Antecedents

Antecedent - a word, phrase, or clause replaced with a 3rd person personal pronoun

Third-Person Personal Pronouns

• he, him, his, himself

• she, her hers, herself

• it, its, itself

• they, them, their, theirs, themselves

Adeline bit her lip.

• Adeline = antecedent; her = personal pronoun

Our carnivorous friends will not attend the picnic because they despise tofu hot-dogs and black bean burgers.

• friends = antecedent; they = personal pronoun

Eating with your mouth closed has several benefits. Most importantly, it keeps people from turning away in disgust.

• eating with your mouth close = antecedent; it = personal pronoun

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Singular pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself

Plural pronouns: ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Intensive Pronouns - used to emphasize another word (antecedent)

• can come right after the noun/pronoun, or it could be at the end

• not necessary to understand meaning -- if removed, sentence retains the same meaning

Sid himself hung the picture.

Sid hung the picture himself.

Reflexive Pronouns - has antecedent as subject in sentence

• completes meaning -- cannot be left out

• think of a mirror, it reflects and you have to be shown in the mirror

Burton knows himself well.

Did you teach yourself music?

Warnings

• not used in place of personal pronouns

Ron and I repaired the light.

Ron and myself repaired the lamp. (NO)

This is between you and me.

This is between you and myself. (NO)

• hisself and theirselves are not words

Relative, Demonstrative, and Interrogative Pronouns

Demonstrative Pronouns - used to point out a specific person, place, thing, or idea (this, that, these, those)

This is a snapshot of my pen pal from Quebec.

Interrogative Pronouns - introduces a question (who, whom, whose, which, what)

What is the capital of Canada?

Relative Pronouns - introduces a subordinate clause (who, whom, whose, which, that)

My brother works at the animal shelter that is located on Sycamore Street.