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English - Pronoun Word Used in Place of a Noun

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    Study Guide English – Pronoun: Word Used in Place of a Noun 1. Pronouns Pronouns make writing smoother and more natural. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun . Without pronouns, sentences would sound repetitive and awkward. Look at the difference: • Charlie left Charlie’s house, taking Charlie’s dog with Charlie. • Charlie left his house, taking his dog with him. The second sentence sounds much better because pronouns replace repeated nouns. Pronouns can be grouped by what they do. Each group has a special job in a sentence. 1.1 Personal Pronouns Personal pronouns stand for people or things. Common examples include I, me, he, she, it, we, they . These pronouns change form depending on case , which means how they are used in a sentence. • Use I when the pronoun is the subject . • Use me when the pronoun is an object . Examples: • I went to the store. • She called me. 1.2 Reflexive (Intensive) Pronouns Reflexive and intensive pronouns are formed by adding - self or - selves to personal pronouns. Examples: myself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves They are used in two main ways:

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    Study Guide 1. Reflexive use – when the action reflects back on the subject. o He hurt himself. 2. Intensive use – to add emphasis. o I myself don’t believe it. Even though people sometimes use reflexive pronouns incorrectly in speech, avoid this in formal writing. Correct: • Tom and I don’t like it. • Rob doesn’t like Luke or me. Incorrect: • Tom and myself don’t like it. • Rob doesn’t like Luke or myself. 1.3 Demonstrative Pronouns Demonstrative pronouns point to specific things. Examples: this, that, these, those • These are the most economical, but this is the one we want. When these words stand alone , they are pronouns. When they come before a noun , they act as adjectives. • this car • that word • these shoes 1.4 Relative Pronouns Relative pronouns introduce clauses that give more information about a noun or pronoun.

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    Study Guide Examples: who, whom, which, that Examples in sentences: • The professor who wrote the textbook is teaching the class. • The storm that caused the power outage has moved east. Using that vs. which Many writers use that and which interchangeably, but in formal writing, it helps to follow this rule: • Use that for restrictive clauses (information that is necessary). • Use which for nonrestrictive clauses (extra information). Restrictive clause (no commas): • The car that hit her was green. The clause that hit her is necessary to identify the car. Nonrestrictive clause (use commas): • The car, which I bought a week ago, gets good mileage. The clause which I bought a week ago adds extra information. Use commas with which clauses, but not with that clauses. 1.5 Interrogative Pronouns Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. Examples: who, whom, whose, which, what Examples in sentences: • Which is the best one to choose? • What is your destination? • Who asked the question?

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    Study Guide 1.6 Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things in a general way. They do not name someone or something specific. Common indefinite pronouns include: all, any, anybody, anyone, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, few, many, neither, nobody, none, no one, one, several, some, somebody, someone These pronouns still take the place of nouns, even when the noun is not stated. Examples: • Many are called, but few are chosen. • Nobody likes a tattletale. 2. Quiz: Pronouns Question 1 Choose the group that shows ONLY personal pronouns. Answer Choices • himself, herself, those, ours • I, me, he, she, it • hers, theirs, ours, yours Correct Answer I, me, he, she, it Why This Is Correct • Personal pronouns refer directly to people or things. • The other groups include reflexive, demonstrative, or possessive pronouns.

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    Study Guide Question 2 Choose the sentence containing a REFLEXIVE pronoun. Answer Choices • I am confident I can do it myself. • She and me are confident we can do it. • As for me, I'm confident I can do it. Correct Answer I am confident I can do it myself. Why This Is Correct • myself is a reflexive pronoun. • Reflexive pronouns reflect back to the subject of the sentence. Question 3 Choose the sentence containing a RELATIVE pronoun. Answer Choices • These are the sand dollars my sister found on the beach. • My sister found some sand dollars on the beach. • The shell, which she found on the beach, was a sand dollar. Correct Answer The shell, which she found on the beach, was a sand dollar. Why This Is Correct • which is a relative pronoun. • Relative pronouns introduce clauses that give more information about a noun.

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    Study Guide Question 4 Complete this sentence: The words everyone, anybody, none, few, several, and some are examples of ________. Answer Choices • indefinite pronouns • interrogative pronouns • relative pronouns Correct Answer indefinite pronouns Why This Is Correct • Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things in a general way. • They do not name a specific person or object. Question 5 Fill in the blank: A pronoun is a word that replaces a ________ in a sentence. Answer Choices • verb • direct object • noun Correct Answer noun

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    Study Guide Why This Is Correct • Pronouns take the place of nouns to avoid repetition. • Example: Sarah lost Sarah’s book → Sarah lost her book. 3. Pronoun Case Case tells us how a noun or pronoun is used in a sentence. In English, there are three pronoun cases , and each one has a clear job. 3.1 The Three Pronoun Cases 1. Subjective Case (Nominative) Use the subjective case when the noun or pronoun is the subject of the verb — the person or thing doing the action. Examples: • She runs every morning. • He won the race. 2. Objective Case Use the objective case when the noun or pronoun is the object of a verb or the object of a preposition . Examples: • The coach praised him . (object of the verb) • The gift is for her . (object of the preposition for ) 3. Possessive Case Use the possessive case to show ownership or possession.

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    Study Guide Examples: • That is her book. • The dog wagged its tail. 3.2 Pronoun Case vs. Noun Case With nouns , case is usually not a problem because nouns look the same whether they are subjects or objects. Examples: • The frog ate the bee. • The bee stung the frog. The nouns frog and bee do not change form, even though their roles change. Some pronouns, however, take different forms depending on whether they are subjects or objects. These pronouns are listed in Table 1.

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    Study Guide Choosing the Correct Pronoun Case Sometimes pronouns are trickier. Look at this sentence: Tension existed between Franklin and Winston. Both words are nouns, so there is no confusion. Now look at this version: Tension existed between Franklin and him. You might wonder: should it be him or he ? The Correct Choice him is correct. Why? The word between is a preposition , and pronouns that follow prepositions must be in the objective case . Since the pronoun is the object of the preposition between , him is the correct form — not he . Key Takeaways • Subjective case → used for subjects • Objective case → used for objects and after prepositions • Possessive case → used to show ownership 4. Quiz: Pronoun Case Question 1 Choose the sentence showing a pronoun in the OBJECTIVE case. Answer Choices • Amber gave us tickets to the baseball game. • Amber and her mother bought tickets to the baseball game. • Amber and I got tickets to the baseball game.

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    Study Guide Correct Answer Amber gave us tickets to the baseball game. Why This Is Correct • us is the object of the verb gave . • Objective pronouns are used as objects of verbs or prepositions. Question 2 Choose the sentence showing a pronoun in the SUBJECTIVE / NOMINATIVE case. Answer Choices • Him and me can finish mowing the lawn this afternoon. • She can finish mowing the lawn this afternoon. • Tell her to finish mowing the lawn this afternoon. Correct Answer She can finish mowing the lawn this afternoon. Why This Is Correct • She is the subject of the sentence. • Subjective (nominative) pronouns are used as subjects. Question 3 When a pronoun is used as a subject in a sentence, it should be in the ________ case. Answer Choices • subjunctive • transitive • subjective / nominative

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