1. Language Network
Pronouns

2. What is a Pronoun? Here’s the Idea Why It Matters Practice and Apply
Pronouns
What is a Pronoun?
Here’s the Idea
Why It Matters
Practice and Apply

3. Here’s the Idea
Pronoun
A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun or another pronoun.

4. A pronoun can refer to a person, place, thing, or idea.
Here’s the Idea
A pronoun can refer to a person, place, thing, or idea.

5. The word that a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent.
Here’s the Idea
The word that a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent.
REFERS TO
Ramon visited Death Valley, and he was impressed.

6. Pronouns such as we, I, he, them and it are called personal pronouns.
Here’s the Idea
Pronouns such as we, I, he, them and it are called personal pronouns.
Personal pronouns have a variety of forms to indicate different persons, numbers, and cases.

7. Here’s the Idea
There are first-person, second-person, and third-person personal pronouns, each having both singular and plural forms.

8. Singular Plural I went out. We left early. You left too.
Here’s the Idea
Singular
Plural
FIRST PERSON
I went out.
We left early.
You left too.
SECOND PERSON
You are leaving.
He came by bus.
THIRD PERSON
They came by car.

9. Here’s the Idea
Each personal pronoun forms three cases: subject, object, and possessive.

10. He read about Death Valley.
Here’s the Idea
Choose the pronoun form depending on the pronoun’s function in the sentence.
He read about Death Valley.
SUBJECT
Julie asked him about the rocks.
OBJECT
Ramon bought his book.
POSSESSIVE

11. Why It Matters
Pronouns help you talk about people concisely when you’re telling a story.

12. Write the personal pronoun in the sentence below.
Practice and Apply
Write the personal pronoun in the sentence below.
Death Valley is famous for its strange moving boulders. 1.

13. Write the personal pronoun in the sentence below.
Practice and Apply
Write the personal pronoun in the sentence below.
The rocks slide and leave long tracks behind them. 2.

14. Write the personal pronoun in the sentence below.
Practice and Apply
Write the personal pronoun in the sentence below.
Do you know why this happens? 3.

15. Pronoun Agreement Here’s the Idea Why It Matters Practice and Apply
Pronouns
Pronoun Agreement
Here’s the Idea
Why It Matters
Practice and Apply

16. Here’s the Idea
Antecedent
The antecedent is the noun or pronoun that a pronoun replaces or refers to.

17. Use a singular pronoun to refer to a singular antecedent.
Here’s the Idea
Use a singular pronoun to refer to a singular antecedent.
REFERS TO
One story has its setting in Egypt.
story
its

18. Use a plural pronoun to refer to a plural antecedent.
Here’s the Idea
Use a plural pronoun to refer to a plural antecedent.
REFERS TO
The characters have their motives for murder.
characters
their

19. The pronoun must agree in person with the antecedent.
Here’s the Idea
The pronoun must agree in person with the antecedent.
THIRD PERSON
Louis likes his mysteries to have surprise endings.
Louis
his

20. Here’s the Idea
The gender of the pronoun must be the same as the gender of its antecedent.

21. Personal pronouns have three gender forms:
Here’s the Idea
Personal pronouns have three gender forms:
masculine he, his, him
feminine she, her, hers
neuter it, its

22. Agatha Christie sets many of her stories in England. her
Here’s the Idea
FEMININE
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie sets many of her stories in England.
her
MASCULINE
The hero has to use all his wits to solve the crime.
hero
his

23. Why It Matters
In your writing, you will sometimes refer to several people or groups of people.
Correct pronoun-antecedent agreement will help your readers keep track of who is who in your writing.

24. Write the pronouns and their antecedents in these sentences.
Practice and Apply
Write the pronouns and their antecedents in these sentences.
Agatha Christie loved real-life mysteries of the past. She helped to investigate them in the Middle East. 4.

25. Write the pronouns and their antecedents in this sentence.
Practice and Apply
Write the pronouns and their antecedents in this sentence.
Agatha Christie and her husband went on many archaeological trips and found them exciting. 5.

26. Write the pronouns and their antecedents in this sentence.
Practice and Apply
Write the pronouns and their antecedents in this sentence.
A mystery writer may use exotic places and backgrounds for his or her stories. 6.

27. Write the pronouns and their antecedents in this sentence.
Practice and Apply
Write the pronouns and their antecedents in this sentence.
Christie started Murder in Mesopotamia in the desert, but she finished it in England. 7.