Parts of Speech: Pronoun With Help from Ralph Wiggum

What is a Pronoun? A pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns –Lisa is exasperated with Ralph, but when he asks her to go to Krusty’s anniversary show with him, she is conflicted.

What There is to Know about Pronouns Sometimes a pronoun takes the place of another pronoun. –The Simpsons episodes are varied. In one, Ralph’s heart is broken by Lisa. It ends with Lisa and Ralph being friends. The word to which a pronoun refers (whose place it takes) is the ANTECEDENT of the pronoun. –Ralph Wiggum receives the prize for his display of action figures. –Pronoun: his, Antecedent: Ralph Wiggum

Types of Pronouns Personal, Reflexive, Intensive, Relative, Interrogative, Demonstrative, and Indefinite

Personal Pronouns Personal pronouns replace a specific noun or nouns and reflect that noun’s person (1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd ), number (singular, plural), and case (subject, object) in the sentence.

Personal Pronouns SingularPlural Sub.Obj.Sub.Obj. First Person ImeWeUs Second Person You Third Person He, She, It Him, Her, It TheyThem

Personal Pronouns Possessive Forms show ownership by someone or something. Some of these possessive forms act like adjectives: SingularPlural First PersonMy, MineOur, Ours Second PersonYour, Yours Third PersonHis, Her, Hers, ItsTheir, Theirs NOTE: To make possessive pronouns, no apostrophe is ever needed.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns Personal pronouns combined with –self, - selves may be used in two ways: –They may be used reflexively when the subject is performing the action upon itself: When Ralph saw himself in the mirror, he became scared. –They may be used intensively for emphasis: Ralph is able to put on his pajamas all by himself, even if they are on up-side-down.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns SingularPlural First PersonMyselfOurselves Second Person YourselfYourselves Third PersonHimself, Herself, Itself Themselves

Relative Pronouns Relative pronouns are used to introduce subordinate clauses and are related to nouns usually right before them: Who & that: animate subjects of clause Which & that: inanimate subjects/object Whose: animate possessive form Whom: animate object Example: –The kids who take class with Ralph think he is dumb.

Interrogative Pronouns Interrogative pronouns are used in questions Who, which, whose, whom, what Example: –Which subject did Ralph fail?

Demonstrative Pronouns Demonstrative pronouns are used to point out persons or things. This, these, that, those Example: –This is my favorite television program.

Indefinite Pronouns Pronouns that do not fall into the classifications above are called indefinite pronouns. Most indefinite pronouns express the idea of quantity.

Most Commonly Used Indefinite Pronouns SingularPlural Each, Either, Neither, One, Everyone, Everybody, No one, Nobody, Anyone, Anybody, Someone, Other, Somebody, Another All, Any, Both, Few, Many, Most, None, Several, Some, Such

Practice Find and Label all the pronouns: –Ralph is great comic relief for those who are in his class. –Few of the students who go to Springfield Elementary are as slow as their classmate, Ralph. –“My cat’s breathe smells like catfood,” is a line that has become memorable to most who watch the show.

Practice (Corrected) Find and Label all the pronouns: –Ralph is great comic relief for those who are in his class. –Few of the students who go to Springfield Elementary are as slow as their classmate, Ralph. –“My cat’s breathe smells like catfood,” is a line that has become memorable to most who watch the show.