ESL Pronouns

● Subject & Object

Pronouns

● Pronouns &

Antecedents

● Extra Knowledge!

Let’s Review!

Pronouns

● A pronoun is a word that takes the

place of one or more nouns.

● pro- means for (standing FOR a

noun)

Open Ended

Give me one example of a pronoun

Personal Pronouns

 Pronouns that are used to refer to people

or things are called personal
pronouns.

 Examples: he, she, it

Open Ended

Give me one example of a personal pronoun

Subject Pronouns

● used as the subject of a sentence.
● WHO or WHAT the sentence is

about.

She is my sister.

It is my hat.

Does he have a dog?

You and I go to the movie.

Open Ended

Give me one example of a subject pronoun

Object Pronouns

● a personal pronoun in the objective case
● used as the direct or indirect object of a

verb

● will never be the subject of the sentence

Give the pencil to me.

The teacher gave her a referral.

I will tell you a secret.

Hannah read it to them.

Open Ended

Give me one example of an object pronoun

Review: Object Pronouns

List of Personal Pronouns

Singular Plural

I
you
he, she, it

we
you
the
y

Subject
Pronouns

me
you

him, her, it

us
you
them

Object
Pronouns

Activity 1

Identify the pronouns in the following
sentences in your notebook.

Jamie and Clara loved the guinea
pig their mother bought them. It
was white, and it was adorable.

Open Ended

Write one pronoun that you see in the following sentnece:

Jamie and Clara loved the guinea pig their mother bought them. It was white, and it was adorable.

Activity 2

Answer the questions below

It was Alice and _____ who told the police about the robbery.
(he/him)

He's a much better dancer than _____. (I/me)

It's _____ you need to speak to if you have any questions. (I/me)

Everyone except _____ understood what she was talking about.
(we/us)

Can you speak English as well as _____ can? (them/they)

Marianna wasn't at the party last night, was _____? (her/she)

Open Ended

Fill in the blank with the proper pronoun

It was Alice and _____ who told the police about the robbery. (he/him)

Open Ended

Fill in the blank with the proper pronoun

He's a much better dancer than _____. (I/me)

Open Ended

Fill in the blank with the proper pronoun

It's _____ you need to speak to if you have any questions. (I/me)

Open Ended

Fill in the blank with the proper pronoun

Everyone except _____ understood what she was talking about. (we/us)

Open Ended

Fill in the blank with the proper pronoun

Can you speak English as well as _____ can? (them/they)

Open Ended

Fill in the blank with the proper pronoun

Marianna wasn't at the party last night, was _____? (her/she)

Activity 2

Answers

1.

It was Alice and _____ who told the police about the robbery.
(he/him)

2.

He's a much better dancer than _____. (I/me)

3.

It's _____ you need to speak to if you have any questions. (I/me)

4.

Everyone except _____ understood what she was talking about.
(we/us)

5.

Can you speak English as well as _____ can? (them/they)

6.

Marianna wasn't at the party last night, was _____? (her/she)

Using Pronouns Correctly

How do you know when to use me or I, we or us?

1. Use a subject pronoun as a subject.
2. Use an object pronoun as object of the verb.

Examples (Circle the correct pronoun listed):

SUBJECT-
She owns a collection of books.

DIRECT OBJECT-
The fable entertained us.

INDIRECT OBJECT-
He told her an amusing story.

Using Pronouns Correctly

● When in a pair (ex: Susan and I), always take the

pronoun OUT of the pair to see which pronoun is the
correct one to use.

EXAMPLES:

Richard and (I or me)recited the
story. Jennifer helped Richard and
(I or me).

* Read the sentence without the words that the

pronoun is paired with to see what works.

Using Pronouns Correctly

When using a pronoun in a pair:

- *ALWAYS put the pronoun second.

Seth and I read some comic books.
(NOT: I and Seth read some comic

books.)

Science interests Mike and me.
(NOT: Science interests me and Mike.)

Using Pronouns Correctly

In formal writing and speech:use a
subject pronoun after a linking verb.

RIGHT 🡪The winner is she.

NOT🡪 She is the winner.

ACTIVITY 2

Replace one of the nouns in the following sentences
with a pronoun.

1.

Tanner and Tanner’s friend Todd won the boat
race.

2.

Why did Oscar give Oscar’s camera to the school?

3.

Darius scored a goal; the first of Darius’ season.

Open Ended

Replace the underlined nouns in the following sentence with a pronoun.

Tanner and Tanner’s friend Todd won the boat race.

Open Ended

Replace the underlined nouns in the following sentence with a pronoun.

Why did Oscar give Oscar’s camera to the school?

Open Ended

Replace the underlined nouns in the following sentence with a pronoun.

Darius scored a goal; the first of Darius’ season.

PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS

Antecedent (or referent)-
The noun or group of words that a

pronoun refers to

Example:
● Chelsey finished her presentation.

○ "Chelsey" is the antecedent and "her" is the pronoun.

PRONOUNS AND ANTECEDENTS

1.

Pronoun must agree with
antecedent in number
(singular or plural) and
gender.

2.

The gender of a noun may be
masculine (male), feminine
(female), or neuter (referring to
things).

RULES:

Extra Knowledge!

“He has one job in the day and another at night.”

I already have a book, I don’t need another.

Indefinite Pronouns

What Are Indefinite Pronouns?

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

Indefinite Pronouns

Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However,
some of them can be singular in one context and plural in another.
The most common indefinite pronouns are listed below, with
examples, as singular, plural or singular/plural.

Notice that a singular pronoun takes a singular verb AND that any
personal pronoun should also agree (in number and gender).

Look at these examples:
Each of the players has a doctor.
I met two girls. Onehas given me her phone number.
Similarly, plural pronouns need plural agreement:
Manyhave expressed their views.