Pronouns and Antecedents The job of a pronoun is to take the place of

a noun in a sentence. The radio is old, but it works well. it takes the place of radio.

Without pronouns, here’s how the sentence would read: The radio is old, but the radio works well. A little redundant, isn’t it?

The noun that the pronoun refers to is called the antecedent. So…in the sentence, the antecedent is…

More on antecedents

Antecedents can come anywhere in a sentence. Although she was late, the announcer

walked slowly. The antecedent for she is… announcer.

One more thing…

Sometimes you have to look in a previous sentence to find an antecedent.The tapes were left uncovered. Are they dusty?The antecedent for they is…tapes

Finding the AntecedentLet’s Practice

1. http://www.towson.edu/ows/exercisep-aagr.htm

2. http://www.towson.edu/ows/exercisep-aagr2.htm

Pronouns Have to Agree with Their Antecedents in…

Gender Henry – he Sheila – she computer – it

Number Lily – she Chris and Beth –

they Kim and I – we

Person 1st – I, me, mine 2nd – you, yours 3rd – he, she, they

Subject Pronouns

Singular IYouHe, she, it

PluralWe You They

Subject Pronouns

Use a subject pronoun as the subject in the sentence. We played football all day. They took the car for a drive.

Use a subject pronoun after a linking verb. What a great football player is he! It was she.

Subject Pronouns The greatest astronauts were

__________. You and ______ both think we should go

on to Mars. The biggest supporters were ______

and I. The first astronaut on Mars will be

_____. ____ watched the movie about their

journey. It was ________ who won our respect

and admiration.

theyI

he/she

he/she

They

he/she

Object Pronouns

SingularMeYouHim, Her, it

PluralUs You Them

Copy these onto your graphic organizer!

Object Pronouns Use an object pronoun as a direct or

indirect object. The baseball hit him in the shin. (D.O.) Tom gave her a necklace for her birthday.

(I.O.) Use an object pronoun as the object of a

preposition. Between you and me, that was a cheap

necklace Tom gave her. I can’t believe Tom gave that cheap necklace

to her.

Direct Object Questions

Answer: What? Who?

Always a NOUN or PRONOUN Always comes AFTER an action verb

Indirect Object Questions

Answer: To what? For what? To whom? For whom?

Usually a pronoun Always comes AFTER an action verb,

but before the DO.

Sentence Patterns

Subject + *Action Verb +DOSubject + *Action Verb + IO +

DO

* Only Action Verbs have objects

Your turn! Choose the correct pronoun.

1. The travelers revisited the Khan and brought (he, him) many gifts from Europe.

2. (Us, We) have long been curious about Spanish explorers.

3. Still popular are Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and (he, him).

4. Her admirers include Ben and (I, me).5. Mrs. De Guire assigned Sue and (she,

her) to write a report.

Possessive Pronouns – Used Alone

Singular Mine Yours His, hers

Plural Ours Yours Theirs

Possessive Pronouns – Used BEFORE nouns

Singular My Your His, her, its

Plural Our Your Their

Possessive Pronouns

Can be used alone That toy is mine! Isn’t that doll in the corner hers?

Can be used with a noun My keys are hanging on the coat rack. The teacher told us to bring our books.

DO NOT USE APOSTROPHES in possessive pronouns!

Your turn! Choose the correct possessive pronoun.

That book is not (my, mine) book. That book is not (my, mine). The book has lost (its, it’s) cover. (It’s, Its) coming apart. (Your, You’re) book is broken. (Your, You’re) going to repair it. Have you picked up (there, their)

mail yet?

Demonstrative PronounsThis These NearThat Those Far

Singular Plural

Is this animal I’m sitting on a horse or a mule?

That animal over there is a donkey. These rabbits are eating carrots out of my

hand. Are those animals across the road

buffalos?

More on demonstrative pronouns

When used alone, they are pronouns. These are busy streets.

These refers to streets; it isn’t used before a noun, so it’s a pronoun.

These streets are busy. These is used before a noun (streets), so it

functions as an adjective.

Indefinite Pronouns

Singular Plural Singular/Plural

anybody everyone both allanyone everything few anyanything neither many mosteach nobody several noneeither no one someeverybody nothing

Indefinite Pronouns They often do not have antecedents. All, any, most, none, and some can be singular or

plural. Look for what the pronoun is representing. All of the fuel has been used.

All of what? All of the fuel – fuel is singular; you need a singular verb

All of the flights have been canceled. All of what? All of the flights – flights are plural; you need a plural verb.

If an indefinite pronoun is used before a noun, then it functions as an adjective. Each plane is ready. (Used as an adjective) Each of the planes is ready. (Used as a pronoun)

Give it a try! Choose the correct verb for each sentence

with an indefinite pronoun. Someone (is, are) traveling to Japan. Most of the food (has, have) been eaten. Several in this row (has, have) tickets to

London. Most of the passengers (has, have) finished

their meals. Everyone (enjoy, enjoys) the Fourth of July

celebration. Many of the people (cheer, cheers) at the

fireworks.

Pronouns The Who and

Whom1.Get out a clean sheet of paper

and number 1-12 for the maintenance quiz

2.When you are finished, finish your homework!!!!!

Interrogative Pronouns

What – What did he say? Which – Which dog is yours? Whose – Whose dog is this? Who – Who is that man? Whom – Whom did that dog bite?

What’s up with who/whom?

If the sentence needs a subject, use who. Who is restraining that dog? Who knows the whole story?

If the sentence needs an object, use whom. Whom will the dog bite next? He gave the dog to whom?

A few hints…

Turn the question into a statement: If you could substitute he or she in the

sentence, then you would use who. (Who, Whom) knows the story? She knows the story. Who knows the story. Who knows the story?

If you could substitute him or her in the sentence, then you would use whom.

(Who, Whom) will we pick? We will pick him. We will pick whom. Whom will we pick?

Pronoun Problems

We and UsSometimes We and Us are followed by

a noun that identifies the pronoun. We workers were tired after the job. The supervisor gave us workers a

break.

We and UsRules: Mark out the noun next to We or Us. We is used as a subject pronoun. Us is used as an object pronoun.

We and Us1. For decades, (we, us) carpenters

used the wood from chestnut tress to build houses.

2. Chestnuts were a nutritious food for both (we, us) country dwellers and wildlife.

3. Us/We chestnut tress are very generous.

Unclear Pronoun ReferenceBe sure that each pronoun refers clearly to

only one person, place or thing.

For example: Unclear

Sara and Anne want to become tree farmers. She works after school at an orchard.

Who is she? Sara or Anne? Clear

Sara and Anne want to become tree farmers. Anne works after school at an orchard

Using Pronouns in Compound

Use the subject pronoun I, she, he, we, or they in a compound subject or after a linking verb. Greg and she decided to learn about it. The researchers are Polly and I.

Use the object pronoun me, her, him, us, or them in a compound object after an action verb or after a preposition. Her story has fascinated Polly and me. The research was divided between Greg and

him.

Practice

1. Meriwether Lewis is a favorite topic for Polly and (I, me).

2. In 1803, President Jefferson sent (he, him) and William Clark to explore thousands of miles of wilderness.

3. Both Sacajawea and (he, him) translated their conversations with Native Americans.

4. Lewis, Clark, a band of soldiers, and (she, her) headed west when she was around 17.

5. Greg, Polly, and (I, me) learned that she was very important to the expedition.

Interrupting Phrases

Don’t be confused by words between a pronoun and its antecedent!

Sacajawea, who guided Lewis and Clark, never lost her way.