subject or object?
In a sentence, personal pronouns can do different jobs. A subject pronoun comes before the verb, as in 'She laughed'. An object pronoun comes after a verb or preposition, as in 'Sam called me'.
The blanks echo the exact contrasts taught on slides 3–4 and force students to match form with function.
Possessive pronouns
Possessive forms show ownership or relationship.
English uses two patterns:
dependent possessives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
independent possessives: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs
The teacher's prompt groups these under possessive pronouns, but students should also hear that dependent forms function before a noun, while independent forms replace a noun phrase.
Dependent and independent forms
Dependent possessives
Come before a noun.
my book
their coats
our classroom
Stand on their own.
This book is mine.
Those coats are theirs.
The choice was ours.
Independent possessives
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A common confusion
Do not confuse possessive determiners with independent possessive pronouns.
my / your / their need a noun after them
mine / yours / theirs do not
Correct: My bag is here.
Correct: The bag is mine.
Point out that students often say 'mine bag' or write 'their's'. Stress that independent forms do not take an apostrophe.
Possession in sentences
Her phone rang.
The blue phone is hers.
Their table is near the window.
The corner table is theirs.
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Which form must come before a noun?
mine
hers
their
ours
Targets the confusion from slides 6–8 between dependent possessives and independent possessives.
Dependent or independent?
Possessive forms show ownership in two patterns. Dependent possessives come before a noun, as in 'her phone'. Independent possessives stand on their own, as in 'The blue phone is hers'.
Reinforces both the names and the sentence patterns from slides 5–8.
Demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns point to specific people or things.
The main forms are this, that, these, those.
They help show whether something is singular or plural, and often whether it is near or further away.
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Near and far
Plural
Singular
these = near
those = further away
These are fresh.
Those were expensive.
this = near
that = further away
This is my seat.
That belongs to Maya.
Distance can be physical or contextual. For example, 'this idea' can feel closer than 'that idea' in discussion.
Demonstratives in use
This looks easier.
Those are my notes.
That was surprising.
The pronoun replaces the noun instead of repeating it.
If useful, contrast with determiner use briefly: 'this pen' versus 'This is mine.' Keep the slide focus on pronoun use.
Which pronoun points to something plural and far away?
these
that
those
this
Checks the near/far and singular/plural contrast from slides 9–11.
How do this and those differ?
Expected elements: this = singular and near; that = singular and further away; these = plural and near; those = plural and further away. Accept concise comparisons in students' own words.
Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves.
They are used when the subject and the object are the same person or thing.
Examples: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
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When reflexives are correct
Use a reflexive pronoun when the action comes back to the subject.
I hurt myself.
She taught herself guitar.
They blamed themselves.
Students often overuse reflexives because they sound formal. Reinforce that a reflexive pronoun is correct only when it refers back to the subject.
Reflexive errors to avoid
Do not use a reflexive pronoun instead of a normal personal pronoun.
Incorrect: Please email myself.
Correct: Please email me.
Incorrect: Ahmed and myself went.
Correct: Ahmed and I went.
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Reciprocal pronouns
Reciprocal pronouns show a shared action or feeling between two or more people.
English uses each other and one another.
Example: The players encouraged each other.
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Each other and one another
Both forms express mutual action.
We helped each other.
The neighbours greet one another.
In modern English, the difference is small, though each other is often used for two and one another for more than two.
You may note that many grammar books teach a strict difference, but in everyday usage the two forms often overlap.
Reflexive or reciprocal?
The meaning changes depending on the pronoun.
They introduced themselves. = each person introduced their own self
They introduced each other. = they introduced one person to another
This contrast is essential because students often confuse shared action with self-directed action.
Which sentence needs a reciprocal pronoun?
They introduced themselves.
She blamed herself.
We helped each other.
I taught myself.
Contrasts mutual action with action returning to the subject, using the distinction from slides 12–17.
Reflexive or reciprocal?
Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and object are the same. In 'She taught herself guitar', the action returns to the subject. Reciprocal pronouns show mutual action. In 'The players encouraged each other', the action is shared between people.
Uses the lesson's exact examples to secure the meaning contrast before the summary slide.
Pronoun types at a glance
personal pronouns - words such as I, she, them that replace nouns and can act as subjects or objects
subject pronouns - personal pronouns used as the subject, such as we or he
object pronouns - personal pronouns used after a verb or preposition, such as us or her
dependent possessives - forms such as my and their that come before a noun
independent possessives - forms such as mine and theirs that stand on their own
demonstrative pronouns - words such as this, that, these, and those that point to specific things
reflexive pronouns - forms such as myself and themselves that refer back to the subject
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What is one pronoun rule you will remember?
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Which pronoun type feels hardest so far?
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Glossary
reciprocal pronouns - pronouns such as each other and one another that show a shared action or feeling
subject - the person, thing, or idea that does the action in a sentence
object - the person, thing, or idea affected by the action or following a preposition
ownership - the idea that something belongs to someone
noun - a naming word for a person, place, thing, or idea
determiner - a word placed before a noun to help identify it, such as my in my coat
mutual action - an action shared between people, as in They thanked each other
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