Pronouns

What does a pronoun do?

A pronoun replaces a noun in a sentence.

Using a pronoun allows you to avoid repeating a noun.

The word that a pronoun replaces is called its antecedent.

Jim went to the store. He bought a book.

Jim is the antecedent; in the second sentence the name is replaced by “he.”

Common Pronouns

I me we us you her she him

he it they them this that these those

himself herself themselves his hers ours its

This is not a complete list.

It is not necessary to memorize a list of pronouns, but you need to be able to recognize them when you see them.

You can find many lists of pronouns online.

Requirements

A pronoun needs to agree with its antecedent in number.

A plural noun needs to be replaced by a plural pronoun; a singular noun needs to be replaced by a singular pronoun.

This is called pronoun antecedent agreement.

Jim and Jane went to the store. They bought a book.

Jim went to the store. He bought a book.

Some Common Errors

The following pronouns are singular and replace singular nouns.

anybody anyone anything each

either everybody everyone everything

neither nobody no one somebody

someone something

Everybody needs to bring his or her book to class. (A common error is “Everybody needs to bring their book to class.”)

Nobody wants to write his or her paper.

Requirements

It needs to be clear which antecedent a pronoun is replacing.

Grammatically, a pronoun replaces whichever noun is closest to it.

This is called pronoun reference.

Take the radio out of the car and fix it.

Take the radio out of the car and fix the radio.

Gender

If a noun does referring to people (everybody, anybody, etc.) does not specify a gender (male or female), you have two choices. 1. Use “he or she” or “his or her.” 2. Use only “he,” “she,” “his,” or “her.”

What is important is that you remain consistent.

Everybody needs to bring his or her book to class.

Everybody needs to bring her book to class.

Practice1. If any one of the sisters needs a ride, (she they) can call me.

A B

2. When someone has been drinking, (he or she they) may drive poorly. A B

3. If the board of directors controls the company, (it they) may vote for a raise. A B

4. Neither the pilot nor the attendants gave (his or her their) opinion about the mishap. A B

5. Each of these companies had (its their) books audited.

A B

6. Some of the china has lost (its their) luster.

Practice

1. I can be standing in front of a Xerox machine, with parts scattered around my feet, and someone will ask me to let them make a copy.

2. The sophomore class elects its president tomorrow.

3. The instructor has asked everyone to bring their own tools to carpentry class.

4. An eighteenth-century architect was also a classical scholar; they were often at the forefront of archaeological research.

5. If anyone is caught smoking on the premises, they will be severely punished.

Trade your draft with a partner.

Read the first two paragraphs of the draft, but read them backwards, focusing on each word.

Circle all of the pronouns.

AFTER YOU CIRCLE ALL OF THE PRONOUNS. . .

Underline the antecedent of each pronoun. Not sure what it is? You have a pronoun reference problem.

Are there problems with pronoun antecedent agreement? Pronoun reference? Correct them.

On your own draft

Read the rest of the draft, but read it backwards, focusing on each word.

Circle all of the pronouns.

AFTER YOU CIRCLE ALL OF THE PRONOUNS. . .

Underline the antecedent of each pronoun. Not sure what it is? You have a pronoun reference problem.

Are there problems with pronoun antecedent agreement? Pronoun reference? Correct them.

Trade drafts with somebody else

Read the first paragraph of the draft in front of you. Underline the thesis.

Does the thesis provide a clear answer to one of the questions on the prompt? If it does, write “yes” in the margin. If it does not, write “unclear thesis” in the margin.

Can’t identify a thesis? Write, “Where is your thesis?” in the margin.

Checking Topic Sentences

Read only the first sentence of each body paragraph.

Does each of these sentences provide a reason for why the thesis is correct? Write “clear t.s.” in the margin next to each topic

sentence that does. Write “unclear t.s.” in the margin next to each topic

sentence that does not.

Checking Focus

Read the first body paragraph.

Underline each piece of evidence, whether it is directly quoted or if it is a specific example.

Read the sentences directly following each piece of evidence. Do these sentences clearly explain how the evidence proves the idea in the topic sentence and the thesis? If they do, write “clear ex.” in the margin next to each

explanation. If they do not, write “unclear ex.” in the margin next to each

explanation.

Checking Quotations

Is each quotation correctly cited, with the author’s last name, year of publication, and page number? If not, write “cite” in the margin next to the

quotation.

“Young Goodman Brown” was published in 1835. (Hawthorne, 1835, p. 5)

“The Man in the Black Suit” was published in 2002. (King, 2002, p. 64)

Integrating Quotations

Another writer’s words (a quotation) should never stand alone as a sentence in your writing.

At the beginning of the novel, the narrator tells when he found the dog’s body. “It was 7 minutes after midnight” (Haddon, 2003, p. 1).

This is called a dropped quotation. Do not do this!

Integrating Quotations

Make quotations part of your own sentence.

In the beginning of the novel, the narrator says, “It was 7 minutes after midnight” (Haddon, 2003, p. 1).

“It was 7 minutes after midnight,” the narrator says at the beginning of the novel (Haddon, 2003, p. 1).

At the beginning of the novel, the narrator says that “[i]t was 7 minutes after midnight” when he found the dog (Haddon, 2003, p. 1).

These are all examples of integrated quotations.