PRONOUNS

Definition  A pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns or pronouns.  A pronoun’s antecedent is the word that a pronoun stands for (the noun or pronoun that our pronoun is replacing).

Practice  We already know what nouns are and how to find them in sentences.  Complete the “Replacing Nouns with Pronouns” worksheet to get an idea of some of the most common ways we use pronouns.

Identifying Pronouns  You have a cheat sheet to use (for now) to help you pick out some of our most common pronouns.  On your warm up, each time you crossed out a noun, you replaced it with a pronoun. Each noun that was crossed out became, therefore, an antecedent.  Sometimes, our antecedents stay in the sentence and are replaced elsewhere in the sentence by a pronoun.

Examples  My brother thought he was the best quarterback in the world.  Ashley was given a necklace for her birthday but lost it less than a week later.  My sister watched the movie and returned it to the store when she was finished.

Types of Pronouns  There are seven categories of pronouns that we will learn.  They are:  Personal pronouns  Reflexive pronouns  Intensive pronouns  Demonstrative pronouns  Interrogative pronouns  Relative pronouns  Indefinite pronouns

Personal Pronouns  A personal pronoun refers to the one speaking, the one spoken to, or the one spoken about.  We will refer to these as first-person personal pronouns, second-person personal pronouns, and third-person personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns, Inflected for Person  Examples:  I am talking to you about them.  I is a first-person personal pronoun because it refers to the person speaking.  I am talking to you about them.  You is a second-person personal pronoun because it refers to the person being spoken to.  I am talking to you about them.  Them is a third-person personal pronoun because it refers to the people we are speaking about.

How well must we know this?  For now, you are free to use your cheat sheet to remind yourself of what our personal pronouns are and whether they are first-person, second-person, or third-person personal pronouns.  However, as we practice more, we will no longer be allowed to use the sheet.  So, try to challenge yourself as much as possible to get comfortable doing this without using the sheet.

Practice  Identify the personal pronouns in the following sentences and the antecedent of each pronoun.  James was angry that he did not get to start in the basketball game.  The students all remembered to turn in their homework.  It is the perfect present.  David told Dan that he couldn’t make it to his birthday party.  The children were making too much noise, so my sister asked them to be quiet.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns  A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject and functions as a complement or an object of a preposition.  I realize this makes no sense (right now), but I promise we will learn a very easy trick for picking out reflexive pronouns.  An intensive pronoun emphasizes a noun or another pronoun.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns  Look at the column on your chart titled “Reflexive / Intensive Pronouns.” You should notice two things:  Any pronoun that can be categorized as intensive can also be categorized as reflexive (and vice-versa).  All reflexive and intensive pronouns will end in –self or –selves.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns  So, if we see a word that ends in –self or –selves, we know that it must be reflexive or intensive.  However, we still need a way to tell the difference between the two.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns  To determine if a pronoun is reflexive or intensive, omit the word from the sentence.  If you omit the word and the sentence still makes sense and means the same thing, then the pronoun is intensive.  If you omit the word and the sentence no longer makes sense or no longer means the same thing, then the pronoun is reflexive.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns  Examples:  George wrote the letter himself. If you omit “himself,” the sentence still makes sense and means the same thing, so it must be intensive.  She watched herself on TV. If you omit “herself,” the sentence makes no sense, so it must be reflexive.  He drove himself to the hospital. If you omit “himself,” the sentence still makes sense, but it no longer tells us the same information, so it must be reflexive.

Practice  I taught myself everything I know about playing the guitar.  Their parents could not help them at all, so they paid for the entire house themselves.  I myself will make sure that the kids are asleep by eight o’clock.  I hurt myself when I fell down the stairs.  I had told myself that I would pace myself during the marathon, but I got overexcited and couldn’t help it.