Download pronouns - Laing Middle School

PRONOUNS
1. What is a Pronoun?
2. Subject Pronouns
3. Object Pronouns
4. Possessive Pronouns
5. Reflective and Intensive Pronouns
6. Interrogatives and Demonstratives
7. Pronoun Agreement
8. Indefinite-Pronoun Agreement
9. Pronoun Problems
10.More Pronoun Problems
WHAT IS A PRONOUN?
Pronouns
• A pronoun is a word that is used in place
of a noun. A pronoun can refer to a
person, place, thing, or idea. The word
that a pronoun refers to is called the
antecedent.
Refers to
Raymond visited Death Valley, and he was
impressed.
Personal pronouns
• Pronouns such as we, I, he, them, and it
are called personal pronouns. Personal
pronouns have a variety of forms to
indicate different persons, numbers, and
cases.
Person and Number
• These are first-person, second-person and
third-person personal pronouns, each having
both singular and plural forms.
Singular
Plural
I went out.
We left early.
You left too.
You are leaving.
He came by bus.
They came by car.
Case
• Each personal pronoun has three cases:
subject, object, and possessive. Which
form to use depends on the pronouns
function in a sentence.
Subject: He read about Death Valley.
Object: Julie asked him about the rocks.
Possessive: Ramon brought his book.
IDENTIFY THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN
EACH SENTENCE...
1. Death Valley is famous for its strange
moving boulders.
2. They are found in a dry lake bed called
Racetrack Playa.
3. The rocks slide on their own, leaving long
tracks behind them.
4. Can you think of an explanation for this
curious event?
5. Investigators offer two major theories for
us to consider.
IDENTIFY THE PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN
EACH SENTENCE...
6. One geologist thinks that when floodwater
freezes, an ice sheet can form under a rock
and help it slide.
7. Other scientists disagree with his theory.
8. They believe that the wind alone can move
the rocks.
9. Some scientists have hedged their bets,
telling us that both theories could be true.
10.We still don’t know for sure how the rocks
move.
SUBJECT PRONOUNS
Subject Pronouns
• A subject pronoun is used as a subject in a
sentence.
Singular
Plural
I
We
You
You
He, she, it
They
Pronouns as Subjects
• Use a subject pronoun when the pronoun
is a subject or part of a compound
subject.
You and he thought the movie was scary.
He and I ate popcorn.
OBJECT PRONOUNS
Predicate Pronouns
• A predicate pronoun follows a linking
verb and identifies the verb’s subject.
Use the subject case for predicate
pronouns.
identifies
The owner was he.
subject
Predicate
Pronoun
Object Pronouns
• An object pronoun is used as a direct object,
an indirect object, or an object of a
preposition.
Singular
Plural
Me
Us
You
You
Him, her, it
Them
Direct Object
• The pronoun receives the action of a verb and
answers the question whom or what.
Direct Object
The mysterious death of king Tut fascinates me.
Indirect Object
• The pronoun tells to whom or what or for
whom or what an action is performed.
to
Chu lent me a video on the topic.
Indirect
Object
Direct
Object
Object of a Preposition
• The pronoun follows a preposition (such as to,
from, for, against, by, or about).
We will save the video for you.
preposition Object of a
preposition
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Possessive Pronouns
• A possessive pronoun is a personal pronoun
used to show ownership or relationship.
Singular
Plural
My, mine
Our, ours
Your, yours
Your, yours
Her, hers, his, its
Their, theirs
The Chinese museum kept its amazing secret for years.
No one saw the mummies in their colorful clothes.
Then Professor Mair and his tour group arrived.
REFLEXIVE AND
INTENSIVE PRONOUNS
Reflexive Pronouns
• A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject and
directs the action of the verb back to the subject.
Reflexive pronouns are necessary to the meaning
of a sentence.
reflects
Houdini called himself a master escape artist.
Intensive Pronouns
• An intensive pronoun emphasizes a noun or
another pronoun in the same sentence.
Intensive pronouns are not necessary to the
meaning of a sentence.
You yourselves have seen magic shows on TV.
INTERROGATIVES AND
DEMONSTRATIVES
Interrogative Pronouns
• An interrogative pronoun is used to introduce
a question.
Who made up this riddle?
Interrogative Pronoun
Use
Who, whom
Refers to people
What
Refers to things
Which
Refers to people or things
Whose
Indicates ownership or relationship
Using Who and Whom
• Who is always used a subject or predicate
pronoun.
Who knows the answer to the riddle?
Your favorite comedian is who?
• Whom is always used as an object.
Whom did you tell?
To whom did you give my name?
Demonstrative Pronouns
• A demonstrative pronoun points out a
person, place, thing, or idea. This, that, these,
and those.
Singular
Plural
This is the game that we created.
These are the rules.
That is the spinner.
Those are the playing pieces.
PRONOUN AGREEMENT
Pronoun Agreement
• The antecedent is the noun or pronoun
that a pronoun replaces or refers to. The
antecedent and the pronoun can be in
the same sentence or in a different
sentences.
Refers to
Louis writes his own detective stories.
Replaces
Agatha Christie writes mysteries. Her
stories are famous.
Agreement in Numbers
• Use a singular pronoun to refer to a
singular antecedent.
One story has its setting in Egypt.
• Use a plural pronoun to refer to a plural
antecedent.
The characters have their motives for
murder.
Agreement in Person
• The pronoun must agree in person with the
antecedent.
3rd person
Louis likes his mysteries to have surprise
endings.
2nd person
You want a story to grab your attention.
INDEFINITE-PRONOUN
AGREEMENT
Indefinite-Pronoun Agreement
• An indefinite pronoun does not refer to a
specific person, place, thing, or idea.
Something unusual is going on in Loch
Ness.
Has anyone photographed the Loch Ness
monster?
Some indefinite pronouns are always singular,
some are always plural, and some can be either
singular or plural.
Singular
Plural
Singluar or Plural
Another
Anybody
Anyone
Anything
Each
Either
Everybody
Everyone
Everything
Neither
Nobody
No one
Nothing
One
Somebody
Someone
Something
Both
Few
Many
Several
All
Any
Most
None
some
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
• Use a singular personal pronoun to refer to a
singular indefinite pronoun.
Refers to
Everyone took his or her camera to the lake.
Refers to
One dropped his camera in the water.
Plural Indefinite Pronouns
• Use a plural personal pronoun to refer to a
plural indefinite pronoun.
Refers to
Several reported their sightings of the monster.
Refers to
Many could not believe their own eyes!
Singular or Plural Indefinite
Pronouns
• Some indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural.
The phrase that follows the indefinite pronoun will
often tell you whether the pronoun is singular or
plural.
Most of the monster story has its origin in
Singular indefinite
Singular personal
fantasy.
pronoun
pronoun
Most of the monster stories have their origins
plural personal
plural indefinite
in fantasy.
pronoun
pronoun
PRONOUN PROBLEMS
Pronoun Problems – “We” and “Us”
• The pronoun we or us is sometimes followed by
a noun that identifies the pronoun. Use we
when the pronoun is a subject or a predicate
pronoun. Use us when the pronoun is an object.
We owners don’t always understand our pets.
subject
Dogs and cats often surprise us owners.
object
Unclear Reference
• Be sure that each personal pronoun refers
clearly to only one person, place, or thing.
• Confusing: Tony and Fred want to
become veterinarians. He now works at
an animal shelter (who works? Tony or
Fred?)
• Clear: Tony and Fred want to become
veterinarians. Fred now works at an
animal shelter.
MORE PRONOUN
PROBLEMS
Pronoun Problems – Pronouns in
Compounds
• Use the subject pronoun I, she, he, we,
and they in a compound subject with a
predicate noun or pronoun.
Kathy and he decided to research a
mystery.
The research team was Jim and I.
Pronoun Problems – Problems in
Compounds
• Use the object pronouns me, her, him, us,
and them in a compound object.
Samantha asked Jim and me about the
movie.
Kathy loaned our report to Mac and her.
Intervening Phrases
• Sometimes words and phrases come between a
subject and a pronoun that refers to it. Don’t
be confused by those words in between,
Mentally cross out the phrase to figure out
agreement.
Jim, like the others, brought his map. (His agrees
with Jim, not with others.)
Five planes from a Navy airfield lost their way in
the Bermuda triangle. (Their agrees with
planes, not with airfield.)