11+ English · Topic explained
Pronouns
Why don't we say "Ella told Tom that Ella would help Tom"?
The big idea
A pronoun stands in for a noun, so we don't keep repeating it.
Picture it
A pronoun is a substitute player: it comes on in place of the noun.
Key words
- pronoun
- A word that stands in for a noun.
- personal pronoun
- I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them.
- possessive pronoun
- Shows who owns something, standing alone: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.
- relative pronoun
- Starts a relative clause: who, which, that, whose.
Worked examples
- 1Warm-up
When Ella got home, she fed the cat.
- she stands in for Ella.
- We don't need to repeat the name.
- 211+ standard
Mum drove Jack and me to school.
- Take Jack away: "Mum drove me" sounds right.
- "Mum drove I" doesn't, so it's Jack and me.
- 311+ standard
That bike is mine, not yours.
- mine and yours show who owns the bike.
- They are possessive pronouns: they stand alone, with no noun after them.
- 411+ standard
The boy who won the race is my cousin.
- who is a relative pronoun.
- It starts a clause telling us which boy.
The common mistake
The mistake
It's always "Jack and I", wherever it goes.
Instead
After a verb or a preposition it's "Jack and me": Mum drove Jack and me.
Why: Take the other person away: "Mum drove I" sounds wrong, so it must be me.
Where it comes up in the 11+
You'll pick the right pronoun in cloze, spot relative pronouns, and fix "me and Jack" errors in SPaG.
The video
Video coming soon
We're making a short video that explains pronouns step by step. Until then, everything it covers is on this page.
Free printable
Pronouns worksheet
Practice questions on this topic to print and try on paper, at home or on the way to school.
Download the worksheet (PDF)Free account needed: it takes a minute.
Quick quiz
Have a go first, then tap to see the answer.
1. Choose: "The teacher gave the prize to Amira and ___."
- I
- me
- myself
- mine
Show the answerHide the answer
me
Take Amira away: "gave the prize to me".
2. Which word is a relative pronoun? "The cake, which Dad baked, was delicious."
- cake
- which
- Dad
- delicious
Show the answerHide the answer
which
Which starts the relative clause about the cake.
3. Which word is a possessive pronoun?
- theirs
- they
- them
- there
Show the answerHide the answer
theirs
Theirs shows ownership and stands alone: the house is theirs.