Pronouns!8th Grade ELA

Revising Op Eds

DO NOW! Read the following paragraph and on your

post-it list all of the pronouns you find

"Today we learned that an octopus is considered a shellfish, but it has a large muscular foot instead of a shell. The foot is divided into eight tentacles, or feelers, and they move the octopus slowly. After the lecture Ms. Kayam told us to make a sketch. David will make the diagram, and I will label it for him."

DO NOW FOLLOW-UP

"Today we learned that an octopus is considered a shellfish, but it has a large muscular foot instead of a shell. The foot is divided into eight tentacles, or feelers, and they move the octopus slowly. After the lecture Ms. Kayam told us to make a sketch. David will make the diagram, and I will label it for him."

What are pronouns? A pronoun is a word that takes the

place of a proper noun.› A proper noun is the name of a person,

place or thing. Persons’ or things’ names

Urban Institute of Mathematics Joshua Roman

Places The Statute of Liberty Rockefeller Center

What are pronouns? Common pronouns include:

I, me, my, mine, mine, you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, we, us, our, ours, they, them, their, theirs, myself, ourselves, anybody, both, either, nobody, none, one, several, someone, others, everyone.

• Why do we use pronouns? Pronouns are used to make writing flow more

easily by avoiding repetition. Pronouns help make our meaning clear.

Which sounds better? Without pronouns?

› Mr. Lee thought that Mr. Lee should write Mr. Lee’s name on the board.

With pronouns?› Mr. Lee thought that he should write his

name on the board.

Antecedents The word that a pronoun replaces is

called the antecedent. For example:

› The players won their matches Pronoun used?

Their Antecedent?

Players

Let’s Practice For each of the following sentences you are

to identify the pronoun(s) used and their antecedents.› Both magazines offered their customers a good

deal.› The boss will hire anyone if he or she can work

on weekends.› The club decided to raise its membership dues.› Our teachers want us to come to them for help.› Josie and I bought our tickets yesterday.

Agreement It’s very important that when we use

pronouns we ensure that they agree with their antecedents.

By “agree” I mean that the antecedents and pronouns must match.

Agreement Pronouns and antecedents must match

according to › Gender

If the antecedent is masculine, the pronoun must be masculine Dan loves his X-Box 360.

If the antecedent is feminine, the pronoun must be feminine Liza goes running with her friends every afternoon.

If the antecedent is neither masculine nor feminine it is called “neuter”. If the antecedent is neuter, a neuter pronoun must be used. Students hate having to turn in their homework daily.

Agreement Pronouns and antecedents must also

match according to number› If the antecedent is singular, a singular

pronoun must be used. Carl goes to the movies with his friends.

› If the antecedent is plural, a plural pronoun must be used. Josiah and his friends asked dad to pick them

up.

Let’s Practice Agreement Select the appropriate pronoun from the parenthesis.

› During early rehearsals, an actor may forget (his or her, their) lines.› The Washington team was opportunistic; (it, they) took advantage of

every break.› A person needs to see (his or her, their) dentist twice a year.› The committee members put (its, their) signatures on the document.› If any one of the sisters needs a ride, (she, they) can call me.› When someone has been drinking, (he or she, they) may drive

poorly.› If the board of directors controls the company, (it, they) may vote for

a raise.› Neither the pilot nor the attendants gave (his or her, their) opinion

about the mishap.› Each of these companies had (its, their) books audited.› Some of the china has lost (its, their) luster.

Independent Practice Now it’s time for you to put what you’ve

learned to practice.› First you must complete a pronouns drill

handout. When you are finished swap papers with a partner

and review each other’s work. When you feel comfortable with your work, submit it for a grade.

› Upon completing the pronouns drill you are to review your op ed draft to ensure that you used pronouns correctly. To help you do this you are to use the pronouns revision graphic organizer.