Unpacking Pronouns

Unpacking Pronouns

What is a pronoun? • A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Jason went to visit Grandma in the hospital. Instead of Jason and Grandma, you can say… He went to visit her in the hospital.

What is a Pronoun? • He and her are pronouns. • Jason and Grandma are the antecedents. Antecedents are words the pronouns replace.

Now You Try • Rewrite the sentence replacing the nouns with pronouns. Mother took Lisa and Joey to the library. She took them to the library. Which words are the antecedents? Mother, Lisa, Joey

Subjective Pronouns • Pronouns that take the place of the subject in a sentence are subjective pronouns. • He, she, it, they, we, you, I Lorraine is very pretty. She is very pretty. The students are very bright! They are very bright.

Objective Pronouns • A pronoun that takes the place of a noun in the predicate part of a sentence is called an objective pronoun. • him, her, it, us, them, you, me Bob gave the suitcase to Emily. Bob gave the suitcase to her. The teacher gave the papers to the students. The teacher gave the papers to them.

Possessive Pronouns • These are pronouns that show ownership. Some are… • her, hers, his, their, theirs, our, ours, your, yours, my, mine, whose, its • I saw her book on your table. • My dog is better than their dog.

Now You Try. • The house is the Jones’, and the house’s paint is chipping. • The house is theirs, and its paint is chipping. • Mike’s hair is longer than Donald’s. • His hair is longer than his. • The table’s leg is loose. Joanna’s mom has to fix it. • Its leg is loose. Her mom has to fix it.

Reflexive Pronouns • These pronouns refer back to the subject of a sentence. Some examples are… • myself, yourself, himself, herself, themselves, ourselves • I gave myselfplenty of time to get to work. • You should let yourselfinto the house. • Jim bought himselfa shirt.

Reflexive Pronouns • I gave myselfplenty of time to get to work. • Myself reflects the subject I. • You should let yourselfinto the house. • Yourself reflects the subject you. • Jim bought himselfa shirt. • Himself reflects the subject Jim. • The children are able to dress ___________. themselves

Intensive Pronouns • Intensive pronouns emphasize the antecedent in a sentence. • Imyself will help with the housework. • Johnhimself went on vacation. • The work was done by the gardenerhimself. An intensive pronoun has no “grammatical” purpose. It is only for emphasis.

Practice Directions: On a sheet of paper, answer each question. • What are the pronouns in the sentences? Gilda went to the circus with John and Lee. They had a great time at it! They, it

Practice 2. What are the antecedents in the following sentence. Gilda went to the circus with John and Lee. They had a great time at it. Gilda, circus, John, Lee

Practice 3. Which is the correct pair of subjective pronouns to use in the sentence? _______is a very good football player, and _________all like him. (Him, them) (He, they) He, they

Practice • Which pair of objective pronouns is correct for the sentence? Give the box to ________, and she will deliver it to _______________. (her, them) (she, they) her, them

Practice Which are the correct possessive pronouns to use? • The shoes are ______________. (she, him, hers, they) hers • _____________is the house on the corner. (They, Him, Their, Theirs) theirs

Practice • Tell whether the pronoun is reflexive or intensive. • The students will grade their papers themselves. • The dog himself saved his owner from the fire. • Down the street a man lives by himself. • Mike himself started the business. 7. reflexive 8. intensive 9. reflexive 10. intensive

Unpacking Pronouns