The Pronoun Mr. Eleftheriades
Dec 23, 2015
The PronounMr. Eleftheriades
Tuesday, June 24th
Aim: How can we properly use pronouns in order to diversify our language?
Objectives: Classify various types of pronouns
Do Now: Take out your homework assignment and discuss it with the person next to you.
Homework: Handout 2
The PronounPronoun- a word used in place of one or more nouns or pronouns
Antecedent- the word that the pronoun stands for
Angelo borrowed a hammer and some nails. He will return them tomorrow.
What is the antecedent for the pronoun “he”? What is the antecedent for the pronoun “them”?
Several students have entered the essay contest because they are extremely interested in the topic.
What is the pronoun and what is the antecedent?
Personal Pronouns
Personal Pronoun- refers to the one speaking (first person), the one spoken to (second person), or the one spoken about (third person)
First Person Myself, ourselves
Second Person Yourself, yourselves
Third Person Himself, herself, itself, themselves
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
Reflexive pronoun- refers to the subject of a sentence and functions as a complement or as an object of a preposition
Intensive pronoun- emphasizes the antecedent
Reflexive- Jane wrote a note to herself.
Intensive- Ruth herself organized the school’s recycling program.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
Little trick- To determine whether a pronoun is reflexive or intensive, read the sentence aloud and omit the pronoun. If the meaning of the sentence changes, the pronoun is reflexive. If the meaning stays the same, it is intensive.
ExampleI need a little time for myself.
Did Paul prepare dinner himself?
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
Little trick- To determine whether a pronoun is reflexive or intensive, read the sentence aloud and omit the pronoun. If the meaning of the sentence changes, the pronoun is reflexive. If the meaning stays the same, it is intensive.
ExampleI need a little time for myself. I need a little time for doesn’t make sense. The pronoun myself is reflexiveDid Paul prepare dinner himself? Without the pronoun himself, the meaning of the sentence stays the same. The pronoun himself is intensive.
Demonstrative pronoun
Demonstrative pronoun- points out a specific person, place, thing or idea
This, That, These, Those
This is my favorite song by Stevie Wonder.
The apples I picked today taste better than these.
Note: The same words that are used as demonstrative pronouns can also function as demonstrative adjectives
Pronoun- Her best painting is this.
Adjective- Her best painting is this one.
Interrogative pronoun- introduces a question
What, Which, Who, Whom, Whose
What is the answer to the last algebra problem?
Whose is this? (In this case the antecedent, this, is also a pronoun).
Note: Using who and whom correctly depends on how it is used in the sentence. You must first be able to tell if the pronoun is used as a subject, predicate nominative, a direct object, an indirect object, or an object of a preposition. We will learn all these things and get back to who vs. whom.
Interrogative pronoun
Relative Pronouns
Relative pronoun- introduces an adjective clause (we will get to that later)
They look like interrogative pronouns but do not act the same
Who, whom, whose, which, that (instead of what)
Refer to someone or something already mentioned in the sentence
Give extra information about someone or something. Often used in dependent word phrases.
Relative Pronouns Mary, WHO is a nurse, gives shots.
Who is a nurse is giving extra information about Mary. Who is the relative pronoun giving extra information about Mary.
Grammar and composition, WHICH is my favorite subject, is exciting. Which is the relative pronoun used in a dependent word phrase, referring to grammar and composition.
Relative pronouns when referring to people:
Who, whose, whom, and that (which is a relative pronoun that does not refer to people)
Relative pronouns when referring to people:Who, whose, whom and that
Things and animals:Which, that
Who vs. whom
Who is the subject pronoun
If you can use “he/she” you can use “who”
Whom is the object pronoun
If you can say “him/her”, you can say whom
Indefinite Pronouns
Refers to an unknown antecedent
Few will leave this class unscathed. I have a few ideas for the weekend.I eat many vegetables before summer comes around. None are very tasty.