IDENTIFYING PRONOUNS
In this session, you will learn how to identify· Personal pronouns
· Impersonal pronouns
· Pronoun antecedents
· Possessive pronouns.
Introduction
A PRONOUN is a word that stands for a noun. Let's look at a few sentences to see what pronouns are and what the above statement means.
Sentence:
"John bought the car after John had saved the money."
Do you see that "John" is repetitious and thus calls attention to the sentence? To improve the sentence, we can use a pronoun--a word that stands for the noun John--to eliminate the boring repetition.
One pronoun that can stand for the ANTECEDENT noun (John) in our sentence is "he." So let's replace the second occurrence of John with "he."
"John bought a car after he had saved the money."
The sentence is now much smoother.
I hope you see the point that a pronoun stands for a noun. Now get ready for a term we'll be using quite regularly--ANTECEDENT.
The Antecedent
The noun that the pronoun stands for is called the ANTECEDENT.
Another sentence:
"The car that has blue fenders belongs to John."
Can you see that the word "that" stands for the antecedent "car," a noun?
Now, let's look at this sentence.
"Who was at the party?"
You can see that "Who" stands for a noun or for many nouns, none of which are in the sentence. So you can see that the antecedent of a pronoun need not always be in the sentence.
Practice
Let's do a bit of practice.
Sentence:
"Alice found her purse, so she went to John and told him."
Identify the pronouns from left to right.
Did you identify her, she, and him?
Now, since pronouns stand for nouns, name the antecedents of the three pronouns you identified.
Did you identify the antecedent of her as Alice?
Did you identify the antecedent of she also as Alice?
Did you identify the antecedent of him as John?
We know that all nouns can be replaced by pronouns either personal or impersonal.
Personal Pronouns
The following list of pronouns may be used to stand for nouns that name persons:
List:
I, me, you (just one of you), he, she, him, her;
we, us, you, (more than one of you), they, them;
who, whom, whoever, whomever, whichever.
Impersonal Pronouns
The following list of pronouns may be used to stand for nouns that name things other than people:
List:
It, that, this, which, what, whatever, whichever.
"Whichever" is both a personal and impersonal pronoun.
NOTE: You may use impersonal pronouns as adjectives or pronouns when referring to people, but this type of usage is different from what we are discussing. For example, "That is the man I saw at the counter. What woman did this?" The example sentences are correct but the reasons why are beyond the scope of this session.
We haven't named all the personal and impersonal pronouns, but we've named all those you need to know to get through this session.
Possessive Pronouns
A third set of pronouns you should be familiar with is the set we call POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS. These pronouns indicate that something belongs to someone or to something. For example:
"Juanita says that this is her book."
"Her" is a pronoun indicating possession, so "her" is a possessive pronoun.
Here's a list of the possessive pronouns:
List:
My and mine, your and yours (one), her and hers, his, its, our and ours, your and yours (more than one), their and theirs.
Practice
ANTECEDENTS are not always nouns. Let's do a bit of practice in identifying pronouns as antecedents of possessive pronouns.
Sentence:
"The boys were afraid that they had lost their way."
Identify the possessive pronoun.
Did you identify their?
Name the antecedent of the possessive pronoun you identified.
Did you identify the antecedent of their as they?
Now that you know how to identify personal, impersonal, and possessive pronouns and how to identify their antecedents, you should have no problem completing the questions that follow.
Exercises
Determine the function of the words in the sentence and then select the incorrect statement. The answers appear after the last question.
1. We saw them as they left the parking lot.
A. We is a personal pronoun.
B. Them is a personal pronoun.
C. As is a personal pronoun.
D. They is a personal pronoun.
2. Mario is the person who said he did not say that.
A. Who is a personal pronoun.
B. He is a personal pronoun.
C. That is an impersonal pronoun.
D. Person is a personal pronoun.
3. That is not what I want, so take it back.
A. I is a personal pronoun.
B. That is a personal pronoun.
C. It is an impersonal pronoun.
D. Back is not a pronoun of any sort.
4. Narjitt said she does not like the colour of her sweater.
A. She is a personal pronoun.
B. Narjitt is a personal pronoun.
C. Narjitt is the antecedent of she.
D. Her is a possessive pronoun.
5. Meaghan, you should go with whoever asks first.
A. You is a personal pronoun.
B. You is the antecedent of Meaghan.
C. Whoever is a personal pronoun.
D. Meaghan is the antecedent of you.
6. The girl whom Joe asked refused to go with him.
A. Whom is a personal pronoun.
B. Girl is a the antecedent of whom.
C. Him is the antecedent of Joe.
D. Joe is the antecedent of him.
7. The man who asked me for directions is no longer here.
A. Who is a personal pronoun.
B. Man is the antecedent of who.
C. Me is the antecedent of who.
D. Me is a personal pronoun.
8. Malcolm invited us to visit his parents at their cabin on the lake.
A. Us is a possessive pronoun.
B. Us is a personal pronoun.
C. His is a possessive pronoun.
D. Their is a possessive pronoun.
9. I finished my job, so I can help you with yours.
A. You is a possessive pronoun.
B. You is a personal pronoun.
C. My is a possessive pronoun.
D. Yours is a possessive pronoun.
10. He said we needed to finish our project then help him with his.
A. Our is a possessive pronoun.
B. He is a personal pronoun.
C. His is an impersonal pronoun.
D. His is a possessive pronoun.
Answers
1, C. 2, D. 3, B. 4, B. 5, B. 6, C. 7, C. 8, A. 9, A. 10, C.