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Step 1
Identify the person speaking. The words, "I," "me," "we," and "us" designate the person speaking in a sentence, and they serve as personal pronouns in these instances. For example, "I told you to take the dog," is an example of the word "I" used as a personal pronoun.
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Step 2
Spot the pronoun that designates the person or thing spoken about. The words, "he," "she," "it," "they," "him," "her" and "them" help the reader identify the person, item or object spoken about. For example, in the sentence, "Jake told him to take the dog last night," the word "him" acts as a personal pronoun.
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Step 3
Designate the person spoken to with a personal pronoun. The most common word used in this instance is "you." For example, "You need to take the dog," clearly identifies that "you" is the person spoken to.
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Step 4
Notice the difference between subject personal pronouns and object personal pronouns. Subject personal pronouns take the place of people or things that perform actions. For example, in the sentence, "She took the dog last night," the word "she" takes the place of the woman who performed the action. Object personal pronouns take the place of people or things affected by an action. For example, in the sentence, "Frank took it," the word "it" takes the place of the item that Frank took.
