📘 Chapter 3 — Pronouns

Pronoun

A word that replaces a noun

Pronoun antecedent

The noun a pronoun refers to

Pronoun agreement

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number and gender

Singular antecedent rule

Singular antecedents take singular pronouns

Plural antecedent rule

Plural antecedents take plural pronouns

Ambiguous pronoun

A pronoun that could refer to more than one noun

Vague pronoun

A pronoun with no clear antecedent

Pronoun clarity rule

Every pronoun must clearly and logically refer to one noun

Personal pronouns

I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it, we, us, they, them

Subject pronouns

I, he, she, we, they

Object pronouns

Me, him, her, us, them

Pronoun case rule

Use subject pronouns as subjects and object pronouns as objects

Pronouns after prepositions

Always use object pronouns after prepositions

Compound pronoun rule

Remove the other noun to test the pronoun

Possessive pronouns

His, hers, its, theirs

Its vs it's

Its is possessive; it's means it is

Their vs there vs they're

Their is possessive; there is location; they're means they are

Who vs whom

Who is a subject; whom is an object

Who test

Replace with he or she to test for who

Whom test

Replace with him or her to test for whom

Reflexive pronouns

Myself, himself, herself, themselves

Reflexive pronoun rule

Use only when the subject and object are the same

Relative pronouns

Who, whom, which, that

Relative pronoun clarity

Relative pronouns must clearly refer to a noun

Demonstrative pronouns

This, that, these, those

Demonstrative pronoun rule

Must clearly indicate what they refer to

Pronoun number shift

Changing from singular to plural pronouns incorrectly

Generic you

Avoid using you unless context clearly allows it

SAT pronoun focus

The SAT emphasizes clarity, agreement, and case