Playing with Pronouns
I can't believe what happened today! My sister called me and said that a package was delivered to our house. I was very excited because I bought something for her that was supposed to be delivered today! The delivery man took the package from his truck and brought it to my family's front door. The delivery man gave my sister a form to sign and he took the paper and left.
My sister's boyfriend carried the package into the house and accidentally dropped it on his foot!
On the phone she said, "Ian was in so much pain we had to drive to the hospital!" In the hospital they met with a doctor who looked familiar to them. I told her, "We know her, that's our neighbor's wife!" We laughed and I asked her to check the name on the package. She stopped and giggled. I was very nervous because I thought she knew the gift was for her. I asked, "Why are you laughing?" She answered, "the delivery man made a mistake! This package is for our neighbor's wife!" I thought to myself, then where was my package? Where was her gift?
Grammar Point
A pronoun is a word that substitutes for a noun. Pronouns are used in place of a noun that has already been used. For example, "Mary has a pen. Mary's pen is blue." can use a pronoun in the second sentence and the idea will still be the same: "Mary has a pen. Her pen is blue." The three types of pronouns used are subject, object, and possessive. Personal pronouns substitute the nouns that are subjects. For example the subject for "Mary has a pen." is Mary. The pronoun to use for Mary is "she". Object pronouns substitute nouns that are objects. In "Mary has a pen." pen is the object of the sentence. The pronoun to use for pen is "it". Possessive pronouns substitute nouns that have possession of something. For example, in the question "Who belongs to the pen?" Since the pen is Mary's, the answer would be, "It is her pen."
Below is a list of pronouns. Fill in the blanks with the correct pronouns based on the type of pronoun described in the parenthesis.
1. (Subject Pronoun) _______ found a dog. 2. (Subject) _________ is a young dog. 3. Do (subject)
_____ know who is belongs to? 4. Suddenly, a man is running toward (object) ___________. 5.
(Subject) __________ claims 6. (object describing dog) ____________ belongs to 7.(possessive) ________.
Where is the Gift?
Based on the story above, answer the following questions using the correct pronoun.
1. Who called me? __________ called me.
2. Where did the delivery man place the package? _____ placed it at _____ door.
3. Who's signature is on the form? _______ signature is on the form.
4. Who carried the package into the house? _______ carried the package.
5. Who's toe did the package fall on? The package fell on _____ toe.
6. Who knew the doctor at the hospital? ______ knew the doctor.
7. Who did the package belong to? The package belonged to ________.
Put Your Pronouns to the Test!
Directions: Choose one of the games found on the website: http://www.eslgamesplus.com/subject-object-pronouns-game/ . Write each sentence using the correct pronoun. At the end of each sentence state what type of pronoun your choice is.
Answer to activity above:
1. I found a dog. *
2. It is a young dog.
3. Do you know who is belongs to?
4. Suddenly, a man is running toward me.*
5. He claims
6. it belongs to
7. him.
* both pronouns must be the same person. For example, if #1 is She, #4 must be the object pronoun for "she" also. In this case, #4 would be "her".
