Pronouns
Noun Substitutes
What is a pronoun


A pronoun is a word that is used in place
or one or more nouns or pronouns.
◦ While Cindy waited for the bus, she sat
on the bench.
◦ The flowers are dry; they should be
watered.
The word or word group that a pronoun
stands for is called its antecedent.
◦ My aunt sold her car.
◦ Anthony, call your mother.
Review
Find the pronoun and the antecedent
1. Doug bought a hamster and he named it
Paco.
2.
Mario likes spaghetti so much that it was
dinner every night.
Personal pronouns
A personal pronoun refers to the one
speaking (first person), the one spoken to
(second person), or the one spoken about
(third person).
 Person pronouns have both singular and
plural forms.
◦ I am sure he told you about their plans.

Personal Pronouns
Singular
Plural
First person
I, me, my, mine
We, us, our, ours
Second person
You, your, yours
You, your, yours
Third person
He, him, his, she,
her, hers, it, its
They, them, their,
theirs
Personal Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns

A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject and is
necessary to the meaning of the sentence.
◦ They chose new books for themselves.
◦ She gave herself the day off from practicing.

Read the sentence without the reflexive pronoun
(the underlined pronoun). Does the sentence
still make sense?
Intensive pronouns
An intensive pronoun emphasizes its
antecedent and is unnecessary to the
meaning of the sentence.
◦ David himself bought a sandwich.
◦ The award will be presented by the
principal herself.
 Read the sentence without the intensive
pronoun (the underlined pronoun). Does
the sentence still make sense?

Reflexive and intensive pronouns
Reflexive and Intensive
Pronouns
First person Myself,
ourselves
Second
Yourself,
person
yourselves
Third person Himself,
herself, itself,
themselves
Review
3. Which sentences is a correct example of
intensive pronoun.
 A. Robert hisself loves the Dodgers.
 B. Sam went to the library herself on
Friday.
 C. Erica herself walks to school everyday.
 D. Rebecca herself bakes cupcakes and
sells them to her friends.
Demonstrative pronouns
A
demonstrative pronoun points out
a specific person, place, thing, or
idea.
◦ What is that?
◦ These are the shoes he used to
wear.
Demonstrative Pronouns
This
that
these
those
Reflexive vs. Intensive
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
He went to the movies by himself.
The boxer himself fell after the great
blow to the head.
Winter itself is a crazy time of year.
The students went to the library by
themselves.
After the game the players themselves
went to celebrate the win.
During the summer we went to the
beach by ourselves.
Indefinite Pronouns
 An
indefinite pronoun refers to a
person, a place, a thing, or an idea
that may or may not be specifically
named.
◦ Everyone in the class was invited to
the party.
◦ None of the boys knew much about
camping.
Indefinite pronouns
Common Indefinite Pronouns
All
Any
Anybody
Anyone
Anything
Both
each
more
one
either
much
other
everybody
neither
several
everyone
nobody
some
few
none
somebody
any
no one
something

1. Everyone knew why
he was in trouble; the
boy talked too much
in class.
~What is the
pronoun?
 ~Do you know the
antecedent?

What type of
pronoun is
being used?
A.
Demonstrative
pronoun
B.Indefinite
pronoun
C.First
person

2. I was working in
the building when the
fire started.
~ what pronoun is
being used?
~do you know the
antecedent?
What type of
pronoun is being
used?
First person
pronoun
B. Reflexive
pronoun
C. Indefinite
pronoun
A.

3. The alleyway was
haunting, as the
homeless person
himself slept
restlessly.
What type of
pronoun is being
used?
A. Reflexive
Pronoun
B. Intensive
Pronoun
Vague pronouns

A vague pronoun is one in which you do
not know what the antecedent is.
◦ When the car hit the tree, it made a loud
sound.
 What is it – the car or tree?
◦ After the coach yelled at Marvin, he felt
terrible.
 Who is he – coach or Marvin?
Common Vague Pronouns
This
That
It
What
-however if a sentence does not specifically have an
antecedent then the sentence is using a vague
pronoun.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Everyone will enjoy
Christmas break.
Mrs. Dibley herself is
going to sleep a lot
over break.
The truck and the
motorcycle ran the red
light; it got pulled
over.
I will visit with my
sister over break.
The students will
enjoy break with
themselves.
Identify each
pronoun in the
sentence
A. Vague Pronoun
B. Reflexive Pronoun
C. First person
Pronoun
D. Indefinite
Pronoun
E. Intensive Pronoun
Interrogative pronouns
 An
interrogative pronoun introduces
a question.
◦ What is the first event in the
contest?
◦ Which of the books are you
reading?
Interrogative Pronouns
What
which
who
whom
whose
Interrogative : ask questions
 Which
bus do you take to the beach?
 What snack will you bring to share
on Monday?
 To whom is that letter written for?
 Who’s going to the market?
 Whose book is that?
Relative pronoun
A
relative pronoun introduces an
adjective clause.
◦ Robins are among the birds that
migrate south for the winter.
That
whose
Relative Pronouns
which
who
whom
Demonstrative vs. Relative
Pronouns
Demonstrative




That is the book I
wanted to get.
Those students
always complete their
homework.
This house is
haunted.
Those neighbors are
annoying.
Relative



I love to read books
that are interesting
and suspenseful.
Pit bulls are dogs who
are often
misunderstood as
being mean.
Which table has
missing students that
are absent today?
1. Which sentences below uses
intensive pronoun correctly?





a. Robert himself loves to play the tuba.
b. Margarita enjoys family game night but
would rather listen to music by herself.
c. Micah swims for his high school team
and likes to practice by himself really early
in the morning.
d. She received an award from the
president of the United States himself.
e. Mrs. Dibley would rather be sleeping
and in a quiet house all to herself.
2. Which sentences below uses
an interrogative pronoun
correctly?
a. Whose going to eat the last piece
of pizza?
 b. That girl was the one who lost her
earing.
 c. Which dog will you choose from the
rescue society?
 d. Whom can we thank for bringing
you tonight?

3. Label the sentence a D if it is a
demonstrative pronoun, label the
sentence with R if it is relative
pronoun.
A. That dog is noisy and mean, it barks at
all hours of the night.
 B. The girl that has purple hair is actually
really nice.
 C. Those students on the soccer team.
 D. My mom whose sitting in the front row,
loves to watch me at my dance recitals.


4. Write a sentence using an indefinite
pronoun.

5. Write a sentence using a reflexive
pronoun correctly.

6. Write a sentence using a relative
pronoun correctly.
Identify the Pronouns
-Identify the pronoun and its type
1.
2.
3.
4.
Each said someone had already
told them about the concert.
I brought a casserole to the
potluck.
The doctor herself removed his
bandages.
Did anyone notice the person
who delivered the package.