Parts of Speech: Building Blocks

of Grammar

4 x 4 Activity 1. Each group of 4 students gets 4 post-it

notes. Write all group members’ names on all post-it notes.

2. Then write one of these pronoun categories on each post it note: personal pronoun, indefinite pronoun, interrogative pronoun, and demonstrative pronoun.

4 x 4 Activity 3. Now look at the words posted in the 4

corners of the room. They are all pronouns.

4. As you consult with your group members, you have 2 minutes to match the correct post-it note pronoun category with the pronoun words in each corner of the room.

Let’s see…

…how you did• Which groups matched the

correct pronoun category with the pronoun words?

• Raise your hand if you can tell the class how/why you matched the correct pronoun type with the pronoun words.

Copy these notes:1. Review: a noun is a word that names a person, place, thing or idea.2. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun to name a person, place, thing or idea.3. Just like a noun, a pronoun is often the subject of a sentence.4. Pronouns can be used in different ways. They can be personal, indefinite, interrogative, and demonstrative .

Copy a few examples for each of these categories:

1. PERSONAL PRONOUNS (they often show ownership): I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it, we, us, they, them, my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs

*Note that there are no apostrophes used with possessive personal pronouns. This includes "its." Just as you would say "That is hers," you would say "Success is its own reward." It's stands for the contraction that represents "It is" or "It has." It's is NEVER possessive. 

2. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

(they are not specific): nobody, anyone, each, either, none, someone, somebody, both, everyone, no one, neither, many, few, several, one

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS (they ask questions/interrogate):

who, whom, what, which, whose

Whose artworkis this?

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS: this, that, these, those

(This is also Picasso’s art work. It is called “Guitarist.”)

When I say a word, stand up if it’s a noun, and sit down if it’s a pronoun.

flamingo

gymnastics

competition

Who?

Michael Phelps

NEXT STEPS

In our next grammar lesson we will learn about adjectives, the words used to describe nouns and pronouns.