PRONOUNS Flashcards
True or False: A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun or another pronoun.
True
True or False: An antecedent is the word the pronoun replaces.
True
True or False: Antecedents must agree in terms of
- number (singular, plural)
- gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)
True
True or False: Antecedents can only be in the beginning of a sentence.
False. They can be anywhere in a sentence. They can even be in a separate sentence.
Mrs. Malecki told her class about an upcoming test.
Mrs. Malecki=antecedent
Her=pronoun
The students were told to study their notes in preparation for the test.
students=antecedent
their=pronoun
Calvin and Nolan studied together. They made flashcards and gave them to
others to use.
Calvin/Nolan=antecedent
They=pronoun
flashcards=antecedent
them=proun
Using his notes, Jack studied too.
his=pronoun
Jack=antecedent
Personal pronouns/FIRST PERSON (person speaking)
Singular=I, me
Personal pronouns/FIRST PERSON (person speaking)
Plural=we, us
Personal pronouns/SECOND PERSON (spoke to)
Singular=you
Plural=you
Personal pronouns/THIRD PERSON (spoken about)
Singular=he, she, him, her, it
Personal pronouns/THIRD PERSON (spoken about)
Plural=they, them
True or False: Pronouns can change form depending on person and number.
True
Gender is tied to third person pronouns.
- masculine - he, him
- feminine - she, her
- neuter - it
Identify the pronoun: The dog ran to its owner in the backyard.
Its =third person singular
Identify the pronoun: Helga, the owner, gave her dog an organic biscuit.
Her=third person singular
True or False: There are three cases of PRONOUNS, just like we studied with NOUNS.
True
Name the three cases of pronouns.
Nominative, objective, possessive
Nominative Case Pronoun
A subject pronoun can be either a subject or a subject complement in a
sentence.
Nominative Case Pronoun Examples
Singular Subject Pronouns: I, you, he, she, it
Plural Subject Pronouns: we, you, they
Nominative Case Pronoun: SUBJECTS example
She watched while WE worked. (WE)
Ty and I washed the dishes. (I)
Nominative Case Pronoun: SUBJECT COMPLEMENT
The next person is he. (HE)
It is I. (I)
Objective Case Pronoun
An object pronoun can be used as the object of a verb or a preposition.
Objective Case Pronoun Examples
Singular Object Pronouns: me, you, him, her, it
Plural Object Pronouns: us, you, them
Objective Case Pronoun: OBJECTS of a verb example
Mom called me into the kitchen. (Direct Object=ME)
She bought some apples and used them for a pie. (Direct Object=THEM)
My mom handed her a slice. (Indirect Object=HER)
Object Case Pronoun: OBJECTS of a preposition example
Please stand next to him. (Object of a Preposition=HIM)
You cannot go with Charlie and me. (Object of a Preposition=ME)
Preposition
A word that shows the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and some other word or element in the rest of the sentence.
Examples of prepositions
with, at, from, into, during, including, until, about, like, through, over, before, between, after, except, but, up, out, around, down, off
Possessive Case Pronoun
A possessive pronoun shows possession or ownership. They take place of possessive nouns (Mr. Hauke’s → his).
Possessive Pronoun Examples
Singular Plural
First Person mine ours
Second Person yours yours
Third Person his, hers its their
Possessive pronouns work just like how possessive nouns work.
Yours was not submitted on time. (subject=YOURS)
That essay is hers. (subject complement=HERS)
Have you seen his? (direct object=HIS)
Words similar to possessive pronouns are called possessive adjectives.
Possessive adjectives are: my, our, your, his, her, its, and their.
Possessive Pronoun
Stand alone
Example: Mine is blue. (MINE=possessive pronoun)
Possessive Adjectives
Will have a noun after it.
Example: My bike is blue. (MY=possessive adjective)
Possessive Pronoun
That is his. (HIS=possessive pronoun)
Possessive Adjective
That is his helmet. (HIS=possessive adjective because it has “helmet” after HIS).
True or False: Possessive Pronouns and possessive adjectives NEVER contain apostrophes!
TRUE
Its=possessive adjective. You wouldn’t say IT’S because that is the contraction or it is.
A reflexive pronoun
refers to the subject in a sentence. It must be in the sentence.
An intensive pronoun
emphasizes a noun or another word in a sentence. It does not
need to be in the sentence.
How do you determine if it is a reflexive or intensive pronoun?
Easy! Remove the pronoun!
If the sentence’s meaning changes — REFLEXIVE!
If the sentence’s meaning does not change — INTENSIVE!
Examples of reflexive and intensive pronouns.
SINGULAR PLURAL
First Person myself ourselves
Second Person yourself yourselves
Third Person himself, herself, itself themselves
She enjoyed herself at the dance.
REFLEXIVE. If you remove HERSELF, the sentence changes. She enjoyed at the dance.
I myself wrote this sentence.
INTENSIVE. If you remove MYSELF, the sentence stays the same. I wrote this sentence.
Interrogative Pronoun
An interrogative pronoun is used to ask a question.
Interrogative Pronouns
who whom whose which what
Demonstrative Pronoun
points out particular persons, places, or things
Demonstrative Pronouns
this that these those
The words this, that, these, or those become adjectives if a noun follows
them!
Examples:
These are graded assignments. (Demonstrative Pronoun)
These assignments are graded. (Demonstrative Adjective)
A dependent clause is a group of words that cannot stand alone. It will contain a
subject and a verb, but it cannot stand alone.
EXAMPLES OF DEPENDENT CLAUSES:
who is my neighbor
that I gave you
To help a dependent clause make sense, attach it to an independent clause. An
independent clause can stand alone.
Mrs. Hildegard, who is my neighbor, is sponsoring the event.
The assignment that I gave you takes about ten minutes.
A relative pronoun
joins a dependent clause to its antecedent in the independent clause.
Relative pronouns
that, which, who, whom, whose
Relative pronoun example
Louis Pasteur, WHO DISCOVERED BACTERIA AS THE CAUSE OF MANY DISEASES, was a French
scientist.
Relative pronoun example
Vaccines, WHICH HELP PEOPLE FIGHT OFF DISEASE, were his work.
Indefinite Pronouns
does not refer to definite persons or things and may not have antecedents. They MUST agree with their verbs.
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone,
everything, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody,
someone, something
Plural Indefinite Pronouns
both, few, many, others, several
Singular or Plural - depending on its usage
all, any, more, most, none, some
Indefinite Pronouns
Will act as SUBJECTS or OBJECTS
Example of Indefinite Pronoun as SUBJECT
Nobody knew the answer. (Nobody - subject)
Example of Indefinite Pronoun as OBJECT
I gave someone a KIND bar. (someone - indirect object)
NEVER use a negative indefinite pronoun
(no one, nobody, none, or nothing)
DO NOT USE THESE! It forms a double negative.
Example: Nobody never reads that book. NO!
Example: Nobody ever reads that book. YES!
How can we tell if the indefinite pronoun is singular or plural?
- If the pronoun refers to things can be counted, it is PLURAL!
- If the pronoun refers to things that cannot be counted, it is SINGULAR!
Examples of Singular/Plural indefinite pronouns
Most of the city is closed on Thanksgiving. (cannot count city - singular)
Most of the businesses are closed on Thanksgiving.
(can count businesses - plural)
