Pronouns & Vague Pronouns

a phrase, clause, or word that is later referred back to by an earlier word, noun, or phrase

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Antecedent

Ex:
Chelsey finished her presentation.

Venus is odd. It rotates clockwise.

Alice is a law student. She enjoys reading cases. ​

pronouns that show ownership

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Possessive Pronoun

Ex:
This seat is mine. Where's yours?

I accepted their invitation.

Her eyes are blue.

tells who or what the sentence is about

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Subjective Pronoun

Ex:
She is cooking dinner tonight.


I am writing a letter.


We all played kickball.

receives the action

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Objective Pronoun

Ex:
It made me very popular at the time.

They all failed to stand on it.

Robert believes her more than him.

referring back to the antecedent or subject of the sentence, ending in -self or -selves.

​If you remove the pronoun, the sentence does not make sense.

Reflexive Pronoun

Ex:
Participants pushed themselves to the limit.

refers to a noun or pronoun in the same sentence

​If you remove the pronoun yourself, the sentence still makes sense.

Intensive Pronoun

Ex:
He himself wrote the entire novel.

I myself will fix the problem.

She herself made the decision to leave.

if it doesn't clearly refer to a specific person or thing in the sentence.

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Vague Pronoun

Ex:
On my street, they pick up the garbage.

Who is they?

In this magazine article, it recommends eating more vegetables.

What is it?