Pronouns Take the place of nouns

Study the following sentences: When Sue Jones met Ted Smith, Sue Jones noticed that Ted Smith was carrying several books. Sue Jones offered to help Ted Smith. Ted Smith thanked Sue Jones. When Sue Jones met Ted Smith, she noticed that he was carrying several books. She offered to help him. Ted Smith thanked her. The first sentences repeats the same nouns over and over again. The second sentence uses pronouns to take the place of the nouns making the sentence shorter, less confusing, and repetitive.

Definition: A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun or another pronoun. A pronoun can refer to a person, place, thing, or idea. Ramon visited Death Valley, and he was impressed. Death Valley is mysterious. It is silent.

Pronouns… Name specific people or things EX: You look like him. Point to non-specific people or things EX: Everyone enjoyed the party, but nobody remembered to thank the hostess. Point to something EX: This is the dress I want. Refer back to the subject EX: Bruce hurt himself.

Pronoun agreement The antecedent is the noun that the pronoun takes the place of or stands for. All pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and gender. EX: Tucker gave his sister a new doll. Antecedent Pronoun EX: Death Valley is mysterious. It is silent. Antecedent Pronoun The pronoun almost always refers to the noun closest to it.

Examples of pronouns… I, me, my, mine anybody who this myself You, your, yours each whom that yourself He, him, his either what these herself She, her, hers someone whose there themselves We, us, our, ours something here ourselves They, them, one (not a number) their, theirs both (not a number)

Personal Pronouns: Personal Pronouns refer to particular people, places, things, or ideas. Pronouns such as we, I, he, them, and it are called personal pronouns. Personal Pronouns indicate different persons, numbers, and cases. Singular Plural First Person (the speaker) I, me we, us Second Person (person spoken to) you you Third Person (person spoken about) he, him, she, her they, them Impersonal Pronoun it It refers to nobody. It is used everywhere to refer to any place or thing. It is used as both subject and object. EX: It was mine. (subject) I paid money for it. (object)

Subject Pronouns: A subject pronoun is used as a subject in a sentence or as a predicate pronoun after a linking verb EX: I, you, he, she, it, we, they Pronouns as subjects… Use a subject pronoun when the pronoun is a subject or part of the compound subject. The Hope diamond has a fascinating history. It has been bad luck for many owners. (It, referring to The Hope Diamond, is the subject of the sentence.)

Object Pronouns: Object pronoun is used as a direct object, an indirect object, an object of a preposition. EX: me, you, him, her, it us, them Direct Object: the pronoun receives the action of a verb and answers the question whom or what EX: The mysterious death of King Tut fascinates me. Indirect Object: the pronoun tells to whom or what or for whom or what an action is performed. EX: Chloe lent me a video on the topic. Object of a Preposition: the pronoun follows a preposition (such as to, from, for, against, by, or about). EX: I can tell the story to you and him. Preposition

Possessive Pronouns: A possessive pronoun is a personal pronoun used to show ownership or relationship. Singular: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, Its (notice NO apostrophe) Plural: our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs No one saw the mummies in their colorful clothes. (ownership) Then Professor Mare and his tour group arrived. (relationship)

Possessive Pronouns and Contractions: Some possessive pronouns sound like contractions (its/it’s; your/you’re; their/they’re). Because these pairs sound alike, writers often confuse possessive pronouns with contractions. Remember, a possessive pronoun NEVER has an apostrophe. A contraction, however, ALWAYS has an apostrophe. The apostrophe shows where a letter or letters have been left out after combining words.

Everyone heard the noise. Indefinite pronouns: Indefinite pronouns do not replace a particular noun; the antecedent is often not known. EX: anybody, each, either, none, someone, one Everyone heard the noise.