PRONOUNS

Personal Pronouns

I, me, my, mineyou, your, yourshe, him, hisshe, her, hersit, itsone, one's

we, us, our, ours

they, them, their, theirs J

Reflexive Pronouns

myselfyourselfhimself

herselfitselfoneself

ourselves

yourselvesthemselves J

rSPELLING TIP

There are two words that sound the same: its and it's.How can you tell when to use the apostrophe and when not to?

Remember:

In this case, the apostrophe always means that there is a letter missing: it's = it is.If you want to show possession, do NOT usean apostrophe.

I don't think you should buy that used car. It's true that jtls cheap, butIts tires are flat, rts windshield is cracked, and it's covered in mst.

k;

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Indefinite Pronouns(These are called "indefinite" because we don't definitely know forsure which noun - which person or thing - they are replacing.)

someone, somebody, somethinganyone, anybody, anythingeveryone, everybody, everythingno one, nobody, nothing

some

any

none

alleach

bothmany

fewmuch

littlemore

lessfewer

most

least

TIPThese words are pronouns only when they replace a noun.If they have a noun with them, then they are not replacing the noun, they are describing it.That means they are not pronouns - they are adjectives.

Do you have any?Do you have any money?

pronounadjective

I have some. but I would like more. pronouns

I have some money, but I would like more money. adjectives

Both live in Florida.Both men live in Florida.

pronoun

adjective

Many want to be rich, but few are willing to work. pronounsMany people want to be rich, but few people are willing to work. adjectives

Most know verv little about ancient history, pronounMost people know very little information about ancient history, adjectives

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Demonstrative Pronouns

thisthat

these

those

Who?What?

Interrogative Pronouns

When? Why?Where?

TIPThese words are pronouns only when they replace a noun.If there is a noun with them, then they are not replacing the noun, they are describing it.That means they are not pronouns - they are adjectives.

This is mine.This book is mine.

That is yours.That book is yours.

pronoun

adjective

pronoun

adjective

These are beautiful, pronounThese pictures are beautiful, adjective

Those are ugly. pronounThose pictures are ugly. adjective

What are you doing? pronounWhat game are you playing? adjective

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Reciprocal Pronouns

each other

one another

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Relative Pronouns

who, whom, whosewhich

that

What Are Relative Pronouns?

First of all, you will be learning about relative pronouns beginning in Part 3, so if you don tperfectly understand them right now, don't worry - you will!

This is what you need to know about relative pronouns:. They always come right after a noun (or a pronoun).. They always introduce a group of words that gives more information about the noun.

(They relate that information back to the noun, which is why they are called relativepronouns.)

Examples:

I liked the present that you gave me.T T

noun words (beginning with a rel. pron.) giving more information about the noun

The girl who sits beside me is cute.T T

noun words (beginninhg with a rel. pronoun)giving more information about the noun

The man whose doe bit me apologized.T T

noun words (beginning with a rel. pronoun)giving more information about the noun

The people whom I met last week are very nice.T T

noun words (beginning with a rel. pronoun)giving more information about the noun

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,20Name:

Date:

Pronoun Practice

Circle fhe pronoun in each sentence. Then say what kind ofpronoun it is:personal reflexive indefinite demonstrative interrogative reciprocal relative

's~-i'

3k: She } likes pizza.

1. They were watching the football game.

2. Is it raiaing?

3. Romeo and Juliet loved each other.

4. Did you enjoy the movie?

5. Those are Michael's books.

6. Who painted this picture?

7. The teacher didn't think anybody would know the answer.

8. Where is the nearest post office?

9. Mane finished the project by herself.

10. The plays that Shakespeare wrote are still popular today.

11. What book are you reading right now?

12. What did Mr. Masterson say to those boys?

13. Caroline's eyes, which are blue, sparkled with happiness._

44. One should always be polite to adults.

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15. The whole class is invited to my birthday party tomorrow.

16. The students drew pictures of themselves in art class.

17. People ought to be respectful and kind to one another.

18. When the cookies are ready, the children would like some.

19. The men went looking for gold but did not find much.

20. The police will find the man whose fingerprints are on the gun.

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VERBS

Verbs show either action or being.Action verbs describe actions that someone or something is doing.

Examples: danced, threw, hit, ran, slept, cried, yelled, loves, sees

Note: Some action verbs are not very active. In the sentenceJeremy has a pencil, Jeremy is not doing anything very active.He is just having that pencil. Nevertheless, has is the verb.

Being verbs (also called linking verbs) show what someone or something is.

Examples: am, is are, was, were, will be, seems, appears, feels

Verbs can be one word, or a group of words.All of the underlined words m these sentences are verbs.

He went to school.

He was eoine to school.He will so to school.He should have gone to school.

He used to so to school.

You can even have groups of words all together in a row. For example, try is averb, because it describes an action. So is wan/. So is go. Look how we can putall of these verbs together, one right after the other, so that together they make upthe verb part of these sentences.

He wants to try to go to school.

He should have been able to tTy_to^o to school.

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3. CERBS

Verbs are t!^ most complicated of all of the parts of speech. It would be wonderful if, atsome point inS^eir academic careers, your students could learn all about verbs, such asthe diffe^yit moods (infmitive, indicative, imperative, subjunctive)the differei^tenses (all of the past, present, and future forms)the different apices (active and passive)the different p^ons (first, second, and third person, singular and plural), including

subject-verb ag^ementthe principal parts o^verbs, mcluding irregular past participles such as seen, gone,

etc.

phrasal verbs (verbs tha^ome as a package deal with one or more prepositions,e.g. to throw up, to r^t away, to give up, to put up -with)

COTTcet usage (e.g. to forbid Sqmeone to do something but to prevent someone ^omdoing something: to be able to^^p something but to be capable of doing something)

'^\

There is so much one could teach about vi^bs! (We will cover some of it in Part 3.)

All your students really need for this unif^owever, is to be able to recognize aword (or group of words) as a verb - and perhaps to be able to identify linkingverbs.

And while we're on the subject of linking verbs (whicft^ will explain in more detailbelow), they are also called copula verbs, copular verbs, ivad copulative verbs. (No, I'mnot making this up - and yes, these last three names do co^ from the same root word asthe verb "to copulate", which, after all, also has the meaning^f linking two thingstogether.) I recommend, for reasons which are probably obvious, that you use theinnocuous (and easier to spell) name linking verbs with your stud^ats.

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4. The Verb TestTest #1

To fmd out whether a word, or a group of words, is a verb, put the word it of youbefore the word. Does it make sense?Examples: it apple you apple

Neither of these makes sense.Apple fails the verb test. It is not a verb.

it rains you rains

The first one makes sense. I could say // rains in Vancouver and itwould make sense, so rains is a verb.

Note: Some words can be used as verbs, but they can also be used as nouns.For example, play can be a noun or a verb.

We went to see a play. Here, it is a noun. a thing.On Fridays, we play football. Here, it is a verb, an action.

If you use the verb test on the word jo/ay, what happens? itplcy you playThe second one makes sense: You play football (for example), makes sense.So what the verb test really tells you is that a word can be a verb. You will have tolook at the sentence the word is in to figure out whether the word is being used asa verb or not.

Test #2

Another verb test is to try to change the word(s) into the past, present, or future.Examples: apple: Can you say, "Yesterday, I appled; today I am appling;

tomorrow I will apple"? No, so apple is not a verb.

rains: Can you say, "Yesterday, it rained; today, it is raming;tomorrow it will rain"? Yes, so "rains" could be a verb.

If you understand three things about verbs/ you will be fine:^ They don't name things, the way nouns do, but describe actions.^ They can be one word or a group of words working together.</ They change, depending on when the action happens: past,

present, or future.

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3. Verbs can change their endings, depending on whether they are describing anaction in the past, the oresent. or the future.

For example, let's look at three verbs: to walk, to go, to be and see how theychange. I will only use the pronoun /because if I had to write the verbs out withyou, he, she, we, they, it would take forever. This should be enough to give you anidea of how verbs change when you put them in the past, present, or fuhire.(I will never ask you to memorize the names of these tenses, so don't be afiraid ofthem. I am just putting them in the chart because . .. well, they are the right namesfor each of these verb forms, and you might fmd them interesting. But I will nevertest you on the names.)

Simple Past Simple Present Simple Future

to walk I walked. I walk. I shall (or will)walk.

to go I went. I go. I shall (or will) go.

to be I was. lam. I shall (or will) be.

Past Progressive PresentProgressive

Future

Progressive

to walk I was walking. I am walking. I will be walking.

to go I was going. I am going. I will be going.

to be I was being. I am being. I will be bemg.

Past Perfect Present Perfect Future Perfect

to walk I had walked. I have walked. I shall (or will)have walked.

to go I had gone. I have gone. I shall (or will)have gone.

to be I had been. I have been. I shall (or will)have been.

These are just the basic tenses. There are others, likeI had been walking. I have been walking. I will have been walkine

I would have walked. I would walk

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Verb Practice 1

Name:

Date:

Can you find the verbs in each sentence? Circle all of the verbs. You may work byyourself or with a firiend. Remember, a verb can be one word or more than one word.

Examples: My shvrt, ^ is ^ blue.

(The dog ^ was barking ).. the maiknan.

1. Rabbits hop.

2. Fish swim.

3. The girl ran.

4. She won the race.

5. She was happy.

6. The judges gave her a gold medal.

7. Her parents were watching the race.

8. I will finish my homework tonight.

9. I should have done it yesterday.

10. My mother is gomg to be proud of me.

11. She does love me.

12. I am going to fay to help you.

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Verb Practice 2

Name:

Date:

Test yourself to see how well you understand verbs.Draw a circle around the verb (or verbs, if there are several of them working together in arow) in each sentence. If you are not sure, use one of the verb tests to tell whether or nota word or group of words is a verb. You may work by yourself or with a friend.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Jamal glanced at the clock.

It was ahnost ten thirty.

He started to ask Sassy a question.

Then he changed his mind.

Sassy was finishing her homework.

He looked into the street.

7. A thin man was leaning against the street light.

8. Jamal knew the man.

9. The man used to work with Jamal's father.

10. The man had a briefcase in his hand.

These sentences might have more than one verb. Try to find fhem all.

11. Chantal said that she would like an ice cream cone.

12. She thought that she ought to have tried to be more careful.

13. If I had listened, I might have understood what you were saying.

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