Grammar Teaching Pronouns

Definition: A pronoun replaces a noun – that is a name. Sometimes this is a proper noun, as in the name of a specific person, creature or place. E.g. ‘Joanna’ or ‘Mog’ (the cat) or ‘France’. Sometimes this is a common noun such as ‘table’, ‘lion’ or ‘village’.

There are three types of pronoun

1. Personal pronouns 2. Possessive pronouns 3. Relative pronouns These refer to the (or determiners) These usually introduce missing name of a These refer to the a clause which gives us person, creature, place possession of someone more information about or thing. or something by a person, creature, place someone or something. or thing. Simon shouted to his mother. Mary is Sunil’s baby. The book, which was He shouted to her. She is his baby. unopened, lay on the windowsill. Peter loves Basanti. The cat has her pride. (‘which’ is a relative I love you. pronoun referring to the The blackbirds ate their book) Hobbes the dog loved to worms slowly. chase cats. Ann, who hated spiders, He loved to chase cats. All the old wooden climbed onto a chair. windows are Anna’s. (‘who’ - relative pronoun Lions like to sleep after All the old wooden referring to Ann) eating their prey. windows are hers. They like to sleep after (the windows belong to Goa is a place in India eating it. the Anna) that many people like to visit. The kitchen is a light, The bakery’s customers (‘that ‘ - relative pronoun airy room. were few but loyal. referring to Goa) It is a light, airy room. Its customers were few but loyal. The house, where he The journey is a long (the customers belong to lived, is falling down. journey. the bakery) (‘where’ - relative It is a long journey. pronoun refers to house)

 Amanda wanted to open the big present that was labelled as hers, but she knew that the time was not yet right.  I did not like the snail jelly; it was horrible.  The team poured into the street where they were welcomed with shouts of enthusiasm from their supporters.  It was to be a long stay in her cottage, but she was happy about it.  The packed lunches were definitely theirs and a greedy gull took them!

Talk about the type of each pronoun.

 Amanda wanted to open the big present that was labelled as hers, but she knew that the time was not yet right.  I did not like the snail jelly; it was horrible.  The team poured into the street where they were welcomed with loud shouts of enthusiasm from their supporters.  It was to be a long stay in her cottage, which was right beside the sea.  The packed lunches were definitely theirs and a greedy gull took them!

Personal pronouns The ones highlighted in yellow are personal pronouns. These can be I or me, you, he, she, they or her, him, them. The word ‘it’ is a type of personal pronoun, when it is referring to a thing or a plant or a creature. E.g. in the sentence: I did not like the snail jelly; it was horrible. Occasionally ‘it’ is a ‘dummy pronoun’ when it refers not to anything specific but to an undetermined actor or subject. (It is sometimes called a place holder.) E.g. It is raining. It all depends...

Possessive pronouns or determiners The ones highlighted in green are possessives*. These indicate belonging. They agree in gender and number with the noun they replace, e.g. the book was hers (Anna’s) or the book was his (Tom’s) or the book was theirs (Anna’s and Tom’s).

*If they stand on their own to preplace a noun, they are possessive pronouns, e.g. The book was his. (his replaces ‘Tom’s’) If they precede a noun, e.g. his book, then, strictly, these are possessive determiners since they behave as adjectives. It is NOT necessary to make this distinction with children.

Relative Pronouns © Hamilton Trust Year 5 Grammar Teaching 1 - Pronouns The ones highlighted in blue are relative pronouns and they start a relative clause which tells us more about a noun. E.g. The book, that was on the table, was the abbot’s. Or The cat, who hated the rain, sat under the table.

Read the passage below and circle the pronouns

The white deer led us deeper into the forest. We had hardly any light to see by and the beams of our torches were just enough to illuminate the path in front of us. We could hear the sounds of owls and occasional snuffles of the badger people, who seemed determined to keep out of sight, but to somehow let us know their presence. I whispered to myself that the white deer had never yet led us into harm, but I did not find this thought as comforting as I had hoped. The fear of once again meeting him seemed to grow, and we all moved more slowly, choosing our steps with care. Suddenly we came to a sudden stop. The deer, whose pace had been slowing, turned and faced us and, even before she spoke, we knew that our worst nightmare was upon us.

There are 22 in all. Talk about the different types.

Teaching and practice leading toward English tests: Grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 1 (Levels 3-5) and Paper 2 (Level 6).

There are different exercises based on this teaching for the children to practice in each term (A, B & C units).