Download Pronouns

Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
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Personal pronouns are replacements for nouns
that function as subjects, predicate nouns, direct
objects, indirect objects, and objects of
prepositions.
Remember, pronouns are (PRO)FESSIONAL
nouns. They take long nouns like “Mrs.
Annastiasa Breckenridge” and shorten the noun
to “she”.
The noun the pronoun replaces is called the
antecedent.
Personal Pronouns
Subject
Object
Possessive
I
You
He, She, It
Me
You
Him, Her, It
We
You
They
Us
You
Them
My, Mine
Your, Yours
His, Her, Hers,
Its
Our, Ours
Your, Yours
Their, Theirs
Subject Pronouns
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Subject pronouns are
pronouns that are
used to replace the
subject or predicate
noun.
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I
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
Example Subject Pronouns
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Cliff is a good
student.
Maribell is a class
leader.
Mrs. Smith bought
Clara a gift.
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He is a good student.
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She is a class leader.
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She bought her it.
Object Pronouns
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Object pronouns are
pronouns used to
replace nouns used
as the direct
OBJECT, indirect
OBJECT, or OBJECT
of the preposition
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Me
You
Him
Her
It
Us
You
Them
Example Object Pronouns
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Clive bought a guitar.
Clive played Marsha
a song.
Clive played the
guitar for Marsha.
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Clive bought it.
Clive played her it.
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Clive played it for her.
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Possessive Pronouns
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Like possessive
nouns, possessive
pronouns show
ownership.
Possessive pronouns
are used to replace
nouns that show
ownership.
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My, mine
Your, yours
His
Her, hers
Its
Our, ours
Your, yours
Their, theirs
Example Possessive Pronouns
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Jason’s book is on
the shelf.
Mr. Waterson’s dog is
in our yard.
The United States’
coastline is
disappearing.
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His book is on the
shelf.
His dog is in our yard.
Our coastline is
disappearing.
Reflexive Pronouns
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Pronouns that end in
“self” or “selves”
They refer to the
subject. They redirect
the action of the verb
back to the subject.
They add meaning to
the sentence;
therefore, they must
remain in the
sentence.
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Myself
Yourself
Himself
Herself
Itself
Ourselves
Yourselves
Themselves
Example Reflexive Pronouns
Hector did himself a favor by agreeing to
help.
 Martha treated herself to a hot pretzel.
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Intensive Pronouns
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Pronouns that end in
“self” or “selves”
They add intensity to
the sentence,
therefore they are not
needed. They can be
removed and the
meaning of the
sentence will not
change.
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Myself
Yourself
Himself
Herself
Itself
Ourselves
Yourselves
Themselves
Example Intensive Pronouns
The President himself pinned the medal
on the hero.
 The superheroes themselves saved the
world from disaster.
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Demonstrative Pronouns
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Demonstrative
pronouns are used to
point out something
specific. In other
words, they
demonstrate
something.
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This - singular
That - singular
These - plural
Those - plural
Example Demonstrative Pronouns
This is my book.
 That is your pencil.
 These are beautiful flowers.
 Those are for you.
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Interrogative Pronouns
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Pronouns used to ask
question.
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Who - person
Whom - person
What - things
Which – things or
person
Whose - person
Example Interrogative Pronouns
Who is the lead singer in that band?
 To whom was the postcard addressed?
 Whom did you expect?
 Whose signature is this?
 Which book is yours?
 What time is it?
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Antecedent agreement
The antecedent is the noun the pronoun
replaces.
 If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun
must be singular.
 If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun
must be plural.
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Example Antecedent Agreement
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The song and its
writer both received
awards.
Although Harold no
longer works here, he
still comes back to
see his former
colleagues.
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Antecedent = movie
Pronoun = its
Antecedent = Nathan
Pronouns = he and
his
Indefinite Pronouns
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Indefinite means that they are not easily defined.
These pronouns often look like they are singular
when they really use plural verbs. They can also
look plural when they really use singular verbs.
There is a small group of indefinite pronouns
that can be both singular and plural. With these
pronouns, we must refer to the prepositional
phrase or previous sentence to find the
antecedent and determine how it should be
used.
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
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Singular indefinite
pronouns use singular
verbs (singular verbs
have an “S” on the
end).
Singular indefinite
pronouns used as the
antecedent are
replaced with singular
personal pronouns.
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Anyone
Anything
Anybody
Everyone
Everything
Everybody
No one
Nothing
Nobody
Someone
Something
Somebody
Each
Either
Another
One
Neither
Example Sing. Indef. Pronouns
Somebody should bring his or her sleeping
bag on the camping trip.
 Each has chosen his or her favorite
activity.
 Everyone is welcome on the trip!
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Plural Indef. Pronouns
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Plural indefinite
pronouns use plural
verbs (plural verbs do
not have an “S” on
the end).
Plural indefinite
pronouns used as the
antecedent are
replaced with plural
personal pronouns.
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Both
Few
Many
Several
Example Plural Indef. Pronoun
Both need a study hall.
 Few are here.
 Many run in the race.
 Several win awards.
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Sing. and Plural Indef. Pronoun
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Some indefinite pronouns can be used to replace
singular or plural antecedents.
You know if it is singular or plural two ways. 1. Look to
the prepositional phrase near it. Find the object of the
preposition. If the object of the preposition is singular
and is an antecedent for the indefinite pronoun, then the
pronoun is singular. If the o.p. is plural, then the
indefinite pronoun is plural 2. Find the antecedent for
the indefinite pronoun in a previous sentence and match
the plurality.
If an indefinite pronoun is functioning as an antecedent,
then match the personal pronoun to the indefinite
pronoun when you figure out if it is singular or plural.
Singular or Plural Indefinite
Pronouns
All
 Any
 Most
 None
 Some
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Example Sing/Plural Indef.
Pronouns
All of my friends are here. They are happy.
 Indef. Pronoun = All
 O.P. = Friends
 “Friends” is plural, so “all” is plural
 Verb = are (plural)
 “All” is plural, so we have to use “They” in
the second sentence. “They” is plural.
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Example Sing/Plural Indef.
Pronouns
All of my trust is in you. It will never end.
 Indef. Pronoun = All
 O.P. = Trust
 “Trust” is singular, so “all” is singular.
 Verb = is (singular)
 “All” is singular, so we have to use “It” in
the second sentence. “It” is singular.
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Pronoun Problems
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Be sure you know
how to use subject
and object pronouns.
Subject pronouns are
used as subjects and
predicate nouns.
Object pronouns are
used as direct object,
indirect objects, and
objects of
prepositions.
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We students took
notes.
The teachers
reminded us students
to work with great
effort.
Pronoun Problems
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Make sure to avoid
confusion. Use a
specific name when
necessary.
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Martha and Jenny are
runner sin the race. I
hope _____ wins.
A. Jenny
B. she
Answer = Jenny
Pronoun Problems
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Be careful with
intervening phrases.
Always know what
your antecedent is.
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George Washington,
like many of our fore
fathers, achieved
great
accomplishments in
____ lifetime.
A. their
B. his
Answer = B. his