Pronouns

What is a pronoun?•Pronoun-a word that is used in place of a noun or another pronoun.

•John went to the store. OR with a pronoun:

•He went to the store.

•Antecedent- the word that a personal pronoun refers to.•(John) went to the store.

Personal pronouns, such as I, we, he, and them, change their forms to reflect person, number, and case.

•Person-1st, 2nd, 3rd person

•Number-singular or plural

•Case-subject, object, and possessive.

PRONOUNSPronoun as

SubjectPronoun as

Object

Pronoun as Possessive Adjective

1st Person

I me my/mineSingular

2nd Person

you you your/yoursSingular

3rd Person he him his

Singular she her her/hers

  it it its

1st Person

we us our/oursPlural

2nd Person

you you your/yoursPlural

3rd Person

they them their/theirsPlural

Subject Pronouns•A subject pronoun is used as the subject of the sentence or as a predicate pronoun after a linking verb.

•Subject case- when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence(John) went to the store.

(antecedent and also is the subject)

(He) went to the store. (pronoun and subject)

–Remember that a pronoun can be part of a compound subject.

–When it is, the pronoun will always follow the noun.

•(John) and (he) went to the store.

Practice

• Vera and I love tennis more than anything else.

• We will play other teams from all over the area.

• They and our other classmates will come.

• This year, he will give us special lessons.

• You should go and ask for lessons.

•Predicate Pronoun- follows a linking verb and renames, or refers to, the subject.

•(some common Linking Verbs-am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been)

•Great friends were (they).

Object Pronouns•Object pronouns are personal pronouns used as direct objects, as indirect objects, or as the objects of prepositions.

•As a direct object, the pronoun receives the action of a verb and answers the question for whom or what.

•John likes to go see (her).

Practice

• Mrs. Smith thanked her for the gift.

• Coach has entered Vera and me in several matches.

• The mysterious death of King Tut fascinates me.

• Did someone hurt him?

• I told the story to her.

•As an indirect object, the pronoun tells to whom or what or for whom or what an action is performed.

•John showed (her) the groceries.

Practice

• This year, Coach has been giving us special lessons.

• I told her the whole story.

• Sam lent me a video on the topic.

• He gave him the video after he was finished watching it.

•As an object of a preposition, the pronoun follows a preposition such as to, from, for, against, by, between, or about.–Sarah wanted to go with (him).

Practice

• Many people worked for him.

• John was going with them.

• No one believed in her.

Possessive Pronouns

•Personal pronouns used to show ownership or relationship.

•Don’t get contractions and possessive pronouns confused.–It’s a dream for me to get a new car.

–Its future is cloudy

Practice

• The secret was in ours.

• The Chinese Museum kept its secret.

• No one saw the mummies in their colorful clothes.

• Then the Professor and his group arrived.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Reflexive/ Intensive Pronoun

myself

 

yourself

 

himself

herself

itself

ourselves

 

yourselves

 

themselves

 

Reflexive Pronouns• refer to the subject and directs the

action of the verb back to the subject. – Reflexive pronouns are necessary

to the meaning of a sentence. Without them the sentence doesn’t make sense.

– A reflexive pronoun usually follows a verb.

Ex: The climbers warned themselves to be prepared for anything.

Intensive Pronouns

• Emphasize the noun or pronoun within the same sentence. – Intensive pronouns are not

necessary to the meaning of the sentence.

Ex: I myself would like to climb a high mountain someday.

Don’t Forget:•HISSELF and THEIRSELVES

are not real words. NEVER use them. Use himself and

themselves instead!!

Practice:

Find the pronouns and decide whether or not it is reflexive or intensive.

1. The girl herself is very quiet.

2. We started giving ourselves quiet time every day.

3. Tell yourself you can spend a few minutes a day in silence.

4. You yourself are your own best friend.

Demonstrative and Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative Pronouns

who/whom refers to people

what refers to things

which refers to people

  or things

whose refers to

  relationships or

  ownership

Demonstrative

Pronouns

Singular this/that

Plural these/those

Demonstrative Pronouns

• Points out a person, place, thing, or idea.– The demonstrative pronouns this,

that, these, and those-are used alone in a sentence.

– Never use here or there with a demonstrative pronoun.

– Ex: This here is a red car. (Incorrect)

– Ex: This is a red car. (Correct)

•Note the difference between a demonstrative pronoun and a demonstrative adjective:

•This is a red car. (dem. Pronoun)

•This car is red. (dem. Adjective)

• Practice:

1. This/That is your last chance.

2. This/That is the right answer.

3. These/Those are my favorite slippers.

4. This/Those are too small

Interrogative Pronouns• Is used to introduce a question.•Who is always used as a

subject or a predicate pronoun.

•Who is the president during the Civil War?

•The winner is who?

•Whom is always used as an object.–Whom did you choose for your running mate?

–You told whom our secret?

–For whom did the caller ask?

Helpful Hints:•Change the question into a statement.

•If you can replace the interrogative pronoun with he, use who (subject).

•If you can replace the interrogative pronoun with him, use whom (object).

Practice:

1. Who/Whom did you give the answers to?

2. To who/whom am I speaking?

3. Who/Whom went with you to the mall?

4. You told who/whom our secret?