• Modular 4 – Pronouns

     

    Subject Pronouns 

    Pronoun: a word that takes the place of one or more nouns.

    Subject pronoun: used as the subject of a sentence. It tells whom or what the sentence is about.

    A pronoun’s antecedent is the noun the pronoun refers to. A pronoun and its antecedent must agree in number. If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun must be singular. If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be plural.

     Pronoun-Verb Agreement

    In every sentence, the verb must agree with the subject.

    When the subject pronoun is he, she, or it, add -s or -es to the present tense of most action verbs. If the verb ends in y, change the y to I before adding -es.

    When the subject pronoun is I, we, you, or they, do not add -s or -es to the verb.

    Object Pronouns

    Object pronoun: follows an action verb. It may also follow a word such as to, in, at, of, with, during, or through.

    Object pronouns can be singular or plural and the plural of you is you.

     Using I and Me 

    Be careful when you use the pronouns I and me in sentences. The pronoun I is a subject pronoun. I is used only as the subject of a sentence.

    The pronoun me is an object pronoun. Me is used after an action verb or after a word such as at, for, of, to, or with.

    When you speak about yourself and another person, ALWAYS name the other person FIRST. Then follow the rules above for when to use I and me. 

     Possessive Pronouns

    Possessive noun: shows who or what has something. It takes the place of a possessive noun.

    There are two kinds of possessive. One kind is used before a noun. The possessive pronouns that can be used before a noun are my, your, his, her, its, our, and their.

    The other kind of possessive pronoun is used alone. The possessive pronouns that can stand alone are mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs.

    Relative Pronouns and Relative Adverbs

    In a complex sentence, the second idea is related to the first idea. Sometimes the second idea is introduced by a relative pronoun. The relative pronoun relates the two ideas, linking the second idea to a noun in the first idea.

    When talking about people, use who, whom, or that. When talking about things, use that or which. To show who something belongs or relates to, use whose.

    Sometimes the relative adverbs where, when, and why introduce the second idea. Use where after the word place or place words such as room or street. Use when after the word time or time words such as day or year. Use why after reason.

     Contractions with Pronouns

    A contraction is made by joining two words together. An apostrophe takes the place of any letters that are left out. Many contractions are formed by joining a pronoun and a verb.

    Be especially careful when you use the contractions he’s, she’s, and it’s. The contractions for he, she, and it and the verbs is and has are the same.