Identifying Personal Pronouns

GOAL:: To recognize and correctly use personal pronouns in sentence construction.

Objectives:: The student will be able to:; 1. Describe the grammatical function of personal pronouns.; 2. Identify personal pronouns in simple sentences.; 3. Distinguish between personal pronouns used in first, second, and third person.; 4. Identify the antecedent of a personal pronoun.; 5. Describe how to achieve agreement between personal pronouns and their antecedents.

Energy Objective:: The student will be able to:; 1. Describe the purpose and procedure of conducting a home energy audit.

Lesson Information:: A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence. A pronoun that refers to a particular person, place, thing, or idea is a personal pronoun. The antecedent is the noun that the pronoun replaces. See EXAMPLE 1.

EXAMPLE 1:: Tom is interested in reducing his utility bills. He plans to conduct an energy audit of his home to find areas of energy waste.; In this example, "he" and "his" are personal pronouns. The antecedent of these pronouns is "Tom" or the possessive form which is "Tom's." Without pronouns the sentence would become very awkward. See EXAMPLE 2.

EXAMPLE 2:

Tom is interested in reducing Tom's utility bills. Tom plans to conduct an energy audit of Tom's home to find areas of energy waste.

Identifying the form of a personal pronoun is not always easy. Pronoun choice will be affected by the speaker (person), the function the pronoun has in the sentence, and whether it is in singular or plural form.

The choice of speaker is also referred to as person. Personal pronouns may be first, second, or third person.


Person	Meaning	Examples
First	Refers to person or persons speaking	I, we
Second	Refers to the person or persons being addressed	you, yours
Third	Refers to the person, persons, or objects being discussed	he, she, it

The function of the pronoun in the sentence may be as a subject, an object, or in the possessive form.


Function	Meaning	Example
Subject	Pronoun conducting the action in the sentence	I, we, they
Object	Pronoun receiving the action in the sentence	me, you, them
Possessive	Pronoun showing possession in the sentence	my, his, their

Personal pronouns can be either singular or plural in form. It is important to locate the antecedent to decide whether the pronoun should be singular or plural. See EXAMPLE 3.

EXAMPLE 3:

Mr. and Mrs. Delhurst are concerned about the rising cost of their energy bill.

Since the compound noun acting as the antecedent, Mr. and Mrs. Delhurst, is plural, the plural pronoun "their" was chosen. Try reading the sentence using a singular pronoun such as his or her. It is easy to see that these pronoun choices would not agree with the antecedent.

Remember:

The antecedent, and all pronouns referring to it, must be in the same form -- either singular or plural. Also, if gender is involved, the gender of the pronoun must be the same as that of the antecedent.

The following charts of personal pronouns will help you in making proper pronoun choices. These charts contain information about person, function, and form.

Singular Personal Pronouns
Person	Subject	Object	Possessive
First	I	me	my, mine
Second	you	you	your, yours
Third	he, she, it	him, her, it	his, her, hers, its

Plural Personal Pronouns
Person	Subject	Object	Possessive
First	we	us	our, ours
Second	you	you	your, yours
Third	they	them	their, theirs

Activity D-1:: Underline all personal pronouns in the following sentences.; 1. Many homes lose energy in the production of hot water. Is your home among these?; 2. My mother and I save money on water heating by taking shorter baths and showers and by lowering the temperature on our water heater.; 3. Another big area of waste is in heating and cooling. Many people can reduce their electric bills by turning off their units and by allowing natural ventilation to cool their home.; 4. Building contractors feel that it is important to check your home for insulation. They explained how insulation helps reduce heat flow into and out of the home. I plan on inspecting my home to see if I have enough insulation in the walls and in the attic.

Activity D-2:

List all pronouns found in Activity D-1. State the person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), function (subject, object, or possessive) and tell whether it is singular or plural. If the pronoun is used more than once in the sentence, only list it once.

     1.   __________:    ________________________________________

     2.   __________:    ________________________________________

          __________:    ________________________________________
     
          __________:    ________________________________________

     3.   __________:    ________________________________________

          __________:    ________________________________________
     
          __________:    ________________________________________

     4.   __________:    ________________________________________
     
          __________:    ________________________________________

          __________:    ________________________________________

          __________:    ________________________________________
     
          __________:    ________________________________________

Activity R-1:: Underline all personal pronouns in the following paragraph. Identify:; 1. Person - with a 1, 2, or 3.; 2. Function - with an S, O, or P; 3. Form - with "Sing." or "Pl."; My name is Larry Tuval and I am an energy consultant at the local utility company. Mr. Tyler, a new customer, wants me to conduct an energy audit of his home. I suggested that he and his wife conduct their own audit. All utility company customers, including you, can conduct a home energy audit. The audit involves checking for some of the following items:; - air infiltration around windows and doors; - thermostats set too high or too low; - adequate insulation in floors, walls and ceilings; - use of efficient and energy saving lighting; - proper placement and operation of appliances; Any attempt that you, the utility consumer, can make to protect your home from heat loss or heat gain and from other wasteful energy practices will save you money. The utility company wishes you the best with your audit. We want to save energy for you and to save it for the future.

Activity R-2:: Look back at Activity R-1 above. List each of the pronouns you underlined. Next to each, write its antecedent. Remember: An antecedent is the noun that the pronoun replaced. Several pronouns may refer back to the same antecedent.

RECOMMENDED READING:: Building Energy Efficient Homes in Louisiana. Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. Baton Rouge, LA, n.d.

INFORMATION CHECK: 1. Describe the function of pronouns.; 2. When do you use the following personal pronouns:; a. first person; b. second person; c. third person; 3. What is an antecedent?; 4. Underline the pronouns in the following sentences and draw a line to their antecedents.; a. When the homeowner is conducting the energy audit, he should carefully feel for air leaks around windows, doors, and other joints as seen in the sketch on the previous page.; b. Home energy consumers could save a significant percentage on their energy bill by conducting an audit and giving proper attention to problem areas.; 5. List five important items that most homeowners could work on in order to save on their home energy bills.; a.; b.; c.; d.; e.

TEACHER'S NOTES
Activity D-1, D-2:: 1. your: 2nd, possessive, singular; 2. my: 1st, possessive, singular; I: 1st, subject, singular; our: 1st, possessive, plural; 3. their: 3rd, possessive, plural; 4. it: 3rd, object, singular; your: 2nd, possessive, singular; they: 3rd, subject, plural; I: 1st, subject, singular

Activity R-1, R-2:

My (1, P, sing.) name is Larry Tuval and I (1, S, sing.) am an energy consultant at the local utility company. Mr. Tyler, a new customer, wants me (1, O, sing.) to conduct an energy audit of his (3, P, sing.) home. I (1, S, sing.). I suggested that he (3, S, sing.) and his (3, P, sing.) wife conduct their (3, P, pl.) own audit. All utility company customers, including you (2, S, sing.), can conduct a home energy audit. The audit involves checking for some of the following items:

- air infiltration around windows and doors

- thermostats set too high or too low

- adequate insulation in floors, walls and ceilings

- use of efficient and energy saving lighting

- proper placement and operation of appliances

Any attempt that you (2, S, sing.), the utility consumer, can make to protect your (2, P, sing.) home from heat loss or heat gain and from other wasteful energy practices will save your (2, P, sing.) money. The utility company wishes you (2, O, sing.) the best with your (2, P, sing.) audit. We (1, S, pl.) want to save energy for you (2, O. sing.) and to save it (3, O, sing.) for the future.


Pronoun									Antecedent
My									Larry Tuval
I									Larry Tuval
me									Larry Tuval
his									Mr. Tyler
I									Larry Tuval
he, his									Mr. Tyler
their									Mr. Tyler and wife
you									the utility consumer
you, your, your									the utility consumer
you, your									the utility consumer
We									the utility company
you									the utility consumer
it									energy

Answers to Information Check:: 1. Pronouns take the place of a noun in a sentence.; 2. a. First = refers to person(s) speaking; b. Second = refers to person(s) being addressed; c. Third = refers to person(s) or object(s) being discussed; 3. An antecedent is the noun that the pronoun replaces in the sentence.; 4. a. When the homeowner is conducting the energy audit, he should carefully feel for air leaks around windows, doors, and other joints.; b. Home energy consumers could save a significant percentage on their energy bill by conducting an audit and giving proper attention to problem areas.; 5. Answers will vary. Some may include:; - Reducing air infiltration around windows and doors; - Setting thermostats at suggested settings; - Adequately insulating floors, walls, and ceilings; - Using efficient lighting; - Placing and properly operating appliances

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