Gendered and Non-Gendered Pronouns Every language has nouns and they are used in much the same way from language to language. However, pronouns, their substitute can cause a lot of problems for the student of the English language. One of the biggest problems with the use of nouns and pronouns is gender. If a person or animal is male, its pronoun is either he, his, or him. Example: Mary has a new boyfriend. His name is Joe. He is a really nice guy. That dog belongs to him. In the example above, I wrote four sentences. I used all the male pronouns. If the pronoun is referring to a female person or animal, it is either she, her, or hers. Example: Joe's dog just had puppies. She is a good mother. Her puppies are really cute, but watch out! She knows they are hers and will bite you if they get too close! A common mistake for English learners is to use the wrong pronoun. Wrong: He is a good mother. He cannot be a mother because he is male. It is correct to say that "She is a good mother" because she is female. Another problem that some English learners have is to use a gendered pronoun (male or female) for an object, plant or animal that we do not know the gender of. In English, objects do not have a gender so we use one of two gender neutral pronouns--it or its. Example: Joe picked up a hammer to drive a nail into the board. Its handle was very slippery. He dropped it on his toe. Wrong: Joe picked up a hammer to drive a nail into the board. His handle was very slippery. He dropped him on his toe. If you have any questions about pronouns, comment and I will reply as soon as possible! Have a marvelous day!