Pronouns #1 Directions: Choose the word in the parentheses ... · conquering the world’s highest mountain. 9. Jon Krakauer describes the natural beauty of Mount Everest in (its,

Pronouns #1

Directions: Choose the word in the parentheses that best completes the sentence.

1. Although King Arthur is a legendary hero, (he, him) probably existed as a real person as well.

2. While historians think that a real King Arthur existed, (they, them) know little about him.

3. It is (they, them) who say that his legend may be based on a real leader of the fifth or sixth century.

4. The real Arthur may have been a Celtic military leader; (he, him) defended Britain from Anglo-Saxon invaders.

5. So many stories were told about (he, him) that he must have been heroic in real life.

6. The legends that grew from the stories were romances and show (we, us) how people thought knights should behave.

7. In reality, (they, them) were often greedy and violent and used their weapons to get what they wanted.

8. Arthur supposedly brought (they, them) together to improve their honesty and the quality of life for citizens.

9. Tales about Arthur were originally oral, but eventually people wrote (they, them) down.

10. Over the course of time, legends grow until (they, them) have little resemblance to the truth.

Pronouns #2: Pronoun-Antecedents Agreement

Directions: Choose the word in the parentheses which best completes the sentence.

1. Mount Everest divides Tibet from Nepal, with Nepal situated on (their, its) south side.

2. Mount Everest was formed about 60 million years ago, but until May 29, 1953, no one had ever climbed to (his, its) highest point.

3. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first men to do so when (they, he) reached the summit on that date.

4. Hillary, a beekeeper from Auckland, New Zealand, and Tenzing, the son of a farming family from Nepal, first met when (he, they) joined an expedition to climb Everest.

5. When the men began the expedition, (it, they) dreamed of being the first to reach the summit.

6. Other members turned back, but neither Hillary nor Tenzing wanted to give up (his, their) dream.

7. Either Hillary or Norgay put (his, their) foot on the summit first, but neither would say who did so.

8. Hillary and other climbers have written books about (his, their) experiences conquering the world’s highest mountain.

9. Jon Krakauer describes the natural beauty of Mount Everest in (its, his) book Into Thin Air.

10. The mountain was named for Sir George Everest in 1865, but (its, his) name in Nepal is Sagarmatha, which means ―ocean mother,‖ while in Tibet it is called Chomolungma, or ―mother goddess of the universe.‖

Pronouns #3: Indefinite Pronouns as Antecedents


1. Everyone who values freedom should pay (their, his or her) respects to Harriet Tubman, a onetime slave who became an American hero.

2. In the years before the Civil War, many who escaped slavery owed (his or her, their) freedom to Tubman.

3. Each of the people who traveled on the Underground Railroad was willing to risk (their, his or her) life for the sake of freedom.

4. Several of the people who were abolitionists risked (his or her, their) lives to help slaves reach the north and freedom.

5. After Tubman made her own escape, she joined forces with some of the abolitionists, working with (them, him or her) to liberate others.

6. Each of the 18 trips she made along the Underground Railroad had (its, their) dangers.

7. Most of the journey was fraught with peril up until (their, its) end. 8. Of the more than 300 slaves Tubman guided along the Underground Railroad,

no one lost (his or her, their) life or was recaptured. 9. Both of Tubman’s parents, whom Tubman helped escape in 1857, owed (his or

her, their) freedom to their daughter. 10. Abolition and women’s rights were critical issues to Tubman, and both took (its,

their) share of her time and energy.

Pronouns #4


1. (Us, We) students were interested in finding out the origins of the English names for the days of the week.

2. A trip to the library helped (us, we) researchers find out that four of the seven days are named for characters in Norse Mythology.

3. That Wednesday was named for Odin, ruler of the Norse gods, was a surprise to (we, us) students

4. Tuesday is named for Tyr, a son of Odin, though a less well-known character than (him, he).

5. Thursday was named for Thor, the god of thunder, so two days were named after Odin’s sons, (he, him) and Tyr.

6. Friday was named for Frigg, the wife of Odin; when their son Balder died, no one was sadder than (her, she).

7. It was (she, her), Frigg, who was the goddess of marriage. 8. If you read about gods in Greek Mythology, you may conclude that Norse gods

were not as powerful as (they, them). 9. In fact, Balder, (him, he) who was most beloved of all the gods, was killed in one

story. 10. Although no one believes in the Norse gods anymore, (we, us) students still like

to read stories about them.

Pronouns #5: Using Who and Whom


1. (Who, Whom) doesn’t know at least something about circuses? 2. Few people know much about the remarkable man for (who, whom) the most

famous circus is named. 3. P.T. Barnum’s life would interest (whoever, whomever) has seen a circus. 4. Barnum, (who, whom) was from Connecticut, moved to New York City when he

was in his early 20s. 5. In 1841, his American Museum began drawing many people, (who, whom) came

to see such attractions as Jumbo the giant elephant and a mermaid – fake, of course.

6. The museum was successful, but it could be seen only by (whoever, whomever) could travel to New York.

7. (Whom, Who) had Barnum failed to reach? 8. He was sure that if his show could travel, it would attract those (who, whom)

were unable to get to New York. 9. In 1871, Barnum took off on a railroad tour, bringing his show within reach of

(whoever, whomever) lived in towns along the route. 10. Now the circus comes to many towns, thanks to Barnum, without (who, whom)

the show might never have gone on the road.

Pronouns #6: Possessive Pronouns


1. (You’re, Your) visiting Australia? 2. (You’re, Your) plane ticket will be expensive. 3. (It’s, Its) well worth spending the money to travel, though. 4. Each country has (it’s, its) own unique things to do and see. 5. People in Australia like to surf, (their, there, they’re) beaches are really nice. 6. (There, their, they’re) is so much to see in Australia. 7. (There, their, they’re) culture is different from American culture. 8. (You’re, Your) going to learn a lot about Australia when you visit. 9. Make sure you take lots of pictures of (your, you’re) trip. 10. I am so jealous that (you’re, your) going (there, they’re, their).

Pronouns # 7: Nominative and Objective Cases Directions: Choose the correct form from the pronouns in the parenthesis.

1. Though most people watch television, (they, them) may not know how a television show is put together.

2. When my friend and (I, me) went to see a show being taped, we learned a lot about how a TV show works.

3. Before the show, we saw workers scurrying around and learned that it is (them, they) who put the scenery, props, and lights in place.

4. We talked to one worker who told us that (she, her) and the other technicians were responsible for controlling the lights.

5. (She, Her) explained that just one televised scene may require as many as 20 different lighting instruments.

6. (Us, We) and the others in the audience watched as microphones and cameras were put in place.

7. We saw a man rushing off to the side of the filming area and learned that (he, him) and the others worked behind the scenes, in the control room.

8. The director seemed to be everywhere at once; the one responsible for coordinating everyone and everything on the show is (she, her).

9. Before the taping began, makeup was applied to each performer so that (he or she, him or her) would look natural on camera.

10. After the show is taped, the tape is reviewed by the director, corrected by editors, and stored until the time you and (me, I) will see it on our screens.

Pronouns #8: Providing Pronouns

Directions: On your paper, write an appropriate pronoun in the correct case for each numbered blank. Sir Lancelot was one of the most colorful characters in Arthur’s Round Table. Not only was (1) ________ popular with the ladies, he held quite a war record as well. In one battle (2) _______ knocked five knights off their horses and broke the backs of four of (3) _______. As (4) _______ became angrier, (5) ______ knocked off another 28 knights. When a lady led (6) ________ to his enemy, (7) _______ succeeded in beheading that enemy and freeing 60 of his fellow knights. Lancelot also loved Queen Guinevere. Even though Guinevere was the queen, (8) _______ was almost burned at the stake because of her affair with (9) _______. Lancelot raced in on his horse; (10) _______ rescued (11) ______ and returned (12) _______ to King Arthur before being banished to France. When my class read the legend of King Arthur, as told in Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur, (13) ________ thought (14) ________ were reading a modern adventure story combined with a soap opera.

Pronouns #9: Possessive Case Directions: Write the possessive pronouns in the following sentences. 1. Our Australian friend told us a story from her homeland, the land of the aborigines. 2. She told us about their ―dreamtime,‖ a time long ago when our animal ancestors

inhabited the earth. 3. People back then talked with the animals, friends of theirs. 4. No people knew how to make fire in those days until their friend Joongabillbil the

Chicken Hawk taught them. 5. ―Without fire,‖ he said, ―your children will starve.‖

Pronoun #10: The Possessive Case Directions: Write the possessive pronoun in the following sentences. 1. Residents of the state of Washington are proud of its natural beauty—the rugged

mountains, stately evergreen forests, and sparkling lakes and rivers. 2. No one can blame the residents for their boasting. 3. If you like to hike, fish, or ski, you should consider going to Washington for your

vacation. 4. Because we live in Washington, many opportunities for recreation are ours all year

long. 5. A recent visitor to Washington expressed her curiosity about Washington’s motto,

Alki, which is an Indian word for ―by and by.‖ 6. When settlers landed at Alki Point—now Seattle—they called it ―New York Alki‖

because they hoped that ―by and by‖ their town would be the New York of the West Coast.

7. The people of Stampede Pass, Washington, claim the record for yearly snowfall; its average is 431.9 inches.

8. A favorite fact of mine is that Washington’s Grand Coulee Dam is built with enough concrete to pave a four-lane highway from Seattle to New York!

9. What is your favorite fact about Washington? 10. Everyone has a favorite sight, and mine is the snowy slopes of Mount Rainier as

seen from an airplane.

Pronouns #11: Pronoun Errors

Directions: Correct the pronoun errors in each sentence on your paper. There may be

more than one error in each sentence.

1. Creating a small fire in a tree, he said, ―Now take some of my burning branches to

you’re homes.‖

2. When they’re fires went out, the people came back; they complaining was noisy.

3. As the people watched his rubbing branches together, Joongabilbil said, ―Making

fire: this is how its done.‖

4. ―Me replacing your fires daily won’t work; you must learn and pass on this

knowledge to you’re children.‖

5. This legend of Australia shows that knowledge of fire came from it’s unlikely hero,

a chicken hawk.


Directions: Choose the correct pronoun from those in parentheses.

1. The Chinese heroine (who, whom) went to war disguised as a man was portrayed

in the popular movie Mulan.

2. In the movie, Mulan’s father, (who, whom) has fought bravely in the past, is

ordered to serve in the army once again.

3. Mulan is afraid that her father (who, whom) she loves very much, is now too old to

go to war.

4. To save his life, she disguises herself and goes in his place so that (whoever,

whomever) sees her will think she is a man.

5. During the war, the soldiers discover (who, whom) Mulan really is.

6. (Who, Whom) was the real Mulan?

7. Historians think she was a real person about (who, whom) a famous poem was

written more than a thousand years ago.

8. The emperor offered her a reward; but Mulan, (who, whom) wished to go home,

accepted only a fine horse.

9. The real Mulan’s identity was not discovered until comrades with (who, whom) she

had fought visited her at home.

10. For (whoever, whomever) is curious, ―Mulan‖ means ―magnolia.‖


Directions: Find the sentences in which who and whom are used incorrectly. Correct

each sentence that contains an error.

Many women in history are known for their bravery in battle. (1) One was

Raziyya Iltutmish, who ruled Northern India from 1236 to 1240. (2) Raziyya’s father

chose his daughter, who he considered superior to his sons, as his successor. (3) Riots

protesting a woman ruler broke up, and it was Raziyya herself who led the troops to

restore peace. (4) Joan of Arc was the French heroine whom, in 1429, helped to drive

the English out of France. (5) Joan lived to see the coronation of Charles VII, the man

for who she had fought so valiantly. (6) Deborah Sampson was the first American

woman who we know of that joined an army in combat. (7) Like Mulan, Sampson,

who fought in the Revolution, dressed as a man to hide her gender.

Pronouns #14: Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement


1. Rama and Ravana are well known in India because of (his, their) roles as the hero

and villain, respectively, of that Ramayana.

2. In the epic, either Rama or his half-brother Bharata must give up (his, their) claim to

the throne, and Bharata is made king.

3. Rama, his faithful wife Sita, and his loyal supporter Laksmana leave (his or her,

their) home to live in the forest.

4. There, the demon king Ravana and his army kidnap Sita and take her away to (his,

their) land.

5. Rama and Laksmana are unable to rescue Sita until a band of talking monkeys and

bears offers to help (him, them).

6. At the head of the band is (its, their) leader, the mighty monkey-general Hanuman.

7. In a great battle, neither Ravana nor his demons are easy to defeat because of (his,

their) ability to change shapes at will.

8. However, Ravana is defeated by Rama’s army through (its, their) incredible feats of

strength and bravery.

9. Ravana’s army must accept (its, their) defeat.

10. Rama and Sita return to (his or her, their) country’s capital, where Rama is finally

crowned king.

Pronouns #15: Using Gender-Free Language

Directions: Use gender-free language to revise the following sentences. Make sure the

verbs and other words agree with their subjects.

1. An Indonesian can cheer for her favorite character in puppet performances of the

Ramayana.

2. The epic is often performed as a dance-drama; thus, an actor who wants a role must

prove that he can dance as well as act.

3. These interpretations are often performed by a character holding a mask in front of

her face.

4. A person from South and Southeast Asia will probably see his beliefs reflected in

performances of the Ramayana.

5. During a festival in our country, an individual could enjoy himself by watching six

different performances of the epic.

Pronouns #16


1. In one Norse myth, all of the gods loved Balder, (his, their) gentle partner.

2. Most were upset when (he, they) heard a prophecy that gentle Balder would soon

die.

3. Balder’s mother traveled around the world to ask all the beings to give (its, their)

promise not to harm Balder.

4. Each gave (its, their) promise, except for the tiny mistletoe plant, which she forgot to

ask.

5. Everybody believed that (his or her, their) friend would be protected by his mother’s

actions.

6. The gods didn’t know that (his or her, their) friend was doomed.

7. Loki, who was jealous because few gave (his or her, their) love to him, made an

arrow from the mistletoe plant.

8. The gods were playing games; each tossed (his or her, their) arrow or stone at

Balder, but none hurt him.

9. When Loki gave his mistletoe arrow to one of the gods, (he, they) threw it at Balder

and killed him.

10. Balder’s death plunged the gods into grief so deep that no one ever gave Loki (his

or her, their) forgiveness.

Pronouns #17

Directions: Edit the following paragraph by correcting the errors in pronoun-

antecedent agreement.

Hero Rabbit

In an Incan fable, the animals in the jungle had a meeting to choose the jaguar or

the lion as king. Everyone came to the meeting to cast their vote except the rabbit.

Many gave his or her votes to the jaguar, but the same number voted for the lion. To

break the tie, someone had to volunteer their services to carry the rabbit to the

meeting. The jaguar, thinking that the rabbit would repay the favor by voting for him,

volunteered. The rabbit, however, voted for the lion because the lion was more

peaceful. The jaguar learned that one who has their ideals well guarded cannot be

easily swayed, even if you do him a favor.

Pronouns #18

Directions: Rewrite the following sentences to correct indefinite, general, and ambiguous pronoun references. (There may be more than one way to rewrite a sentence.) 1. Before Xena became a heroine, she honed her warrior skills, but it was her human

skills that were lacking.

2. It was for leaving her army; she paid the price by going through the gauntlet.

3. No warriors had survived it before her.

4. It was two lines of warriors clubbing the person—Xena—who ran through.

5. After surviving it, Hercules helped her start becoming a heroine.

6. Xena’s archenemy is Callisto the Warrior Queen; her friends include Gabrielle the

Amazon Princess and the handsome thief Autolycus.

7. When Gabrielle met Xena, her chief weapons were her quick wit and intelligence.

8. Autolycus enjoys danger, which probably attracts Xena.

9. In one episode, you learned that Xena was responsible for the death of Callisto’s

parents.

10. This made Callisto vow that she would destroy Xena.

Pronouns #20

Directions: Rewrite the following sentences to correct instances of indefinite, general, and ambiguous pronoun reference. (There may be more than one way to rewrite a sentence.)

1. In stories and songs, you get the idea that pirates were dashing, elegant characters.

2. Pirates were desperate men who turned to a life of robbery on the high seas, which

paints a less romantic picture than the stories.

3. However, as our history book explains, they often chose the outlaw’s life because of

the cruel and unfair treatment they received working as honest seamen.

4. A rough form of democracy allowed them to choose their own captains and set up

rules.

5. In one nonfiction book, it says that pirates set up free colonies of their own, such as

Libertatia on the island of Madagascar.

6. The pirates of Libertatia held all the goods in a shared treasury, which they had

stolen.

7. Some pirates became national heroes and patriots, which is the subject of an

interesting book I read.

Pronouns #20

Directions: Revise the following paragraph; eliminate any pronoun reference

problems.

Wonder Woman

(1) She became the first female superhero when she appeared in comic books in

the 1940s. (2) More than 30 years later, you could see Wonder Woman come to life in a

TV movie starring Cathy Lee Crosby. (3) Then in 1976, Lynda Carter appeared as the

main character in the Wonder Woman television series. (4) From episode to episode,

they covered everything from hostile alien life forms to mad scientists to a

computerized dating service. (5) The last episode aired in 1979. (6) Nonetheless, it

paved the way for shows featuring other super heroines—like Xena.

Pronouns #21 Directions: Choose the correct pronoun from those in parentheses.

1. (We, Us) movie fans know that the role of Superman in the Superman movies was

played by Christopher Reeve.

2. When we heard that Reeve had been seriously injured in an accident, it shocked and

saddened (we, us) listeners.

3. We sympathized with the whole Reeve family—his wife, his three children, and (he,

him).

4. Christopher Reeve says that he used to think heroes were women and men who

performed more courageous acts than (we, us) ordinary people.

5. Now he believes that (we, us) ordinary people become heroes when we show the

―strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.‖

Documents

Pronouns #1 Directions: Choose the word in the parentheses ... · conquering the world’s highest mountain. 9. Jon Krakauer describes the natural beauty of Mount Everest in (its,