Using Pronouns Correctly

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Using Pronouns Correctly
What are the cases of personal pronouns? The
nominative case The objective case The possessive
case Review A Review B
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What are the cases of personal pronouns?
Pronouns take the place of nouns. They take
different forms to do different jobs.
Subject
Ming-na waits at the airport with flowers.
She
Direct object
She is holding the flowers and smiling.
them
Possessive
her
The flowers are for Ming-nas aunt.
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The nominative case
Pronouns in the nominative case (or subject form)
are most often used as subjects.
Nominative case (subject form) pronouns Nominative case (subject form) pronouns
First person I, we
Second person you, you
Third person he, she, it, they
Subject
Subject
I enjoy water sports.
He was the best surfer.
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The nominative case
The subject of a sentence tells whom or what the
sentence is about.
Subject
The rain was good for the crops.
Subject
Soon the wheat will be harvested.
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The nominative case
Make sure the subject of a verb is in the
nominative case.
Subject
My friends are thinking about summer jobs.
My friends
They
?
They
Nominative case
Subject
he
Wendy and Jerome clean houses for money.
Jerome
Nominative case
?
he
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The nominative case
It can be difficult to know which pronoun form to
choose. Use a nominative form pronoun to replace
one or both parts of a compound subject.
Dori and her cousins found the treasure.
She and her cousins found the treasure.
She is the nominative case pronoun that replaces
Dori. But what pronoun should replace her
cousins?
Dori and they found the treasure.
She and they found the treasure.
Or
Dori and them found the treasure.
Her cousins is part of the compound subject. It
should be in the nominative case.
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The nominative case
How can you tell which pronoun to use? Heres an
easy way to check.
Sam and (I, me) went fishing.
Would you say I went fishing or Me went fishing?
?
Sam and I went fishing.
I is in the nominative (subject) case, so it is
the correct pronoun.
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The nominative case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
1. (He, Him) is a careful writer.
2. (They, Them) were the first ones on the scene.
3. Mark and (me, I) made a decision.
4. (Us, We) planned the surprise party.
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The nominative case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
1. (He, Him) is a careful writer.
Would you say He is or Him is? The pronoun is
used as a subject, so the nominative pronoun He
is correct.
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The nominative case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
2. (They, Them) were the first ones on the scene.
Would you say They were the first ones or Them
were the first ones? The nominative pronoun They
is correct.
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The nominative case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
3. Mark and (me, I) made a decision.
Would you say Me made or I made? The pronoun is
used as a subject, so the nominative pronoun I is
correct.
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The nominative case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
4. (Us, We) planned the surprise party.
Would you say Us planned or We planned? The
nominative pronoun We is correct.
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The nominative case
On Your Own

• Supply pronouns to complete the following
  sentences. Use a variety of pronouns, but do not
  use you or it.
• 1. _______ used fresh tortillas for the
  burritos.
• 2. Eddie and _______ like fishing.
• 3. _______ must be the person in the gorilla
  suit.
• _______ and I go to the movies often.
• 5. Were _______ at the door?

End of Section
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The nominative case
Possible Answers

• Supply pronouns to complete the following
  sentences. Use a variety of pronouns, but do not
  use you or it.
• 1. _______ used fresh tortillas for the
  burritos.
• 2. Eddie and _______ like fishing.
• 3. _______ must be the person in the gorilla
  suit.
• _______ and I go to the movies often.
• 5. Were _______ at the door?

We
I
She
He
they
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The objective case
Pronouns in the objective case (or object form)
are used as direct objects, indirect objects, and
objects of prepositions.
Direct object
Objective case (object form) pronouns Objective case (object form) pronouns
First person me, us
Second person you, you
Third person him, her, it, them
The answer surprised us.
Indirect object
Howie showed me a magic trick.
Object of preposition
We sat with them at the game.
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The objective case
A direct object is a noun, pronoun, or word group
that tells who or what receives the action of the
verb.
Direct object
My brother bought a puzzle .
puzzle
bought what?
puzzle
Direct object
He called Milly to help him with it.
Milly
called who?
Milly
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The objective case
An indirect object tells to whom or to what (or
for whom or for what) the action of the verb is
done.
Indirect object
Direct object
Cass gave her little sister a haircut .
sister
haircut
gave a haircut to whom?
sister
Notice that indirect objects appear only in
sentences that also have direct objects.
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The objective case
An object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun
in a prepositional phrase.
Object of preposition
Preposition
beside the door
beside the door
beside the door
Object of preposition
Preposition
in front of a wooden stool
in front of a wooden stool
in front of a wooden stool
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The objective case
A direct object should be in the objective case.
Direct object
Mom helped ______ with our projects.
us
Objective case
?
us
Direct object
She took Pete and ______ to the fabric store.
me
Objective case
?
me
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The objective case
An indirect object should be in the objective
case.
Indirect object
Grandma sent Joe and _____ tickets to a play.
him
Objective case
?
him
Indirect object
An usher gave _____ tickets.
them
Objective case
?
them
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The objective case
An object of a preposition should be in the
objective case.
Object of preposition
Does her dog always go with ______?
her
Objective case
?
her
Object of preposition
A walk will be good for Fluffy and ______.
me
?
Objective case
me
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The objective case
To decide which pronoun to use with a compound
object, try the sentence with just one pronoun.
The teacher chose Josh and (her, she).
The teacher chose Josh and her.
Direct object
Would you say The teacher chose her or The
teacher chose she?
Object of a preposition
Maria sent a card to Dan and (I, me).
Maria sent a card to Dan and me.
Sent a card to I or sent a card to me?
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The objective case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
1. Rose is walking toward Tim and (they, them).
2. Lana sent Arturo and (he, him) invitations.
3. The manager hired Keisha and (her, she).
4. Please keep this secret between you and (me,
I).
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The objective case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
1. Rose is walking toward Tim and (they, them).
Would you say toward they or toward them? The
pronoun is used as the object of the preposition
toward. The objective pronoun them is correct.
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The objective case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
2. Lana sent Arturo and (he, him) invitations.
Would you say sent he an invitation or sent him
an invitation? The pronoun is used as an indirect
object, so the objective pronoun him is correct.
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The objective case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
3. The manager hired Keisha and (her, she).
Would you say The manager hired she or The
manager hired her? The pronoun is used as a
direct object, so the objective pronoun her is
correct.
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The objective case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
4. Please keep this secret between you and (me,
I).
Would you say between I or between me? The
pronoun is used as the object of the preposition
between. The objective pronoun me is correct.
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The objective case
On Your Own

• Supply pronouns to complete the following
  sentences. Use a variety of pronouns, but do not
  use you or it.
• 1. Ms. Suarez ordered sandwiches for _______.
• 2. The firefighters rescued _______ from the
  blaze.
• 3. A clown entertained the children and _______.
• Please give _______ and _______ some apple
  juice.
• 5. Sam stood in front of Mr. Sweeney and _______.

End of Section
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The objective case
Possible Answers

• Supply pronouns to complete the following
  sentences. Use a variety of pronouns, but do not
  use you or it.
• 1. Ms. Suarez ordered sandwiches for _______.
• 2. The firefighters rescued _______ from the
  blaze.
• 3. A clown entertained the children and _______.
• Please give _______ and _______ some apple
  juice.
• 5. Sam stood in front of Mr. Sweeney and _______.

us
them
her
him
me
them
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The possessive case
Pronouns in the possessive case are used to show
ownership or possession.
Possessive case pronouns Possessive case pronouns
First person my, mine, our, ours
Second person your, yours
Third person his, her, hers, its, their, theirs
Is your homework finished?
I have done mine.
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The possessive case
The possessive pronouns mine, yours, his, hers,
its, ours, and theirs can be used as subjects and
objects.
Your coat is warm. Mine is too.
Subject
We made ours with soft yarn.
Direct object
Mother gave hers a quick glance.
Indirect object
Next to yours, my gloves look dirty.
Object of preposition
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The possessive case
The possessive pronouns my, our, your, his, her,
its, and their are used as adjectives before
nouns.
Did you get your canary at a pet store?
My older sister raises zebra finches.
The bird fluttered its wings.
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The possessive case
These possessive forms can also be called
adjectives.
my our your his her its their
Are they ready for their move to Oregon?
Follow your teachers instructions on what to
call these words.
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The possessive case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
1. (My, Mine) is by the door.
2. Shelley is proud of (her, hers) little brother.
3. Compared with (their, theirs), (our, ours) bus
is new.
4. The dog wagged (its, its) tail happily.
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The possessive case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
1. (My, Mine) is by the door.
The possessive pronoun Mine can be used as a
subject.
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The possessive case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
2. Shelley is proud of (her, hers) little brother.
The possessive pronoun her can be used as an
adjective before a noun.
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The possessive case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
3. Compared with (their, theirs), (our, ours) bus
is new.
The possessive pronoun theirs can be used as an
object of a preposition. The possessive pronoun
our can be used as an adjective before a noun.
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The possessive case
Choose the correct form of the pronoun in
parentheses. Be prepared to explain your answer.
4. The dog wagged (its, its) tail happily.
Its is the possessive pronoun. Its is the
contraction of it is.
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The possessive case
On Your Own

• Fill in the blanks with appropriate possessive
  pronouns.
• 1. _______ books are on the shelf.
• 2. Have you finished eating _______ breakfast
  yet?
• 3. Ms. Thomson graded Waynes paper, and then she
  gave _______ her complete attention.
• I cant remember _______ phone number.
• 5. Last weekend we raked _______ front yard and
  swept _____ sidewalk.

End of Section
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The possessive case
Possible Answers

• Fill in the blanks with appropriate possessive
  pronouns.
• 1. _______ books are on the shelf.
• 2. Have you finished eating _______ breakfast
  yet?
• 3. Ms. Thomson graded Waynes paper, and then she
  gave _______ her complete attention.
• I cant remember _______ phone number.
• 5. Last weekend we raked _______ front yard and
  swept ______ sidewalk.

His
your
mine
their
our
her
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Review A
For each of the following sentences, choose the
correct form of the pronoun in parentheses.

1. (He, Him) has promised to e-mail me.

1. The lead role will be played by (she, her).

1. (Your, Yours) is the ham sandwich.

1. Zack and (she, her) moved to San Diego last year.

5. We warned Paul and (they, them) about the wind.
End of Section
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Review A
For each of the following sentences, choose the
correct form of the pronoun in parentheses.

1. (He, Him) has promised to e-mail me.

1. The lead role will be played by (she, her).

1. (Your, Yours) is the ham sandwich.

1. Zack and (she, her) moved to San Diego last year.

5. We warned Paul and (they, them) about the wind.
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Review B
Proofread the following sentences for correct
pronoun forms. Correct any errors you find. If a
sentence is correct, label it C.
1. Lucy told Karen and I a funny story. 2. Does
she know the answer to that riddle? 3. Him and
the bus driver are good friends. 4. Uncle Jared
made lunch for Mark and she. 5. I was not the
person in the costume.
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Review B
Proofread the following sentences for correct
pronoun forms. Correct any errors you find. If a
sentence is correct, label it C.
me
1. Lucy told Karen and I a funny story. 2. Does
she know the answer to that riddle? 3. Him and
the bus driver are good friends. 4. Uncle Jared
made lunch for Mark and she. 5. I was not the
person in the costume.
C
He
her
C
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The End