Personal Pronouns
Choose a personal-pronoun form by grammatical function, not by formality: subjects normally use forms such as “I” and “they,” while objects use “me” and “them.” Keep possessive and reflexive forms distinct, and make the intended antecedent clear.
Personal pronouns stand in for noun phrases and mark person, number, and—where English distinguishes it—subject versus object form: “I/me,” “he/him,” “she/her,” “we/us,” “they/them.” Singular “they” is established for indefinite or gender-neutral reference.
Key details
Further guidance
Antecedent
Make it reasonably clear which noun phrase the pronoun refers to, especially when several possible antecedents are nearby.
Form Choice
Use the subject form when the pronoun is the clause subject (“She called”); use the object form after a verb or preposition (“Call her,” “for them”).
Singular They
Use singular “they/them/their” where the referent is indefinite, unknown, nonbinary, or where gender is irrelevant and the context supports that reference.
Worked Example
“Jordan and I reviewed the draft; the editor sent it to Jordan and me” uses subject “I” in the first clause and object “me” after “to.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Pronouns: personal (I, me, you, him, it, they, etc.) (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Explains personal pronouns by person, number, subject/object form and reference, including contemporary singular-they usage.
- Pronouns (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Places personal pronouns within the broader pronoun system and distinguishes them from possessive, reflexive, demonstrative and indefinite pronouns.