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noun
a grammatical category of pronouns and verbs used by the speaker to refer to or talk about himself or herself, either alone (first person singular) or together with others (first person plural)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
He was converted and baptized, and was the first Hebrew instructor at Harvard college.
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You probably know what it means to write in the first person, but you may not be as confident about using the second- or third-person point of view. Today we’re going to focus on each of these three points of view.
In grammatical terms, first person, second person, and third person refer to personal pronouns. Each “person” has a different perspective, a “point of view,” and the three points of view have singular and plural forms as well as three case forms.
In the subjective case, the singular form of the first person is “I,” and the plural form is “we.” “I” and “we” are in the subjective case because either one can be used as the subject of a sentence. You constantly use these two pronouns when you refer to yourself and when you refer to yourself with others. Here’s a sentence containing both:
I (first-person singular) look forward to my monthly book club meeting. We (first-person plural) are currently reading Never Have Your Dog Stuffedby Alan Alda.
The first-person point of view is used primarily for autobiographical writing, such as a personal essay or a memoir. Academics and journalists usually avoid first person in their writing because doing so is believed to make the writing sound more objective; however, using an occasional “I” or “we” can be appropriate in formal papers and articles if a publication’s style allows it. Joseph M. Williams, author of Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, agrees: “…deleting an I or we does not make the science objective; it makes reports of it only seem so. We know that behind those impersonal sentences are flesh-and-blood researchers doing, thinking, and writing” (1).
Besides “I” and “we,” other singular first person pronouns include “me” (objective case) and “my” and “mine” (possessive case). Plural first person pronouns are “us” (objective case) and “our” and “ours” (possessive case). Those are a lot of forms and cases, so the following example of a sentence that uses the first person—with both singular and plural forms and all three cases—will, I hope, help identify the different uses:
I asked Sam to help me with my Happy New Year mailing, and we somehow got the project done early during the last week of December in spite of our packed schedules. I’m quite proud of us and ended up calling the project ours instead of mine.
For further clarification regarding the eight first-person pronouns just used, here’s a table:
First Person (singular, plural) | Subjective Case | Objective Case | Possessive Case |
I, we | me, us | my/mine, our/ours |
(2)
You use the second-person point of view to address the reader, as I just did. The second person uses the pronouns “you,” “your,” and “yours.” We use these three pronouns when addressing one, or more than one, person. Second person is often appropriate for e-mail messages, presentations, and business and technical writing (3).
Here are two examples with the second-person point of view.
This is a singular second-person sentence:
Grandma,
Before you go to London, remember to leave your keys under the doormat. I’ll miss you. Sincerely yours, Anna
This is a plural second-person sentence:
Class, you need to be in your seats when the principal arrives. Tom and Jerry, I’m speaking to you as well. By the way, are these comic books yours? (Regionally speaking, in the American South you might hear a teacher say, “Class, y’all need to be in your seats….” “Y’all” is a contraction of “you all.”)
For additional clarification, here’s another table:
Second Person (singular & plural) | Subjective Case | Objective Case | Possessive Case |
you | you | your/yours |
(4)
And now to the third-person point of view.
The third person is the most common point of view used in fiction writing and is the traditional form for academic writing. Authors of novels and composers of papers use “he,” “she,” or “it” when referring to a person, place, thing, or idea. The following quotations include the third-person singular subjective cases and are from the opening lines of three novels:
“Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything truly wrong, he was arrested” (5). “He” is in the singular third-person masculine subjective case.
“Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person” (6). “She” is in the singular third-person feminine subjective case.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” (7). “It” is in the singular third-person neuter subjective case.
In addition to having a singular and a plural case, you may have already noticed that the third person has genders and a neuter category.
Third Person (singular) | Subjective Case | Objective Case | Possessive Case |
he (masculine) she (feminine) it (neuter) | him (masculine) her (feminine) it (neuter) | his/his (masculine) her/hers (feminine) its/its (neuter) |
(8)
This is going to be quite a mouthful of pronouns, but I’m going to try to include all twelve singular third-person pronouns in only three sentences:
He met her at a conference where she was the keynote speaker, and it was odd to him that her laptop had a fountain pen sticker on it, because that was his favorite kind of pen. He had his with him and wondered about hers. “A laptop has its place on a desk or on a lap,” he thought, “but in the pocket near the heart and in the hand a fountain pen has its.”
That was a bit awkward at the end, but there you have it—I mean them, all the pronouns.
And now, before the last chart with the third-person plural with the three cases, here’s a short example with its four pronouns (Don’t write sentences like this; they’re impossible to understand!):
They gave them their gloves because theirs had holes in them.
Third Person (plural) | Subjective Case | Objective Case | Possessive Case |
they | them | their/theirs |
(9)
When you write in the first person (I, we), don’t confuse your reader by switching to the “second person” (you) or the third person (he, she, it, they, etc.). Similarly, when using second or third person, don’t shift to a different point of view (10). For example, here’s a sentence that switches person in a confusing way:
I enrolled in a fiction-writing workshop for the winter quarter, and you have to complete three stories, each from a different point of view.
The pronouns used in that sentence don’t agree with each other; the writer switched from first person (I) to second person (you). Here’s the correct usage:
I enrolled in a fiction-writing workshop for the winter quarter, and I have to complete three stories, each from a different point of view.
So remember, simply stated, first person is from the writer's point of view and uses pronouns such as “I”: I saw U2 at the Rose Bowl. Second person is directed at the reader and uses pronouns such as “you”: You saw U2 at the Rose Bowl. Third person is told from an outside narrator's point of view and uses pronouns such as “he,” “she,” and “it”: She saw U2 at the Rose Bowl.
This script was written by Geoff Pope, who teaches English at City University of Seattle and can be found online at www.geoffpope.com. The article was edited and read in the podcast by Mignon Fogarty, author of the New York Times bestseller Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.
References
1. Williams, J. M. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc., 2003, p. 66.
2, 4, 8-9. Good, C.E. A Grammar Book for You and I…oops, Me! Herndan, VA: Capital Books, Inc., 2002, p. 119.
3. Nordquist, R. “Second-person Point of View.” 2010. About.com Guide. http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/g/secondpersonterm.htm (accessed December 23, 2010).
5-7. American Book Review. “100 Best First Lines from Novels.” No date. http://americanbookreview.org/100BestLines.asp (accessed December 23, 2010).
10. Purdue Online Writing Lab. “Using Your Pronouns Clearly.” April 17, 2010. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/595/1 (accessed December 23, 2010).
This is the first and principal point at which we can stanch the wastage of teaching energy that now goes on.
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This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
the grammatical person used by a speaker in statements referring to himself or herself (first person singular ) or to a group including himself or herself (first person plural ).
a pronoun or verb form in the first person, as I or am in Statistics of obesity in children in america, or a set of such forms.
a literary style in which the narrative is told from the perspective of a narrator speaking directly about himself or herself: a story written in the first person.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
First recorded in 1935–40
first officer, first-order, first papers, first-past-the-post, First Peoples, first person, 1st person shooter, First Point of Aries, first position, first post, first principle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 1st person to use first person in a sentence
He sees himself as the first Muslim president of all Europe.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
He was converted and baptized, and was the first Hebrew instructor at Harvard college.
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First- Second- and Third-Person Pronouns
Learning Objectives:
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LESSON
A pronounA part of speech that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase. Examples include: I, he, you, they. is a word that takes the place of a nounA part of speech that refers to a person, place, or thing. Examples include: swimmer, lake, sunscreen. Without the use of pronouns, writers would have to use the same nouns repeatedly, and their writing would be repetitive. Pronouns fall into one of three categories: first- second- or third-person pronouns. Using appropriate pronouns helps make writing cohesiveIn writing, ideas and evidence that work together to create a unified statement., interesting, and easy to understand.
First Person
First-person pronounsA word that takes the place of the writer or narrator. Examples: I, we, me, us, my, mine, our, and ours. refer to the writer. They include I, me, my, mine, our, ours,us, and we. These are used in a number of situations, including responses, emails, cover lettersA letter that is sent along with a resume that provides context and more information for the reader., memosA short written message from one person to another or to a group of persons, usually containing business information., 1st person some reports, like a witness report in a criminal case. However, in some situations, first-person pronouns are not appropriate. Academic writing often omits first-person pronouns even when the writer is discussing a personal opinion. Avoiding first-person pronouns in an essay ensures that the reader focuses on the topic and not the authorA person who wrote a text.
Consider the following statements:
In both cases, it is clear that the author did not like the movie. However, in the first statement, the focus is on the author. In the second statement, the focus is on the quality of the movie. In most college classes, it is best to avoid using first-person pronouns unless you are writing a personal narrative essay.
Second Person
Second-person pronounsA word that takes the place of the intended audience. Examples: you, your, yours. always refer to the reader, the intended audience. They include you, your, and yours. A writer should use second-person pronouns when speaking directly to the reader. For example, it is appropriate to use these pronouns in instructions, an email to a specific person or group, text messages, and presentations. Second-person pronouns are rarely used in academic writing. Using the second-person point of view in research and thesis papers can make them less effective, making them seem more like advice instead of information or persuasion.
Consider the following statements:
In both cases, the information about texting while driving is clear. However, the second-person point of view is weaker than the third-person point of view, which sounds like a fact instead of advice.
Third Person
Third-person pronounsA word that takes the place of persons, places, or things that are not the writer or the intended audience. Examples: he, she, it, they, him, her, them, his, her, hers, its, their, and theirs. are used more often than first- and second-person pronouns because they refer to persons, places, or things that are not the reader or the writer. They include he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their, and theirs. They almost always come after the noun they refer to has been introduced and they should always agree with that noun in both number (singular or plural) and gender. This is called pronoun-antecedent agreementCorrect grammatical form where pronouns agree with the noun they refer to in both number (singular or plural) and gender. and is similar to subject-verb agreementA grammatical term that describes when a writer uses subjects and verbs that match each other in both number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, or third). Example: The girls have pretty dresses and bows that match. In this sentence the subject, girls, is plural, so the verb have, and the nouns dresses and bows must also be plural., although sometimes it can be more difficult to identify because errors in pronoun agreement are quite common in everyday speech.
For instance, the pronoun does not agree with the noun it refers to in the following sentence:
A student is likely to do well in this course if they attend every class and turn in all of the homework.
This is a common 1st person and comes from the fact the noun student is singular but not gender specific (meaning that it can refer to either a male or female student), but the appropriate pronouns are gender specific (he or she). Many writers address this issue by using the term s/he as the pronoun, but people often find that phrase awkward. Another way to solve this issue is to make the noun plural, which allows for the use of they, which is a 1st person that 1st person not gender specific.
Students are likely to do well in this course if they attend every class and turn in all of the homework.
+ PRACTICAL APPLICATIONChoosing between first- second- and third-person pronouns is similar to picking an outfit for an event. While any outfit that you might choose will cover you up, the outfit that would be appropriate for a party would be unsuitable for a job interview. Likewise, using first- 1st person second-person pronouns in a situation that requires third-person pronouns is also inappropriate. Using incorrect pronouns can confuse your readers. Even if your readers cannot identify that you have used the incorrect 1st person, they will sense that your writing is unclear and may misunderstand your meaning.
Below are descriptions of writing situations. The correct point of view (first- second- or third-person) that is appropriate in each situation is noted.
Third person
First person
Second person
First person
Second person
Third person
Now, see how pronouns and nouns are made to agree in the following sentences by either changing the pronoun or the noun it refers to.
In this sentence, the noun driver is singular, while the pronoun their is plural. One way to correct this is to change the noun to be plural to match the pronoun.
Correct: Drivers who are distracted while talking on their cell phones are a danger to everyone on the road.
In this sentence, the noun people is plural, while the pronoun his is singular. One way to correct this is to change the pronoun to be plural to match the noun.
Correct: People should not talk on their 1st person phones while driving because no call is that important.
In this sentence, the noun every citizen is singular, while the pronoun themselves is plural. One way to correct this is to change the pronoun to be plural to match the noun.
Correct: All states should outlaw the use of cell phones while driving to protect all citizens from themselves.
Below are descriptions of writing situations. Which person pronoun (first- second- or third-person) would be appropriate in each situation?
In the following sentences, identify the pronouns and nouns that do not agree and explain your reasoning. Rewrite each sentence to make the pronouns agree with the nouns they refer to.
What are the pronouns and nouns that do not agree and why?
The plural pronoun their doesn't agree with the singular noun a person.
Rewrite the sentence.
Running into the supermarket, people can sometimes be tempted 1st person leave their dogs francisco de paula santander their cars with the windows cracked.
What are the pronouns and nouns that do not agree and why?
The plural pronoun their doesn't agree with the singular noun car.
Rewrite the sentence.
Even with its windows open, a car's interior temperature can quickly rise on the mildest of days.
What are the pronouns and nouns that do not agree and why?
The plural pronoun their doesn't agree with the singular noun dog owner.
Rewrite the sentence.
Dog owners should never leave their pets in their cars during the day.
Which pronouns do you find yourself using when you write? Why?
I often use first-person pronouns because I write about my personal experiences.
Why is it important to know when to use first- second- and third-person pronouns?
The use of pronouns helps writers to avoid the repetition of nouns, making the writing cohesive and understandable.
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In treble, second and fourth, the first change is a dodge behind; and the second time the treble leads, there's a double Bob.
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