Pronouns and Antecedents

What is a pronoun?  You would probably never say, “Michael said Michael lost Michael’s watch.”  Once you had clearly identified Michael as the person you were talking about, repeating the noun Michael would sound awkward.  Instead, you would probably say, “Michael said he lost his watch.”  The words he and his are called pronouns.

What is a pronoun?  A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. Sue changed her dress. The boys changed their jerseys.  There are 7 types of pronouns (we’ll come back to these in a minute). Personal Reflexive and Intensive Demonstrative Interrogative Relative Indefinite

What is an antecedent?  An antecedent is the noun for which the pronouns stands/to which the pronoun refers.  Examples: Sue changed her dress.  Sue is the antecedent of her. The boys changed their jerseys.  Boys is the antecedent of their. Because of its climate, Tulsa is my favorite city.  Tulsa is the antecedent of its.

Practice Exercises – Recognizing Antecedents Identify the antecedent of each underlined pronoun  Some of the children are afraid of mice.  This is not the book I ordered.  The horse has broken out of its stall.  Did Joe bring his camera?

Answers 1. Some of the children are afraid of mice. 2. This is not the book I ordered. 3. The horse has broken out of its stall. 4. Did Joe bring his camera?

The 7 Types of Pronouns  Remember those 7 types of pronouns we were going to come back to? We’re going to talk a little bit about what each of these are so you’ll know them when you see them: Personal Reflexive and Intensive Demonstrative Interrogative Relative Indefinite

Personal Pronouns  Personal Pronouns take the place of persons’ names, or they refer to a person, place, or thing that is being spoken about.  They include: I, me, my, mine, you, your, yours, he, she, it, her, hers, his, it, its, we, us, our, ours, they, them, their, theirs  Examples: Caitlin baked a cake, and it was delicious. Nate wore his red shirt to church.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns  Both of these pronouns end in –self or –selves.  Reflexive pronouns add information to the sentence by pointing back to a noun or pronoun earlier in the sentence. Example: Joy helped herself to some turkey.  Intensive pronouns simply add emphasis to a noun or pronoun in the same sentence. Example: The mayor herself attended the meeting.

Demonstrative Pronouns  Demonstrative Pronouns direct attention to specific people, places, or things.  They include: This, that, these, those  The antecedent may come later in the sentence or in another sentence altogether.  Examples: This is the cake Caitlin baked.  Cake is referred to by this. On the cake were several roses. These were made of sugar.  Roses is referred to by these.

Interrogative Pronouns  Interrogative Pronouns are pronouns used to begin a question.  They include: Who, whose, whom, which, what  Examples: Who set the glasses on the table? Which knife should I use?

Relative Pronouns  Relative pronouns are used to combine two ideas that relate to one another. It begins a subordinate clause and connects it to another idea in the sentence.  They include: Who, whom, which, that, whose  Examples: Louisa is the player who pitched first. I sold my radio, which was very old.

Indefinite Pronouns  Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a definite person, place, or thing.  They include: Another, anybody, anyone, anything, one, each, either, everyone, everybody, everything, neither, nobody, no one, someone, somebody, both, many, few, several, all, some, none, most, any, etc.  They often do not have antecedents.  Examples: Does anyone want more cake? Both of the bathrooms are full.