Pronouns. Yes, you re taking notes.

Transcription

1 Pronouns Yes, you re taking notes.

2 Pronouns A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, a group of words acting as a noun, or another pronoun. The word or group of words to which a pronoun refers is called its antecedent. When N. Scott Momaday wrote The Way to Rainy Mountain, he was retelling Kiowa legends.

3 Types of pronouns There are about 75 pronouns in the English language. Each pronoun belond is one or more of these categories: Personal and possessive pronouns Reflexive and intensive pronouns Demonstrative pronouns Interrogative pronouns Relative pronouns Indefinite pronouns

4 Personal and Possessive Pronouns A personal pronoun refers to a specific person, place, thing, or idea by indicating the person speaking (the first person), the person or people being spoken to (the second person), or any other person, place, thing, or idea being talked about (the third person). singular plural First person Second person Third person I, me you He, him, she, her, it We, us you They, them

5 Personal pronoun examples First person: We will keep the pup with us. We and us refer to the people speaking. Second person: You may use the spell-checking program. You refers to the person or people being addressed. Third person: They accomplished all the tasks assigned to them. They and them refer to persons being discussed

6 Possessive Pronouns Among the personal pronouns are forms that show possession or ownership. These are called possessive pronouns, and they take the place of the possessive forms of nouns. singular plural First person My, mine Our, ours Second person Your, yours Your, yours Third person His, her, hers, its Their, theirs

7 Please note Notice that the possessive pronouns do not have apostrophes. Take particular note that the possessive pronoun its has no apostrophe. It is a common error to mistake its and it s. The cat was eating its food. [possessive] It s my mother s cat. [contraction for it is]

8 Practice Write each pronoun. Identify it by writing first person, second person, or third person. Then write singular or plural. If the pronoun is possessive, write possessive. 1. Workers must pay income tax if their earnings are in excess of a specified amount. 2. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in autumn. 3. Despite her heavy practice schedule, Jeanette maintained a B+ average. 4. Ours is the first house on the right. 5. We moved from Wyoming three years ago. 6. I am amazed by the forces of nature.

9 Reflexive and intensive pronouns To form the reflexive and intensive pronouns, add -self or -selves to certain personal and possessive pronouns. singular plural First person myself ourselves Second person yourself yourselves Third person Himself, herself, itself themselves

10 Please note Notice that there are no such words as: Hisself Theirself theirselves

11 Reflexive pronouns A reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence or clause and indicates that the same person or thing is involved. A reflexive pronoun adds information to a sentence. We considered ourselves lucky to have avoided the tornado. In stage makeup, I don t even look like myself.

12 Intensive pronouns An intensive pronoun adds emphasis to another noun or pronoun. It does not add information to a sentence. If the intensive pronoun is omitted, the meaning of the sentence will still be the same. You yourself decided not to rename the file. An intensive pronoun is often placed directly after its antecedent. However, an intensive pronoun may appear anywhere in a sentence. I myself balanced the checkbook. I balanced the checkbook myself.

13 Demonstrative Pronouns A demonstrative pronoun points out specific persons, places, things, or ideas. This, that, these, those This is your new toothbrush. Let me do that for you. Are these the cookies you liked so well? I think I ll take those.

14 Interrogative pronouns An interrogative pronoun is used to form questions. Who? Which? Whom? Whose? Whoever? Whomever? Whatever? Which? Whichever? What? Who made this delicious salad dressing? Whom are you expecting? Whose are these cute earrings? What did she say? Which of the flavors is your favorite?

15 Relative pronoun A relative pronoun is used to begin a special subject-verb word group called a subordinate clause (we ll get there). Who, whoever, which, that, whom, whomever, whose, what, whichever, whatever Rhonda held out paper cups of water to the marathon runners, who grabbed them eagerly. The novel that she wrote is on the best seller list.

16 Indefinite pronoun An indefinite pronoun refers to a person, a place, a thing, or an idea in a more general way than a noun does. Do you know anyone in your class? Several have submitted applications for college. The group responsible for posters reported that none were ready.

17 Practice Write each pronoun. Identify it by writing reflexive, intensive, demonstrative, interrogative, relative, or indefinite. 1. The kitten saw itself in the mirror and scampered away. 2. Has anybody seen the car keys? 3. This is number one on the best-seller list of books. 4. For whom is the phone call? 5. Maria herself prepared every dessert on the menu. 6. The person whom the director appointed had then years of experience. 7. Deliver the memo to someone in the attendance office. 8. Steve and John need transportation to the game; neither has a driver s license. 9. Which is the better choice? 10. Why is that so difficult task?