Words like he, his, she, her, its, who, whom are pronouns. As “noun substitutes,” they add variety to their “alter-ego nouns.” In the following sentences, please identify each pronoun and tell us (if it is apparent) the pronoun’s antecedent (the noun that precedes it somewhere and to which the pronoun refers.)

a. Brenda announced that she will run for president.

b. It was she who solved the puzzle.

c. Both the accountant and the chief financial officer understood the problem and the potential solution, but only he was able to explain it properly to the media.

d. This is the book that was stolen. e. This book is not my favorite.

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Answers:a.
The only pronoun is she -- it refers to Brenda (the antecedent). BUT -- isn't that a pronoun, a
relative pronoun? Not in this case; it's a conjunction. If you think that is a pronoun, then what
is its antecedent?
b. Three pronouns here, and their antecedent (obviously the same individual) needs to be
determined by an earlier reference (in an earlier sentence). They are It, she and who. (The last
one is called a relative pronoun.)
c. In this sentence, he and it are pronouns, but they are used incorrectly. To whom does the
personal pronoun he refer? The same question can be asked of it.
d. We see two pronouns here -- This (a reference to book) and that (a relative pronoun, "standing
in" for book in the second clause).
e. Only one pronoun here: my, a simple possessive. This is an adjective, as it does not "stand in"
for book but specifies the identification of the book.