Pronouns
Read the story ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’ given below:
A hare was once boasting of his speed to the other animals. ‘I have never yet been beaten in a race,’ he told them. ‘I can run faster than any of you. I challenge anyone here to race with me.’ The tortoise said quietly, ‘I accept the challenge.’ ‘That is a good joke,’ the hare laughed. ‘I could dance around you all the way.’ ‘Keep your boasting until you have won,’ answered the tortoise. ‘Shall we race?’
Write down all the words the hare uses to address himself. One has been done as an example.
- I (given as example)
- me
- my
Task: Write down the word the tortoise uses for the hare.
- you
Task: What word does the tortoise use for both the hare and himself?
- we
Task: What word has been used instead of the word ‘animals’?
- them
Note: These words are pronouns, which stand for the nouns “hare,” “tortoise,” and “animals.”
Worksheet I
Now imagine you are the hare. You continue to narrate the story to your friends. Use pronouns to complete the story. The first sentence has been done as an example.
‘After the tortoise challenged me, a course was fixed and a start made. I ran out of sight at once, but the tortoise did not give up. He continued to walk slowly but steadily. Soon, knowing that he was far behind, I stopped to have a nap. But when I woke up from my nap, I saw that he was far ahead of me. Quickly, I got up and ran as fast as I could. But he had already touched the finish line.’
Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.
Worksheet II
Read the following extract taken from B.2 ‘Mix-up at Birth’ (Unit-Sports) of My English Reader. The story has been written by Sunil Gavaskar. Circle the pronouns and say what nouns they replace.
I am grateful to my uncle for noticing the hole, for I have often wondered what would have happened if he had not been alert. Perhaps, I would have grown up to be a fisher-man, working somewhere along the west coast. I often think about the baby who, for a spell took my place. I don’t know if he is interested in cricket or whether he will ever read this book. I can only hope that if he does, he will start taking a little more interest in Sunil Gavaskar.
Names and Pronouns Used:
- Sunil Gavaskar: I, my
- The baby: he, who
- Uncle: he
Worksheet III
Read the poem given below. Notice the nouns and pronouns used in each stanza. In the given boxes in front of each stanza, write the pronoun(s) used for each noun.
Worksheet III: Pronouns in the Poem
Task: Write the pronoun(s) used for each noun in each stanza.
Stanza 1:
“The fox went out on a cold night,
And asked the moon to give him light.
So it gave him light for he had miles to go,
Before he reached the town oh! oh.”
- fox: he, him
- moon: it
Stanza 2:
“He finally reached a big pen,
in it were many ducks and hens.
On seeing him they began to run,
The fox began to chase them.
- fox: he, him, his
- ducks and hens: they, them
- Pen: it
Stanza 3:
He caught a hen by the neck,
Flung a duck on his back.
With them he ran fast to his den,
In it waited his wife and children ten.”
- ducks and hens: them
- fox: he, his
- Den: it
Stanza 3:
“They ate the hen and duck,
And thought they had wonderful luck.
After the meal they slept tight,
In their ‘den’ that moonlit night.”
- wife and children: they, their
Possessives
Rohini has made a new friend. She is telling her about her family. Read what she says.
Both my parents are textile designers and their working hours are from 9 a.m. to 5. p.m. My brother is the youngest in our family. We live in a joint family. Grandma says she is proud of her family. Grandfather wants his family to be disciplined.
Write what the words in bold stand for. One has been done for you.
- My = Rohini’s
- Their = parents
- We = family
- Her = Grandma
- His = Grandfather
Worksheet IV
Read the following dialogue that took place between Kunal and his teacher. Circle all the words that tell us whom the things belong to.
Read the following dialogue that took place between Kunal and his teacher. Circle all the words that tell us whom the things belong to.
Kunal, have you done your homework?
No, Ma’am.
Why not? Bring your notebook to my table.
(Going up to the teacher) Ma’am, I have misplaced it as our house is being whitewashed.
Why have you brought Namita’s notebook? I have already seen her work.
Ma’am, may I have your permission to keep her notebook till I find mine?
You may note down its contents and return her notebook tomorrow.
Worksheet V
Read the passage given below. In each line, there is one word missing. A slash ‘/’ has been inserted where the word is missing. Write the missing word in the space provided. The first one has been done as an example.
“One day Raghav and / friend were walking through the forest that was near / house. Suddenly / heard a scream. Raghav at once ran in that direction. On reaching there, / saw a small girl lying on the ground / had been bitten by a snake. Raghav tried to look for the snake but / had gone away. The two friends quickly took the girl to a doctor. The doctor treated / at once and told the boys that / were very brave.”
- Friend → his
- House → his
- Heard → they
- Saw → he
- Had → who
- Had → it
- Treated → her
- Were → they
Do It Yourself
- Read the conversation given below. You will notice that there is a lot of repetition of nouns. Replace the repeated words with suitable pronouns or possessives in the box provided by their side.
Rohini: Have you made a new friend, Reena?
Reena: Yes, her name is Mallika Suri. She is ten years old. She has just joined our school. She likes music and skating.
Rohini: Does she have any brothers or sisters?
Reena: Yes, she has a brother, Madhav.
Madhav is in class-IX. He is a good swimmer. They play the guitar very well. In fact, they have given many stage performances also. Their parents are always encouraging them.
- Raman has found a few pencils in his desk. He asks the students of his class whom they belong to. The following conversation takes place. Read it carefully and circle the pronouns and possessives.
Raman: Whose pencils are these?
Rashi: I don’t know. They are not mine.
Varun: Where did you find them?
Raman: I found them in my desk.
Ragini: They, perhaps, belong to the students who had their class here in the previous period.
Raman: What about these pens? Do you think they are also theirs?
Ragini: I am not sure of that, but I’m sure that they are not ours.
Rashi: That red one is Ruchi’s, I think. She lost her pen this morning.
Varun: Yes, it is hers.
- Personal Pronouns: I, you, they, it, she
- Possessive Pronouns: mine, my, theirs, ours, her, hers
- Demonstrative Pronouns: these