Tuesday, January 10 GET YOUR JOURNALS!

Pronouns – what are they? Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. What are they used for? They are used to keep from being so repetitive and redundant in our speech and writing. What are some of them? There are lots of pronouns. Personal pronouns – I, you, me, he, she, we, they, etc. Possessive pronouns – My, yours, ours, theirs, his, hers, its And many others -

Reflexive pronouns – These are pronouns that indicate something is being done to “self,” so it has –self or –selves in it. For example, myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves, etc. PLEAS NOTE: There is no “hisself” or “theirself” or “theirselves.” The words are “himself,” “themself,” and “themselves.” Reflexive pronouns are not used alone as subjects in sentences. You can’t say, “Myself really enjoyed the performance.”

Here is the one giant exception – for emphasis – These reflexive pronouns are “intensifiers’’ Cassius himself was responsible for setting the assassination in motion. Julius Caesar – he himself – recognized that Cassius was a looming threat. I myself have always been strangely attracted to the villainous Cassius. If you remove the actual subject “Cassius, Julius Caesar, and I,” what you have left is just the reflexive pronoun and it sounds ridiculous.

RULE: a pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number RULE: a pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number. What is an antecedent? The antecedent is the noun the pronoun refers to. EXAMPLE “I hit the ball and it went over the fence.” It is the pronoun – ball is the antecedent. A single pronoun must have a single antecedent. MEMORIZE THESE WORDS:  everybody, anybody, nobody, somebody, everyone, someone, anyone, no one, each, neither, either These are considered singular and take singular pronouns. Even if you think it doesn’t sound correct, it is. If gender is specified in the antecedent or subject pronoun, then ‘her’ or ‘his’ alone is acceptable. Otherwise, choose “his/her” rather than their. Example: Everyone must bring his/her binder.

More tips to remember… DON’T CHANGE TENSE. If you start off in 3rd person, don’t switch to 2nd with your pronoun. Example: When a student comes to class, you should always be prepared. Don’t be vague, ambiguous, confusing: Example: When the motorcycle hit the tree, it wasn’t damaged. Example: I don’t think they should show violence on TV.

Practice – complete this and turn it in. She didn’t pay attention, so she hit (herself myself) with the hammer. When you are finished with your practice, turn the paper in to (myself me). Mrs. Brown and (myself me I ) want to thank you for being so spirited this year. (BE CAREFUL!) It is never permissible to say “I myself” as the subject of a sentence. True False A singular noun must take a singular pronoun. True False Everybody must be responsible for getting (their his/her) own meal tray. Neither of the boys hurt (his their) hand in the accident. Nobody wanted to stand in line to receive (his/her their) award. Identify the pronouns and their antecedents in the following two sentences: 9. The orangutans ran until they were exhausted. 10. Prior to his assassination, Julius Caesar had a feeling that his days were numbered.