Pronouns

1. Pronouns Pronouns are used in various ways to take the place of nouns

2. Types of pronouns Personal: used to replace names 1st person: the person speaking (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours) 2nd person: the person being spoken to (you, your, yours) 3rd person: the person being spoken about (he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their theirs) Practice: In the sentences below, identify the ten personal pronouns used. Have you ever had trouble concentrating on studying? I always find it difficult to study while watching TV. My friends also say that they have trouble concentrating while the TV is on. We always try to keep it quiet when we are looking over our notes. It helps a lot!

3. Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns Both reflexive and intensive pronouns involve the same list of words. All these pronouns end in the suffix of –self or –selves. 1st person: myself, ourselves 2nd person: yourself, yourselves 3rd person: himself, herself, itself, themselves Reflexive pronouns: Used to show that an action “reflexes” back to the subject in some way. (Hint: the word ending in –self or –selves should refer to the person who’s the subject of the sentence.) Examples: The rescuers did not consider themselves heroes. (Rescuers and themselves are the same people) Juan wrote himself a note. (Juan and himself are referring to the same people. Juan is doing an action that “reflexes” back to him She looked at herself in the mirror. (She and herself are the same person. She is doing an action to herself)

4. Reflexive and Intensive, cont’d Intensive pronouns: Used to intensify a statement and to show that something is special or unique in some way. Intensive pronouns can be used right next to another pronoun, or may be set apart. Because intensive pronouns are merely used for effect, they can be removed from the sentence. Reflexive pronouns cannot be removed. Examples: Amelia designed the costumes herself. (The sentence makes sense without the intensive pronoun, but using it intensifies the statement and shows that it’s special for some reason that Amelia designed the costumes without help.) I myself sold more than fifty tickets. (“Myself” can be removed since it’s being used for effect only. “Myself” is being used to intensify the statement and show that it’s impressive that I sold more than fifty tickets.)

5. Practice Determine if the following pronouns are being used reflexively or intensively. 1) Shane taught himself how to type. Is it showing that an action “reflexes” back to the subject? Also, if it can’t be removed from the sentence, -> reflexive Hint: Can it be removed from the sentence: -> Intensive. Or . . . 2) Carla herself baked that bread. 3) John does not feel like himself today. 4) Don himself was not present for the vote, although he stressed to others how important it was to vote.

6. Practice, Continued Identify the 10 personal pronouns in the following sentences. I hope that you can help me with my homework. He said that they would meet us outside the theater. You will be our mentor this year. She laughed at the joke more than they did. Reflexive and Intensive Locate the reflexive and intensive pronouns, then identify whether they’re being used reflexively or intensively. Give yourselves a round of applause! I made that quilt myself. Jake admitted that he himself did not follow the rules. You can help yourself to the leftover pizza. Although the committee gave out donations to others, they themselves were in dire need of funds.

7. Demonstrative & Relative Pronouns Demonstrative pronouns are used to demonstrate (hence their name). This type of pronoun is made up of four words: this, that, these, those. Example: This is the most valuable baseball card I have, but that is also valuable. (If it would look natural to point when you say those pronouns, then that pronoun is demonstrative. This hint will help you out later when you have to decide if something is demonstrative, or relative.) Relative pronouns are used to introduce subordinate clauses. Although you don’t know what these are yet, you can at least tell the difference between a relative pronoun and a demonstrative pronoun by using the “pointing test.” Here are the relative pronouns: that, which, who, whom, whose Notice the word “that” also appears on the demonstrative pronoun list. This is where the “pointing test” will come in handy. If it would look silly to point while saying “that” in a sentence, then that word is a relative pronoun. Example: The assignment that I did last night is missing from my notebook.

8. Interrogative Pronouns Interrogative pronouns involve many of the same words on the relative pronoun list: what, which, who, whom, whose Interrogative pronouns are easy to spot because they are used to ask questions. Example: Who is at the door? The three types of pronouns you just learned about can be tricky because they involve many of the same words. However, keep in mind that each pronoun is used in a different way. For example, think of how you could tell the difference between: “Who” used as an interrogative pronoun vs. a relative pronoun “That” used as a demonstrative pronoun vs. a relative pronoun All of the words on the three lists start with “th” or “wh.” When working on your practice and homework, make sure to find the words first, then determine the function.

9. Practice Determine if the following pronouns are demonstrative, relative, or interrogative. 1. Where can I find out information about this year’s senate races? 2. That was one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen! 3. The homework that you gave us was really easy. 4. Who is going to the football game? 5. The person who answered the phone sounded tired. 6. That was my favorite year of school.

10. Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns are used to refer to a person, place, thing, or idea in an indefinite way. It’s naming something or someone in a vague way. Take a look at the list on page 356. Examples: Everyone completed the test before the bell rang. (Although you may be aware of who the “everyone” refers to, specific people are not mentioned. Think of indefinite pronouns as sort of a lazy way to refer to people, things, places, or ideas. ) Neither of the actors knew what the other was planning to wear. (No names . . . Just referring to people in an indefinite way.) Several of the students felt well prepared for the test.

11. Practice Write down the ten indefinite pronouns in the following sentences. Few of the people in this room can say that they have climbed Mt. Everest, but almost everyone can say that they were in town when RAGBRAI came through. Most of the bike riders had been on the trip before, but some were new to the trip. Everything was in chaos while the riders were in town; for a single night, the population of Algona exploded! Many of the town’s residents were generous enough to provide shelter to the riders, and all tried to be patient with the increased time it took to travel across town. Much of people’s time was spent making sure the riders were welcome, sheltered, fed, and comfortable. Nothing was overlooked! Anybody who stayed in Algona undoubtedly had a good time.