Language Network
Pronouns
Pronouns
What is a Pronoun?
Here’s the Idea
Why It Matters
Practice and Apply
Here’s the Idea
Pronoun
A pronoun is a word that is
used in place of a noun or
another pronoun.
Here’s the Idea
A pronoun can refer to a
person, place, thing, or
idea.
Here’s the Idea
The word that a pronoun refers
to is called its antecedent.
Ramon visited Death Valley, and he
was impressed.
Here’s the Idea
Pronouns such as we, I,
he, them and it are
called personal pronouns.
Personal
pronouns have a
variety of forms
to indicate
different
persons,
numbers, and
cases.
Here’s the Idea
There are first-person,
second-person, and
third-person personal
pronouns, each having
both singular and plural
forms.
Here’s the Idea
Singular Plural
I went out. We left early.
FIRST PERSON FIRST PERSON
You left too. You are leaving.
SECOND PERSON SECOND PERSON
He came by bus. They came by car.
THIRD PERSON THIRD PERSON
Here’s the Idea
Each personal
pronoun forms three
cases: subject,
object, and
possessive.
Here’s the Idea
Choose the pronoun form depending on
the pronoun’s function in the sentence.
He read about Death Valley.
SUBJECT
Julie asked him about the rocks.
OBJECT
Ramon bought his book.
POSSESSIVE
Why It Matters
Pronouns help you talk about people
concisely when you’re telling a story.
Practice and Apply
Write the personal pronoun in
the sentence below.
1. Death Valley is
famous for its
strange moving
boulders.
Practice and Apply
Write the personal pronoun in
the sentence below.
2. The rocks slide
and leave long
tracks behind
them.
Practice and Apply
Write the personal pronoun in
the sentence below.
3.
Do you know
why this
happens?
Pronouns
Pronoun Agreement
Here’s the Idea
Why It Matters
Practice and Apply
Here’s the Idea
Antecedent
The antecedent is the
noun or pronoun that a
pronoun replaces or refers
to.
Here’s the Idea
Use a singular pronoun to refer to a
singular antecedent.
One story has its setting in Egypt.
Here’s the Idea
Use a plural pronoun to refer to a
plural antecedent.
The characters have their motives for murder.
Here’s the Idea
The pronoun must agree in
person with the antecedent.
Louis likes his mysteries to
have surprise endings.
Here’s the Idea
The gender of the pronoun must be
the same as the gender of its
antecedent.
Here’s the Idea
Personal pronouns have three gender
forms:
• masculine he, his,
him
• feminine she, her,
hers
• neuter it, its
Here’s the Idea
Agatha Christie sets many of her
stories in England.
The hero has to use all his
wits to solve the crime.
Why It Matters
In your writing, you will
sometimes refer to
several people or groups
of people.
Correct pronoun-
antecedent agreement
will help your readers
keep track of who is who
in your writing.
Why It Matters
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
REFLEXIVE = refers back to the subject
(himself)
= refers back to a person or thing.
We often use reflexive pronouns when
the subject and the object of a verb are the
same.
I saw myself in the mirror.
Kim wrote a note to herself.
John shot himself on the foot.
They served themselves last.
Why It Matters
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
REFLEXIVE = refers back to the subject
(himself)
= refers back to a person or thing.
We often use reflexive pronouns when
the subject and the object of a verb are the
same.
I saw myself in the mirror.
Kim wrote a note to herself.
John shot himself on the foot.
They served themselves last.
Why It Matters
INTENSIVE PRONOUNS
INTENSIVE = emphasizes the
subject An intensive pronoun
emphasizes its antecedent.
I myself saw him.
She herself organized the concert.
The president himself has denied the
rumor.
Why It Matters
Why It Matters
Why It Matters
Pronouns are words that take the place
of nouns. The antecedent of a pronoun is the
word to which the pronoun refers. The
pronoun and its antecedent agree in gender
and number.
Jane called her friend.
(Jane and her are both singular and feminine.)
John called his friend.
(John and his are both singular and masculine.)
Why It Matters
The girls finished their job.
The plural pronoun agrees with
the plural antecedent.
The boys finished their job.
The plural pronoun agrees with
the plural antecedent.
Why It Matters
A plural pronoun should be used
with a compound antecedent
joined by and.
Mary and Bill ran until they
were exhausted.
Kareen and Annabelle were
eating their favorite dish.
Why It Matters
A singular pronoun is used to
refer to two or more singular
antecedents joined by or or nor.
Bernard or Jerico will give his
presentation today.
Neither Jennifer nor Maejay
will sing her piece in a contest.
Why It Matters
A plural pronoun is used with two
or more plural antecedents joined
by or or nor.
Either the juniors or the seniors
are singing their class song.
It will either be the girls or boys
who will give their presentation.
Why It Matters
When a singular antecedent and a plural
antecedent are joined by OR or NOR, use a
pronoun that agrees with the nearer
antecedent.
The boy or his parents will present
their idea.
The parents or the boy will
present his idea.
Why It Matters
Use singular pronouns to refer to indefinite
pronouns (words like everybody, none,
nobody, someone) used as antecedents.
Each of the boys had his assignment
ready.
Everyone on the women's team improved
her time.
Everybody on the committee had his or
her own agenda.
Why It Matters
Use the relative pronouns who, whom,
which, and that with the appropriate
antecedents.
Who refers to people and animals that
have names.
He is the one who committed the
crime.
Why It Matters
Which refers to animals and things.
The biology book, which is on the
table, was very helpful.
That refers to animals, things and
sometimes to people.
The house that is on the right is
being demolished.
Why It Matters
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.
Most of the butters in the grocery are new.
Some of the girls are still here.
One of the girls is still here.
Practice and Apply
Write the pronouns and their
antecedents in these sentences.
1. Agatha Christie loved real-
life mysteries of the past.
She helped to investigate
them in the Middle East.
Practice and Apply
Write the pronouns and their
antecedents in these sentences.
1. Agatha Christie loved real-
life mysteries of the past.
She helped to investigate
them in the Middle East.
Practice and Apply
Write the pronouns and their
antecedents in this sentence.
2. Agatha Christie and her
husband went on many
archaeological trips and
found them exciting.
Practice and Apply
Write the pronouns and their
antecedents in this sentence.
3. A mystery writer may use
exotic places and
backgrounds for his or her
stories.
Practice and Apply
Write the pronouns and their
antecedents in this sentence.
4. Christie started Murder in
Mesopotamia in the
desert, but she finished it
in England.
Practice and Apply
Determine which pronoun best
fits for pronoun-antecedent
agreement in each sentence
1. Somebody
dropped
(their/his or her)
wallet.
Practice and Apply
Determine which pronoun best
fits for pronoun-antecedent
agreement in each sentence
2. Most of the
class pushed in
(their/its) chairs.
Practice and Apply
Determine which pronoun best
fits for pronoun-antecedent
agreement in each sentence
3. Some of the
girls sang
(their/her)
favorite song.
Practice and Apply
Determine which pronoun best
fits for pronoun-antecedent
agreement in each sentence
4. Katelyn and
Radikha called
(their/her) parents
on Saturday.
Practice and Apply
Determine which pronoun best
fits for pronoun-antecedent
agreement in each sentence
5. Daniel or Dave
left (their/his)
sunglasses on the
table in the hallway.
Practice and Apply
Determine which pronoun best
fits for pronoun-antecedent
agreement in each sentence
6. Neither Mary nor
Paul studied
(their/his or her)
spelling words.
Practice and Apply
Determine which pronoun best
fits for pronoun-antecedent
agreement in each sentence
7. All of the
players liked
(their/his or her)
coach.
Practice and Apply
Determine which pronoun best
fits for pronoun-antecedent
agreement in each sentence
8. Everybody must
wash (their/his or
her) hands before
dinner.
Practice and Apply
Determine which pronoun best
fits for pronoun-antecedent
agreement in each sentence
9. Many good
athletes spend
(their/his or her)
time training after
school.
Practice and Apply
Determine which pronoun best
fits for pronoun-antecedent
agreement in each sentence
10. One of the
buildings lost
(their/its) electricity
yesterday afternoon.
