Narrator’s
Point of
View
HOW THE STORY IS TOLD
Narrative vs. Narrator
Narrative
A
narrative is a
story
 Narratives
have
characters,
settings, a
plot, dialogue,
and a narrator
Narrator
A
narrator tells the
story
 Sometimes
the
narrator is a
character in the story
 Sometimes
the
narrator is unknown;
in other words, the
reader does not
TODAY WE WILL
FOCUS ON WHO IS
TELLING THE STORY:
THE NARRATOR.
Narrator’s Point of View:
First Person
This
narrator is a character in
the story.
The first person narrator uses
pronouns such as I, me, my,
we, our, or us to explain what is
happening.
Narrator’s Point of View:
First Person
Example:
Joseph and I ran as fast as we could
to the park. He was a little father
ahead and looked back at me and
grinned. That is when I decided to
sprint and use all of my energy to
beat him to the tree.
Narrator’s Point of View:
Third Person
 This
narrator is not in the story and
the reader may not know who the
narrator is.
 The third person narrator does not
use pronouns such as “I” to
describe what is happening.
Instead, the third person narrator
only uses pronouns such as he, she,
his, her, it, they, their, and them.
Narrator’s Point of View:
Third Person
Example:
Joseph and Mia ran as fast as they
could to the park. Joseph was a
little father ahead than Mia and
looked back at her and grinned.
That is when she decided to sprint
and use all of her energy to beat
him to the tree.
Also Remember:
 Dialogue,
or a conversation between
characters, does not count when
trying to figure out which point of view
the narrator uses to tell the story.
 Dialogue
is separate from the
narrator’s part.
Which point of view does this
narrator use?
Brianne and Jamila discussed how
they were going to surprise their
mom. They decided that Brianne
would practice a song on her guitar.
Jamila told her sister, “If you play
your guitar, I’ll sing.”
The girls thought that it was a
perfect plan. They started practicing
their performance right away.
The answer is…
 The
narrator uses third person
point of view!
 Dialogue is separate from what
the narrator tells us. The dialogue
Jamila says out loud to Brianne
does not count.
 The narrator’s part uses the
pronouns “they” and “their,”
which are third person pronouns.
To Review:
 First
person point of view is
when the narrator is a
character in the story. First
person point of view uses
pronouns such as I, me, my,
we, our, or us to explain
what is happening.
To Review:
 The
reader may not know who
the narrator is when a story is told
from third person point of view.
Third person point of view does
not use first person pronouns.
Instead, only pronouns such as
he, she, his, her, it, they, their,
and them will be used.
 Dialogue is separate from the
narrator’s part of the story.