Identify pronouns and their antecedents
Key Notes :
| What is a Pronoun? |
- A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun to avoid repetition.
- Examples: he, she, it, they, we, who, which.
- Sentence: Maria loves her cat. She feeds it every day.
✅ She and it are pronouns replacing Maria and cat.
| What is an Antecedent? |
- An antecedent is the noun that a pronoun refers to.
- Example: The dog barked because it was hungry.
✅ Dog is the antecedent of it.
| Types of Pronouns |
| Pronoun Type | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | Refers to people or things |
| Possessive | my, your, his, her, its, our, their | Shows ownership |
| Reflexive | myself, yourself, himself, herself | Refers back to the subject |
| Relative | who, whom, whose, which, that | Connects clauses |
| Demonstrative | this, that, these, those | Points to something |
| Indefinite | someone, anyone, everyone | Refers to non-specific people/things |
| Rules to Identify Pronouns & Antecedents |
- Find the pronoun first 🔎 He went to the park. → Pronoun = He
- Ask “Who or what is it referring to?” Ravi went to the park. He enjoyed the swing. → He refers to Ravi
- Check for clarity ✨
- Pronouns must clearly refer to one noun.
- Unclear: John told Alex that he was late. ❌ (Who is late?)
- Clear: John told Alex, “You are late.” ✅
- Pronouns must agree with antecedents
- Number: Singular vs Plural The cat is hungry. It wants food. ✅
The cats are hungry. They want food. ✅ - Gender: Male, Female, Neutral Lisa loves her dog. She feeds it daily. ✅
- Number: Singular vs Plural The cat is hungry. It wants food. ✅
| Examples with Emojis |
- Rina 🧑🎓 loves reading books 📚. She reads every night.
- Pronoun = She
- Antecedent = Rina
- The dogs 🐕 were barking. They wanted food.
- Pronoun = They
- Antecedent = The dogs
- I 🧑 am going to the market 🛒. Do you want to come with me?
- Pronouns = I, you, me
- Antecedents = I (for I and me), you = person spoken to
| Quick Tips |
- Tip 1: Always locate the noun before the pronoun.
- Tip 2: Ensure singular pronouns don’t refer to plural nouns.
- Tip 3: Watch out for tricky pronouns: it, this, that, which, who.
Let’s practice!🖊️
