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PRONOUNS. Definition. A pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns or pronouns. A pronoun’s antecedent is the word that a pronoun stands for (the noun or pronoun that our pronoun is replacing). Practice. We already know what nouns are and how to find them in sentences.
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Definition • A pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns or pronouns. • A pronoun’s antecedent is the word that a pronoun stands for (the noun or pronoun that our pronoun is replacing).
Practice We already know what nouns are and how to find them in sentences.
Identifying Pronouns • When a noun is crossed out and replaced with a pronoun, each noun that was crossed out becomes an antecedent. • Sometimes, our antecedents stay in the sentence and are replaced elsewhere in the sentence by a pronoun.
Examples • My brother thought he was the best quarterback in the world. • Ashley was given a necklace for her birthday but lost it less than a week later. • My sister watched the movie and returned it to the store when she was finished.
Types of Pronouns • There are seven categories of pronouns that we will learn. • They are: • Personal pronouns • Reflexive pronouns • Intensive pronouns • Demonstrative pronouns • Interrogative pronouns • Relative pronouns • Indefinite pronouns
Personal Pronouns • A personal pronoun refers to the one speaking, the one spoken to, or the one spoken about. • We will refer to these as first-person personal pronouns, second-person personal pronouns, and third-person personal pronouns.
Personal Pronouns, Inflected for Person • Examples: • I am talking to you about them. • I is a first-person personal pronoun because it refers to the person speaking. • I am talking to you about them. • You is a second-person personal pronoun because it refers to the person being spoken to. • I am talking to you about them. • Them is a third-person personal pronoun because it refers to the people we are speaking about.
How well must we know this? • For now, you are free to use your cheat sheet to remind yourself of what our personal pronouns are and whether they are first-person, second-person, or third-person personal pronouns. • However, as we practice more, we will no longer be allowed to use the sheet. • So, try to challenge yourself as much as possible to get comfortable doing this without using the sheet.
Practice • Identify the personal pronouns in the following sentences and the antecedent of each pronoun. • James was angry that he did not get to start in the basketball game. • The students all remembered to turn in their homework. • It is the perfect present. • David told Dan that he couldn’t make it to his birthday party. • The children were making too much noise, so my sister asked them to be quiet.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns • A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject and functions as a complement or an object of a preposition. • I realize this makes no sense (right now), but I promise we will learn a very easy trick for picking out reflexive pronouns. • An intensive pronounemphasizes a noun or another pronoun.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns • Look at the column on your chart titled “Reflexive / Intensive Pronouns.” You should notice two things: • Any pronoun that can be categorized as intensive can also be categorized as reflexive (and vice-versa). • Allreflexive and intensive pronouns will end in –self or –selves.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns • So, if we see a word that ends in –self or –selves, we know that it must be reflexive or intensive. • However, we still need a way to tell the difference between the two.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns • To determine if a pronoun is reflexive or intensive, omit the word from the sentence. • If you omit the word and the sentence still makes sense and means the same thing, then the pronoun is intensive. • If you omit the word and the sentence no longer makes sense or no longer means the same thing, then the pronoun is reflexive.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns • Examples: • George wrote the letter himself. • If you omit “himself,” the sentence still makes sense and means the same thing, so it must be intensive. • She watched herself on TV. • If you omit “herself,” the sentence makes no sense, so it must be reflexive. • He drove himself to the hospital. • If you omit “himself,” the sentence still makes sense, but it no longer tells us the same information, so it must be reflexive.
Practice • I taught myself everything I know about playing the guitar. • Their parents could not help them at all, so they paid for the entire house themselves. • I myself will make sure that the kids are asleep by eight o’clock. • I hurt myself when I fell down the stairs. • I had told myself that I would pace myself during the marathon, but I got overexcited and couldn’t help it.