Transcript Why are pronouns important?

Why are pronouns important?
My friend Jan barely survived Jan’s family
vacation last summer. Jan was sailing with
Jan’s family off the coast of Florida when a
storm came up. The storm capsized Jan and
Jan’s family’s boat. Fortunately, Jan and
Jan’s family had life jackets, which saved
Jan and Jan’s family’s lives.
Key Vocabulary
Pronoun: a word that is used in place of a
noun or another pronoun
Antecedent: the word that the pronoun
takes the place of or refers to
Personal pronouns: refer to a person
speaking (first person), a person spoken to
(second person), or the person spoken
about (third person)
Personal Pronouns
Nominative/
Subjective
Objective
Case
Possessive
Case
1st Person
I
we
me
us
my/mine
our/ours
2nd Person
you
you
your
yours
3rd Person
he/she
it
they
him/her
it
them
his/her/hers
its
their/theirs
Using the correct case…
Nominative/Subjective
Case Uses:
 when the pronoun is
the subject of a verb
 following a linking
verb
 when the pronoun is
used as a predicate
nominative
Objective
Case Uses:
 Following an action
verb
 when the pronoun is a
direct object
 when the pronoun is
an indirect object
 when the pronoun is
an object of a
preposition
Hints for using the correct case…
 Try both the nominative and objective case pronoun
and listen for the one that sounds correct.
He/him lifeguards at the neighborhood pool during
the summer. (He lifeguards or Him lifeguards?)
The rescuers found he/him after 3 hours. (found
he or found him?)
 If the subject or object is compound, ignore the first
one and just try the pronouns.
My brother and I/me watched a movie last night. (I
watched or Me watched?)
The raft belongs to my brother and he/him.
(belongs to he or belongs to him?)
Hints for using the correct case…
 If the pronoun is a predicate nominative, switch the
subject and predicate nominative.
The biggest supporters were she and I/her and
me. (She and I were or Her and me were?)
The greatest students are they/them. (They are
the greatest or Them are the greatest?)
 If the pronoun is at the end of a sentence following
the word THAN, finish the sentence:
She is smarter than I/me. (She is smarter than I
am or smarter than me am?)
You look better than I/me. (You look better than I
do or me do?)
Let’s Practice!
1.
Hurricane Floyd ravaged the East Coast in 1999. The
extent of the damage horrified my friends and I/me.
2. My brother and I/me read that Floyd was 600 miles
across and had winds of 155 mph.
3. Gerald Keeth is a U.S. sailor; the hurricane gave he/him
the scare of his life.
4. “The bad weather started pounding we/us Tuesday
night,” he wrote.
5. They/them launched their life raft in 55 foot seas with 60
knot winds.
6. The raft accidentally left he/him and two others behind.
7. They/Them only had life jackets and an emergency
locator beacon.
8. “I could hear each wave from behind I/me like a freight
train coming,” he said.
9. Finally a helicopter rescued they/them.
10. “A rescue swimmer put a harness on each of we/us and
we/us were hauled into the helicopter,” he continued.