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1 Here’s the Idea

A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun or another pronoun. Like a noun, a pronoun can refer to a person, place, thing, or idea. The word that a personal pronoun refers to is called its antecedent. O FERS T RE Alexis is a great friend. She is so funny! ERS T EF O R Alexis read her jokes to the class.

Personal Pronouns

Pronouns such as we, I, he, them, and it are called personal pronouns. Unlike nouns, personal pronouns change their forms to reflect CHAPTER 3 person, number, and case. Person and Number Personal pronouns have different forms for first person, second person, and third person. Pronouns can be singular or plural in number. Singular Plural First person: I went out. We left early. Second person: You left too. You are all leaving. Third person: He came by bus. They came by car.

Case Personal pronouns change their forms, or cases, depending on how they are used in a sentence. Each pronoun has three cases: subject, object, and possessive. Subject: He just started middle school. Object: Scott met him on the first day. Possessive: Now Scott is his best friend.

In the chart on the next page, notice how personal pronouns change according to their person, number, and case. You’ll learn more about each case in the next three lessons.

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Personal Pronouns Subject Object Possessive Singular First person I me my, mine Second person you you your, yours Third person he, she, it him, her, it his, her, hers, its Plural First person we us our, ours Second person you you your, yours Third person they them their, theirs

2 Why It Matters in Writing

Without personal pronouns, the narrator of the passage below PRONOUNS would need to repeat her friend’s name and her own name several times! Instead, she uses forms of I and you.

Don’t invite me to your birthday party because I’m not coming. And give back the Disneyland sweat shirt I said you could wear. If I’m not good enough to play on your team, I’m not good enough to be friends with. —Judith Viorst, “The Southpaw”

3 Practice and Apply

A. CONCEPT CHECK: What Is a Pronoun? List the personal pronoun(s) in each sentence.

Definition of a Friend 1. Did you ever see the statue in front of Boys Town? 2. It shows one boy carrying a smaller boy. 3. Its caption says, “He ain’t heavy, Father, . . . he’s m’ brother.” 4. True friends are not burdens when they need help. 052-56 12/3/02 2:48 PM Page 56

5. I interviewed my classmates about friendship. 6. “What is a friend?” I asked them. 7. They gave me different answers—all of them good. 8. “A friend stands by you no matter what,” said Rachel. 9. “My friends want to be with me, and I want to be with them,” Lenny said. 10. Sue said, “For me, friends are loyal, or they aren’t friends.” For a SELF-CHECK and more practice, see the EXERCISE BANK, p. 535.

B. REVISING: Substituting Pronouns for Nouns Answers may vary. Rewrite this student’s draft of a social studies report. Change the underlined nouns to pronouns. In ancient times, the idea of friendship was foreign to many 1. They people. (1) Many people didn’t even have a word for “friend.” In 2. It Old English, though, the word friend did exist. (2) The word friend first appeared in English in A.D. 1018. 3. They Most ancient people lived in close communities. (3) Most ancient people had little contact with outsiders. These people 4. It did have a word for “stranger.” (4) The word for “stranger” meant “enemy.” CHAPTER 3 Today, we meet “strangers” all the time. Are these strangers 5. them enemies? Most of (5) these strangers are not. In fact, many strangers will become our friends.

C. WRITING: Dialogue Answers in column. Write a dialogue between you and a friend of yours. In the dialogue, ask your friend for advice. When you’re finished, underline all the personal pronouns you used. Example: You: Can you help me? I have a problem. Friend: What is it? If I can help you,Iwill.

56 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics