A Pronoun Is A Word That Takes The Place Of A Noun

Language Arts Notes UNIT 5 Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.

Personal Pronouns Singular Plural he, she they I*, me we, us it, you them, you

* ‘I’ sometimes acts like a plural pronoun when it comes to subject-verb agreement.

All pronouns have referents (also called antecedents) or words they ‘refer’ to or take the place of: Sally ate her lunch. She enjoyed it. The referent of her = Sally The referent of she = Sally The referent of it = lunch ______Subject and Object Pronouns Subject Object I, he, she me, him, her we, they us, them it, you it, you

Use subject pronouns as: The subjects of sentences She went to town not Her went to town The subjects of clauses (complex sentences) – Although she tried, she didn’t make it not Although her tried, she didn’t make it.

Use object pronouns as: Direct objects I like her not I like she Indirect objects I wrote him a note not I wrote he a note Objects of prepositions I wrote to them not I wrote to they.

In sentences with compound subjects or objects, pretend like the other name is not there when choosing – don’t listen to how it sounds with the other name there! Sally and she went to town not Sally and her went to town. Language Arts Notes UNIT 5 Pronouns

Indefinite Pronouns – these pronouns refer to a group of people or things that are not specifically names. They can be either singular or plural.

Singular Plural Anybody, everybody, somebody, nobody, Both, others, Anyone, everyone, someone, none, one, each, Few, several, Anything, everything, something, nothing Many, some ______Pronoun-Verb Agreement -Pronouns used a subjects must agree with their present-tense verbs in number. Singular pronouns take singular verbs, plural pronouns take plural verbs.

REMEMBER – Singular verbs end in “S” Subject Verb I, you walk She, he, it walks They, we walk Someone walks Few walk Learn whether the pronoun is singular or plural and deciding the verb is easy!!! ______Possessive Pronouns – show ownership. They take the place of possessive nouns. Possessive nouns, however, do NOT need an apostrophe to be possessive. They change form to become possessive.

Possessive Pronouns: Used before nouns Used after nouns Singular Plural Singular Plural My our Mine ours Your your Yours yours His, her their His, hers theirs Its its Its theirs That is Sara’s picture. That is her picture. That picture is Sara’s. That picture is hers. ______Pronoun-Verb Contractions: Do not confuse with possessive pronouns!

They’re = They are Their = possessive pronoun There = location You’re = you are Your = possessive pronoun Whose = pronoun It’s = it is or it has Its = possessive pronoun Who’s = Who is

Demonstrative Pronouns Language Arts Notes UNIT 5 Pronouns

The four major demonstrative pronouns: This, That, These, Those These words can also be demonstrative adjectives. So, what’s the difference? Demonstrative pronouns take the place of the noun you’re talking about. Demonstrative adjectives go in front of the noun you’re talking about. The noun will be there if it’s an adjective, but the noun won’t be there if it acts as a pronoun. I wanted to eat those cookies! I wanted to eat those! Adj. (noun) PN (no noun)

Reflexive Pronouns Myself, yourself, yourselves, himself*, herself, themselves*, ourselves These are used when the object and the subject are the same (I = me, she = her, etc.). These pronouns help avoid confusion. I hurt myself. (not I hurt me) They call themselves “The Pink Ladies.” (not they call them) He shot himself. (not he shot him) I bought a present for myself. (not I bought a present for me.) That man is talking to himself. (not That man is talking to him.) I’ll do it myself. (to emphasize the subject) They ate the food themselves. (to emphasize the subject) *Note: It’s himself, not hisself and it’s themselves, not theirselves or themself. Those are NOT words!

Interrogative Pronouns Interrogative pronouns are found in interrogative sentences. They will usually (not always) start off the sentence.

They are: Who, Whom, Which, What, Whose S O EX: Who saw the future clearly? Whom did she choose for the winner? Which one would you prefer? What was the most impressive quality? Does anyone know whose book this is?

Relative Pronouns Language Arts Notes UNIT 5 Pronouns

Relative pronouns** relate to a noun before them in the same sentence. They come at the beginning of dependent clauses (in complex sentences).

They are: Who, Whom, Whoever, Whomever, That, Which

When referring to people, use WHO, WHOM, WHOEVER, and WHOMEVER Use WHO or WHOEVER when referring to a noun that is the subject of the clause or sentence. Use WHOM or WHOMEVER when referring to a noun that is the object of the sentence. The girl who won the contest is my sister. (who refers to the girl and is the subject of the clause as well) Do you know the girl whom I said was the winner? (whom refers to the girl and I is the subject of the clause)

When referring to things, use WHICH and THAT (that can refer to people, too) Use THAT to begin clauses that HAVE to be in the sentence. Use WHICH* to begin clauses that you COULD leave out. We ate pizza that was three days old. The assignment, which I gave you yesterday, is due today. (*Clauses that begin with which always need commas.)

**Relative pronouns can also be subordinating conjunctions.