Personal Pronouns | Definition, List, & Examples

Personal pronouns are words like “you” that refer to the person speaking or writing, to the person they’re addressing, or to other people and things.

Like other pronouns, they are used in place of nouns to allow us to speak and write more concisely. For example, without the first-person pronoun “I,” you would have to use your name every time you wanted to make a statement about yourself.

Personal pronouns change form based on person, number, gender, and case, as shown in the table below.

Forms of the personal (& impersonal) pronouns
Person Number (& gender) Subject Object Possessive Reflexive
First Singular I me mine myself
Plural we us ours ourselves
Second Singular you yours yourself
Plural you yours yourselves
 

 

Third

Masculine singular he him his himself
Feminine singular she her hers herself
Neuter / inanimate singular it its itself
Gender-neutral singular (epicene) they them theirs themself
Plural they them theirs themselves
Impersonal one oneself

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10 Best Free Grammar Checkers | Tested & Reviewed

Good grammar is important to expressing yourself clearly, especially in professional contexts and in academic writing. There are countless free grammar checkers available online, but which ones are really reliable?

To find out, we tested 10 of the most popular free grammar checkers, checking how many errors they could fix in our sample text and deducting points for any new errors introduced. We also assessed the tools’ user-friendliness. The results show a clear winner: QuillBot.

Grammar checker Corrections score Overall rating
1. QuillBot 18 out of 20 4.8 
2. GrammarCheck 11 out of 20 2.9 
3. Grammarly 11 out of 20 2.9 
4. Wordtune 13 out of 20 2.6 
5. LanguageTool 6 out of 20 2.5 
6. Writer 3 out of 20 1.9 
7. ProWritingAid 3 out of 20 1.6 
8. Linguix 3 out of 20 1.3
9. Scribens 3 out of 20 1.1 
10. Ginger 2 out of 20 0.9 
Disclaimer
Scribbr is affiliated with QuillBot through our mutual parent company, Course Hero, Inc. However, special care was taken to test all the grammar checkers included here in an objective and unbiased way, without giving QuillBot any unfair advantages.

You can read about our methodology below.

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AMA Book Citation | Guide with Examples

To cite a book in AMA citation format, include it on your AMA reference page, listing the author or editor, title, publisher, and publication year.

An AMA in-text citation for a book consists of the number of the relevant reference, written in superscript. You can also add a page number or range in parentheses if you need to cite a specific part of the book.

AMA format Author last name Initials. Book Title: Subtitle. Publisher; Year.
AMA reference Nagel D. Needless Suffering: How Society Fails Those with Chronic Pain. University Press of New England; 2016.
AMA in-text citation Nagel1(p237) argues that pain medication can …

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AMA Journal Citation | Guide with Examples

To cite a journal article in AMA citation format, you need an AMA reference listing the author’s name, article title (in sentence case), journal name (title case, italicized, and abbreviated), publication year, volume, issue, page range of the article, and DOI if available.

An AMA in-text citation for a journal article consists of the number of the relevant reference, written in superscript. You can also add page numbers in parentheses if you need to refer to a specific part of the article.

AMA format Author last name Initials. Article title. Journal Name. Year;Volume(Issue):Page range. DOI or URL.
AMA reference Aponte J, Nokes KM. Electronic health literacy of older Hispanics with diabetes. Health Promot Int. 2017;32(3):482–489. doi:1093/heapro/dav112.
AMA in-text citation Aponte and Nokes1(p485) indicate that …
Note
Even when you access a journal article online, you should follow the format described here to cite it, not the format for an AMA website citation.

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AMA Website Citation | Guide with Examples

To cite a website or webpage in AMA citation format, you need to include the author’s name, the page title (in sentence case), the website name (title case), the URL, the publication date, and the access date.

An AMA in-text citation for a website just consists of the number of the relevant reference, written in superscript.

AMA format Author last name Initials. Page title. Website Name. Published Month Day, Year. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.
AMA reference Zarefsky M. What sets back care for transgender students in the exam room. American Medical Association. Published June 24, 2022. Accessed September 9, 2022. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/population-care/what-sets-back-care-transgender-patients-exam-room.
AMA in-text citation Zarefsky1 argues that …

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AMA In-Text Citation | Guidelines & Examples

In AMA citation format, an in-text citation consists of a superscript number in the text that points the reader to the relevant reference on your numbered AMA reference page. You can also mention the author’s name in your sentence, but this is optional.

AMA references contain full information about each source, and they are numbered in the order you first cite them in the text. Each source has only one entry, so if you cite the same source repeatedly, you’ll use the same number each time.

Example: AMA in-text citation
Ghulam points out a major advantage of this approach.1

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What Is a Collective Noun? | Examples & Definition

A collective noun is a noun that refers to some sort of group or collective—of people, animals, things, etc. Collective nouns are normally not treated as plural, even though they refer to a group of something.

Collective nouns include common nouns like “group” and proper nouns like “Google” or “The Rolling Stones.”

Examples: Collective nouns in a sentence
The party will have to rethink its strategy to win the next election.

A flock of sheep is crossing the road, delaying motorists.

The Beatles broke up when Paul McCartney quit the band.

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IEEE Paper Format | Template & Guidelines

IEEE provides guidelines for formatting your paper. These guidelines must be followed when you’re submitting a manuscript for publication in an IEEE journal. Some of the key guidelines are:

  • Formatting the text as two columns, in Times New Roman, 10 pt.
  • Including a byline, an abstract, and a set of keywords at the start of the research paper
  • Placing any figures, tables, and equations at the top or bottom of a column, not in the middle
  • Following the appropriate heading styles for any headings you use
  • Including a full list of IEEE references at the end
  • Not including page numbers

IEEE example paper

To learn more about the specifics of IEEE paper format, check out the free template below. Note that you may not need to follow these rules if you’ve only been told to use IEEE citation format for a student paper. But you do need to follow them to submit to IEEE publications.

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What Is a Common Noun? | Definition & Examples

A common noun is a noun that describes a type of person, thing, or place or that names a concept. Common nouns are not capitalized unless they appear at the start of a sentence, unlike proper nouns, which are always capitalized.

Common nouns include the names of different jobs, plants and animals, geographical features, abstract ideas, objects, and many other things.

Examples: Common nouns in a sentence
The cat climbed the tree in an attempt to catch a bird.

Inequality is a major problem in many societies.

The farmer said his name was Tom.

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