Pronouns

What is a pronoun?

• A pronoun is a word that is used to take the place of a noun. Pronouns keep us from having to repeat the same noun over and over in our writing.

Examples: Mrs. Ford likes Flamingos. Mrs. Ford plays kickball. She plays kickball and likes flamingos. Mrs. Ward is a coach and mom. She is a coach and a mom.

Practice

What pronoun would you use to replace the underlined part of each sentence?1. Tom and Wendy walked quickly. Tom and

Wendy were eager to get home. They2. Nancy wanted a piece of cake, Nancy was full after dinner. she3. The class enjoyed recess. The class played

dodgeball. They

Types of Pronouns

• There are two kinds of pronouns:

1. Subject Pronoun2. Object Pronoun

What is a subject pronoun?

• Subject pronouns are the subject of the verb. They generally appear before the verb.

Example: Courtney flew to France last week.

Let’s Break it Down…….

First Person Second Person Third Person

Singular I you he, she, it

Plural we you they

PracticeIdentify the subject pronoun in each sentence, and label it as S (singular) or P (plural) and 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person.

1. They went to the basketball game. They went to the basketball game. P 3rd 2. In June, we will start summer vacation. In June, we will start summer vacation. P 1st

More Practice

3. He took French class in ninth grade. He took French class in ninth grade. S 3rd

4. You all will have a quiz on pronouns. You all will have a quiz on pronouns. S 2nd

What is an object pronoun?

• Object pronouns are the object of the verb or where an action was performed. They generally appear after the verb.

Examples: Sally fell right in it. Brad caught it.

Let’s break it down some more….

First Person Second Person Third Person

Singular me you her, him, it

Plural us you them

Practice

Identify the object pronoun in each sentence, and label it as S (singular) or P (plural) and 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person.

1. Skylar gave her roses. Skylar gave her roses. S 3rd

2. The teacher gave us an assignment. The teacher gave us an assignment. P 1st

Practice

3. The email was sent to them yesterday.

The email was sent to them yesterday. P 3rd

4. I told you all about the quiz. I told you all about the quiz. P 2nd

What is an Antecedent?

• A pronoun takes its meaning from the noun it replaces. The noun that the pronoun refers to is called the antecedent.

• A pronoun must agree with its antecedent. That is, it must be the same in number (singular or plural) and gender (girl or boy).

Examples: Poets choose their words carefully. Eve Merriam’s creativity makes her poems easy to remember.

Practice

Underline the antecedent twice and the pronoun once.

1. Deborah is reading about Charles Dickens. He is a famous British author. Deborah is reading about Charles Dickens. He is a famous British author.

2. Thomas read Oliver Twist, a novel by Dickens about a poor boy. He enjoyed the story Thomas read Oliver Twist, a novel by Dickens about a poor boy. He enjoyed the story.

Practice

3. When Dickens died in 1890, he had not finished the novel: The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

When Dickens died in 1890, he had not finished the novel: The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Testing Your Knowledge

• What is a pronoun?-a word that is used to take the place of a noun.• What is a subject pronoun?-the subject of the verb and they generally appear before the verb. • What is an object pronoun?-the object of the verb or where an action was performed and they generally appear after the verb. • What is an antecedent?- the noun that the pronoun refers to