Transcript Knots in My Yo-Yo String By: Jerry Spinelli with a focus on pronouns

Knots in My
Yo-Yo String
By: Jerry Spinelli
with a focus on pronouns
and sensory details
Autobiography vs. Memoir
 Both
autobiographies and memoirs are
told in the first person and both are true
accounts about the author's life.
 They each contain personal information
and are meant to allow the reader insight
into the author's mind.
 Both are in-depth, but memoirs are often
considered the more personal of the two.
Autobiography
 An
autobiography is a sketch of the
author's entire life, often from birth up until
the time of the writing.
 When you write an autobiography, you
start with your earliest memories and no
one incident or time of life takes
precedence over another.
 An autobiography is usually structured
based on the chronological timeline.
Memoir

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A memoir focuses on one aspect of the
author's life.
Many people write memoirs to talk about their
experiences in a war or their careers or their
family life.
Memoirs usually cover a relatively brief span
of time, and their main purpose is to draw the
reader's attention to a specific theme or
circumstance.
A memoir doesn't necessarily have to go in
chronological order.
Characteristics of a Memoir
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A memoir is a story about something that
happened to the writer.
The author is in the story somehow (either
physically or is telling it from their point of view).
Many memoirs are stories about the author’s
family or friends.
Memoirs are stories about events that are
important to the writer.
Often, the book will end with the writer explaining
why that event is important to him now or how it
changed his life.
Why do we need pronouns?
 Pronouns
take the place of nouns when
we are writing or talking about something.
 It would be very tiresome if we had to
repeat the same noun over and over
again.
A life without pronouns…
A Day at the Park
Sammy went to the park with Sammy’s mother and Sammy’s
father. Sammy and Sammy’s mother and Sammy’s father ran
on the lawn. Then Sammy’s father pushed Sammy on the
swings while Sammy’s mother smiled and watched. Then
Sammy’s mother spread out a blanket on the lawn and read a
book while Sammy and Sammy’s father played catch with a
ball. Sammy threw the ball too hard, and Sammy’s father had
to chase after the ball. Sammy did some somersaults, rolling
forward on Sammy’s head and kicking Sammy’s feet up over
Sammy’s head. Sammy giggled and lay on the grass until
Sammy’s dad came back. Sammy, Sammy’s mother, and
Sammy’s father ate sandwiches together before Sammy,
Sammy’s mother, and Sammy’s father went back home.
Subjective Pronouns
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A subject pronoun is used as the subject of a
sentence in place of a person’s or thing’s
name or description, particularly after the
subject has already been introduced.
Remember: A subject is a word which does
an action and usually comes before the verb.
Example:
We were in the living room.
Objective Pronouns
 An
object pronoun is used in place of a
person or thing that is acted upon, or
receives the action of the verb in a
sentence.
 Remember: An object is a word that
receives an action and usually comes
after the verb.
 Example:
She was nice to us.
Possessive Pronouns
We use possessive pronouns to show ownership.
 The possessive pronouns are:
my mine our(s) your(s) his her(s) its their(s) whose
 Examples:
I like your flowers. Do you like mine? (object = my flowers)
My flowers are dying. Yours are lovely. (subject = Your flowers)

*Note that there are no apostrophes used with possessive
personal pronouns. This includes "its." Just as you would say
"That is hers," you would say "Success is its own reward." It's
stands for the contraction that represents "It is" or "It has." It's is
NEVER possessive.
Pronouns
Person
1st
2nd
3rd
Person
1st
2nd
3rd
Subject
I
you
he/she/it
Subject
we
you
they
Singular
Object
me
you
him/her/it
Plural
Object
us
you
them
Possessive
mine
yours
his/hers
Possessive
ours
yours
theirs
Guided Practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
(My Aunt Jane) My brother and I wrote thank you
letters to __________.
(Nick and I) __________ have a favorite restaurant in
town.
John found his passport but Mary couldn't find
__________.
(Joe, Scott, and Bob) __________ went hiking on the
mountain together.
(The neighbor’s car) The mechanic from the garage
went to work on __________.
All the essays were good but (Jack) _________ was the
best.
Demonstrative Pronouns
 Demonstrative
pronouns point to something specific
that can be either near or far in distance or time.
 The demonstrative pronouns are:
this (singular – near in either distance or time).
that (singular – far away in either distance or time).
these (plural – near in either distance or time).
those (plural – far away in either distance or time).
 Examples:
This is heavier than that.
These are bigger than those.
To put it into perspective…
Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are used in sentences that ask
questions.
 The interrogative pronouns are:
subject
object
person
who
whom
thing
what
person/thing
which
person
whose (possessive)
 Examples:
What do you want?
Which came first?

Who versus Whom
Who and whoever will be the subjects of verbs. Use these
forms when a sentence has a leftover verb that needs a
subject.
 Whom and whomever will be objects in sentences—direct or
indirect objects and objects of a preposition. Use these forms
when every verb in a sentence already has a subject.
 The rule: Use the he/him method to decide which word is
correct.
he = who
him = whom
 Examples:
[Who/Whom] wrote the letter?
He wrote the letter. Therefore, who is correct.
For [who/whom] should I vote?
Should I vote for him? Therefore, whom is correct.

Guided Practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
[Who/Whom] did he blame for the
accident?
(These/This) are the shoes I like.
_________ one of the books is your
favorite?
(This/That) car over there is the best one.
To _________ should I address the letter?
[Who/Whom] is going to do the dishes?
Reflexive Pronouns
A
reflexive pronoun is used when the subject and
object of the sentence are the same.
 They refer back to the subject of a sentence.
 Reflexive pronouns are:
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves,
yourselves, themselves
 Examples:
I gave myself plenty of time to get to work.
Jim bought himself a shirt.
Intensive Pronouns
 Intensive
pronouns are the same as the
reflexive words, but they are used to
emphasize the subject of the sentence.
 They usually appear right near the subject
of the sentence.
 Examples:
The actress herself wrote those lines.
You yourselves can win this game.
 You
A trick to remember:
can easily tell the difference between a
reflexive and intensive pronoun by following this
easy trick:
1. Remove the pronoun from the sentence. (If it is in a
prepositional phrase, remove that too).
2. If it still makes sense without the pronoun, it is
intensive.
3. If it doesn’t make sense, it is reflexive.
 Use the trick: Is it reflexive or is it intensive?
I used a video to teach myself how to knit.
I myself used a video to learn how to knit.
Guided Practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
I dressed myself this morning.
We ourselves made the meal.
The president himself appeared at the
rally.
He made breakfast all by himself.
We had to cook for ourselves since mom
didn’t want to make dinner.
The cat itself caught the mouse.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns are used to refer to people, places,
or things that are unknown or not stated.
 An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific
person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not definite".
 Some typical indefinite pronouns are:
all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each,
everybody/everyone, everything, few, many, nobody,
none, one, several, some, somebody/someone
 Examples:
I put my soda down on the table, but someone moved it!
The party is going to be great! Everybody will be there.

Singular or Plural, it must
match the verb!
 Most
indefinite pronouns are either
singular or plural.
 However, some of them can be singular in
one context and plural in another.
 Examples:
Each of the players has a doctor.
Many have expressed their views.
All is forgiven.
All have arrived.
Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun introduces a dependent
clause that modifies (gives more information
about) a word, phrase, or idea in the
independent clause.
 The most common relative pronouns are:
who, whom, whose, that, which
 Examples:
The book that I got from the library is due
tomorrow.
My father, whom I respect, congratulated me
on a job well done.
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Guided Practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
I am always frustrated by people __________ talk while
watching a movie.
We can start the meeting because
[everybody/anybody] has arrived.
The store no longer sold the computer __________ I
wanted.
John likes coffee but not tea. I think [one/both] are
good.
The child to _________ you have spoken is my sister.
The tallest man __________ came to the show is my
Uncle James.