Pronouns - Graduate Writing Center

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Pronouns


Pronouns—words like "we," "it," "they," "those," "something"—stand in for nouns, sort of how someone might hold your place in line: they aren't you, exactly, but they’re the equivalent of you in the structure of the line.

This proxy relationship is very similar to that between nouns and pronouns in a sentence: pronouns do the same work as nouns (and some other jobs to boot), but they're not exactly the same.

The key difference is that nouns are self-defining—they are what they are—while pronouns are generic placeholders that acquire meaning as writers use them in concert with nouns:

Elizabeth I was 25 when she assumed the throne on January 15, 1559.

Why do we need such a tool? Primarily to avoid nearly maddening amounts of repetition:

Clausewitz argues this. Clausewitz further argues that. Clausewitz then expands on Clausewitz's theory that Clausewitz set forth in Clausewitz's prior chapter.

It's enough to put your readers at their witz' end.

That said, while pronouns are certainly useful, their shifting signification can become ambiguous—and therefore an impediment to clarity—if writers don't use them carefully.

That’s no reason to avoid them, though, and the following sections offer tips on adept pronoun use, while the links below further lay out the many useful things that pronouns can do for you, me, and everyone.

Pronouns accordion

Some disciplines, instructors, and advisors prefer that documents not use first person (“I,” “we”); others accept it or, under some circumstances, might expect it.

Alternatives to first person include the following:

1. Use third person with a different subject:

  • “In this paper, I examine . . .” → “This paper examines . . .”
  • “First, we . . .” → “The first step was to . . .”

2. Use passive voice: “We then cleaned the data.” → “The data were then cleaned.”

Keep in mind that using passive voice routinely in a document can be just as controversial as first person—and it can create clarity issues.

Check with your advisor or instructor if you have questions about their preferences or about field-specific norms.

Subject pronouns indicate performance of an action (like grammatical subjects), while object pronouns indicate receipt of an action (like grammatical objects):

  • Subject: I submitted my third chapter this week.
  • Object: My advisor gave me comments.

Deciding whether to use the subject pronoun or the object pronoun can trip writers up when pronouns and nouns appear together, resulting in errors like these:

  • Me and you will reformat the tables while the others revise the analysis section.
  • The director consulted Charmaine and I about the glue budget.  

Temporarily removing the other noun(s) or pronoun(s) from these constructions can help clarify which pronoun is correct:

  • No: Me will reformat the tables while the others revise the analysis section.
  • Yes: I will reformat the tables while the others revise the analysis section.
  • Yes: You and I will reformat the tables while the others revise the analysis section.
     
  • No: The director consulted I about the glue budget.
  • Yes: The director consulted me about the glue budget.
  • Yes: The director consulted Charmaine and me about the glue budget.

When referring to human beings, use "who" and "whom":

  • No: To that end, this study seeks to understand the political calculations of longstanding autocrats that have stepped down voluntarily.
  • Yes: To that end, this study seeks to understand the political calculations of longstanding autocrats who have stepped down voluntarily.

Select "who" (the subject pronoun) when the person in question is performing an action; select "whom" (the object pronoun) when the person in question is receiving an action:

Nisbet, little critical examination of whom has made its way into the literature, was the advisor who, perhaps more than any other, was responsible for this shift in policy.

Generally, when referring to states, organizations, and other collective entities, use "it" / "its" / "that" / "which":

  • No: The United States pursued their policy of containment throughout the Cold War.
  • YesThe United States pursued its policy of containment throughout the Cold War.
     
  • No: In 2006, the GAO, who had issued the original report, published an addendum that included data from the last five years of the program.
  • YesIn 2006, the GAO, which had issued the original report, published an addendum that included data from the last five years of the program.
Pronouns links

Pronouns Links

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Writing Topics A–Z


This index makes findings topics easy and links to the most relevant page for each item. Please email us at writingcenter@nps.edu if we're missing something!

A-Z content menu

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

A

abbreviations

abstracts

academic writing

acronyms

active voice

adjectives, compound

advisor, selecting and working with

AI

apostrophes

appointment with GWC coaches, how to schedule

argument

article usage

artificial intelligence

assignments, understanding them

audience

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B

body paragraphs

booking an appointment with a GWC coach

brackets, square

brainstorming

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C

capitalization

citations

charts

ChatGPT

citation software

citation styles

clauses

clarity

clustering

coaching, about

coaching, how to schedule

colons

comma splices

commas, FANBOYS

commas, introductory

commas, list

commas, nonessential / nonrestrictive information

commas, Oxford

commas, serial

common knowledge

commonly confused words

compare-and-contrast papers

compound adjectives / modifiers

concision

conclusions

conference presentations

conjunctive adverbs

coordinating conjunctions

copyright and fair use

critical thinking

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D

dangling modifiers

dashes

dependent clauses

dependent marker words

display equations

distance learning

double submission of coursework

drafting

Dudley Knox Library

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E

editing your own work

editing: outside editors

em dash

en dash

equations

exclamation points

executive summary

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F

FANBOYS

FAQs

figures

first person, use of in academic writing

footnotes

fragments

free-writing

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G

generative artificial intelligence (AI)

gerunds

grammar

graphics

graphs

group writing

GWC appointment, how to schedule

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H

homophones

Honor Code, NPS

human subjects research

hyphens

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I

ibid.

incomplete sentences

independent clauses

Institutional Review Board

interviews, conducting

introductions

IRB

iThenticate

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J

Joining the Academic Conversation

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L

LaTeX

library liaisons

lists, syntax of

literature reviews

logic and analysis

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M

M dash

making a GWC appointment

mathematics

memos

methodology

modifiers, compound

modifiers, misplaced

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N

N dash

nominalizations

note-taking

noun clusters

numbers

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O

organization

outlining

Oxford comma

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P

paragraph development

parallelism

paraphrasing

parentheses

parts of speech

passive voice

periods

persuasion

phrases vs. clauses

plagiarism, how to avoid

plagiarism-detection software

plain language

polishing

prepositional phrases

prepositions

pronouns, clarity with

pronouns, grammar of

proofreading

publishing

punctuation

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Q

questionnaires, administering

questions

quotation marks

quoting

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R

Reading with Intent I

Reading with Intent II

redundancies

reference software

reflection papers

research

research guides, discipline-specific

research questions

restrictive vs. nonrestrictive information

reusing papers

reverse outlining

revision

roadmaps

run-on sentences

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S

scheduling a GWC appointment

self-citing

semicolons

sentence fragments

serial comma

signal phrases

significance

so what?

source blending

sources, engaging with / critiquing

sources, evaluating the reliability of

sources, citing

spelling

standard essay structure

STEM / technical writing

Strategic Reading I

Strategic Reading II

style

subject–verb agreement

subjects, grammatical

subordinating conjunctions

summarizing

surveys, administering

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T

tables

teams, writing in

technical writing

tense

that vs. which

thesis advisor, selecting and working with

thesis process overview

Thesis Processing Office (TPO)

thesis proposals: common elements

thesis statements

thesis writing

this, that, these, those

tone, professional

topic sentences

transitions

types of papers

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U

United States or U.S.?

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V

verbs and verb tense

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W

which vs. that

why write?

writer’s block

writing in groups / teams

writing process

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Z

Zotero

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