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Which possessive pronouns should I use in "I'm not a person who..."?

English Language & Usage Asked by Mr. X on August 9, 2020

Consider this sentence, please:

I‘m not a person who screams out my achievements from the rooftops.

Why do we use "my" instead of "his/her" in the sentence above, when "I" is not the antecedent of "who", the subject of the relative clause?

One Answer

Depending on the context, his or her or their could refer to someone other than I.

I'm not a person who screams out his achievements from the rooftops. I just believe President Trump is due some credit.

I'm not a person who screams out her achievements from the rooftops. I'm just a quietly supportive parent to my daughter.

I'm not a person who screams out their achievements from the rooftops. Those guys get enough publicity as it is in any case.

The use of my makes clear that the speaker is referring to their own achievements thereby removing any ambiguity that could arise.

Answered by DW256 on August 9, 2020

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