Singular Personal Pronoun:9 Important Facts You Should Know

In this article we will be seeing what the singular personal pronouns are. With the help of singular personal pronoun examples, we will get to know how, why, when, where they are used and also various other related facts.

Singular personal pronouns in simple words are the pronouns that are used to substitute or replace the nouns that are singular in number. Singular personal pronouns tell us the gender, case, and grammatical person of the noun along with the singular number. I, you, he, she, it, my, mine, me, your, yours, his, him, her, hers, its are the various singular personal pronouns.

Do go through the following singular personal pronoun examples to get a basic idea.

• 1. I am working as marketing head in a reputed MNC.
• 2. He is the guy who came late to the party.
• 3. The book on the table is mine.
• 4. She is my cousin who lives in Canada.
• 5. Rupali loves her dog and it is equally affectionate on her.
• 6. Subham has been trying to reach him since yesterday.

The words which are italicized in the above sentences are the singular personal pronouns utilized as a replacement for the nouns.

Can personal pronouns be singular?

Yes, personal pronouns can indeed be singular when they take the place of a noun that is singular in number. To replace a noun that is singular, only singular personal pronouns can be used.

Example: She is the new Vice President of the school.

In this sentence, ‘she’ is the personal pronoun and it is singular as it represents only one person. The singular personal pronoun ‘she’ is utilized here as a substitute for a singular female gender’s name (noun). ‘She’ is singular personal pronoun which shows the gender as female, grammatical person as third person and case as subjective.

When personal pronouns are singular?

Personal pronouns are singular when they replace or substitute for a proper noun that is singular in number.

Example: That is my research proposal.

‘My’ is the singular personal pronoun utilized here in this sentence. It is used as a replacement to a singular noun’s name. The singular personal pronoun ‘My’ shows the gender as masculine/feminine, grammatical person as first person and case as possessive.

Read more about Is Alliteration Figurative Language?

Which personal pronouns are singular?

The personal pronouns which as singular are I, you, he, she, it, my, mine, me, your, yours, his, him, her, hers, its.

Example: I am planning to take off tomorrow.

In this sentence, ‘I’ is the personal pronoun and it is singular as it represents only one person. ‘I’ is utilized here as asubstitute for a singular person’s name (noun).

Number- Singular; Gender – Masculine/Feminine; Grammatical person – First person; Case – Subjective

Example: You have to submit the class work note by today afternoon.

In this sentence, ‘you’ is the personal pronoun and it is singular as it represents only one person. ‘You’ is utilized here as asubstitute for a singular person’s name (noun).

Number- Singular/ Plural; Gender – Masculine/Feminine; Grammatical person – Second person; Case – Subjective

Example: He is the best badminton player in our class.

In this sentence, ‘he’ is the personal pronoun and it is singular as it represents only one person. ‘He’ is utilized here as asubstitute for a singular person’s name (noun).

Number- Singular; Gender – Masculine; Grammatical person – Third person; Case – Subjective

Example: She will visit the temple every Sunday.

In this sentence, ‘she’ is the personal pronoun and it is singular as it represents only one person. ‘She’ is utilized here as asubstitute for a singular person’s name (noun).

Number- Singular; Gender – Feminine; Grammatical person – Third person; Case – Subjective

Example: The baby was feeling hungry and so it was crying continuously.  

In this sentence, ‘it’ is the personal pronoun and it is singular as it represents only one person. ‘It’ is utilized here as asubstitute for a singular person’s name (noun).

Number- Singular; Gender – Neutral; Grammatical person – Third person; Case – Subjective

Which personal pronouns are always singular?

The personal pronouns I, he, she, it, my, mine, me, his, him, her, hers and its are the personal pronouns that always remain singular as they can only be used to replace a noun that is singular in number.

Example: Mala kept her house very clean.

Example: The dog was searching for its food.

Example: I am the topper of my class.

Example: He answered politely to all the questions.

Example: She is the girl I have been looking for.

Example: The teacher is angry at me as I did not finish my project.

In all the above sentences, the personal pronouns used are always singular as they are exclusively used only as a replacement to the nouns that are singular in number.

Singular personal pronoun examples

The following are the example sentences of singular personal pronouns

• 1. Rakhi completed her homework quickly.
• 2. The room is all mine now.
• 3. Rahul was very kind and the children loved him so very much.
• 4. He is the reason why I am late for the meeting.
• 5. This earring is hers and you have to return it.
• 6. Priya has a cute cat and its color is brown.
• 7. Subh does share his toys with anyone as he is very possessive about them.

Singular Personal Pronoun Examples With Explanations

Now we shall analyze every sentence and identify the singular personal pronoun used.

1. Rakhi completed her homework quickly.

‘Her’ is the singular personal pronoun used in this sentence as a replacement to singular noun ‘Rakhi’.

2. The room is all mine now.

‘Mine’ is the singular personal pronoun used in this sentence as a replacement to a singular noun (any proper name).

3. Rahul was very kind and the children loved him so very much.

‘Him’ is the singular personal pronoun used in this sentence in order to substitute the singular noun ‘Rahul’.

4. He is the reason why I am late for the meeting.

The singular personal pronouns in this sentence are ‘he’ and ‘I’. They are used here to replace the names of the singular nouns.

5. This earring is hers and you have to return it.

‘Hers’, ‘you’ and ‘it’ are the singular personal pronouns used in the above sentence. ‘Hers’ and ‘you’ are used as substitutions for singular noun names. ‘It’ is used to replace the noun ‘earring’.

6. Priya has a cute cat and its color is brown.

‘Its’ is the singular personal pronoun used in this sentence in order to substitute the singular noun ‘cat’.

7. Subh does share his toys with anyone as he is very possessive about them.

‘His’ and ‘he’ are the singular personal pronouns in this sentence as they are used as a replacement to the proper noun ‘Subh’.

Which personal pronouns can be either singular or plural?

You, your, and yours are the personal pronouns that can either be singular or plural. They can be regarded as singular or plural based on the nouns that they replace or substitute.

Example: You should take part in the event.

Example: Take care of your belongings carefully.

Example: This chair is yours.

The personal pronoun ‘you’, ‘your’ and ‘yours’ in the above sentences can either be singular or plural. If it is replacing a particular person’s name, then it will be singular. But if it is replacing more than one person (or a group of people), then it will be plural.

Types of personal pronouns

• Singular Personal Pronouns – I, you, he, she, it, my, mine, me, your, yours, his, him, her, hers and its (they replace the singular nouns)

Example: She is a national award winning short story writer.

• Plural Personal Pronouns – You, your, yours, we, they, our, ours, us, their, theirs, them (they substitute the plural nouns)

Example: They came to our annual day function.

• Subjective Personal Pronouns – I, you, he, she it, we, they (they play the role as the subject of the sentence)

Example: He has been our mentor since college days.

• Objective Personal Pronouns – me, you, him, her, it, us, them (they play the role as the object of the sentence)

Example: Shilpa saw him after a very long time.

• Possessive Personal Pronouns – my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs (they indicate the belongingness and possession)

Example: The students followed his guidance.

Example: The big house at the end of the road is theirs.

How to identify personal pronouns?

When a pronoun is used to replace the pronoun noun (name) of a person, then that is the personal pronoun. So in that way, identifying personal pronouns become easier as they are pronouns that are used in the place of a person’s name.

Example: Keertana is my distant cousin who lives in New York.

Example: She is my distant cousin who lives in New York.

Here, we can identify ‘she’ as the personal pronoun as it is used as a replacement for the proper noun ‘Keertana’.

Conclusion

Thus, we got to know almost all the important facts about singular personal pronouns from the above detailed explanations and examples. Overall, singular personal pronouns can be called as replacements for singular proper nouns.