chapter 3 using pronouns in sentences

Using Pronouns in Sentences

11 Grade

Using Pronouns in Sentences

When you write or speak, you name people and things. The words you use to name people and things are nouns. After you write or say a noun, you do not have to repeat it again and again. You can use a pronoun in its place.

In this Chapter you will learn about kinds of pronouns and how to use them in sentences.

Goals for Learning

To understand how pronouns and antecedents work together

To identify and use personal pronouns

To identify and use relative pronouns To identify and use interrogative

pronouns To identify and use demonstrative

pronouns To identify and use indefinite

pronouns To write contractions that use

pronouns

Key Vocabulary Words

Pronoun A word that takes the place of one or more nouns

Antecedent The noun or nouns that a pronoun replaces

Personal pronoun A pronoun that refers to a person or a thing

First-person pronoun A pronoun that refers to the speaker

Second-person pronoun A pronoun that refers to the person who is being spoken to

Key Vocabulary Words

Third-person pronoun A pronoun that refers to the person or thing that is being talked about

Reflexive pronoun A pronoun that ends in -self or –selves

Possessive pronoun A pronoun that shows that something belongs to someone or something

Relative pronoun One of these pronouns: who, whom, whose, that, and which

Key Vocabulary Words

Compound relative pronoun One of these pronouns: whoever, whomever, whichever, and whatever

Interrogative pronoun A pronoun that asks a question

Demonstrative pronoun A pronoun that points out a particular person or thing

Indefinite pronoun A pronoun that does not refer to a specific person or thing

Contraction Two words made into one by replacing one or more letters with an apostrophe

What Is a Pronoun?Lesson 3-1

Objectives

To identify a pronoun and its antecedent

To understand how a pronoun and its antecedent agree

What Is a Pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that takes place of one or more nouns. Pronouns can replace either common nouns or proper nouns. EXAMPLE 1▪ Armando is a senior. He writes for the school

newspaper. One of his stories appears in every issue. The pronoun he takes the place of the

proper noun Armando. The pronoun his takes the place of the possessive noun Armando’s. The antecedent is the noun that a pronoun replaces.

Practice A

List each bold pronoun. After it, write its antecedent.

Armando and Joe are both seniors. They are friends. Mrs. Benson is one of their teachers. She teaches history. Tanya Johnson is also in the class. Joe has known her for years. They went to the same elementary school.

What Is a Pronoun?

Why are pronouns useful? Without them, you would have to repeat the same nouns over and over again. EXAMPLE 2▪ Nathan said that Nathan was going to call

Nathan’s mother.▪ Nathan said that he was going to call his

mother.

Practice B

List each word or phrase. After it, write a pronoun to replace it.

Armando looked for Armando’s history class. To Armando, history is fun. Armando hurried to the second floor. Near the door, an old friend waved hello. “I’m in this class, too,” the friend said. Armando and Armando’s friend walked in together.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent. This means: The antecedent and pronoun must be

the same in number. If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be singular. If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be plural.

Some singular antecedents have a gender (masculine or feminine). The singular pronoun must have the same gender as the antecedent.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

EXAMPLE 3 Robin will wash the floor and wax it.

(singular, no gender) Grace and Jake know that they will be

late. (plural) Sam goes fishing whenever he can.

(singular, masculine) Sandra will help if she is not working.

(singular, feminine)

Practice C

Write the pronoun that goes in the blank. It must agree with the number and gender of its antecedent. Lauren, did ____ put the dog outside? Tyrone and I got lost as ____ explored the

woods. When he finished the book, he put ____ on the

table. The deer came near, so Tomás took a picture

of ____. David and I loved the gifts you bought for ____.

Lesson 3-1 Review

Write each bold pronoun. Next to each pronoun, write its antecedent. Emily and Angela like school, and they enjoy

history class. Emily was glad that she had studied for the test. Angela and I studied hard, so we were well

prepared. Because Mr. Thomas just gave a test, he will

start a new unit next week. Emily, Angela, and I are excited to get our tests

back.

Lesson 3-1 Review

Number your paper from 6 to 10. Write the five pronouns in the paragraph. Write the antecedent next to each one.

Armando is on the soccer team. He asked Angela and Nathan to come to his game on Tuesday. They both came and cheered loudly for Armando. He scored one goal. After the game, they all went to Tony’s to celebrate.

Personal Pronouns Lesson 3-2

Objectives

To understand and use first-, second-, and third-person pronouns

To understand and use possessive pronouns

To understand and use reflexive pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns refer to people or things. A first-person pronoun refers to the person speaking. A second-person pronoun refers to the person being spoken to. A third-person pronoun refers to the person or thing being talked about. Personal pronouns can be singular or plural. A singular pronoun refers to one person or thing. A plural pronoun refers to more that one person or thing.

Personal Pronouns

EXAMPLE 1 I am ready. (first person, singular) You are ready. (second person, singular) He is ready. She is ready. It is ready.

(third person, singular) We are ready. (first person, plural) You are ready. (second person, plural) They are ready. (third person, plural)

Personal Pronouns

Here is a chart showing personal pronouns. Personal pronouns can be used in different ways in sentences—as the subject, or as the object of a verb or preposition.Subject Object

Singular

First Person I me

Second Person you you

Third Person he, she, it him, her, it

Plural

First Person we us

Second Person you you

Third Person they them

Practice A

Use the pronoun chart. Write the person (first, second, or third) of each bold pronoun. Then decide whether each pronoun is singular or plural. Write singular or plural. Alicia and Juan gave us their seats at the lunch

table. They were going back to class early. “Are you really hungry?” Alicia asked me. I could tell that Alicia wanted my sandwich. She was staring at it.

Practice B

Decide whether each bold pronoun is a subject or an object in the sentence. Write subject or object. I offered Alicia part of my sandwich. She had a small bite of it. She told me that it was delicious. We waved goodbye to them. They went back to class.

Possessive Pronouns

A possessive pronoun is a personal pronoun that takes the place of a possessive noun. It shows ownership. Sometimes, a noun follows a possessive pronoun.▪ Singular possessive pronouns: my, your, his,

her, its▪ Plural possessive pronouns: our, your, their

EXAMPLE 2▪ This is Jill’s book. This is her book.▪ The Smiths’ dog is playful. Their dog is playful.

Possessive Pronouns

At other times, possessive pronouns are used alone.▪ Singular possessive pronouns: mine,

yours, his, hers, its▪ Plural possessive pronouns: ours, yours,

theirs EXAMPLE 3▪ This book is Jill’s. This book is hers.▪ The dog is the Smiths’. The dog is

theirs.

Practice C

Write the possessive pronoun in each sentence. Their guitar came from Spain. Mine has a red sticker on it. How old is her brother? That tree lost all of its leaves. I told him that your house is for sale.

Reflexive Pronouns

A reflexive pronoun is a personal pronoun that ends in –self or –selves.

Reflexive Pronouns

Singular

First Person myself

Second Person yourself

Third Person himself, herself, itself

Plural

First Person ourselves

Second Person yourselves

Third Person themselves

Reflexive Pronouns

EXAMPLE 4 Jon prides himself on his manners.

(third person, singular) We helped ourselves to more potatoes.

(first person, plural)

Practice D

On your paper, write the reflexive pronoun in each sentence. Identify each as singular or plural.

Jim scheduled himself to open the swimming pool on Wednesdays.

He jokes, “The pool can’t open itself!” Angela’s students push themselves to swim

better and faster. The students say, “If we challenge ourselves,

maybe we can be as good as Angela!” When they say that, Angela feels proud of herself.

Lesson 3-2 Review

Write the possessive pronoun that completes each sentence. (My, Mine) homework is almost finished. Jan said that (her, hers) is broken. Is that car (their, theirs)? The dog wagged (it, its) tail. I like my bike, but I like (your, yours)

better.

Lesson 3-2 Review

Write each sentence. Add the reflexive pronoun that fits. I like to walk home by ____. Ari and Babette let ____ in the front door. Did you buy ____ a birthday gift? Eduardo reminded ____ by writing a

note. We promised ____ that we would do it,

and we did.

Relative PronounsLesson 3-3

Objectives

To understand how relative pronouns are used

To identify and use relative pronouns

Relative Pronouns

The relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, that, and which. In a sentence, a relative pronoun follows its antecedent.

Who and whom refer to a person or people. Whose shows that something belongs to or with someone.

EXAMPLE 1▪ The woman who is speaking is my aunt. (antecedent:

woman)▪ The man to whom I spoke is my uncle. (antecedent: man)▪ The boy whose dog is lost gave a reward. (antecedent:

boy)

Relative Pronouns

That and which refer to places or things. When a phrase starts with which, it usually needs a comma before and after it. EXAMPLE 2▪ The bread that Ned baked is delicious.

(antecedent: bread)▪ The book, which has a red cover, is hers.

Practice A

Write the relative pronoun in each sentence. Next to it, write the antecedent. The man who owns the music store sells CDs

and cassettes. There is the customer whom Emily met last

week. Emily wants the book that is on the table. Emily’s dog, which is a poodle, likes to eat

noodles. Her dog prefers Thai noodles, which are very

spicy.

Practice B

Write each sentence on your paper. Add the relative pronoun that fits. Ted has a voice ____ carries far. The woman ____ came to the door did

not live there. The CDs, ____ are old and scratched,

belong to him. The girl ____ ticket got lost was very sad. The story ____ he told was unbelievable.

Relative Pronouns

The compound relative pronouns are whoever, whomever, whichever, and whatever. They are compound because they combine two words. Whoever and whomever take the place of the names of people. Whichever and whatever take the place of the names of things. EXAMPLE 3▪ “Whomever wants to read this book may borrow it,”

said the teacher.▪ “Blue shoes or black shoes,” said Emily’s mother.

“Choose whichever you want.”

Practice C

Write each compound relative pronoun on your paper. Here are several books. Choose

whichever you want for your book report.

Do whatever you think should be done. Invite whomever you want to the party. I have lots of CDs. Take whichever you

like best. Whoever wants this sandwich can have

it.

Lesson 3-3 Review

Write the relative pronoun in each sentence. Next to it, write its antecedent. Nathan wants the new stamps that the post

office just issued. The bandleader is Mr. Jackson, who played the

trumpet in college. Emily went to the library, which is next to the

post office. Angela, whose book bag is on the table, is

late for school. Carol is whom I talked to in the office.

Lesson 3-3 Review

Write the compound relative pronoun that completes each sentence. (Whoever, Whatever) made that mess should

clean it up. Please do (whichever, whatever) you can to help

us. We will ask (whomever, whichever) we want to

the concert. You may have (whichever, whoever) of the

desserts you like. (Whatever, Whoever) answer the phone sounded

excited.

Pronouns That Ask Questions

Lesson 3-4

Objectives

To identify interrogative pronouns To understand how interrogative

pronouns are used

Pronouns That Ask Questions

The interrogative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which, and what. They are used to ask a question. EXAMPLE 1▪ Who is planning the party?▪ Whom did you call?▪ Whose is this hat?▪ Which of these movies do you like?▪ What is your telephone number?

Pronouns That Ask Questions

You can use an interrogative pronoun to ask a question directly or indirectly. EXAMPLE 2▪ Direct Who is going to be there?▪ Indirect Tell me who is going to be there.▪ Direct Which of these shirts is on

sale?▪ Indirect She asked which of these shirts

is on sale.

Practice A

Write the interrogative pronoun in each sentence. With whom did you go to dinner? I do not know which one to choose! Who came to the office? Whose dog was lost? Tell me what caused the argument.

Pronouns That Ask Questions

The words who, whom, whose, which, and what are interrogative pronouns only when they ask a question. Sometimes these words are used as relative pronouns. Relative pronouns do not ask questions. EXAMPLE 3▪ Interrogative Who is planning the

party?▪ Relative Greg helped the student

who missed the class.

Pronouns That Ask Questions An interrogative pronoun is different

from a persona or relative pronoun. It does not have an antecedent that can be stated. Its “antecedent” is the answer to the question it asks.

Who refers to a person or persons. What refer to things, places, or ideas. EXAMPLE 4▪ Who is your swimming coach?▪ What is the name of your town?

Pronouns That Ask Questions

Which can refer to people or things. Use which when there is a choice between two or more things. Whose is a possessive pronoun. Use it to show belonging. EXAMPLE 5▪ Which team will win the game?▪ Whose car is it?

Practice B

Write the pronoun that completes each sentence. (Which, Who) of the students asked for

directions? (Who, Whose) homework is this? (What, Which) is the process for making

a cake? Next to (who, whom) do you want to sit? I cannot remember (who, whom)

borrowed my notes.

Lesson 3-4 Review

Write the interrogative pronoun in each sentence? What does Angela do after school on

Fridays? Who said, “I have a dream”? Whose was the big blue boat? What did Mr. Thomas just say? Which of the fruits is your favorite?

Lesson 3-4 Review

Number your paper from 6 to 10. List the five pronouns in these sentences. Next to each pronoun, write whether it is personal, relative, or interrogative. Neeru is a new student who goes to

Wilson High School. Which is her hometown—Bombay or

Calcutta? She lived in Calcutta, which is in India.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Lesson 3-5

Objectives

To identify demonstrative pronouns To understand how demonstrative

pronouns are used

Demonstrative Pronoun

A demonstrative pronoun points out a particular person or thing. The four demonstrative pronouns are this, these, that, and those.

This and that are singular. They refer to one person or thing. These and those are plural. They refer to more that one person or thing.

EXAMPLE 1▪ This is my house. (singular)▪ That is my high school. (singular)▪ These are my pencils. (plural)▪ Those are my cousins. (plural)

Practice A

Write the demonstrative pronoun in each sentence. Next to it, write whether it is singular or plural. Is this the right assignment? These are roses from Mrs. Choy’s garden. Is that the shirt Armando wore to practice

yesterday? This is the auditorium where the Drama

Club performs. Are those Emily’s clarinet reeds?

Demonstrative Pronoun

This and these point out people and things that are close by.

That and those point out people and things that are farther away. EXAMPLE 2▪ This is a pen I have in my hand. (near)▪ These are new shoes I have on my feet. (near)▪ That is my friend Angela standing over there.

(far)▪ Those are my books by the door. (far)

Practice B

Write the pronoun that completes the sentence. Was (this, that) a shooting star that I

saw? Is (this, that) your sheet music that I

have, Emily? (These, Those) are my favorite rings. I

wear them all the time. Here are your notebooks. (These, Those)

over there are mine. I found a pen. Was Nathan looking for

(this, that)?

Lesson 3-5 Review

Write the demonstrative pronoun in each sentence. Whose paper is this? That is a very ugly car. These are the football team’s new

uniforms. Do you know if this is Angela’s jacket? Those are my parents standing by the

door.

Lesson 3-5 Review

Find the pronouns in the sentences below. Next to each pronoun, write whether it is personal, relative, interrogative, or demonstrative. Which lane will Angela be swimming in? Ms. Benson, who teaches math, lives near

school. This is Nathan’s book. Mr. Santos is our advisor. Have you seen those pens I bought yesterday?

Indefinite PronounsLesson 3-6

Objectives

To identify indefinite pronouns To understand agreement between

an indefinite pronoun and one or more possessive pronouns that refer to it

To use indefinite pronouns in sentences

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to specific people or things. Because of this, they do not have clear antecedents. Most indefinite pronouns are singular. Very few are plural.

Singular Indefinite Pronouns

anybody either neither one

anyone everybody nobody somebody

anything everyone no one someone

each everything nothing something

Plural Indefinite Pronouns

both few

many several some

Indefinite Pronouns

An indefinite pronoun can be the antecedent for another pronoun. EXAMPLE 1▪ Both brought their books. (plural)▪ Each of the girls has her book. (singular)

Practice A

Write the indefinite pronoun in each sentence. After write where the pronoun is singular or plural. Many want to come. Nobody feels ready. Both speak Spanish well. Neither like broccoli. Either is a fine choice.

Indefinite Pronoun

Use plural possessive pronouns with plural indefinite pronouns. Use singular possessive pronouns with singular indefinite pronouns. Sometimes you do not know whether a singular indefinite pronoun names a male or female. Sometimes the pronoun names a group of people, but it is still singular. You can use his or her, as in the first sentence or Example 2. You can also rewrite the sentence with a plural subject, as in the second sentence in Example 2.

EXAMPLE 2▪ Everyone played his or her own instrument. (singular)▪ All of the students played their own instruments. (plural)

Practice B

Write the pronoun on your paper that completes the sentence. Everyone should turn in (his or her,

their) paper. Several gave (his or her, their) parents

the newsletter. Everyone must take of (his or her, their)

shoes. Few could identify (his or her, their)

bags. Someone left (his or her, their) lights on.

Lesson 3-6 Review

Write the indefinite pronoun in each sentence. Tell whether each pronoun is singular or plural. There is nothing I like more than a good

movie. Somebody is at the door. Is anyone listening to me? Neither knows the answer. None is cheap.

Lesson 3-6 Review

Number your paper from 6 to 10. List each pronoun in the paragraph. Next to each pronoun, write whether it is personal, relative, or indefinite.

After school, everyone likes to go to Tony’s Café. Emily enjoys seeing her friends who meet there. They think Tony’s Café has the best food in town. Everything tastes great!

Pronouns in Contractions

Lesson 3-7

Objectives

To understand how contractions are used

To use contractions in sentences

Pronouns in Contractions

You have previously learned that a possessive noun, such as student’s, has an apostrophe (’). You also use an apostrophe in a contraction. A contraction is two words made into one by replacing one or more letters with an apostrophe. EXAMPLE 1▪ I will go. (two words)▪ I’ll go. (contraction)

Pronouns in Contractions

These contractions are made from a pronoun and a verb.

Common Contractions

I’d = I would/had

I’ll = I will I’m = I am

I’ve = I have you’ll = you will you’re = you are

you’ve = you have

he’s = he is/has she’s = she is/has

it’s = it is/has let’s = let us who’s = who is

we’ll = we will we’re = we are we’ve = we have

they’re = they are

they’ve = they have

that’s = that is/has

Practice A

Write each contraction in the paragraph as two words.

I’d like to tell you a story about the invention of the radio. We’d not have a radio without the invention of the microphone and the Audion tube. You’re probably asking, “What’s an Audion tube?” It’s a tube that makes electrical impulses louder and sends them through the air.

Lesson 3-7 Review

Number your paper from 1 to 5. List each contraction in the paragraph. After each one, write the two words used to make it.

You’ve probably heard people talk about yoga. It’s something people have been doing for three thousand years. If you took a yoga class, you’d find that yoga is more than exercise. It’s helpful for the mind and body. The yoga student’s first job is to learn how to breathe. “I know how to breathe,” you’ll probably say. But yoga breathing is very different.

Lesson 3-7 Review

Number your paper from 6 to 10. List each contraction in the paragraph. After each one, write the two words used to make it.

What do you know about Robert Frost? He’s one of America’s most famous poets. If you’ve read “The Road Not Taken,” you’ll know why he’s so popular. President John F. Kennedy asked Frost to read a poem. It was read on the day when Kennedy became president. What’s the name of the poem Frost Read? Its title is “The Gift Outright.” During his lifetime, Robert Frost won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times.