ELA Initiative Lesson LC th grade

What are pronouns and antecedents? A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or noun phrase. For example: The girl loves her doll. An antecedent of a pronoun is the word the pronoun refers to. For example: Bob is going to his house. (Bob is the antecedent and his is the pronoun) *Notice that the antecedent comes before the pronoun. (ante means before)

What are pronouns and antecedents? Again, an antecedent is the word or group of words to which a personal pronoun refers or that a personal pronoun replaces. A pronoun must give accurate and unmistakable reference to the noun or other pronoun it replaces. The pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number (singular, plural), gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), and person (first, second, third).

Personal Pronouns The most frequently used pronouns are called personal pronouns. They refer to people or things.

List of Personal Pronouns Singular Plural I we you he, she, it they Subject Pronouns me us you him, her, it them Object Pronouns

An object pronoun is used as the direct/indirect object or the object of a preposition. Give the book to me. The teacher gave her a reprimand. I will tell you a story. Susan read it to them.

Subject Pronouns A subject pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence. She is my best friend. It is my dog. Does he know the answer? You and I will meet later.

What is the common mistake involving p-a agreement? Often immature writers will pair a singular pronoun with a plural antecedent or vice versa. They MUST be either both singular or both plural. Ex: The boy finished his dinner. (boy and his are both singular) Ex: The boys finished their dinner. (boys and their are both plural)

What are some other rules involving p-a agreement? A pronoun must also agree in person and gender with its antecedent. Ex: Amy brought her homework to school. (Amy is the antecedent and her is the pronoun to which Amy refers. The pronoun and antecedent are both third person and feminine.)

Indefinite Pronouns An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that does not refer to a particular person, place, or thing. The pronouns it, they, and you are often misused in this way. Example: “In the newspaper, it says that tomorrow’s weather will be pleasant.” What is it? A better sentence: “The newspaper says that tomorrow’s weather will be pleasant.”

Some Indefinite Pronouns Continue 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 All, any, most, none and some can be singular or plural, depending on the phrase that follows them.

How can you avoid the “he or she” in dealing with indefinite pronouns? Because using he or she can be wordy, you can make the singular antecedent plural. Ex: When someone has not studied, they are more likely to fail. (incorrect) Replace someone with a plural construction: When students have not studied, they are more likely to fail. (now both the pronoun and antecedent are plural)

How can you avoid the “he or she” in dealing with indefinite pronouns? (2) You can also rewrite the sentence. Ex: When someone has not studied, they are more likely to fail. (incorrect) Rewrite the sentence: Someone who has not studied is more likely to fail. (now both the pronoun and antecedent are singular)

What is an Infinitive? The infinitive is the base form of a verb with to. Most often it also functions as a noun, although it can be an adjective or adverb. These examples show how infinitives function as different parts of speech: As a noun: To study is important for getting good grades. As an adjective: Having a quiet place to study helps me concentrate. An an adverb: To study, Mary uses the library. To use, to offer, to identify, to claim, to take, to close, to fight, to escape, to fight,are just a few infinitives.

Participles A participle is a verb that ends in –ing (present participle) or –d,ed; and functions as an adjective. Examples: the dreaming child, a hunted deer, a running joke, waxed skis

To recap... -A pronoun takes the place of a noun or noun phrase. An antecedent is the word the pronoun refers to. -Pronouns and antecedents must agree in number, person, and gender -When dealing with indefinite pronouns, there are three options: Replace they with he or she, make the singular antecedent plural, or rewrite the sentence. A participle is a verb(acts like and adjective) ending with –ing An infinitive is a verb form(acts like a noun, adjective, or adverb) beginning with to.

Resources For more practice with pronoun-antecedent agreement, take a practice quiz at:

Guided Practice It’s time for you to practice what you know. Pull out a piece of binder paper (or word document for laptop students) and complete the activitiy listed on the following slide. Then complete the Guided Practice Student document.

Guided Practice Write sentences using each of the subject pronouns. (Return to slide #5) Underline each subject pronoun. Write sentences using each of the object pronouns. Circle each object pronoun. Total of 16 pronouns. You can combine subject and object pronouns in your sentences.