Pronouns

PRONOUNS

Pronouns are words that stand for nouns or for words that take the place of nouns.

LESSON 1

ANTECEDENTS OF PRONOUNS

Antecedents are nouns (or words that take the place of nouns) for which pronouns stand.

Examples:

Michael said he lost his bag.noun pronoun

When the Smiths moved, they gave their pets to neighbors. noun pronoun pronoun

Caring for dogs can be rewarding, but it requires a certain amount of patience. noun pronoun

EXERCISE 1.1 Write the antecedent of each underlined pronoun.

1. Some of the children are afraid of ghosts. ___________________2. Vincent usually brings his lunch to the academy. ___________________3. This is not the pizza I ordered. ___________________4. The horse kicked its stall. ___________________5. Reggie asked his father to help build a tent. ___________________

EXERCISE 1.2 Supply the appropriate pronoun for each given antecedent. Then write a sensible sentence for each pair.

ANTECEDENT PRONOUN SENTENCE0. the academy its The academy has its own online library.1. Susie and Gene _________________ ________________________________________________2. playing basketball _________________ ________________________________________________3. James _________________ ________________________________________________4. Erica _________________ ________________________________________________5. the cat _________________ ________________________________________________

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LESSON 2

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Personal pronouns refer to (1) the person speaking, (2) the person spoken to, or (3) the person, place, or thing spoken about.

PERSONAL PRONOUNSSINGULAR PLURAL

FIRST PERSON I, me, my, mine we, us, our, oursSECOND PERSON you, your, yours you, your, yours

THIRD PERSONhe, him, his,

she, her, hersit, its

they, them, their, theirs

EXERCISE 2.1 Write each sentence, underlining the two personal pronouns in each. Then draw an arrow from each personal pronoun to its antecedent.

Example: Harriet handed her brother his coat.

1. Alice asked Paul if he had brought his bag. ____________________________________2. Joel baked his parents a cake for their party. ____________________________________3. The twins took their roller blades with them. ____________________________________4. April put down her ballpoint pen when she was finished. ____________________________________5. Katie enjoyed her trip and was sorry when it was over. ____________________________________

LESSON 3

CASES OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

I. NOMINATIVE/ SUBJECTIVE – (I, you, he, she, it, we) doers of the action or the ones being talked about in sentences. They are found:

BEFORE VERBS AFTER THE LINKING VERBS (am, is, are, was, were, will be)She is very friendly. My grandfather is he.

We like to see the dancing monkey. It was I who left the door open.(Inverted sentence) Under the tree lies she. The players will be they.

EXERCISE 3.1 IDENTIFYING PRONOUNS IN THE NOMINATIVE CASE. Choose the pronoun in the nominative case to complete each sentence.

1. Paul and (me, I) will make our presentation first.2. Charlene and (he, him) deserve credit for our victory.3. The ones to decide are (we, us) committee members.4. (She, Her) having announced a recess, everyone left.5. (He, Him) and Amy collaborated on that book.


II. OBJECTIVE – (me, you, him, her, it, us) receivers of the action or the objects of the preposition in sentences. They are found:

AFTER ACTION VERBS AFTER PREPOSITION AFTER THE EXPRESSION BEIt took him days to finish the job. Her dog always barks at him. The winner has to be her.

Our teacher gives us a lot of homework.

The land will be divided between you and me.

Being him is a challenge.

** Note that pronouns used as appositives follow the same rule as those of the nominative and objective case.

SUBJECTIVE OBJECTIVEThe managers, Carlo and she, are staying in town. They took the students, Michael and me, home.

Those were the authors, Clare and he, who passed by. The coach gave awards for the boys, Ricky and them.3. POSSESSIVE – (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) show possession or ownership.

Examples: These are my books.(mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) – are used alone to replace possessive form and the thing it possesses.Examples: These books are mine.

EXERCISE 3 IDENTIFYING CASE. Write the case of each underlined pronoun.

1. Her staunch support has not gone unnoticed.2. The exam should cause him no difficulty.3. It seems that we and they have much in common.4. Before you use the computer, ask them for a demonstration.5. We were pleased to use their cabin for the weekend.6. Sally made this dragon kite for you and me.7. Surely you will be able to solve the problem.8. I meant to give you this money yesterday.9. When the car would not start, we had to leave it at home in the garage.10. Hiding them made him an accessory to the crime.11. After Jean arrived, we told her the secret.12. Is this book John’s or yours?13. Please allow me to make the decision.14. The ushers at the wedding will be Ted and I.15. Apologetically, the waitress served us the cold soup.16. The responsibility for this negligence is ours alone.17. We tilled the fields without any assistance.18. The swimming team captain will be either Monica or she.19. A full moon cast its soft light on the ground below.20. In our opinion the best fashion designer is he.

LESSON 4

COMPOUND PERSONAL PRONOUNS

- These are formed by adding either –self or –selves at the end of personal pronouns as shown below:


An intensive pronoun simply adds emphasis. If you omit an intensive pronoun, the sentence will still contain the same basic information. An intensive pronoun usually comes directly after its antecedent, but not always.

REFLEXIVE AND INTENSIVE PRONOUNS

A reflexive pronoun ends in –self or –selves and adds information to a sentence by pointing back to a noun or pronoun earlier in the sentence.

An intensive pronoun ends in –self or –selves and simply adds emphasis to a noun or pronoun in the same sentence.

REFLEXIVE AND INTENSIVE PRONOUNSSINGULAR PLURAL

FIRST PERSON myself ourselvesSECOND PERSON yourself yourselvesTHIRD PERSON himself, herself, itself themselves

EXAMPLES:

REFLEXIVE: Marie helped herself to some turkey.

They poured themselves some juice.

INTENSIVE: The teacher herself attended the meeting.

Frank fixed the refrigerator himself.

EXERCISE 4.1 Write the reflexive or intensive pronoun in each sentence. Then label each as reflexive or intensive.

EXAMPLE: The wind itself blew the door shut.itself intensive

1. I myself have never questioned Ricky’s loyalty. ________________ _______________2. We all enjoyed ourselves at the picnic. ________________ _______________3. The author described the plot to us herself. ________________ _______________4. Jessica wallpapered her bedroom herself. ________________ _______________5. The mayor himself answered our questions. ________________ _______________

EXERCISE 4.2 Supply the appropriate pronoun for each given antecedent. Then write a sensible sentence for each pair according to what is asked.


A reflexive pronoun always adds information to a sentence. In the examples, herself tells who was helped to some turkey and themselves tells for whom the milk was poured.

ANTECEDENT PRONOUN SENTENCE0. the academy itself (intensive) The academy itself has its own online library.1. Vincent and Beth _________________ (reflexive) _____________________________________________2. my father _________________ (intensive) ____________________________________________3. the dancer _________________ (reflexive) _____________________________________________4. Mr. Han _________________ (intensive) ____________________________________________5. the snake _________________ (intensive) ____________________________________________

LESSON 5

DEMONSTRATIVE, RELATIVE, AND INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

Demonstrative pronouns direct attention to specific people, places, or things.

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNSSINGULAR PLURALthis, that these, those

EXAMPLES: BEFORE

This is the person we want to hire.

Are those the boots you like best?

AFTER

Of all the books in the library, that is my favorite.

We also need pepper and salt. These are essential.

A relative pronoun begins a subordinate clause and connects it to another idea in the sentence.

RELATIVE PRONOUNSthat which who whom whose

The following examples show the way relative pronouns are used in sentences.

Independent clause Subordinate clause

Johnny made the play that won the game.

She sold her piano, which was very old.

Minerva is the player who pitched first.

Philip is the debater whom the judges chose.

We visited Grandmother, whose house is quite big.An interrogative pronoun is used to begin a question.


Demonstrative pronouns may come before or after their


An interrogative pronoun may or may not have a specific antecedent. In the examples, which has an antecedent.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNSwhat which who whom whose

EXAMPLES:

What do you mean?

Which of the fruits does she want?

Who will go with him to the parade?

EXERCISE 5.1 Write the pronoun in each sentence. Then label each as demonstrative, relative, or interrogative.

EXAMPLE: Alice chose the bag that Paul wanted.

that relative

1. Which of the contestants is more likely to win? ________________ _______________2. Rodel was the person who told Melissa. ________________ _______________3. What will happen next? ________________ _______________4. That is a book by the same publisher. ________________ _______________5. Who was elected to represent the organization? ________________ _______________6. Michael has a friend who lives in England. ________________ _______________7. Is that the pair of pants with a broken zipper? ________________ _______________8. What is Sally having for dinner? ________________ _______________9. Darrel’s uncle is the lawyer who won the case. ________________ _______________10. These are the lettuce from grandmother’s garden. ________________ _______________

EXERCISE 5.2

0. Write a sentence about flowers that includes one relative pronoun and one demonstrative pronoun.Are those the roses that are going to be delivered today?

1. Write a sentence about your favorite cartoon character that has one interrogative pronoun and one relative pronoun._____________________________________________________________________

2. Write a sentence about your former teacher that has one interrogative pronoun and one relative pronoun._____________________________________________________________________

3. Write a sentence about your school that includes one demonstrative pronoun and one relative pronoun._____________________________________________________________________

LESSON 6

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

Indefinite pronouns refer to people, places, or things, often without specifying which ones.

INDEFINITE PRONOUNSSingular Plural Singular or Plural

another much both allanybody neither few anyanyone nobody many moreanything no one others mosteach nothing several noneeither one someeverybody othereveryone somebodyeverything someone


little something

EXAMPLES:

SPECIFIC ANTECEDENTS: Most of the teachers were late.

Of the topics, none were interesting.

NO SPECIFIC ANTECEDENTS: Everyone ate something.

EXERCISE 6.1 Write the indefinite pronoun or indefinite pronouns in each sentence.

EXAMPLE: Most of us know something about insects.

most something

(1) Although animals throughout the animal kingdom are adaptable, none have shown greater ability to adapt than insects. (2) Everyone knows that insects thrive in hot and humid jungle regions, but did you know that some also live in frozen Polar Regions? (3) Deserts, caves, lakes, and mountains provide homes for still others. (4) Few, however, are found in the earth’s oceans. (5) Scientists have already identified more of these small creatures than the average person would guess – over 800,000 different kinds. (6) No one is sure, but it seems likely that many remain to be discovered. (7) Some of the scientists who study insects estimate that there may be up to ten million kinds still to be identified. (8) All have six legs, three main body parts, and external skeletons that have helped them to survive. (9) One has a wingspread of about ten inches; another is only about one-hundredth of an inch long. (10) Their great numbers and variety seem to have equipped insects with the ability to survive almost anything.

- Source: Prentice Hall: Grammar and Composition 1

EXERCISE 6.2 Use the following instructions to write sentences of your own.

0. Write a sentence that includes a personal pronoun and a reflexive pronoun.She put herself in that awkward situation.

1. Write a sentence that includes a personal pronoun and an intensive pronoun.__________________________________________________________________

2. Write a sentence that includes two personal pronouns.__________________________________________________________________

3. Write a pronoun that includes a demonstrative pronoun followed by the word is.__________________________________________________________________

4. Write a sentence that includes a personal pronoun and a relative pronoun.__________________________________________________________________

5. Write a sentence that includes an interrogative pronoun or an indefinite pronoun followed by the word of.__________________________________________________________________

LESSON 7

PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT


The examples show indefinite pronouns both with and without specific antecedents.

I. AGREEMENT BETWEEN PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS

1. A personal pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number, person, and gender.EXAMPLE: Claire expressed her doubts about the plan.

2. Use a singular personal pronoun with two or more singular antecedents joined by or or nor.EXAMPLE: Neither Tom nor Ken wants to spend his money on new equipment.

3. Use a plural personal pronoun with two or more antecedents joined by and.An exception to these two rules occurs when it is necessary to distinguish between individual and joint ownership. In the examples below, changing from a singular pronoun to a plural pronoun changes the ownership from individual to joint.

SINGULAR: Neither Linda nor Monica let me ride her horse.(Linda and Monica each own a horse.)

PLURAL: Neither Linda nor Monica let me ride their horse.(Linda and Monica own the same horse.)

SINGULAR: My father and mother discovered that his old desk is a valuable antique.(Father owns the desk.)

PLURAL: My father and mother discovered that their old desk is a valuable antique.(Both parents own the desk.)

4. Use a plural personal pronoun if any part of a compound antecedent joined by or or nor is plural.EXAMPLE: If my sisters or Carol arrives, ask them to wait.

II. AGREEMENT IN PERSON AND GENDER1. When dealing with pronoun-antecedent agreement, take care not to shift either person or gender.

SHIFT IN PERSON: Kris is going to Hawaii, where you can surf all year long.CORRECT: Kris is going to Hawaii, where he can surf all year long.SHIFT IN GENDER: The ship came loose from her moorings, and it gently drifted out to sea.CORRECT: The ship came loose from its moorings, and it gently drifted out to sea.

2. When gender is not specified, use the masculine or rewrite the sentence.EXAMPLES: Each officer of the club must pay his dues now.

Each officer of the club must pay dues now.All officers of the club must pay their dues now.

EXERCISE 7.1 MAKING PERSONAL PRONOUNS AGREE WITH THEIR ANTECEDENTS. Write an appropriate personal pronoun to complete each sentence.

1. My aunt and uncle expressed ___________ gratitude for the gift.2. Neither my sisters nor Sue brought _________ books.3. Every nation has ___________ own distinctive culture.4. Medical students should take ___________ education seriously.5. Did she have any trouble on __________ trip?6. Mr. Gray and _________ associate will represent us.7. Neither Karen nor Linda has handed in __________ report.8. Laura and Alyssa are working hard on ____________ project.9. We bought the car even though _________ tires were bald.10. Neither Bob nor David has finished ____________ education.


EXERCISE 7.2 AVOIDING SHIFTS IN PERSON AND GENDER. Choose the correct pronoun in parentheses to complete each sentence.

1. Henry is studying French because (you, he) will need it in France.2. We know that a good education is necessary if (we, you) are to get ahead in the world.3. Typical of my friends and me is (our, their) generosity.4. If people are amoral, society will impose restrictions on (your, their) freedom.5. Venice is very appealing to tourists because of its canal and (her, its) great museums.6. We all make mistakes, but (you, we) should try not to make the same mistake twice.7. After people have worked long and hard, (they, you) need time for relaxation.8. Many women are finding out that (you, they) can compete successfully with men in sports.9. Let’s not fill ourselves on the first course of the meal because (you, we) will be served four more courses.10. Since that nation has not clearly defined its foreign policy, (she, it) has created distress abroad.

III. AGREEMENT WITH INDEFINITE PRONOUNS1. Use a plural personal pronoun when the antecedent is a plural indefinite pronoun.

EXAMPLE: Many of the children were tired from their excursion.2. Use a singular personal pronoun when the antecedent is a singular indefinite pronoun.

EXAMPLE: Only one of the boys wore his uniform.If other words in the sentence do not indicate a gender, you may use the generic masculine pronoun or rephrase the sentence.EXAMPLE: Only one of the workers wore his uniform.

Only one of the workers wore a uniform.3. For indefinite pronouns that can be either singular or plural, agreement depends on the antecedent of the

indefinite pronoun.EXAMPLE: Most of the soil had lost its minerals.

Most of the clients wanted their money back.

EXERCISE 7.3 MAKING PERSONAL PRONOUNS AGREE WITH INDEFINITE PRONOUNS. Choose the correct pronoun in each sentence.

1. Each of the candles shed (its, their) light into the room.2. Before anyone joins this sorority, (she, they) must have an outstanding academic record.3. All of the boys brought (his, their) books.4. One of the linebackers has raised (his, their) hand.5. Few of the teachers were willing to give up (his, their) Saturday mornings.6. Either of the mules will carry (it’s, their) load without protesting.7. All of the players have cleaned (his, their) uniforms.8. Some of the meat had lost (its, their) tenderness.9. Two of my sisters want (her, their) allowances increased.10. Most of the campers have set up (his, their) tents.

IV. AGREEMENT WITH REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS


1. A reflexive pronoun must agree with an antecedent that is clearly stated.

POOR: Our parents always trust my sister and myself.CORRECT: Our parents always trust my sister and me.

EXERCISE 7.3 USING REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS CORRECTLY. Rewrite each sentence, correcting the misused reflexive pronoun.

1. Rachel and myself are the only ones taking the exam.2. The house was painted and furnished by ourselves.3. You should give yourself and myself a rest about now.4. Who but yourself would have remembered my birthday?5. Dad would take care of you, but only herself is here.6. I asked Marta and himself to my party.7. The people who have the best chance to win are yourselves.8. When you call, ask for John or myself.9. Who besides ourselves can play ball?10. The fireman rescued themselves from the burning building.


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