Pronoun Usage!

What should I say when I answer the phone?

Quick Review

•A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or another pronoun.

•An antecedent is the noun a pronoun stands for. A pronoun does NOT ALWAYS have a clear antecedent.

The Analogy • Think of an antecedent like a teacher

and a pronoun like a substitute teacher.

The lovely Ms. Leuschel…I wish

Kind of creepy

old substitut

e

Antecedent Pronoun

Pronouns and Antecedents

Ms. Leuschel stubbed her toe and she screamed.

Ms. Leuschel stubbed her toe and she screamed.

The meeting lasted forever because it was not organized well.

The meeting lasted forever because it was not organized well.

Types of PronounsPersonal: I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it,

we, us, you, they, them

Possessive: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs

Reflexive: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves (NOT hisself or theirself/theirselves)

Interrogative/Relative: who, whom, whose, which, what, that

Pronoun CaseCase involves which type of pronoun to use.

– For instance, we wouldn’t say, “The bee stung I.”– Nor would we say, “Me am hungry.”

• Yet “I” and “me” are both pronouns to convey yourself

SO HOW DO WE KNOW WHICH ONE TO USE?– Three cases of the English language:

• Possessive: shows ownership• Subjective/Nominative: functions as the subject of the

sentence– Subject: who or what performs the verb

• Objective: functions as the object of the verb– NOT the subject

Pronoun CaseSingular PronounsPOV Nominative Objective

Possessive1st Person I me my2nd Person you you your3rd Person he/she/it him/her/it his/her/its

Plural PronounsPOV Nominative Objective

Possessive1st Person we us our2nd Person you you your3rd Person they them their

Pronoun CaseHow do I remember which is which?

– Possessives tend to be easy; it’s the nominative and objective we mix up.

– A quick way to test if something can be nominative is to test the sentence:

________ jumped.(If it makes sense filled in the blank, it’s

nominative.)

Examples: __I__ jumped. __We__ jumped. __They__ jumped. __She__ jumped. __He__

jumped.

Pronoun CasePracticing with case: Identify the case of

the following pronouns.

Me: __________________ Your:______________Him:_________________ She:_______________They:_________________ It:_________________I:_____________________ Its:_________________

You:__________________ We:________________His:___________________ Us:_________________

Objective

Objective

Nominative

Nominative

Objective OR NominativePossessive

Possessive

Nominative

Objective OR NominativePossessive

NominativeObjective

Pronoun CasePredicate Nominatives:

– Predicate: Part of the sentence AFTER the verb– Nominative: Subjective Case

A pronoun falling AFTER (predicate) a form of “to be” (am are is was were be been being) should always be in the NOMINATIVE case.

Examples:This is (she/her). Last year’s winner was (he/him). This is she . Last year’s winner was he .

Pronoun CaseSteps to identifying case:

1. Determine if the sentence can be simplified.

• Tip: Get rid of “and” phrases.• Make questions into statements

2. Find the verb and then the subject.• If the word in question is NOT the subject, chances are

it’s the object!

3. Be sure the verb isn’t a form of “to be.”• Or it may be a predicate nominative!

4. Check the chart!• Consult the chart to double check that you have found

the proper pronoun choice.

Pronoun CaseTo complete our Egyptian mummy costumes, Lou Ellen and

_(I/me)_ bought a 12 pack of toilet paper.

Simplify? _(I/me)_ bought a 12 pack of toilet paper.

Subject and Verb? _(I/me)_ bought a 12 pack of toilet paper.

We now know we should choose a NOMINATIVE pronoun since it’s serving as the subject.

Does it fall after a form of “to be”?Nope! Not a predicate nominative!

Consult chart! (_____ jumped.)To complete our Egyptian mummy costumes, Lou Ellen and _I__ bought a 12 pack of toilet paper.

Pronoun CaseGrandma asked my brother and __(she/her)__ to buy cherry

cough drops while they were at the drugstore.

Simplify? Grandma asked __(she/her)__ to buy cherry cough drops.

Subject and Verb? Grandma asked __(she/her)__ to buy cherry cough drops.

We now know we should choose a OBJECTIVE pronoun since it’s NOT serving as the subject.

Does it fall after a form of “to be”?Nope! Not a predicate nominative!

Consult chart! Grandma asked my brother and __her__ to buy cherry cough drops while they were at the drugstore.

Pronoun CaseIt was (they/them) who ate your leftover slice of pizza.

Simplify? It was (they/them).

Subject and Verb? It was (they/them).

We now know we should choose a OBJECTIVE pronoun since it’s NOT serving as the subject.

Does it fall after a form of “to be”?YES! It’s a predicate nominative and therefore

we need to use the NOMINATIVE case pronoun!

Consult chart! It was they who ate your leftover slice of pizza.

Pronoun CaseWho v. Whom:

– Who: Nominative Case• Should be used when a word is the subject of a

sentence.

– Whom: Objective Case• Should be used when a word is the object of a sentence.

Examples:

The new team captain was selected by _ (who/whom) _?

The new team captain was selected by _ _____ _?

Case:________________whom

objective

Pronoun CaseThe girl in the yellow dress is (who/whom)?

The girl is (who/whom)?

The girl is _________?

Case:____________________________

I don't care _(who/whom)__ takes responsibility for this accident, but somebody should.

I don't care _(who/whom)__ takes responsibility.

I don't care __________ takes responsibility.

Case:____________________________

Predicate NOMINATIVE

who

who

Nominative

Pronoun AgreementPronouns must “agree” (match) in various ways:

1. Person: A pronoun must remain in the same point-of-view as its antecedent.

For instance,If people want to learn yoga, you should

dedicate at least an hour a day. Do the pronoun and antecedent agree?

(antecedent)people: third person(pronoun)you: second person

We must make them match, so change them either BOTH to third person or BOTH to second.

  If people want to learn yoga, they should dedicate at least an hour a day. Or…

If you want to learn yoga, you should dedicate at least an hour a day.

Pronoun AgreementPronouns must “agree” (match) in various ways:

1. Number: A pronoun must remain in the same number as its antecedent (either BOTH must be singular or BOTH must be plural).

For instance,The student must do their best work.

Do the pronoun and antecedent agree?(antecedent)student: singular (one

student)(pronoun)their: plural

We must make them match, so change them either BOTH to singular or BOTH to plural.

  The students must do their best work. Or…

The student must do his or her best work.

Pronoun AgreementPractice: Identify and correct these pronoun agreement errors.

During early rehearsals, an actor may forget their lines.

During early rehearsals, an actor may forget his or her lines.

During early rehearsals, actors may forget their lines.

The Washington team was opportunistic; they took advantage of every break.

The Washington team was opportunistic; it took advantage of every break.

The Washington teams were opportunistic; they took advantage of every break.

Practice: Identify and correct these pronoun agreement errors.

Although students claim they need cell phones for emergencies, you shouldn’t bring cell phones to school.

Although students claim they need cell phones for emergencies, they shouldn’t bring cell phones to school.

Although you claim you need cell phones for emergencies, you shouldn’t bring cell phones to school.

My weird neighbors believe that the Loch Ness Monster ate Elvis, but he or she doesn’t believe in aliens.

My weird neighbors believe that the Loch Ness Monster ate Elvis, but they don’t believe in aliens.

My weird neighbor believes that the Loch Ness Monster ate Elvis, but he or she doesn’t believe in aliens.

Pronoun Agreement

Pronoun Ambiguity Occurs when a pronoun does not have a clear antecedent.

A pronoun could be referring to two possible antecedents; it’s not clear which.

Ann told her friend that her cat sheds too much hair. – Who owns the cat? Ann or her friend?– How could we rewrite it to make it clearer?

Ann told her friend, “My cat sheds too much!”

Adela often fixes breakfast for Mrs. Snyder before she goes to school.– What’s the ambiguous pronoun?

• She: Who goes to school? Mrs. Snyder or Adela?– How could we rewrite it to make it clearer?

Before Adela goes to school, she often fixes breakfast for Mrs. Snyder.

Pronoun Ambiguity Practice: Identify the ambiguous pronoun within each sentence

and revise the sentence so that the pronoun reference is clear.

Jerry and Owen are brothers, but he has always been taller.

Who is “he”?Jerry and Owen are brothers, but Owen has always been taller. Jerry and Owen are brothers, but the latter has always been taller. Jerry and Owen are brothers, but the former has always been

taller.

She enjoys oranges, bananas, and grapes, but they are her favorite.

Which are her favorite?She enjoys oranges, bananas, and grapes, but oranges

are her favorite.

Pronoun Ambiguity Practice: Identify the ambiguous pronoun within each

sentence and revise the sentence so that the pronoun reference is clear.

When Jim’s son was a year old, he decided to get married again.

Who is getting married?Jim decided to get married again when his son was a

year old.

Max thought that his brother should see his doctor.Whose doctor? Max said to his brother, “ You should see your

doctor.” Max said to his brother, “ You should see my doctor.”

UsageIt’s v. Its

– It’s: contraction for “it is” or “it has”Ex: It’s going to be sunny today!(It is going to be sunny today!)Ex: I know it’s been a long year.(I know it has been a long year.)

– Its: Possessive pronoun showing ownership

Ex: The puppy hurt its paw.(The puppy hurt it is paw? NO!)Ex: Is its rubric stapled to the front?(Is it is rubric stapled to the front? NO!)

UsageThey’re v. There v. Their

– They’re: Contraction for “they are”Ex: I know they’re arriving on time.(They are arriving on time.)

– There: Adverb answering “Where?” or…Indefinite pronoun “There are...”

Ex (Adverb): I’m going there after school.Ex (Pronoun): There isn’t enough macaroni for everyone.

– Their: Possessive pronoun showing ownershipEx: The girls may trip because their shoes are untied.Ex: They received demerits when their hair wasn’t in a bun.

UsageWho v. That

– Who: Relative pronoun used if the antecedent is a person

Ex: I know the girl _________ won the game. What’s the antecedent?: Girl (a person)

I know the girl __who___ won the game.

– That: Relative pronoun used if the antecedent is a NOT person

Ex: I am reading a book _________ is very suspenseful.

What’s the antecedent? Book (not a person)I am reading a book __that__ is very suspenseful.

UsageWhose v. Who’s– Who’s: Contraction for “who is” or “who has”

Ex: The student who’s most prepared will earn the highest grade.(The student who is most prepared will earn the highest grade.)Ex: The student who’s prepared most will earn the highest grade.(The student who has prepared most will earn the highest

grade.)

– Whose: Relative/Interrogative pronoun (not a contraction)Ex: Whose cover is this?

(Who is cover is this? NO!)

Ex: Emily is the one whose test scored the highest.

(Emily is the one who is test scored the highest? NO!)

The End!…or is it?