Pronoun

Relative pronouns and adverb

Generally (but not always) pronouns stand for (pro + noun) or refer to a noun, an individual or individuals or thing or things (the pronoun's antecedent) whose identity is made clear earlier in the text. For instance, we are bewildered by writers who claim something like

• They say that eating beef is bad for you.

They is a pronoun referring to someone, but who are they? Cows? whom do they represent? Sloppy use of pronouns is unfair.

Not all pronouns will refer to an antecedent, however.

• Everyone here earns over a thousand dollars a day.

The word "everyone" has no antecedent.

The problem of agreement between a pronoun and its antecedent and between a pronoun and its verb is treated in another section on Pronoun-Antecedent Consistency. The quizzes on pronoun usage are also listed at the end of that section.

Relative pronouns are all used in adjective/ relative clauses.

·         Who or that is used as a subject referring to a person.

·         Whom is used as an object referring to a person.

·         Which or that is used as a subject or an object referring to a thing.

·         Whose is used to replace a possesive adjective.