Determining Person
In the following sentences, determine the person for each pronoun:
- Don’t forget to give Marieke her keys.
- Itzel and Camila were the top ranking doubles team at OSU. They hadn’t been defeated all year.
- You will need three things in order to be successful: determination, discipline, and dexterity.
Show Answer
- The pronoun is her. Her is a feminine third-person pronoun.
- The pronoun is they. They is a neutral third-person pronoun.
- The pronoun is you. You is a second-person pronoun
Classifying Pronouns
In the following sentences, identify the person, case, and number of each pronoun:
- Even though he knew he might regret it, Dirron decided to let himself ignore his responsibilities for a day.
- Elena knew she should have spent more time on homework this semester, but binge-watching TV had tripped her up again and again.
- Next Saturday, I have to take all three of my little sisters to the zoo. It’s certainly going to be an ordeal.
Show Answer
- There are five pronouns: he, he, it, himself, his
- He is a subject case, singular, masculine third-person pronoun.
- He is a subject case, singular, masculine third-person pronoun.
- It is an object case, singular, neutral third-person pronoun.
- Himself is a reflexive, singular, masculine third-person pronoun.
- His is a possessive, singular, masculine third-person pronoun.
- There are two pronouns: she and her.
- She is a subject case, singular, feminine third-person pronoun.
- Her is an object case, singular, feminine third-person pronoun.
- There are three pronouns: I, my, and it.
- I is a subject case, singular, first-person pronoun.
- My is a possessive, singular, first-person pronoun.
- It is a subject case, singular, neutral third-person pronoun.
Possessive Forms
In each sentence, select the correct possessive pronoun. Identify why you selected the pronoun you did:
- Eloá was positive that it was (her / hers) pie that I was eating.
- I was sure it was (my/ mine).
- Jake and Suren refused to give (their / theirs) opinions on the subject.
Show Answer
- Eloá was positive that it was her pie that I was eating. The pronoun is followed by the noun box of cereal, so it should be the adjective form.
- I was sure it was mine. The pronoun stands on its own, so it should be the independent form.
- Jake and Suren refused to give their opinions on the subject. The pronoun is followed by the noun opinions, so it should be the adjective form.
Choosing the Right Pronoun
In each sentence, fill in the blank with the correct pronoun. Identify why you selected the pronoun you did:
- André told me that it was ___ box of cereal, but I couldn’t remember having bought ___.
- Amelia and Ajani still haven’t arrived. I should make sure ___ texted ___.
- You shouldn’t be so worried about what other people think. The only person ___ need to please is ___.
- George Washington was the first president of the United States. ___ set the standard of only serving two terms of office. However, ___ wasn’t illegal to serve over two terms until 1951.
Show Answer
- The context of the sentence gives hints that André thinks the box of cereal belongs to the speaker of the sentence. The correct sentence would be “André told me that it was my box of cereal, but I couldn’t remember having bought it.”
- My is a possessive, singular, first-person pronoun. It is followed by the noun box of cereal, so it appears in its adjective form, rather than as mine.
- It is a subject case, singular, neutral third-person pronoun.
- There are two sentence that make sense here: “Amelia and Ajani still haven’t arrived. I should make sure I texted them,” or “Amelia and Ajani still haven’t arrived. I should make sure they texted me.” The correct sentence depends on who did (or didn’t do) the texting.
- I is a subject case, singular, first-person pronoun.
- They is a subject case, plural, third-person pronoun.
- Them is a object case, plural, third-person pronoun.
- Me is a object case, singular, first-person pronoun.
- You shouldn’t be so worried about what other people think. The only person you need to please is you.
- You is an subject case, singular, second-person pronoun.
- You is an object case, singular, second-person pronoun. Yourself would also be ok here, since the subject and object of the sentence are the same.
- George Washington was the first president of the United States. He set the standard of only serving two terms of office. However, it wasn’t illegal to serve over two terms until 1951.
- He is a subject case, singular, masculine third-person pronoun.
- It is a subject case, singular, neutral third-person pronoun.