Knots in My Yo-Yo StringBy: Jerry Spinelliwith a focus on pronouns and sensory details

Autobiography vs. Memoir

Both autobiographies and memoirs are told in the first person and both are true accounts about the author's life.

They each contain personal information and are meant to allow the reader insight into the author's mind.

Both are in-depth, but memoirs are often considered the more personal of the two.

Autobiography An autobiography is a sketch of the

author's entire life, often from birth up until the time of the writing.

When you write an autobiography, you start with your earliest memories and no one incident or time of life takes precedence over another.

An autobiography is usually structured based on the chronological timeline.

Memoir A memoir focuses on one aspect of the

author's life. Many people write memoirs to talk about

their experiences in a war or their careers or their family life.

Memoirs usually cover a relatively brief span of time, and their main purpose is to draw the reader's attention to a specific theme or circumstance.

A memoir doesn't necessarily have to go in chronological order.

Characteristics of a Memoir A memoir is a story about something that

happened to the writer. The author is in the story somehow (either

physically or is telling it from their point of view).

Many memoirs are stories about the author’s family or friends.

Memoirs are stories about events that are important to the writer.

Often, the book will end with the writer explaining why that event is important to him now or how it changed his life.

Why do we need pronouns?

Pronouns take the place of nouns when we are writing or talking about something.

It would be very tiresome if we had to repeat the same noun over and over again.

A life without pronouns…

A Day at the ParkSammy went to the park with Sammy’s mother and Sammy’s father. Sammy and Sammy’s mother and Sammy’s father ran on the lawn. Then Sammy’s father pushed Sammy on the swings while Sammy’s mother smiled and watched. Then Sammy’s mother spread out a blanket on the lawn and read a book while Sammy and Sammy’s father played catch with a ball. Sammy threw the ball too hard, and Sammy’s father had to chase after the ball. Sammy did some somersaults, rolling forward on Sammy’s head and kicking Sammy’s feet up over Sammy’s head. Sammy giggled and lay on the grass until Sammy’s dad came back. Sammy, Sammy’s mother, and Sammy’s father ate sandwiches together before Sammy, Sammy’s mother, and Sammy’s father went back home.

Subjective Pronouns A subject pronoun is used as the

subject of a sentence in place of a person’s or thing’s name or description, particularly after the subject has already been introduced.

Remember: A subject is a word which does an action and usually comes before the verb.

Example:We were in the living room.

Objective Pronouns An object pronoun is used in place

of a person or thing that is acted upon, or receives the action of the verb in a sentence.

Remember: An object is a word that receives an action and usually comes after the verb.

Example:She was nice to us.

Possessive Pronouns We use possessive pronouns to show ownership. The possessive pronouns are:my mine our(s) your(s) his her(s) its their(s) whose Examples:I like your flowers. Do you like mine? (object = my flowers)My flowers are dying. Yours are lovely. (subject = Your flowers)

*Note that there are no apostrophes used with possessive personal pronouns. This includes "its." Just as you would say "That is hers," you would say "Success is its own reward." It's stands for the contraction that represents "It is" or "It has." It's is NEVER possessive.

PronounsSingular

Person Subject Object Possessive 1st I me mine 2nd you you yours 3rd he/she/it him/her/it his/hers

Plural

Person Subject Object Possessive 1st we us ours 2nd you you yours 3rd they them theirs

Guided Practice1. (My Aunt Jane) My brother and I wrote thank

you letters to __________.2. (Nick and I) __________ have a favorite

restaurant in town.3. John found his passport but Mary couldn't find

__________.4. (Joe, Scott, and Bob) __________ went hiking on

the mountain together.5. (The neighbor’s car) The mechanic from the

garage went to work on __________.6. All the essays were good but (Jack) _________

was the best.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns point to something specific that can be either near or far in distance or time.

The demonstrative pronouns are:this (singular – near in either distance or time).that (singular – far away in either distance or time).these (plural – near in either distance or time).those (plural – far away in either distance or time). Examples:

This is heavier than that.These are bigger than those.

To put it into perspective…

Interrogative Pronouns Interrogative pronouns are used in sentences

that ask questions. The interrogative pronouns are:

subject object person who whom thingwhat person/thing which person whose (possessive) Examples:

What do you want?Which came first?

Who versus Whom Who and whoever will be the subjects of verbs. Use these

forms when a sentence has a leftover verb that needs a subject.

Whom and whomever will be objects in sentences—direct or indirect objects and objects of a preposition. Use these forms when every verb in a sentence already has a subject.

The rule: Use the he/him method to decide which word is correct.

he = whohim = whom Examples:

[Who/Whom] wrote the letter?He wrote the letter. Therefore, who is correct.

For [who/whom] should I vote?Should I vote for him? Therefore, whom is correct.

Guided Practice1. [Who/Whom] did he blame for the

accident?2. (These/This) are the shoes I like.3. _________ one of the books is your

favorite? 4. (This/That) car over there is the

best one.5. To _________ should I address the

letter?6. [Who/Whom] is going to do the

dishes?

Reflexive Pronouns A reflexive pronoun is used when the

subject and object of the sentence are the same.

They refer back to the subject of a sentence.

Reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves Examples:

I gave myself plenty of time to get to work.Jim bought himself a shirt.

Intensive Pronouns Intensive pronouns are the same as

the reflexive words, but they are used to emphasize the subject of the sentence.

They usually appear right near the subject of the sentence.

Examples:The actress herself wrote those lines.

You yourselves can win this game.

A trick to remember: You can easily tell the difference between a

reflexive and intensive pronoun by following this easy trick:

1. Remove the pronoun from the sentence. (If it is in a prepositional phrase, remove that too).

2. If it still makes sense without the pronoun, it is intensive.

3. If it doesn’t make sense, it is reflexive. Use the trick: Is it reflexive or is it intensive?

I used a video to teach myself how to knit.I myself used a video to learn how to knit.

Guided Practice1. I dressed myself this morning.2. We ourselves made the meal.3. The president himself appeared at

the rally.4. He made breakfast all by himself.5. We had to cook for ourselves since

mom didn’t want to make dinner.6. The cat itself caught the mouse.

Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns are used to refer to people,

places, or things that are unknown or not stated. An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific

person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not definite".

Some typical indefinite pronouns are:all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody/someone Examples:I put my soda down on the table, but someone moved

it!The party is going to be great! Everybody will be there.

Singular or Plural, it must match the verb!

Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural.

However, some of them can be singular in one context and plural in another.

Examples:Each of the players has a doctor.

Many have expressed their views. All is forgiven.

All have arrived.

Relative Pronouns A relative pronoun introduces a dependent

clause that modifies (gives more information about) a word, phrase, or idea in the independent clause.

The most common relative pronouns are:who, whom, whose, that, which

Examples:The book that I got from the library is due

tomorrow.My father, whom I respect, congratulated me

on a job well done.

Guided Practice1. I am always frustrated by people __________

talk while watching a movie.2. We can start the meeting because

[everybody/anybody] has arrived.3. The store no longer sold the computer

__________ I wanted.4. John likes coffee but not tea. I think

[one/both] are good.5. The child to _________ you have spoken is my

sister.6. The tallest man __________ came to the show is

my Uncle James.