IELTS Guide Phil

Pronouns are essential building blocks of fluent and natural English. They make language more efficient and help you avoid unnecessary repetition. Whether you’re writing an academic essay or having a daily conversation, using pronouns correctly shows strong grammatical control—an important skill for the IELTS exam. You can watch this YouTube video explainer by IELTS Guide Phil.

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What Is a Pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun to avoid repetition and make sentences clearer.

Example:
Without a pronoun: Maria loves Maria’s cat because Maria finds Maria’s cat adorable.
With pronouns: Maria loves her cat because she finds it adorable.

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Types of Pronouns

1. Personal Pronouns

Used to refer to people or things.

Subject	Object
I	me
you	you
he	him
she	her
it	it
we	us
they	them

Examples:

• She is a teacher.
• I saw them at the library.

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2. Possessive Pronouns

Show ownership.

Adjective (used before noun)	True Possessive Pronoun
my, your, his, her, its, our, their	mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

Examples:

• This is my book. (possessive adjective)
• This book is mine. (possessive pronoun)

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3. Reflexive Pronouns

Used when the subject and object are the same person.

Singular	Plural
myself	ourselves
yourself	yourselves
himself/herself/itself	themselves

Example:

• He hurt himself.
• I made it myself.

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4. Demonstrative Pronouns

Point to specific things.

Singular	Plural
this	these
that	those

Examples:

• This is my phone.
• Those are my keys.

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5. Relative Pronouns

Introduce relative clauses.

Pronoun	Usage
who	for people (subject)
whom	for people (object)
whose	possession
which	for things
that	for people/things (informal)

Examples:

• The man who called is my teacher.
• The book that you gave me is excellent.

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6. Interrogative Pronouns

Used to ask questions.

Pronoun	Function
who	subject (person)
whom	object (person)
whose	possession
what	object/idea
which	choice among items

Examples:

• Who is at the door?
• What are you doing?

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7. Indefinite Pronouns

Refer to nonspecific people or things.

People	Things	Places
someone	something	somewhere
anyone	anything	anywhere
no one	nothing	nowhere
everyone	everything	everywhere

Examples:

• Everyone is welcome.
• I saw something in the room.

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Common Pronoun Mistakes

Mistake	Why It’s Wrong	Correct Form
Me and John went to the store.	Wrong subject pronoun	John and I went to the store.
Myself went to the party.	Reflexive used instead of subject	I went to the party.
That’s her’s.	Incorrect possessive spelling	That’s hers.
This is mine book.	Double possessive	This is my book.

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Dos and Don’ts of Pronoun Usage

Dos

• Use subject pronouns for the doer of the action.
• Match the pronoun with its noun in number and gender.
• Use reflexive pronouns only when the subject and object are the same.

Don’ts

• Don’t mix up “its” (possessive) and “it’s” (it is).
• Don’t use “their” for singular nouns unless referring to a person of unspecified gender (a student should do their homework).
• Don’t use object pronouns as subjects (e.g., Me went home ❌).

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Pronouns in IELTS Writing and Speaking

Writing Task 2:

• Use relative pronouns for sentence variety:
  The government, which is responsible for policy, should act quickly.

Speaking Part 1 & 2:

• Use personal pronouns for fluency and personalization:
  I enjoy reading because it helps me relax.

Writing Task 1:

• Avoid overusing “it” and “they” without clear antecedents. Be precise:
  ❌ It increased significantly.
  ✅ The number of visitors increased significantly.

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Top Strategies to Master Pronouns for IELTS

1. Underline pronouns in practice readings and identify what they refer to.
2. Rewrite repetitive sentences using pronouns to make them smoother.
3. Practice relative clauses to connect ideas more fluently.
4. Record yourself speaking and notice your pronoun use—are they clear and consistent?

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What’s the difference between “who” and “whom”?
A: Who is the subject of a verb, whom is the object.

• Who called you?
• To whom did you speak?

Q: Can I use “they” for one person?
A: In general, yes. “They” is now widely accepted as a singular gender-neutral pronoun. However, he or she is still preferable in Academic writing and speaking.

Q: What is a dummy pronoun?
A: Pronouns like “it” or “there” that don’t refer to anything specific.

• It is raining.
• There are many students in the room.

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Quick Quiz: Choose the Correct Pronoun

1. (Who / Whom) did you meet yesterday? → ✅ Whom
2. That pen is (hers / her’s). → ✅ hers
3. The team congratulated (itself / themselves). → ✅ themselves
4. I gave the book to John and (me / I). → ✅ me

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Final Thoughts

Pronouns are small words with big importance. Mastering them improves your writing clarity, sentence flow, and IELTS performance. Whether it’s avoiding redundancy or constructing complex sentences with relative pronouns, precise use of pronouns helps you speak and write like a native speaker.

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