Pronouns *when nouns go pro*
Pronouns - words that take the place of nouns Read this paragraph. What sticks out to you? What s funny about this paragraph? Mary likes to dance. Mary s favorite style of dance is tap. Mary learned to tap dance at a very young age. Mary was inspired by watching early Hollywood musicals which featured tap and ballroom dance numbers. Mary is aware that tap is not very popular today, but Mary hopes that that will change in the future.
Pronouns - words that take the place of nouns There are no pronouns! You should have noticed that Mary was repeated at the start of each sentence. This is an unnatural and awful way to write a paragraph. It just doesn t flow. Mary likes to dance. Mary s Her favorite style of dance is tap. Mary She learned to tap dance at a very young age. Mary She was inspired by watching early Hollywood musicals which featured tap and ballroom dance numbers. While Mary is aware that tap is not very popular today, Mary she hopes that that will change in the future. And yes, it is grammatically correct to say that that. And no, there should not be a comma between them.
Personal: Types of Pronouns Reflexive: the self pronouns Possessive: I He She We They It You My Him Her Us Them Himself Herself Itself Themselves Myself Yourself Oneself Yourselves Ourselves My/Mine Your/Yours His/Hers Its Their/Theirs Our/Ours
Practice: use the correct personal pronouns to fill in the blanks. 1. Resting on the branch of the tree, the robin fluttered wings. 2. The boy in the blue sweater just dropped notebook. 3. Maria walks dog every morning. 4. We would like to add names to the petition.
Practice: use the correct personal pronouns to fill in the blanks. 1. Resting on the branch of the tree, the robin fluttered its wings. 2. The boy in the blue sweater just dropped his notebook. 3. Maria walks dog her every morning. 4. We would like to add names our/your/ to the petition. their
Indefinite Pronouns ALWAYS SINGULAR: Anybody Anyone Anything Each Either Everybody Everyone Everything Neither Nobody No One Nothing One Somebody Someone Something ALWAYS PLURAL: Both Few Many Several Singular OR Plural (depending on the sentence): All Any More Most None Some
Practice: Each sentence starts with an indefinite pronoun. Fill in the blank with an appropriate personal pronoun. 1. Neither man was wearing name tag at the meeting. 2. Someone will have to give up seat. 3. Many live lives without taking serious risks. 4. None of the cereal is left because has been eaten. 5. Someone has left car headlights on.
Practice: Each sentence starts with an indefinite pronoun. Fill in the blank with an appropriate personal pronoun. 1. Neither man was wearing name his tag at the meeting. 2. Someone will have to give up his or her seat. 3. Many live lives their without taking serious risks. 4. None of the cereal is left because has it been eaten. 5. Someone has left his or her car headlights on. Notes about #2 & #5: Someone is ALWAYS SINGULAR - which means the answer will never be their. Their is a plural pronoun. Because we do not know the gender of someone, you need to answer it as he or she or in this case his or her. You may use he/she or his/her in your answers.
General Pronoun Notes Watch your list of Indefinite Pronouns. Neither, Either, and Each are ALWAYS SINGULAR. Inanimate objects and animals should get the pronoun it unless you know the gender of the animal. The robin flapped its wings. The female dog wagged her tail.