KINDS OF PRONOUNS IDENTIFYING PRONOUNS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS FRANCIS ALEXANDER

The What & Why of Pronouns  A pronoun is a word that replaces or refers to a noun  Used to avoid repetition  Antecedent= is the noun that the pronoun replaces or refers to ( ante, before; cedo, go) EXAMPLE: Juan is my cousin. He (Juan) is in your English class.  Juan = antecedent. He = pronoun.

7 KINDS OF PRONOUNS 1. PERSONAL = refers to persons, (he, she, us) 2. REFLEXIVE = refers back to the subject (himself) 3. INTENSIVE = emphasizes the subject (myself) 4. DEMONSTRATIVE = points to with gesture (that) 5. INDEFINITE = has no definite antecedent (someone, all, some, many) 6. INTERROGATIVE = question words, who 7. RELATIVE = relates 2 sentences (which)

PERSONAL PRONOUNS have SINGULAR 1 st person  I, me, my 2 nd person  you, you, your 3 rd person  he, him, his she, her, her it, it, its PLURAL 1 st person  we, us, our 2 nd person  you, you, your 3 rd person  they, them, their

PERSONAL PRONOUNS HAVE GENDER MASCULINE He Him, his himself FEMININE She Her,hers herself NEUTRAL It, its

PERSONAL PRONOUNS also have SUBJECTIVE CASE: Are used in place of subjects and predicate nominatives in sentences 1 st person  I or we 2 nd person  you 3 rd person  he, she, it them OBJECTIVE CASE PROUNOUNS; Are used in place of words in the objective case in sentences 1 st person us 2 nd person  you 3 rd person  them

PRONOUNS MUST AGREE IN NUMBER, GENDER, AND CASE  WRONG  She (Molly) could not get (Molly’s) HIS car to start. (Disagreement in gender)  John and ME went to the store. (error in case)  One of the girls left their sweater there. (disagreement in number)  RIGHT  She (Molly) could not get (Molly’s) HER car to start.  John and I went to the store.  One of the girls left her sweater there.

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS--reflect back to the subject of a sentence.  I saw myself in the mirror.  Kim wrote a note to herself.  Dick shot himself on the foot.  They served themselves last.

INTENSIVE PRONOUN An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent.  I myself saw him.  She herself organized the concert.  The president himself has denied the rumor.

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS POINT OUT SPECIFIC PERSONS / THINGS  I hate this.  Did Megan give you that?  She wants these.  Will you be using those?

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS  Some like it hot.  None wants it cold.  All are happy.  All are equal, but some are more equal than others. But here, these are used as Indefinite adjectives: Some people like it cold. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal.

PROBLEMS WITH PRONOUNS  Everyone and Everybody are always SINGULAR!!  MOST, SOME, MUCH AND OTHER PRONOUNS LIKE THESE DEPEND ON THE ANTECEDENT TO DETERMINE NUMBER AND AGREEMENT: FOR EXAMPLE:  SOME OF THE BUTTER IS LEFT.  SOME OF THE GIRLS ARE STILL HERE.

PROBLEMS WITH PRONOUNS AMBIGUOUS (unclear) REFERENCE  The story was exciting, but they didn't explain what happened at the end.  William was very angry with Jonathan, but no one knew what he had said.  The catalog says that you must pay all fees by May.  I saw the ad in the paper, but now I can't find it.  If they do not do something about Syria, we may find ourselves in a war.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS PRONOUNS USED TO INTRODUCE QUESTIONS:  What is the answer to the last question?  Whose book is this?  Who are you?  Whom did you send to the store? Who, Whom, Whose, What, When, Where,

RELATIVE PRONOUNS ARE  RELATIVE PRONOUN RELATES TO A PRECEDING WORD (ANTECEDENT) AND JOINS TO IT A DEPENDENT CLAUSE  2 JOBS: A PRONOUN + A CONNECTOR She is a woman. She runs for mayor.  She is the woman, who runs for mayor. You saw the house. It is historical landmark.  The house that you saw is a historical landmark.

Summary 7 KINDS OF PRONOUNS  PERSONAL = REFERS TO PERSONS  REFLEXIVE = ACTION BACK TO SUBJECT  INTENSIVE = EMPHASIZES ACTION  DEMONSTRATIVE = POINTS WITH A GESTURE  INDEFINITE = UNSURE SOME OR FEW  INTERROGATIVE = QUESTION WORDS  RELATIVE = JOINS SENTENCES