Chapter 3

Lesson 1: What is a Pronoun?

What is a Pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun or another pronoun.

A pronoun can refer to a person, place, thing, or idea.

Antecedents

The word that the pronoun refers to is called the antecedent.

Ramon visited Death Valley, and he was impressed.What is the pronoun in the sentence above? _____________________

To whom or what does it refer? ________________________

Death Valley is mysterious. It is silent.What is the pronoun in the sentences above? _______________________________

To whom or what does it refer? ________________________

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns have a variety of forms to indicate different persons, numbers, and cases.

Person and number: There are first-person, second-person, and third-person pronouns, each having both singular and plural forms.

Personal Pronouns

Singular personal pronouns: I, you, he, she, him, her

Plural personal pronouns: we, you, they, them, us

Cases of Pronouns

Case: each personal pronoun has three cases: subject, object, and possessive. Choose the correct form based on the function in the sentence.

Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns: I, she, he, it, they, you, we

Object Pronouns

Object pronouns: me, her, him, it, them, you, us

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns: my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, its, their, theirs, our, ours

THERE ARE NO APOSTROPHES IN POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS. EVER!!

Pronouns help write concisely about people without having to repeat their names.

Lesson 2: Subject Pronouns

A subject pronoun is used as a subject in a sentence or as a predicate pronoun after a linking verb.

Subject Pronouns

Subject pronounsSingular: I, you, he, she, it

Plural: we, you, they

Subject Pronouns

Use a subject pronoun when the pronoun is a subject or part of a compound subject.

Examples

The Hope diamond has a fascinating history. It has been the source of bad luck for many owners.

Pronoun:______________

Antecedent:________________________

You and he think the diamond is cursed.Pronouns:__________________

 

Predicate Pronouns

Predicate pronouns: A predicate pronoun follows a linking verb and identifies or renames the verb’s subject. Use the subject case for predicate pronouns.

Examples

The owner was he.Sentence can be reversed to read: He is the owner.

The buyers are you and she.Sentence can be reversed to read: You and she are the buyers.

Predicate Pronouns

Common linking verbs: am, is, are, was, were, have been, can be, will be, and should be.

Beware! Subject pronouns may not always sound correct to you.

Lesson 3: Object Pronouns

Object pronouns can be used as direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions.

Object Pronouns

Object pronouns:Singular: me, him, her, it, you

Plural: us, them, you

Pronouns can be direct objects…

Direct objects:The pronoun receives the action of the action verb and answers the question whom or what.

Pronouns as D.O.

The mysterious death of King Tut fascinates me.Subject:_________________

Action Verb:___________________

Direct object:__________________

Did someone murder him?Subject:_________________

Action verb:____________________

Direct object:__________________

 

Pronouns can be indirect objects…

Indirect objects:The pronoun tells TO whom or TO what or FOR whom or FOR what an action is performed.

Pronouns as I.O.

Chu lent me a video on the topic.Subject:_________________

Action verb:____________________

Direct object:__________________

Indirect object:__________________

I told her the whole story.Subject:_________________

Action verb:____________________

Direct object:__________________

Indirect object:__________________

There MUST BE a direct object in order for there to be an indirect object.

Pronouns can be objects of prepositions…

Objects of prepositions:The pronoun follows a preposition. See list following.

Pronouns as O.P.

Will you save the video for them?Prep. Phrase:__________________

Object of prep. _________________________

I can tell the story to you and him.Prep. Phrase:__________________

Object of prep.:___________________

This secret is between you and me.Always use object pronouns after the preposition between.

Lesson 4: Possessive Pronouns

A possessive pronoun is a personal pronoun used to show ownership or relationship.

 

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns:

Singular: my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, its

Plural: our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs

 

Possessive Pronouns

The possessive pronouns my, your, her, his, its, our, and their will come before nouns.

The Chinese museum kept its amazing secret for years.

Poss. Pronoun:______________________

Noun it describes:___________________

 

Possessive Pronouns

The possessive pronouns mine, your, hers, his, ours, and theirs can stand alone in a sentence.

The secret was theirs.

Is that book yours?

 

Common Possessive Pronoun Errors:

Possessive pronouns NEVER have apostrophes. Many possessive pronouns are homophones for contractions. Contractions ALWAYS have apostrophes.

Your vs. you’re (you are)

Their vs. they’re (they are)

Its vs. it’s (it is)

Always proofread your work carefully to be sure that you have not confused possessive pronouns with contractions.

 

Lesson 5: Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

A pronoun that ends in self or selves is either a reflexive or an intensive pronoun.

Myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, herself, himself, itself, themselves are all reflexive/intensive pronouns.

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject and direct the action of the verb back to the subject.

Houdini called himself a master escape artist.Reflexive:__________________

Subject:____________________

Reflexive Pronouns

Lynne dedicated herself to learning Houdini’s secrets.

Reflexive: ____________________________

Subject:____________________

Notice: If you drop a reflexive pronoun from a sentence, the sentence no longer makes sense. (Lynne dedicated to learning Houdini’s secrets.)

Intensive Pronouns

Intensive pronouns emphasize a noun or another pronoun in the same sentence.

Intensive pronouns are not necessary to the meaning of the sentence.

You yourselves have seen magic shows on TV.

Intensive:_______________

I myself like to perform magic tricks.

The sentence still makes sense if the intensive is removed.

I like to perform magic tricks.

FYI…

Hisself and theirselves are NOT WORDS. Never use them. Use himself and themselves instead.

Lesson 6: Interrogatives and Demonstratives

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to introduce questions.

 

Interrogative Pronouns

Who, whom: refer to people

What: refers to things

Which: refers to people or things

Whose: indicates ownership or relationship

 

Using Who and Whom

Using who and whomWho is always used as a subject or predicate pronoun.

Who know the answer to the riddle?

Your favorite comedian is who?

Using Who and Whom

Whom is always used as an object.Direct object: Whom did you tell?

Indirect object: You gave whom the answer?

OP: To whom did you give my name?

 

Whose vs. Who’s

Be careful not to confuse whose with who’s (who is or who has).

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns point out a person, place, thing, or idea.

Demonstrative Pronouns

These, that, this, those are demonstrative pronouns when used alone in a sentence, not when they come before a noun. When these words come before a noun, they are adjectives.

These are your shoes. (these is demonstrative)

These shoes are yours. (these is an adjective)

Lesson 7: Pronoun Agreement

Remember…

An antecedent is the noun or pronoun that a pronoun replaces or refers to.

Pronouns and Antecedents

The pronoun and antecedent can be in the same sentence or different sentences.

Louis writes his own detective stories.Pronoun:_______________

Antecedent:_____________

Agatha Christie writes mysteries. Her stories are famous.

Pronoun:_______________

Antecedent:_____________

 

Agreement in Number

The pronoun and antecedent must agree in number.

Use a singular pronoun to refer to a singular antecedent.

One story has ____________ setting in England.

Use a plural pronoun to refer to a plural antecedent.The characters have _______________ motives for murder.

 

Agreement in Person

The pronoun and antecedent must agree in person.Louis likes ____________ mysteries to have surprise endings. (3rd person)

You want a story to grab ______________ attention. (2nd person)

 

Agreement in Gender

The pronoun and antecedent must agree in gender.

Agatha Christie sets many of _______________ stories in England.

The hero has to use all __________ wits to solve the crime.

Gender cont.

Don’t use only masculine pronouns when you mean to refer to both genders.

Each character has his or her alibi ready. NOT Each character has his alibi ready.

You could also make both the pronoun and antecedent plural to correct this problem.

The characters had their alibis ready.

 

Lesson 8: Indefinite-Pronoun Agreement

Indefinite Pronouns

An indefinite pronoun does not refer to a specific person, place, thing, or idea.

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns often do not have antecedents.Something unusual is going on in Loch Ness.

Indefinite Pronoun________________

Has anyone photographed the Loch Ness monster?Indefinite Pronoun________________

 

Indefinite Pronouns

Some indefinite pronouns are always singular, some are always plural, and some can be either singular or plural.

 

Indefinite Pronouns

Singular Indefinites

Plural Indefinites Singular or Plural

another neither both all

anybody nobody few any

anyone no one many most

anything nothing several some

each one none

other somebody

everybody

someone

everyone something

everything

Using indefinites

Use a singular personal pronoun to refer to a singular indefinite pronoun.

Everyone took his or her camera to the lake.His or her refers back to ____________________________.

Everyone can be either feminine or masculine.

One dropped his camera in the lake.His refers back to __________________________.

 

Using indefinites

Use a plural personal pronoun to refer to a plural indefinite pronoun.

Several reported their sightings of the monster.Their refers back to ____________________________.

Many could not believe their own eyes.Their refers back to ____________________________.

Using indefinites

Since some indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural, use the phrase immediately following the indefinite pronoun to decide if it is singular or plural in that particular sentence.

Using indefinites

Most of the monster story has _____ origin in fantasy.

Most is singular in this sentence because the word story in the phrase after it is singular.

Most of the monster stories have ________________origins in fantasy.

Most is plural in this sentence because the word stories in the phrase after it is plural.

Lesson 9: Pronoun Problems

We and Us

We and Us with nouns.The pronouns we and us are sometime followed by nouns that identify the pronoun. (we students or us students)

Use we when the pronoun is a subject or predicate pronoun.We owners don’t always understand our pets.

Use us when the pronoun is an object.Dogs and cats often surprise us owners.

 

 

Choosing between we and us:

Drop the identifying noun from the sentence.Dogs think of (we/us) humans as their leaders.

Drop humans from the sentence to help make your choice.

Decide whether the sentence calls for a subject pronoun or an object pronoun.

In the example above, us is the object of the preposition of.

Unclear References

Unclear referenceBe sure that each personal pronoun refers clearly to only one person, place, or thing.

If there is any chance that your reader might be confused about whom or what you are talking, use a noun instead of a pronoun.

For example…

Tony and Fred want to become veterinarians. He now works at an animal shelter.

What is confusing about this sentence?

Lesson 10: More Pronoun Problems

Pronouns in compounds

Pronouns can sometimes cause problems when they are part of compound subjects or compound objects.

Subject Pronouns

Use the subject pronouns I, he, she, we, and they in a compound subject or with a predicate noun or pronoun.

Kathy and (he/him) decided to research a mystery.

The research team was Jim and (I/me).

Object Pronouns

Use the object pronouns me, him, her, us, and them in a compound object.

Samantha asked Jim and (I/me) about the Bermuda Triangle.

Kathy loaned our report to Mac and (she/her).

Tips

To choose the correct case of the pronoun, drop the other half of the compound and read the sentence with only the pronoun.

 

Intervening Phrases

Sometimes words and phrases come between a subject and a pronoun that refers to it. Don’t be confused by these words; read the sentence without the intervening phrases to choose the correct pronoun.

Jim, like the others, brought (their/his) map.

Five planes from a Navy airfield lost (their/its) way in the Bermuda Triangle.