Pronouns & Antecedents

Subject & Object

Possessive
Reflexive
Interrogative

Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that takes the
place of one or more nouns.

pro- means for (standing FOR a

noun)

Personal Pronouns
Pronouns that are used to refer to people or

things are called personal pronouns.

Examples: he, she, it

Subject Pronouns
- used as the subject of a sentence.
- WHO or WHAT the sentence is
about.
She is my sister.
It is my hat.
Does he have a dog.
You and I go to the movie.

Object Pronouns
-

a personal pronoun in the objective case

used as the direct or indirect object of a
verb
will never be the subject of the sentence

Give the pencil to me.

The teacher gave her a referral.
I will tell you a secret.
Hannah read it to them.

List of Personal Pronouns

Singular
Subject
Pronouns

Object
Pronouns

Plural

I
you
he, she, it

we
you
they

me
you
him, her, it

us
you
them

LISTEN!
Listen to this song and then lets try it
together!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWnc1
HSCvRY

Activity 1
Identify the pronouns in the following sentences.

Jamie and Clara loved the guinea pig

their mother bought them. It was
white, and it was adorable.

Using Pronouns Correctly

How do you know when to use me or I, we or us?

1. Use a subject pronoun as a subject.

2. Use an object pronoun as object of the verb.
Examples (Circle the correct pronoun listed):

SUBJECTShe owns a collection of books.

INDIRECT OBJECTHe told her an amusing story.
DIRECT OBJECTThe fable entertained us.

Using Pronouns Correctly

When in a pair (ex: Susan and I), always take the
pronoun OUT of the pair to see which
pronoun is the correct one to use.
EXAMPLES:

Richard and (I or me) recited the story.

Jennifer helped Richard and (I or me).
* Read the sentence without the words that the
pronoun is paired with to see what works.

Using Pronouns Correctly

When using a pronoun in a pair:
- *ALWAYS put the pronoun second.

Seth and I read some comic books.

(NOT: I and Seth read some comic
books.)

Science interests Mike and me.

(NOT: Science interests me and Mike.)

Using Pronouns Correctly

In formal writing and speech:
use a subject pronoun after a linking verb.
RIGHT The winner is she.
NOT She is the winner.

ACTIVITY 2
Replace one of the nouns in the following sentences with
a pronoun.
1. Tanner and Tanners friend Todd won the boat race.
2. Why did Oscar give Oscars camera to the school?
3. Darius scored a goal; the first of Darius season.

PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS

AntecedentThe noun or group of words that a pronoun
refers to
Example:
Tyler read The Hungry Caterpillar. He found it
exciting.
ANTECEDENT of he ___________________
ANTECEDENT of it __________________

PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS

RULES:
1.

2.

Pronoun must agree with

antecedent in number
(singular or plural) and
gender.
The gender of a noun may be
masculine (male), feminine
(female), or neuter (referring
to things).

ACTIVITY 3

Possessive pronouns show ownership.

Possessive Pronouns
A pronoun that shows who or
what has something.
NOTE: A possessive pronoun
may take the place of a
possessive noun.

Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns have two forms.
- One form is used before a noun.
- The other form is used alone.

Used
Before
Nouns
Used
Alone

Singular

Plural

my
your
his, her, its
mine
yours
his, hers, its

our
your
their
ours
yours
theirs

Possessive Pronouns
Examples:
Matts shoe is too small.
Replace noun with possessive pronoun.
_____________ shoe is too small.

Mikes homework is perfect.

Possessive noun- ________________________
Replace with pronoun- ______________________
__________________ homework is perfect.

Possessive Pronouns
- do NOT contain an apostrophe
- Possessive its never splits.
*Its is a contraction standing for it is
*Its no apostrophe is POSSESSIVE
Example:
I love my book. (Its) characters are funny.
*Its is a possessive pronoun standing for what
noun?

I saw myself reflected in her eyes.

No, the above sentence isnt a sappy love song lyric. Its
an example of a particular kind of pronoun called a
reflexive pronoun.

What Are Reflexive Pronouns?

Reflexive pronouns are pronouns that refer
back to the subject of the sentence or clause.
They either end in self, as in the singular
form, or selves as in the plural form.

Singular Reflexive Pronouns

Myself
Yourself
Himself, herself, itself

Plural Reflexive Pronouns

Ourselves
Yourselves
Themselves

All of the mentioned reflexive pronouns are

used to rename the subjects of action verbs
and function as different types of objects.

If the reflexive pronoun is taken out of the

sentence, it wont make sense. Lets look at a
few examples.

Examples
The following sentences are examples of the correct and
incorrect use of reflexive pronouns.
Non-reflexive: Adam e-mailed him a copy of the report.
In this sense the italicized words are not the same
person. Him is not a reflection of Adam therefore it is not a
reflexive pronoun.
Reflexive: Adam e-mailed himself a copy of the report.
Here are the italicized words are the same
person. Himself reflects back to the subject of the sentence
which is Adam.

Non-reflexive: Allison accidentally

cut her with the scissors.

Reflexive: Allison accidentally cut herself.

Non-reflexive: Brandon blames you.

Reflexive: Brandon blames himself.

Non-reflexive: Can you feed

my guests?
Reflexive: Can you feed yourselves?

Non-reflexive: They cannot help the

angry mob.
Reflexive: They cannot
help themselves.

Non-reflexive: Carol poured her a

glass of milk.
Reflexive: Carol poured herself a
glass of milk.

Non-reflexive: The young girl was

singing happily to them.
Reflexive: The young girl was
singing happily to herself.

Reflexive Pronoun
Examples:
I gave myself 12 weeks to get in shape.

You should buy yourself a new computer.

Diane bought herself a new pair of shoes.

Jeff read quietly to himself.

The kitten groomed itself.

We treated ourselves to a night on the town.

The students are able to monitor

themselves.

Reflexive Pronouns and

Intensive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns can also function as
intensive pronouns but they act a little
differently and they arent used in quite the
same way. An intensive pronoun emphasizes
its antecedent, or the subject of the sentence.
These pronouns are positioned right next to
the subject.

Intensive Pronoun
Examples:
I myself am tired of all this rain.

You yourself are to blame for this confusion.

The president himself wrote me a letter.

We ourselves cooked the cake.

The dog itself opened her refrigerator.

The boys themselves led the entire team to

victory.

Reflexive Pronoun Recap

To recap, reflexive pronouns refer back to, or
reflect, the subject and they always end in
self or selves.
There are only eight reflexive pronouns so
remembering them and how to use them
should be a snap!