LESSON 3

TOPIC : PARTS OF SPEECH: PRONOUNS

LESSON OUTCOMES : 1. determine the kinds of pronouns

2. demonstrate proper way of writing sentences
using antecedents

ENGAGE: Here is a paragraph entitled “ The Fortune Teller”. Read it

carefully. What do you observe in this paragraph?

'The Fortune Teller'

The fortune teller moved the fortune teller's dry,

shriveled hands over the glass ball that the fortune
teller had bought at a dollar store a long time ago. The
fortune teller could hear the laughter and the occasional
shouts of the children as the children ran outside from ride
to ride and from tent to tent. The children never came in to
see the fortune teller. Instead it was always the face of a
laid-off dock worker or a romantic teenager that peered
through the entrance way of the fortune teller's tent. The
unemployed dock workers wanted to hear about winning
lottery tickets and new job opportunities. The teenagers
were eager to hear stories about far away places and dark,
mysterious strangers. And so the fortune teller always
told the dock workers and the teenagers what the dock
workers and the teenagers wanted to hear. The fortune
teller liked giving the dock workers and the
teenagers something to dream about. The fortune teller tried
to fill the minds of the dock workers and the teenagers with
great expectations. Just then, a young man appeared in the
entrance way. The young man was nervous, and the smile of
the young man was timid. The young man shuffled into the
dark tent, the young man's head full of dreams and yet, at
the same time, innocently empty. The fortune teller took the
trembling hands of the young man into the fortune
 teller's own hands, and peered at the revealing lines etched
on the palms of the young man. Then, slowly, in the cracked,
ancient voice of the fortune teller, the fortune teller began to
speak of new job opportunities, faraway places, and dark,
mysterious strangers.
(source: Pronoun Exercise: Recasting a Paragraph With Pronouns. Available @
https://www.thoughtco.com/exercise-recasting-paragraph-with-pronouns-1690992 )

EXPLORE:

The readers would like to read an interesting story, and it can be

achieved by using appropriate words that will not confuse nor irritate them.
So, the use of pronouns in the sentence or paragraph will lessen repetition
of words that might make the readers uninterested to continue the reading
activity. How are you going to achieve this?

Pronouns are words that replace noun or a group of words acting

as noun to avoid repetition of nouns over and over again. It takes place
within a sentence or in a paragraph.

Kinds of Pronouns

1. Personal Pronouns are pronouns that refer to:

a. the person speaking
b. the person spoken to
c. the person, thing, or place spoken about

Point of view PERSONAL PRONOUNS

First-person pronoun (the I, me, my, mine We, us, our, ours
person speaking)
Second-person pronoun You, your, yours You, your, yours
(the person spoken to)
He, him, his, They, them, their,
Third-person pronoun (masculine gender)
theirs
(the person, thing, or
place spoken about) She, her, hers,
It, its (feminine
gender)
Examples:
1. The man brings food to his family.
2. The happy children have enjoyed the gifts from their grandmother.
3. The fishermen waved excitedly as they approached the shore.
4. You can be a source of hope to others.
5. As responsible citizens, we have to be sensitive to the situation of
others.

2. Indefinite Pronouns are pronouns that refer to people, places, or

things , often without specifying which one.

Here are some of the indefinite pronouns. Take note that some can
either be singular or plural depending upon their use in the
sentence.

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
Singular Plural Singular or Plural
another much
anybody neither both all
anyone. nobody few any
anything. no one many more
each others most
nothing several none
either. one some
everybody. other
everyone
somebody
everything
someone
little
something

Examples:
1. Nothing is impossible with God.
2. Everybody is alarmed by the increasing number of Covid 19 cases.
3. Neither of the health protocols is strictly followed.
4. Anyone can be infected with the virus.
5. No one is above the law.
3. Demonstrative Pronouns point out a specific person, place, or thing. It
may be placed before or after its antecedent.

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
Singular Plural
this that these those

Take note that the demonstrative pronouns are not followed by a noun.
Examples:
1. This is the book that I was looking for.
2. Those are my summer projects.
3. Of all my grown plants, these are my favorites.

4. Interrogative Pronouns are pronouns are used to ask questions.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
what which who where when whose whom

5. Relative Pronouns are considered connecting words. They are used

as introductory words for a subordinate clause and connect it to
another idea in the same sentence. Some of the interrogative
pronouns can be used as relative pronouns.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS
that what which who where when whose whom

Examples:
Independent clause Subordinate Clause
1. Leaving the crowded place is the that she needs to take.
action

2. This is the chair which reminds me of my

grandmother.
 3. Is this the lady whom you want to see?

6. Intensive vs. reflexive Pronouns

Intensive pronouns are used only for emphasis, and they can be
removed from a sentence without affecting its meaning. The same is
not true of reflexive pronouns, which do cause a change in meaning
when removed from a sentence.

Reflexive pronouns tell us that whoever performs the action in a

sentence is also the one on the receiving end of that action. In other
words, the reflexive pronoun reflects back to the subject. A reflexive
pronoun can be used as the direct object, indirect object, or object of
the preposition in a sentence
(source: https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-2/pronouns/lesson-4/reflexive-
and- intensive-pronouns )

REFLEXIVE / INTENSIVE
PRONOUNS

Myself yourself Herself

ourselves yourselves Himself
Itself
themselves

The rule to remember:

*When you take an intensive pronoun out of a sentence, the sentence still
makes sense.
 We ourselves constructed the farm house.
We constructed the farm house.
* When you take a reflexive pronoun out of a sentence, the sentence
DOESN’T make sense.
 He picked himself off the ground.
He picked ??? off the ground.
(source:  https://www.slideserve.com/fionn/reflexive-and-intensive-pronouns. )
7. Antecedent is the noun or group of words acting as a noun for which
the a pronoun refers to. Most antecedents come before the
pronouns that they replaced. And sometimes, an antecedent will
come after the pronoun. Occasionally, a pronoun which is used
alone in the sentence has no antecedent.

Examples:
1. My mother prepares her speech for the party.
2. Although it is not popular to many because of its smell, Durian fruit
tastes like heaven.
3. Nobody is perfect.

EXPLAIN:

Knowing those details about Pronouns, what major points or

concepts about pronouns do you want to be careful with when you use
them in your writing or speaking activity?
Construct three (3) major points that you will consider your guide
when you do your writing or speaking or that you will suggest to others.
Discuss each of the major points.

1. Major point 1: ___________________________________

________________________________________________

2. Major point 2: ___________________________________

________________________________________________

3. Major point 3: ___________________________________

________________________________________________
 ELABORATE: Surfing the net!

Check the internet for more information about pronouns and their
usage. Choose three (3) items/rules/concepts that you think are
important additional information about pronouns. Be sure that they are
not yet shared or included in this lesson. Then, exchange these new
additional items/rules/concepts to one of your classmates.

Information 1: ____________________________________________

Information 2: ____________________________________________

Information 3:____________________________________________

EVALUATE:

Name_________________________course______date_____score____

A. Pronouns. Identify the antecedent of the italicized pronoun in each of the

sentence. If the sentence uses incorrect pronoun, cross it out and write the
correct one. Write your answers in the space provided at the right.

1. The people protesting on the oil deregulation issue

are not happy because only few supported their act. __________
2. Be sure to put stamps on the letter before mailing it. __________
3. Freddy lost its jacket when he went to the barrio. __________
4. The children didn’t get as many presents as they wanted. __________
5. Money in itself has no real value. __________
6. The man which works hard deserves to succeed. __________
7. The mayor was angry at the people which had
campaigned against her. __________
8. The plants which are planted in the sun doubled
its growth in a month. __________
9. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Jonson are proud of their children. __________
10. We sometimes find it easier to be honest with others
than with ourselves. __________
11.Potatoes, which are not as fattening as some persons
think, are rich in vitamins. __________
12. Sensitive people hate to be laughed at when he/she make
foolish mistakes. __________
13.The homeless man put on an old hat and departed
as quickly as they had come. __________
14. Many are quite paranoid of the Covid 19 cases in her
school. __________
15. Students realized that they still have to make good effort
to pass their exam. __________
16. The dean together with her teachers gets their praises
for a job well done. __________
17. The items in the list must be followed by its descriptions. __________
18. Several militant groups staged their dismay on the
political system of our country. __________
19. The Philippines has almost lost its beauty. __________
20. We are the makers of our own destinies. __________

B. In the following sentences underline each pronoun that is used incorrectly, and
then write the correct form in the space at the right. Write C if the sentence is
correct.

1. The congregation appreciates mine support to the

chapel project. __________
2. The best public speaker in the family is her. __________
3. The directions that the tour guide gave to
we were easier to follow than our map. __________
4. The problem that I shared to you must
just be between you and I. __________
5. Her and Maria went to the library to check for some books. __________
6. The program dean asked she and her friend to host the affair.__________
7. The interior designer changed the color of its hair. __________

C. Identify the kind of pronoun the underlined word belongs. Give only one
answer based on the function of the word in the sentence.

8. Who gave the SONA last July 27, 2020? ___________

9. The parent discussed with the school principal
about the concern that disturbs her child’s
focus in school. ___________
10. Most of the results show positive relationship
with class schedule. ___________
11. The action to clean the room is done by the
students themselves. ___________
 12. One of the reasons of drop out in school is
addiction to computer games. ____________

13. The health workers themselves are already

complaining about the irresponsible behavior
of some citizens. ____________

14. The dog played with its tail. ____________

15. All of me wants God. ____________

Further Readings

1. Reflexive pronouns. Available@  https://uwf.edu/media/university-of-west-

florida/colleges/cassh/departments/writing-lab/mini-lessons/Pronoun-Case-
Reflexive-Pronouns82.ppt. 
2. Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns, ppt. Available @
https://www.slideserve.com/fionn/reflexive-and-intensive-pronouns. 
3. Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns. Available @
http://www.campbell.k12.ky.us/userfiles/1310/Classes/9095/Intensive
%20Pronouns%20PPT.ppt

REFERENCES

Murcia, M.C. and Freeman, D.L. (2010). The grammar book: an ESL/EFL
teacher’s course. 2nd ed. Philippines: CENGAGE Learning.

San Miguel, J.G., Barraquio, D.D, & Revilla, R.DV.(2014). Smart English. (3rd ed)
Quezon City: C & E Publishing.

Writing and grammar: communication in action. Handbook ed. (2004).

Singapore: Pearson Prentice Hall.