The Pronoun

Elements of Language, Third CoursePages 378-381The Pronoun

The PronounA pronoun is a word that is used in place of one or more nouns or pronouns.

Example:Stan bought a suit and an overcoat.He will wear them tomorrow.

The PronounStan bought a suit and an overcoat.He will wear them tomorrow.

Stan bought a suit and an overcoat.He will wear them tomorrow.

The PronounSeveral of the horses have gone into the stable because they are hungry.

The Pronoun Several of the horses have gone into the stable because they are hungry.

Several of the horses have gone into the stable because they are hungry.

The AntecedentThe word that a pronoun stands for or refers to is called the antecedent of the pronoun.

The AntecedentFind the pronoun.What is its antecedent?The tour guide showed the students where they could see Mayan pottery.

the pronounThe tour guide showed the students where they could see Mayan pottery.

the antecedent and the pronounThe tour guide showed the students where they could see Mayan pottery.

The AntecedentFind the pronoun.What is its antecedent?Why did Oscar give his camera to the film school?

the pronounWhy did Oscar give his camera to the film school?

the antecedent and the pronounWhy did Oscar give his camera to the film school?

The AntecedentFind the pronoun.What is its antecedent?Darius scored a field goal. It was his first of the season.

the pronounDarius scored a field goal. It was his first of the season.

the antecedent and the pronounDarius scored a field goal.It was his first of the season.

The AntecedentDarius scored a field goal.It was his first of the season.

Notice: A pronoun may appear in the same sentence as its antecedent or in a nearby sentence.

Identifying AntecedentsComplete Exercise 5 (p. 379)

Personal PronounsFirst Person(the one speaking)I, me, my mine, we us, our, oursSecond Person(the one spoken to)You, your, yoursThird Person(the one spoken about)He, him, his, she, her hers, it, its, they, them, their, theirsIdentify the Personal PronounsI hope that they can find your apartment by following our directions.

Personal PronounsI hope that they can find your apartment by following our directions.

Find the Personal PronounsShe said that we could call them at home.

Find the Personal PronounsShe said that we could call them at home.

Find the Personal PronounsHe asked us to help him clear away the fallen branches from his backyard.

Personal PronounsHe asked us to help him clear away the fallen branches from his backyard.

Find the Personal PronounsTheir dog obeyed them immediately and went to its bed.

Personal PronounsTheir dog obeyed them immediately and went to its bed.

Reflexive PronounsA reflexive pronoun refers to the subject of a sentence and functions as a complement or as an object of a preposition.

Jason looked at himself in the mirror.Intensive PronounsAn intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent and has no grammatical function.

Janet herself was inclined to boycott.

Reflexive and Intensive PronounsFirst Personmyself, ourselvesSecond Personyourself, yourselvesThird Personhimself, herself, itself, themselvesReflexive or Intensive?Elena treated herself to a snack.Even Julie herself was upset.They took only enough food for themselves.Reflexive or Intensive?Albert himself organized the fund-raiser.Julie was upset with herself.He was all by himself.

Demonstrative PronounsA demonstrative pronoun is used to point out a specific person, place, thing or idea.

This desk is old.

thisthatthesethoseDemonstrative PronounsThat is Susies favorite restaurant in San Francisco.The tacos I make taste better than those.These chairs have wheels on them and are easy to move around.This is the last example of demonstrative pronouns.Interrogative Pronounsto interrogate means to questionAn interrogative pronoun introduces a question.

whowhomwhichwhatwhoseInterrogative PronounsWhich of the songs is your favorite?What is your parakeets name?To whom are you speaking?Who do you think will win American Idol?Whose on first?

Relative PronounsA relative pronoun introduces a subordinate clause.

The ship that you saw is sailing to GreeceIsabel is my friend who is training for the Boston marathon.ThatWhichWhoWhomwhoseIndefinite PronounsAn indefinite pronoun refers to one or more persons, places, ideas, or things that may or may not be specifically named.

Indefinite Pronounsalleachmostoneanothereithermuchotheranyeveryoneneitherseveralanybodyeverythingnobodysomeanyonefewnonesomebodyanythingmanyno onesomethingbothmorenothingsuchIndefinite PronounsAngelo has everything he will need to go rock climbing.Is anyone at home?Most of the birds had already flown south for the winter.Identifying PronounsComplete Exercise 6 (p. 381)