Pronouns!

What on earth is a pronoun? A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or another pronoun. An antecedent is the noun a pronoun stands for. A pronoun does NOT ALWAYS have a clear antecedent.

Huh? Think of an antecedent like a teacher and a pronoun like a substitute teacher. The lovely Ms. Leuschel…I wish Kind of creepy old substitute Antecedent Pronoun

Pronouns and Antecedents In school, sometimes a substitute comes and takes the place of a teacher. Similarly, sometimes a pronoun comes and takes the place of an antecedent. For example: Ms. Leuschel stubbed her toe and she screamed. This sentence is actually saying… Ms. Leuschel stubbed Ms. Leuschel’s toe and Ms. Leuschel screamed. So which words are pronouns playing the substitute teacher?

Pronouns and Antecedents Ms. Leuschel stubbed her toe and she screamed. In this sentence, “her” and “she” are the pronouns, which are substituting temporarily for the antecedent “Ms. Leuschel.”

Pronouns and Antecedents Let’s try another example: The meeting was boring because it lasted two hours! What is this really saying? The meeting was boring because the meeting lasted two hours! Where are the pronoun(s) and antecedent(s)? The meeting was boring because it lasted two hours! “it” is substituting for “the meeting” for a moment, just like a substitute teacher temporarily takes the place of the teacher!

Types of Pronouns…Yowza! There are six types of pronouns! Yikes! Luckily you don’t have to memorize which pronouns fall into which type. Be prepared, however, to understand that all of these words can be used as pronouns and be able to recognize when they are!

Personal Pronouns (p. 9 of Language Network) Personal pronouns stand for people and things. They are the most common and easiest to identify. Singular Personal Pronouns: I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it Plural Personal Pronouns: we, us, you, they, them

Personal Pronoun Examples Bruno gave Ethel a valentine because he really likes her. He tripped on his shoelace because it was untied. Hubert and Ray are on the same team. They are members of The Dragons.

Possessive Pronouns (p. 9 of Language Network) Possessive pronouns show ownership. Singular Possessive Pronouns: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its Plural Possessive Pronouns: our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs

Possessive Pronoun Examples: Francine forgot to brush her teeth! Francine forgot to brush her teeth! (The teeth are owned by Francine.) Is the book yours? Is the book yours ? (no clear antecedent) (The book is owned by you.) Bernard and I know the dance trophy is ours! Bernard and I know the dance trophy is ours ! (The trophy is owned by Bernard and I.)

Reflexive Pronouns (p. 11 of Language Network) The “self” pronouns Singular Reflexive Pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself Plural Reflexive Pronouns: ourselves, yourselves, themselves Note! “hisself” and “theirselves” are NOT WORDS!

Reflexive Pronoun Examples: The boy impressed himself by earning an A! We praised ourselves for the effort. We praised ourselves for the effort. (Yes, the antecedent can be another pronoun!) The kitten meowed at itself in the mirror.

Demonstrative Pronouns (p. 11 of Language Network) Indicate whether things you are pointing out are close or far away “Pointing pronouns” Examples of Demonstrative Pronouns: this, that, these, those

Demonstrative Pronoun Examples: I want that! I want that ! (no clear antecedent) I don’t understand this. I don’t understand this. (no clear antecedent) Whose are these? Whose are these ? (no clear antecedent)

Indefinite Pronouns (p. 12 of Language Network) Does not refer to a specific person, place, or thing. Usually doesn’t have an antecedent Singular Indefinite Pronouns: another, anybody, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something Plural Indefinite Pronouns: both, few, many, several Singular or Plural Indefinite Pronouns: all, any, more, most, none, some

Indefinite Pronoun Examples: Everybody is coming to the party! Everybody is coming to the party! (no clear antecedent) Many of the people arrived early. Many of the people arrived early. (no clear antecedent) I want some! I want some ! (no clear antecedent)

Indefinite Pronoun Trick! Because indefinite pronouns can be a little trickier to identify, look for “of” phrases. Indefinite pronouns often start these phrases. For example: Several of the people… All of the waiters… Some of the students… Most of the women… Be careful, though! This does NOT always work! For example: Anybody of the… Anything of the… Someone of the…

Interrogative and Relative Pronouns (p. 12 of Language Network) Interrogative pronouns are used to ask a question? They rarely have antecedents, as the antecedent is usually revealed in the answer. Examples: who, whom, whose, which, what Relative pronouns introduce subordinate clauses (a fancy way of saying a descriptive group of words). The antecedent is usually the word directly in front of the pronoun. Examples: who, whom, whose, which, that

Interrogative Pronoun Examples: Which is your favorite? Which is your favorite? (no clear antecedent) Who is coming to the game? Who is coming to the game? (no clear antecedent) What are you doing later? What are you doing later? (no clear antecedent)

Relative Pronoun Examples: The kid who was tallest made the team. The car that was leaking was Ann’s. The test, which was difficult, was 12 pages long!

So why’s it important to know this crap anyway? Without effective use of pronouns, your writing can be awkward, inaccurate, wordy, confusing, and difficult to understand. For example…

The Freshman Boy Who Didn’t Do the Freshman’s Homework One day, a freshman gentleman came to Ms. Leuschel’s class without the freshman’s homework. The freshman had meant to do the homework, but when there was a “Project Runway” marathon, doing the freshman’s homework did not go as the freshman had planned. The freshman was a bit scared, because Ms. Leuschel often went into fits of rage when freshmen came to class without the freshmen’s homework. Ms. Leuschel was even rumored to have threatened to eat a freshman’s first born child when the student came to class without the student’s assignment the day it was due…though the story of Ms. Leuschel’s threat was just a rumor. Or was the story?

The Freshman Boy Who Didn’t Do His Homework One day, a freshman gentleman came to Ms. Leuschel’s class without his homework. He had meant to do it, but when there was a “Project Runway” marathon, doing the his homework did not go as he had planned. The freshman was a bit scared, because Ms. Leuschel often went into fits of rage when freshmen came to class without their homework. She was even rumored to have threatened to eat a their first born children when they came to class without their assignments the day they were due…though the story of her threat was just a rumor. Or was it? Ahhh. Much better. Thanks pronouns!

Let’s practice identifying pronouns! Wahoo! Identify the pronoun. Then find its antecedent (if it has one). What is the best way to get good seats for a concert? The best way to find out is to ask the ticket sellers themselves. All agree that there is no special advantage to getting to the box office early. MaryAnne lost her shoe in the mud.

The End! …or is it?