WCH 502

Pronouns

What is a pronoun?

• A pronoun is a word that takes the place of or refers to a noun.

7 Types of PronounsPersonal pronouns: refer to specific people or things

Singular: I, me, you, she, her, he, him, itPlural: we, us, you, them

EXAMPLE:I love you.

Possessive pronouns: indicate ownership

Singular: my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, itsPlural: our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs

EXAMPLE: This is my house.

Reflexive pronouns : indicate that the person or thing that performs the action also receives the action

Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itselfPlural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves

EXAMPLE: I hurt myself.

Relative pronouns: introduce additional ideas that modify a noun or pronoun in the sentence

who, whom, whose, which, that EXAMPLE: Ann is the one who came up with the idea.

Demonstrative pronouns: identify or point to specific nouns

this, that, these, those EXAMPLE: This is my house.

Interrogative pronouns: introduce questions

who, whom, whose, which, what EXAMPLE: What is going on here?

Indefinite pronouns: refers to nouns that are not specifically named

All, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, everyone, everything, few, many, more, most much, neither, nobody, none, no one, nothing, one, other, several, some, somebody, something, such

EXAMPLE: I was told to bring everything I need for the soccer game to the school.

Guided Practice: Identify the PronounsMy mother and her work friends, nurses in a large emergency room, have many interesting stories about their experiences. Some of these stories are about the challenges patients face, but some of the funniest stories are about interactions that she and the other nurses have with various staff members. Whenever Mom and I have friends over at the same time, my friends and I always wind up laughing at the things we hear. The story about the doctor who thought his cell phone had been “borrowed” by a nurse was hilarious. Mom and her friends have given us teenagers some good advice: You should not go into the medical field if you don’t have a good sense of humor.

Using who/ whom/which correctly

1. Use which only to refer to things; never to refer to people.2. Use who in a sentence context where either he or she would be a correct. 3. Use whom in a sentence context where either him or her would be correct.

Pronoun Shift Rule

-Do not needlessly shift between the words one and you in the same sentence or paragraph. -Example: When one is planning for college, you need to keep many factors in mind.