Pronouns for Kids: List, Types and Examples

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Instead of saying "Maya ate Maya's lunch," you can say "She ate her lunch."

Without pronouns, every story your students write would sound like this: "Ben went to the store. Ben bought milk. Ben carried the milk home." Pronouns fix that. In 1st and 2nd grade, students learn the basic list, then move on to tricky pairs like I and me. Our 2nd grade pronouns worksheets give them plenty of practice, and below you'll find the full pronoun chart, 30 example sentences and the teaching steps we use.

What Does a Pronoun Do?

A pronoun stands in for a noun the reader already knows about. The noun it replaces is called the antecedent. It's a big word, and honestly we're not sure how many students remember it a year later, but 3rd graders love saying it.

• Ben went to the store. He bought milk. (He replaces Ben.)
• The puppies were tired, so they took a nap. (They replaces the puppies.)
• Grandma and I baked cookies. We ate six. (We replaces Grandma and I.)

The rule of thumb: say the noun first, then use the pronoun. If a sentence starts with "He" and the reader has no idea who "he" is, the pronoun isn't doing its job.

Quick tip: have students read a paragraph with no pronouns out loud. They'll hear how clunky it sounds, and they'll want to fix it.

The Full Pronoun List Chart

These are the personal pronouns students use every day, grouped by the job each one does.

Person	Subject	Object	Possessive (before a noun)	Possessive (stands alone)	Reflexive
1st, one	I	me	my	mine	myself
2nd, one	you	you	your	yours	yourself
3rd, one (boy or man)	he	him	his	his	himself
3rd, one (girl or woman)	she	her	her	hers	herself
3rd, one (thing or animal)	it	it	its	(rarely used)	itself
1st, more than one	we	us	our	ours	ourselves
2nd, more than one	you	you	your	yours	yourselves
3rd, more than one	they	them	their	theirs	themselves

Writers also use they, them and their for one person when the gender isn't known or doesn't matter: "Someone left their jacket on the bus."

What each type does:

• Subject pronouns do the action: She jumped.
• Object pronouns receive the action or come after a word like to, for or with: Mom hugged her. The gift is for him.
• Possessive pronouns show ownership. The "before a noun" set comes right before the thing owned (my bike), while the "stands alone" set replaces the whole phrase (the bike is mine). Many grammar books call the first set possessive adjectives. In most elementary programs, both are taught as possessive pronouns.
• Reflexive pronouns point back to the subject: I made it myself.

Older students will also meet a few other kinds. Demonstrative pronouns point (this, that, these, those). Question pronouns ask (who, whom, whose, what, which). Indefinite pronouns don't name anyone specific (everyone, someone, nobody, anything, all, each, both).

30 Pronoun Examples in Sentences

The pronoun in each sentence is in bold.

Subject pronouns

1. I love recess.
2. You are a great reader.
3. He plays soccer on Saturdays.
4. She painted a rainbow.
5. It is raining again.
6. We built a block tower.
7. They sang in the school play.

Object pronouns

8. Please pass the glue to me.
9. I made this card for you.
10. The class cheered for him.
11. Dad called her for dinner.
12. The cat hid, and we couldn't find it.
13. Our teacher read a story to us.
14. I fed the fish and watched them swim.

Possessive pronouns

15. My lunchbox is blue.
16. Is this your pencil?
17. His shoes are untied.
18. Her drawing won a ribbon.
19. The dog wagged its tail.
20. Our class has a pet hamster.
21. Their house has a red door.
22. That snack is mine.
23. The blue jacket is yours.
24. The idea was hers.
25. The best fort on the playground is ours.

Reflexive pronouns

26. I tied my shoes myself.
27. Be careful not to hurt yourself.
28. He taught himself to ride a bike.
29. The students cleaned up the room themselves.
30. We made the costumes ourselves.

I vs Me: The Most Common Pronoun Mistake

This one trips up adults too, so don't feel bad if your students keep mixing them up.

• I is a subject pronoun. Use it when you're doing the action.
• Me is an object pronoun. Use it when the action happens to you, or after words like to, for, with and between.

The trouble starts when another person joins the sentence. Here's the trick: cover the other person and read it again.

Sentence	Cover the other person	Correct?
Sam and I went to the park.	I went to the park.	Yes
Me and Sam went to the park.	Me went to the park.	No
Dad drove Lily and me to school.	Dad drove me to school.	Yes
Dad drove Lily and I to school.	Dad drove I to school.	No

One more manners rule students can learn at the same time: put the other person first. "Sam and I," not "I and Sam."

How to Teach Pronouns in Grades 1-3

Here are 5 steps that build on each other.

Step 1: Start With Names (1st Grade)

Write a short story using only names: "Ava has a cat. Ava feeds the cat. The cat loves Ava." Read it aloud and ask, "What sounds funny?" Then swap in she, it and her together. Your students will see right away why pronouns exist.

Step 2: Teach Subject Pronouns With Movement

Point to yourself and say "I." Point to a student and say "you." Point to a boy across the room for "he" and to a group for "they." A quick round of "point and say" sticks better than any worksheet on day one.

Step 3: Add Object Pronouns With "To" and "For"

Practice with gifts: "I give the ball to... him!" Students pass a soft ball and say the object pronoun for the person catching it. This makes the difference between he and him something they can feel.

Step 4: Bring in Possessive and Reflexive Pronouns (2nd Grade)

Use classroom objects. Hold up a student's pencil: "Whose is it?" "It's hers!" Then try reflexive pronouns with simple actions: "I can clap by myself. Can you clap by yourself?" Common Core puts reflexive pronouns in 2nd grade (L.2.1c).

Step 5: Check Who the Pronoun Points To (3rd Grade)

Give students sentences where the pronoun is unclear: "Max told Leo that he won." Who won? Nobody knows. Students rewrite the sentence so the pronoun clearly matches one noun. This is pronoun-antecedent agreement (L.3.1f), and it makes a big difference in their writing.

Common Pronoun Mistakes

Me and my friend went... Covered above. Cover the other name and read again.

Its vs it's. Its shows ownership (the dog wagged its tail). It's means "it is" or "it has." Possessive pronouns never use an apostrophe, and that includes its, yours, hers, ours and theirs.

Hisself and theirselves. These aren't standard English. The correct forms are himself and themselves.

Them for those. "Can I have them crayons?" should be "Can I have those crayons?" Them never comes right before a noun.

Unclear pronouns. "Mom and Grandma went shopping, and she bought shoes." Which one? Teach students to reread and ask, "Would a reader know who this is?"

Practice Pronouns With Worksheets

Short, regular practice is what turns pronoun rules into habits. These hubs are organized by grade:

• 1st grade pronouns worksheets: swapping nouns for pronouns, plus personal, possessive and indefinite pronouns
• 2nd grade pronouns worksheets: personal, common and reflexive pronouns
• 3rd grade pronouns worksheets: pronoun agreement and subject vs object pronouns

Working with younger students? Our guide on pronouns for kindergarten covers the very first steps.

FAQ

What is a pronoun in simple words? A pronoun is a short word that takes the place of a noun. Instead of saying "Maya ate Maya's lunch," you can say "Maya ate her lunch" or "She ate her lunch." Pronouns keep sentences from repeating the same name.

What are the main types of pronouns? The four types elementary students learn first are subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they), object pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, them), possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) and reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves).

What are 10 examples of pronouns? Ten common pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, them and myself. Each one can replace a noun in a sentence.

When do you use I and when do you use me? Use I when you are doing the action (I kicked the ball). Use me when the action happens to you (Coach passed the ball to me). If another person is in the sentence, cover their name and read it again: "Dad drove Lily and me" is right because "Dad drove me" sounds right.

Is my a pronoun? Yes. Most elementary programs teach my, your, his, her, its, our and their as possessive pronouns. Grammar books often call them possessive adjectives or determiners because they come right before a noun (my book), while mine, yours and theirs stand alone (the book is mine).

Keep Reading

• Pronouns for Kindergarten: How to Teach Them
• Nouns for Kids: Types of Nouns With 100 Examples

Pronouns are small words that do a lot of work. Once your students can swap names for pronouns without thinking, their writing starts to flow, and "Ben went. Ben bought. Ben carried." becomes a story someone actually wants to read 😊