A Vitamin a day Keeps Teacher Away.

Grammar Vitamin: Using Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun or another pronoun.

The word in which a pronoun refers to is its antecedent.

Jane and her mother got her brother's jacket repaired before he knew the zipper was broken.
In this sentence "Jane" and "brother" are the antecedents for "her" and "he."

There are 3 types of pronouns.

Personal: Refers to persons. For example, I, you, she, we, me, her, him, us, them, my, mine, your, ours, theirs.

Reflexive: Reflexive pronouns are used when there is an antecedent in the same sentence. For example: "Emile sent himself a love letter."
"The Emperor marveled at his discovery."

Indefinite Pronouns: An indefinite pronoun is one that doesn't refer to a definite person or thing. Indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural.

a) Singular: another, either, neither, anybody, everybody, nobody, somebody, anyone.
b) Plural: few, many, several.

Pronouns can also be demonstrative of something (that, these those), or show relative connections between things (who, whose, whom).

Here are some potential problems with pronouns:

Ambiguous pronoun reference:
This is when a pronoun can refer grammatically to more than one thing in a sentence.

For example, "The teacher informed the student that he needed another test booklet."
Who needs the test booklet; the teacher or the student?

Implied Pronouns:
This is when a pronoun is used which refers to something not discussed in a sentence.

For example, " In the armed forces, they can retire at an early age."
Who are they? A sentence must be specific or it is confusing.

Noun/Pronoun disagreement:
A pronoun must agree with the noun it is referring to.

For example, "The army won their most important battle."
Army is singular (there is only one army). However, their is plural.

Examine the following sentences and decide if the pronoun usage is correct.

1. Jane said that her mother became pregnant before she graduated from highschool.

2. Deep in the woods, a dove was singing its sad song.

3. The class came to the gym for their picture.

4. We windsurfers love the sun.

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	A Vitamin a Day Keeps the Teacher Away Grammar Vitamin: Using Pronouns A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun or another pronoun. The word in which a pronoun refers to is its antecedent. Jane and her mother got her brother's jacket repaired before he knew the zipper was broken. In this sentence "Jane" and "brother" are the antecedents for "her" and "he." There are 3 types of pronouns. Personal: Refers to persons. For example, I, you, she, we, me, her, him, us, them, my, mine, your, ours, theirs. Reflexive: Reflexive pronouns are used when there is an antecedent in the same sentence. For example: "Emile sent himself a love letter." "The Emperor marveled at his discovery." Indefinite Pronouns: An indefinite pronoun is one that doesn't refer to a definite person or thing. Indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural. a) Singular: another, either, neither, anybody, everybody, nobody, somebody, anyone. b) Plural: few, many, several. Pronouns can also be demonstrative of something (that, these those), or show relative connections between things (who, whose, whom). Here are some potential problems with pronouns: Ambiguous pronoun reference: This is when a pronoun can refer grammatically to more than one thing in a sentence. For example, "The teacher informed the student that he needed another test booklet." Who needs the test booklet; the teacher or the student? Implied Pronouns: This is when a pronoun is used which refers to something not discussed in a sentence. For example, " In the armed forces, they can retire at an early age." Who are they? A sentence must be specific or it is confusing. Noun/Pronoun disagreement: A pronoun must agree with the noun it is referring to. For example, "The army won their most important battle." Army is singular (there is only one army). However, their is plural. Examine the following sentences and decide if the pronoun usage is correct. 1. Jane said that her mother became pregnant before she graduated from highschool. 2. Deep in the woods, a dove was singing its sad song. 3. The class came to the gym for their picture. 4. We windsurfers love the sun.

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