The Timpson Lyceum · Beginning Grammar (2026)

The Pronoun: Personal & Possessive – Lesson 5 (Grammar)

Overview

Lesson 4 added the adjective, the third part of speech. This lesson begins the fourth, the pronoun: the word that stands in for a noun so the noun does not have to be repeated. It is the first of two lessons on pronouns. Along the way it introduces two more adjective elements. The possessive modifies a noun by naming a different thing, usually its owner. The appositive modifies a noun by naming the same thing again. The lesson then divides pronouns into two kinds, personal and possessive. It ends with the distinction students most often confuse: a possessive pronoun, which stands alone, versus a personal pronoun in the possessive case, which comes before a noun.

Key Concepts

The pronoun

• John put John's hat on John's head repeats the name too often. We say John put his hat on his head, and his is used in place of the noun John's.
• A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun. Pro means "in place of."
• Examples: Bob runs becomes he runs, birds sing becomes they sing, and Jack, John and Lil listen becomes they listen. A single pronoun can stand for several nouns at once.
• Common pronouns include I, you, he, she, it, we, they, him, her, them, who, this, that. (Who, this and that are treated more fully in the next lesson.)
• A pronoun can be used in three ways:
  • Nominative, as the subject or the predicate: I like pie, I am he.
  • Objective, as the object of a transitive verb: Bob tripped him.
  • Possessive, telling whose: Give me his hat.
• An article is not a pronoun. In She lost the book, the word the tells which book but does not stand for any noun. It is a definitive adjective. The only pronoun there is she.

Adjective elements

• An adjective element is a word or group of words that modifies a noun. Anything that describes, points out, or limits a noun is an adjective element.
• Adjective elements met so far include adjectives (small lakes), articles (the boy) and participles. This lesson adds two more: possessives (John's hat) and appositives (Nero the emperor).

The possessive

• A possessive is a noun or pronoun used to modify a noun different in meaning from itself. In John's hat, John and the hat are two different things.
• It may be a noun (John's hat) or a pronoun (his hat).
• A possessive may itself be modified: poor John's hat, John's father's hat.
• Possessives usually show ownership, but not always. They can show kind (a boys' school, which the boys do not own) or authorship (Ray's Algebra, the book Ray wrote).
• A phrase with of can replace a possessive: the bird's nest is the nest of the bird, and the sun's light is the light of the sun.

Apostrophe rules for noun possessives

A noun possessive always takes an apostrophe. How it is added depends on the noun:

• A few singular words take the apostrophe alone by custom: for conscience' sake, for goodness' sake.
• Modern usage also accepts Moses' for the singular, but this course follows the rule of adding 's.
• A pronoun possessive never takes an apostrophe: its, hers, ours, yours, theirs. Written with an apostrophe, it's is a contraction meaning it is, not a possessive.

The appositive

• An appositive modifies a noun or pronoun by denoting the same object. It usually tells the rank, office or business of the noun: Milton the poet, Mr. Jones the mason.
• This is the key contrast with the possessive. A possessive names a different object from the noun it modifies, while an appositive names the same one.
• Commas: an appositive is set off by commas unless it is a single word, or is modified only by the.
  • Milton the poet was blind takes no commas, because the is the only modifier.
  • Stephenson, the celebrated engineer, lived in England takes commas, because celebrated also modifies engineer.
  • Modern writers often add commas even in the simple cases, but this course follows the rule above.

Diagramming adjective elements

• Subject, verb (or copula) and object/predicate sit on the main line. Adjective elements hang below the word they modify.
• Sweet sounds soothe the ear: subject sounds, verb soothe, object ear. Sweet hangs below sounds and the hangs below ear.
• Frank's father is a merchant: father is the subject, is the copula and merchant the predicate. The possessive Frank's hangs below father and a below merchant.
• Milton the poet was blind: the appositive poet is written in parentheses beside Milton on the main line, with the below it, because it renames the subject.

Two kinds of pronouns

• A personal pronoun represents a noun and shows by its form its person:
  • First person, the speaker: I, we.
  • Second person, the one spoken to: you (older forms thou, ye).
  • Third person, the person or thing spoken of: he, she, it, they.
• Adding -self gives the reflexive form, which turns the action back on the subject: He hurt himself (not he hurt him when the same person is meant, and never hisself).
• A possessive pronoun represents both the possessor and the thing possessed. In This house is ours, the word ours means our house. Other examples are That book is mine (my book) and The victory is theirs (their victory). The forms are mine, thine, his, hers, ours, yours, theirs.

Possessive pronoun vs. possessive case

The word possessive names two different things, a kind of pronoun and a case:

• A possessive pronoun stands alone for both the owner and the thing owned: That book is his (his book).
• A personal pronoun in the possessive case comes before a noun and stands only for the owner. It works as an adjective element: That is his book. (Some books call these possessive adjectives.)
• The forms usually differ: my / mine, thy / thine, her / hers, our / ours, your / yours, their / theirs. Only his serves both ways. Its is used only in the possessive case.
• The test: does the word stand alone, or lean on a noun? A possessive pronoun can be replaced by two words, owner plus thing. Theirs is a hard lot becomes their lot is a hard lot. A possessive-case form cannot. Replacing His in His dog ran away would give his dog dog ran away.
• Both are pronouns. What differs is the use, not the part of speech.

Usage rules

• Do not use me, him or her as a subject or predicate: It is I, not It is me.
• When listing persons together, put you first and I last: you and he, he and I.

Worked Example

Part (a): find the pronouns.

1. He is your uncle. he, your
2. She lost the book. she. The is an article, not a pronoun.
3. It cannot find its way. it, its
4. Who will find it? who, it
5. They sold their farms. they, their
6. I gave it to him. I, it, him
7. We found ours quickly. we, ours
8. That is the book he wants. that, he

Part (b): write the possessive.

1. the plumage of the falcon is the falcon's plumage (singular: add 's).
2. the honking of the geese is the geese's honking (plural not ending in s: add 's).
3. the verdict of the jurors is the jurors' verdict (plural ending in s: apostrophe only).
4. the tiara of the duchess is the duchess's tiara (singular, even though it ends in s).
5. the nest of the mice is the mice's nest (plural not ending in s).
6. the rigging of the ships is the ships' rigging (plural ending in s).
7. the novel of Dickens is Dickens's novel (one person).
8. the yoke of the oxen is the oxen's yoke (plural not ending in s).

Part (c): find the appositive.

1. Mr. Whitcomb the lawyer is out of town. the lawyer
2. Whang, the Chinese miller, acted foolishly. the Chinese miller
3. Milton the poet was blind. the poet
4. Stephenson, the celebrated engineer, lived in England. the celebrated engineer
5. Washington, the capital of the United States, is on the Potomac. the capital of the United States
6. Nero, the cruel emperor, was hated. the cruel emperor

Part (d): possessive pronoun, or possessive case?

1. That book is mine. Possessive pronoun (my book).
2. My book is here. Possessive case. My only modifies book.
3. This slate is thine. Possessive pronoun (thy slate).
4. Her lesson is hard. Possessive case.
5. Theirs is a hard lot. Possessive pronoun (their lot).
6. His dog ran away. Possessive case. It comes before dog.
7. Yours is a hard lesson. Possessive pronoun (your lesson).
8. The garden is theirs. Possessive pronoun (their garden).

Summary

• A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun. It may be used as a subject or predicate (nominative), as an object (objective), or to show whose (possessive).
• An adjective element is a word or group of words that modifies a noun. This lesson adds the possessive and the appositive to adjectives, articles and participles.
• A possessive modifies a noun different in meaning from itself. It usually shows ownership, but it can show kind or authorship. Singular nouns add 's, plurals ending in s add only the apostrophe, and plurals not ending in s add 's. Pronoun possessives never take an apostrophe.
• An appositive modifies a noun by naming the same object, usually its rank, office or business. It takes commas unless it stands alone or is modified only by the.
• Personal pronouns show person: first (the speaker), second (the one spoken to) and third (the one spoken of). Adding -self makes the reflexive form.
• A possessive pronoun stands alone for both owner and thing owned (the hat is his). A personal pronoun in the possessive case comes before a noun and stands only for the owner (his hat).