Pronouns and Antecedents What is a Pronoun and Antecedent Award Winning Teaching Video

Pronouns and Antecedents at GrammarSongs by Melissa This video builds upon the concepts and skills introduced in Subject Pronouns and Antecedents. You have learned that pronouns are words that replace nouns or proper nouns when we read, speak, or write. The prefix "pro" means "for," so pronouns stand in FOR nouns! You have also learned that an antecedent is fancy name for the noun or proper noun being replaced by the pronoun when you speak or write. Using noun, could write, "The girl went to the store." Using proper noun, could write, "Mary went to the store." Using pronoun, could write, "She went to the store." She is the pronoun that is referring to the noun "girl" or to the proper noun "Mary." "She" is the pronoun and "the girl" and "Mary" are the antecedents. But not all pronouns are found at the beginnings of sentences. There are many different types of pronouns in the English language. They all refer to nouns or proper nouns or even other pronouns in some way. No! Yikes! How are we ever going to learn all of this! Relax. We aren't going to identify all of these types of pronouns today. We are going to focus on the relationship between pronouns and antecedents. When we speak and when we write, it's important to communicate clearly so whoever is listening to us or reading our thoughts can understand the message we are trying to convey.Understanding the relationship between pronouns and antecedents makes your speech and writing less choppy and repetitive, so it creates more fluid communication. So let's get started! Okay! Sasha read her new book. This sentence has pronoun in it. "Her" is singular feminine possessive pronoun that we use every day. Let's look at why we use it and how using it can make you better writer. Without the pronoun "her," in order to convey the same message we would have to write, "Sasha read Sasha's new book." That sounds silly! Exactly! Repeating the name Sasha within the same sentence sounds choppy and redundant. That is why using pronouns is helpful, but it is important to choose the correct pronoun for the job. We wouldn't want to say, "Sasha read his new book," or :Sasha read their new book," since Sasha is female and there is only one. We need to choose pronoun that agrees in gender and number. "Her" is singular, feminine pronoun. It refers back to Sasha. Sasha is the antecedent. That makes sense! Let's practice again! Okay! Let's practice again! The puppy couldn't remember where he put his bone. This sentence actually has two pronouns in it. "He" is single, masculine personal pronoun and "his" is singular, masculine possessive pronoun, but let's look at why we need these pronouns and how they affect our speaking and writing. Without the pronouns "he" and his," in order to convey the same message, we would have to write, "The puppy couldn't remember where the puppy put the puppy's bone. my goodness! How weird! Exactly! Writing "the puppy" three times in one sentence sounds silly! That is why using pronouns is so helpful, but it is important to choose the correct pronouns for the job. We wouldn't want to say, "The puppy couldn't remember where she put her bone," since Ruff is boy dog, or "The puppy couldn't remember where they put their bone," since there is just one pup. Since" the puppy" is male, and there is only one, we need to choose pronouns that agree in gender and number. "He" and "his" are singular, masculine pronouns. They both refer back to the puppy, so "the puppy" is the antecedent. Awesome! This makes sense! So remember, pronouns are words that replace nouns or proper nouns when we speak or write. Antecedents are the original nouns or proper nouns the pronouns are referring to. And most importantly, the relationship between pronouns and antecedents makes your writing less choppy and your message more clear. Hooray! You did great job learning about pronouns and antecedents. Thank you for joining me at GrammarSongs by Melissa.