TOPIC 15: Using Pronouns Effectively

Date: May 15-16, 2019

I. Objective
At the end of the lesson the students should be able to:
EN10G-IIIa-31: Use pronouns effectively

II. Discussion & III. Exercises (1-5)

PRONOUNS
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, a group of words acting as a noun, or
another pronoun. The word or group of words to which a pronoun refers is called its
antecedent.
All pronouns in English can be put into these categories: personal and possessive pronouns,
reflexive and intensive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, interrogative pronouns, relative
pronouns, and indefinite pronouns
Exercise 1 Underline each pronoun.
She glanced in the mirror and saw him behind her.
1. I could tell it made no sense at all to her.
2. His father runs the cafe by himself.
3. Can you imagine how they felt when they saw them?
4. Their burrito is a meal in itself!
We told her we wanted to do it ourselves.
6. The telephone was ringing off its hook.
7. Randall couldn’t tell theirs from yours.
8. She told him skipping breakfast was a bad idea.
9. Did you double-check your answers as they did?
10. Give them enough time, and they will reveal their secret.
11. I myself will perform the leading role in the play.
12. You have only yourselves to blame.
13. Its shine and softness make the material very popular.
14. Their crowd spends a lot of time at the swimming pool.
15. They still had one difficult task in front of them.
16. She had been studying to become a lawyer.
17. Jason forgot to bring his volleyball, so we had to use hers.
18. You mean you found your report in the recycling bin?
19. Cars are a lot smaller than they used to be.
20. He was shocked when he learned the congresswoman herself would be attending.

KINDS OF PRONOUNS
1. PERSONAL AND POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
A personal pronoun refers to a specific person, place, thing, or idea by indicating the
person speaking (the first person), the person or people being spoken to (the second
person), or any other person, place, thing, or idea being discussed (the third person).
 EXAMPLE FIRST PERSON The song was dedicated to me. [Me refers to the person
speaking.]
SECOND PERSON Sam will copy the document for you. [You refers to the
person being spoken to.]
THIRD PERSON She gave him the news. [She and him refer to the people
being talked about.]
A possessive pronoun takes the place of the possessive form of a noun.
This keyboard is yours.
Exercise 2 Personal Pronouns
Write each pronoun. Identify it by writing first person, second person, or third person.
Then write singular or plural. If the pronoun is possessive, write possessive.
1. Mike hit a home run today; it is his first at this school.
2. Lupe and Lisa took their books to lunch.
3. Lauren and her brother Patrick are taking a course in CPR; they would like to make
medicine their career.
4. A lizard tastes and smells with its tongue.
5. “You probably won’t believe us,” said Ross, “but Sam and I saw a UFO last night as we
were on our way home.”
6. Alanna cut her finger, now it is bandaged.
7. When Tran Chu left for the Math Olympiad, his entire class showed up to wish him
luck.
8. Sipra forgot her lunch, but two classmates shared theirs with her.
9. How quickly we forget past favors; the big question today is “What have you done for
me lately?”
10. “This knapsack is mine,” said Victor. “You must have left yours back at the campsite,
Frank.”
2. REFLEXIVE AND INTENSIVE PRONOUNS Reflexive and intensive pronouns are formed by
adding –self or –selves to certain personal and possessive pronouns. Notice that there is
no such word as hisself, theirself, or theirselves.
A reflexive pronoun refers, or reflects back, to the subject of the sentence, indicating
that the same person or thing is involved. A reflexive pronoun always adds information
to a sentence.
EXAMPLES Jim uses a stopwatch to time himself on the track.
She taught herself to play the piano.
We imagined ourselves dancing in a forest glade.
An intensive pronoun adds emphasis to another noun or pronoun in the same sentence.
EXAMPLE He himself delivered the flowers.
You must sign the application yourself.
Mariko herself made the bridesmaids’ dresses.
Pepe, Jaime, and César designed the float themselves.
3. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS A demonstrative pronoun points out specific persons,
places, things, or ideas.
EXAMPLES
This is your locker.
 That is your assignment.
These are the shrubs to be trimmed.
My uniform is cleaner than those.
4. INTERROGATIVE AND RELATIVE PRONOUNS
An interrogative pronoun is used to form questions.
EXAMPLES
Who is at the door?
Whom would you prefer?
Whose is this plaid coat?
What is for lunch?
Which of these books is your favorite?
Whatever were you thinking of?
A relative pronoun is used to begin a special subject verb word group called a
subordinate clause.
EXAMPLES
The driver who arrived last parked over there. [The relative pronoun who begins the
subordinate clause who arrived last.]
The meal that you prepared was delicious. [The relative pronoun that begins the
subordinate clause that you prepared.]
5. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
An indefinite pronoun refers to persons, places, or things in a more general way than a
noun does. all both everything none several another each few no one some any either
many nothing somebody anybody enough most one someone anyone everybody neither
other something anything everyone nobody others
Exercise 3. Reflexive, Intensive, Demonstrative, Interrogative, Relative, and Indefinite
Pronouns
Write each pronoun. Identify it by writing reflexive, intensive, demonstrative, interrogative,
relative, or indefinite.
1. None of the soldiers who left camp this morning have returned.
____________________
2. Pointing to the stacked cases, Ariel whispered, “Whoever wins those will never have
to buy canned corn again!” . ____________________
3. Much of the conference involved archaeology, and as a result, few attended. .
____________________
4. The ninth-graders themselves planted the garden, and no one else has cared for the
growing plants. . ____________________
5. Mother taught herself to ski and now teaches the skill to anyone who wants to
learn. . ____________________
6. Whatever happened to the survivors of the avalanche, a topic that most refuse to
discuss? . ____________________
7. “Whose is this?” asked Ingrid, holding up the half-eaten sandwich that had appeared
under the bed. . ____________________
8. Those whom Mr. Simmons has excused from the test may leave now. .
____________________
 9. Sean and Jaime arrived late from Tampa, and as a result, neither got much sleep last
night. . ____________________
10. The president gave himself a month to find a new media expert, but so far no
candidates whom he has interviewed have been hired.

PRONOUN-ANTECEDENT AGREEMENT
Exercise 4 Underline the correct pronoun.
Example: Bring the packages to (they, them).
1. When the early settlers arrived in this country, (they, them) had little time for school.
2. Those who wanted (them, their) children to read would teach (they, them) at home.
3. There were no schools for (their, them) children to attend.
4. The most important subject for (their, them) was how to plant.
5. As the settlements grew, formal education became more important to (they, them).
6. Reading, writing, and arithmetic helped (they, them).
7. Education became a community effort, and the entire community benefited from (it, its).
8. Schoolhouses were generally built on land not suitable for farming, and the school yard rarely
had any trees in (it, its).
9. Early schoolhouses were heated by smoky fires. Later (they, them) had stoves.
10. Families sent a load of firewood when (they, their) sent (them, their) children to school.
11. Since paper was expensive, little of (it, its) was used.
12. Each family made (it, its) own ink from ink powder.
13. Handwriting was very important. (It, Its) was often considered more important than spelling.
14. Stitching samplers was a way a young girl could show (she, her) sewing skills and (she, her)
knowledge of the alphabet.
15. Since the Bible was often the only book a family owned, (it, its) was usually the first reader.
16. A male teacher was expected to have a more disciplined way about (he, him).
17. A woman was expected to quit teaching after (she, her) married.
18. Schoolmasters often used discipline that today would seem very cruel to (we, us).
19. A schoolmaster would sometimes punish (him, his) students physically.
20. One of the rules for students was this: Respect (your, yours) schoolmaster. Obey (he, him)
and accept (him, his) punishments.
Exercise 5 Complete the sentence by adding a personal pronoun that agrees with the
antecedent. Underline the antecedent.
Example : Carla left her gloves on the kitchen table.
1. The students should have ____________ books by Friday.
2. Every person must bring ____________own towel to gym class.
3. Many older Americans know the exact date ____________started ____________ first job.
4. Only three club members paid ____________dues by the deadline.
5. If you think the colors clash, we will change ____________ .
6. When my mom and her four sisters were children, ____________ all shared one big
bedroom.
7. Claude and Norman practice ____________ sidestrokes every day.
8. Gloria works for two hours every day after ____________ leaves school.
9. Sometimes people without experience are intimidated by computers. [
needn’t be.
10. Gabriel and Chad don’t want to work after school, but ____________ need the money.
11. Natasha and Paul found ____________share an interest in classical automobiles.
12. George and Susan both brought ____________ snakes to science class when we studied
reptiles.
13. Some students don’t take class elections very seriously; ____________ should.
14. Each participant can be very proud of ____________ accomplishments.
15. I think my grandma is the best gardener in ____________ neighborhood.
16. They finally decided Jack must have the tickets in ____________ room.
17. Dad says all of ____________children spend too much of ____________ time watching
television.
18. Ramona and her friends left ____________ biology books in the library.
19. The college sends most of ____________ messages to students by electronic mail.
20. Abdul and Larry showed ____________ could hit a ball out of the ballpark.
IV. Performance
Share your unforgettable moment through writing a one-paragraph essay. Use at least 5
different kinds of pronouns.
V. Evaluation
A. Directions: Underline the pronoun or pronouns in each of the following sentences. Identify
each by writing above it PER for personal, REF for reflexive, INTEN for intensive, DEM for
demonstrative, REL for relative, IND for indefinite, or INTER for interrogative.
Example: What has she learned about peaches?
1. These are Elberta peaches, which are very popular in the United States.
2. Nobody really knows where the fruit came from originally.
3. We read a story that may or may not be true.
4. Who started the story?
5. A man in Georgia, whose name was Samuel Rumph, grew peaches.
6. One of them was particularly beautiful.
7. The man named the peach after his wife, Elberta.
8. He soon found himself at the forefront of commercial peach production in Georgia.
9. He developed ways to ship peaches so they would arrive in good condition.
10. The Elberta peach itself is very firm and ships well.
B. For each sentence, encircle the correct pronoun from the choices in parentheses.
1. Emele and (I, me) are ninth-graders at Shaw School.
2. Lien also goes to Shaw with (we, us).
3. Lien is the best hitter on our softball team; none of our other players are better than (she,
her).
4. Did you know that the most populous country is China?(It’s, Its) population is greater than
one billion people!
5. The least populous country is Vatican City; (it’s, its) a very small country, and (it’s, its)
population hovers around one thousand people.
6. Roger is good at many sports, so (he, his, him) disliking soccer doesn’t matter to Coach
Hawkins.
7. (We, Our, Us) preferring cauliflower to broccoli is just a matter of taste.
8. The only two students taking the make-up test were Felipe and (she, her).
9. The chairman of the bake sale met with her assistants, Mrs. Medford and (he, him).
10. Among the Parents’ Guild officers, all hard workers, are Mrs. Connolly and (she, her).
11. (We, Us) newcomers to the neighborhood will learn a lot from the long time residents.
12. The school chess team will help (we, us) beginners to learn the skills of the game.
13. At the picnic, Tracy seemed to relax more than (I, me).
14. Waiting in line annoys Carol as much as (he, him).
15. Yes, Alfredo understands music better than (we, us).
16. Jesse taught (hisself, himself) to dive off the high board.
17. Aleene will accompany (me, myself) to tonight’s performance.
18. Did you find out (who, whom) Mateo saw at the supermarket?
19. Jo didn’t know (who, whom) had sent her that birthday card.
20. Gary Soto writes (his, her, its) novels with humor and compassion.
21. In India, (people, you) welcome guests with bows and folded hands.
22. How do (people, they) travel in the Philippines?
23. None of us knows how (you, people) get from Sacramento to San Diego.
24. Everyone must hand in (his, her, his or her, their) term paper today.
25. How did the twins lose (his, her, his or her, their) way on the road from Tampa to Miami?

References
Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
GRAMMAR / USAGE / MECHANICS

Prepared by:
Kesil M. Arollado
Teacher II