What are pronouns? A pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns.

Personal Pronouns Pronouns that are used to refer to people or things are called personal pronouns. Example Beyonce grabbed the microphone and started singing. She belted out “Single Ladies.”

A personal pronoun refers to the one speaking (first person), the one spoken to (second person), or the one spoken about (third person). SingularPlural First PersonI, me, my, mineWe, us, our, ours Second PersonYou, your, yours Third personHe, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its They, them, their, theirs

Subject Pronouns A subject pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence. The subject is WHO or WHAT the sentence is about. She is my sister. It is my hat.

Subject Pronouns: when they get tricky Sometimes the pronoun is in the predicate and is used as a predicate noun, but it is still considered a subject pronoun. Ex: The most popular author was he. (not him) The subject could be “he”. If you turn it around, it makes sense to say… He was the most popular author.

Object Pronouns An object pronoun is a personal pronoun that is used as the direct or indirect object of a verb. Object pronouns will never be the subject of the sentence. Give the pencil to me. The teacher gave her detention. I will tell you a secret. Hannah read it to them.

Underline the personal pronouns 1. They awarded her the prize. 2. We drove them to the airport. 3. I fixed him a sandwich.

4. The person in the chicken costume was you! 5. They saw you and him at the mall. 6. He and she found it on the beach. 7.The winner of the essay contest was I. 8. It showed us the location of the treasure. 9. She helped you with the dishes. 10. You are giving me a headache.

Using Pronouns Correctly If you’re not sure which form of pronoun to use, read the sentence without the words that the pronoun is paired with to see what works. EXAMPLES: Richard and (I or me) saw the monkey wearing glasses. I saw the monkey wearing glasses. So… Richard and I saw the monkey wearing glasses. Jennifer helped Richard and (I or me). Jennifer helped me. So….Jennifer helped Richard and me.

Using Pronouns Correctly When using a pronoun in a pair: ALWAYS put the pronoun last Examples: Milhouse and I read some comic books. (Not I and Milhouse) Science interests Mike and me. (Not me and Mike).

Underline the personal pronouns 1. They awarded her the prize. 2. We drove them to the airport. 3. I fixed him a sandwich.

4. The person in the chicken costume was you! 5. They saw you and him at the mall. 6. He and she found it on the beach. 7.The winner of the essay contest was I. 8. It showed us the location of the treasure. 9. She helped you with the dishes. 10. You are giving me a headache.

Circle the correct word or phrase 1. Erik will save Mrs. Gacek and (we, us) seats in the bleachers. 2. (Jed and I, I and Jed, Me and Jed, Jed and me) fixed the bicycle ourselves. 3. The drama director assigned (we, us) volunteers jobs as ushers.

4. The coach told (Sally and I, I and Sally, me and Sally, Sally and me) the results of the tryouts. 5. Ziggy and (we, us) took the subway to the zoo. 6. The principal asked Anna and (he, him) for help with the middle school handbook. 7. Mrs. Gacek sent (she and I, I and she, me and her, her and me) to the office for supplies. 8. The contestants were (they and we, them and we, they and us, them and us). 9. (We, Us) volunteers will meet at the hospital after school.

Daffy Duck says there is “Pronoun Trouble.” As you watch, pay attention to what that means. Why is Daffy having such a hard time? Be ready to share.

Now…..read this sentence Louisa May Alcott wrote a novel about a young woman. She had three sisters. This sentence is unclear! Is she referring to “Louisa May Alcott” or to “a young woman”? Sometimes you must repeat a noun or rewrite a sentence to avoid confusion. Louisa May Alcott wrote a novel about a young woman. The young woman, Jo March, had three sisters.

PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS Antecedent- The noun or group of words that a pronoun refers to Example: Tyler read The Hungry Caterpillar. He found it exciting. ANTECEDENT of he  Tyler ANTECEDENT of it  The Hungry Caterpillar

Rules for PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS The pronoun must agree with the antecedent in number (singular or plural). Ex: The five women must face a death in the family. They face it with courage. They is plural—it agrees with the five women. It couldn’t be “She faces it with courage,” because it is talking about five women. It is singular and agrees with death.

Let’s try together on the board Draw a line from the personal pronoun to its antecedent. 1. Jessica rented a movie. She watched it in the living room. 2. The boys look mischievous. They are standing near the car with a box of eggs. 3. Alexa was invited to the party. She asked Rachel to come with her.

1. Jody’s parents are experts in motorcycle repair. They often talk to Jody about it. 2. Malcolm went to the mall with his mom. He needed new shoes. 3. Todd has an expensive new bike. He takes care of it.

Possessive Pronouns Possessive Pronoun A pronoun that shows who or what has something. Ex: Fonzy’s jacket is black. His jacket is black.

Possessive Pronouns Have Two Forms - One form is used before a noun. - The other form is used alone. ours yours theirs mine yours his, hers, its Used alone our your their my your his, her, its Used before nouns PluralSingular

For example… That costume is my costume Pronoun (my) used before noun (costume). That costume is mine. Pronoun (mine) used alone.

Possessive Pronouns ALWAYS REMEMBER: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS do NOT contain an apostrophe. * Possessive its never splits. *It’s -  is a contraction standing for it is *Its  no apostrophe is POSSESSIVE Example: I love my book. (Its) characters are funny. Its is a possessive pronoun standing for what noun?

Let’s try these on the board… Circle the possessive pronoun: 1. Her dog is staying at my house. 2. The new shoes will be cleaner than yours. 3. Will his brother pick us up from the dance?

Your Turn… Try the three examples on the back of your handout.

4. These are their tickets. Where are ours? 5. It’s been a pleasure to meet with your parents. 6. Their new house will be smaller than yours.

Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronoun A pronoun that does not refer to a particular person, place, or thing.

Example of Indefinite Pronoun Does anyone know where Homer went? Everyone thought he was hiding in the bushes. NOTE: Most indefinite pronouns are either ALWAYS singular or plural.

Some Indefinite Pronouns SingularPlural another everybody no one anybody everyone nothing anyone everything one anything much somebody each neither someone either nobody something both few many others several SINGULAR or PLURAL All, any, most, none and some can be singular or plural, depending on the phrase that follows them.

Indefinite Pronouns When an indefinite pronoun is used as the subject, the verb must agree with it in number. EXAMPLE: Everyone discusses the dance last Friday. (singular) Both talk about how fun it was! (plural) All of the dance was very loud. (singular) All of the middle school students were dancing fools. (plural)

More examples Each of the teachers has his or her unique teaching style. Several have funny conversations with their students.

Let’s try… 1. Some of the food (is, are) cold. 2. Both (has, have) asked (his or her, their) parents for permission. 3. Someone left (his or her, their) umbrella in the hall.

Your Turn… Try the two examples on the back of your handout.

7. Some of the students (has, have) formed a science club. 8. Nobody (likes, like) ants in (his or her, their) picnic basket.