Pairing Pronouns With Nouns 

     To get started on everything you need to know about pronouns, take a close look at how pronouns are paired with nouns. A pronoun's meaning can vary from sentence to sentence. Think of pronouns as the ultimate substitute teachers. One day they're solving quadratic equations, and the next they're
doing push-ups in the gym. Such versatility comes from the fact that pronouns don't have identities of their own; instead, they stand in for nouns. In a few very weird situations, pronouns stand in for other pronouns.
     To choose the appropriate pronoun, you must consider the word that the pronoun is replacing. The word that the pronoun replaces is called the pronoun's antecedent. Identifying the pronoun-antecedent pair is really a matter of reading comprehension. I f the sentence (or in some cases, the paragraph) doesn't make the pronoun-antecedent connection clear, the writing is faulty. Time to edit! But in most cases the meaning of the pronoun leaps off the page.
Take a look at some examples:

• Hasenfeff stated his goals clearly: He wanted to take over the world. (The pronouns his and he refer to the noun Hasenfeff?) 
• The lion with a thorn in her paw decided to wear sneakers the next time she went for a walk in the jungle. (The pronouns her and she in this sentence refer to the noun lion.} 
• Our cause is just! Down with sugarless gum! We demand that all bubble gum be loaded with sugar! (The pronouns our and we refer to the speakers, who aren't named.) 
• Tattered books will not be accepted because they are impossible to resell. (The pronoun they refers to the noun books?) 
• Ludwig, who types five or six words a minute, is writing a new encyclopedia. (The pronoun who refers to Ludwig.} 
• Ameba and / demand that the microscope be cleaned before we begin the exam. (The pronoun / refers to the speaker. The pronoun we refers to Ameba and I.)