Year 3 English: Pronouns: words that take the place of a noun
Part of the Year 3 English word classes chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Pronouns: words that take the place of a noun
A pronoun takes the place of a noun or a noun phrase, so we do not have to repeat it. Mia becomes she. The scarf becomes it.
Some pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. Some come after a verb or a preposition: me, you, him, her, it, us, them. A possessive pronoun shows who owns something and stands alone: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.
The simple test: can you put a noun in the place of the word, such as Mia for she?
| Kind of pronoun | Examples | Test |
|---|---|---|
| Subject (does the action) | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | replaces the doer: Mia becomes she |
| Object (has the action done to it) | me, you, him, her, it, us, them | replaces the receiver: the book becomes it |
| Possessive pronoun (stands alone) | mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs | That bag is mine: no noun follows |
Key ideas
- A pronoun takes the place of a noun: Mia becomes she.
- Pronouns can come after a verb or preposition: gave us, with them.
- A possessive pronoun, such as mine, stands alone: That bag is mine.
- A determiner, such as my, comes before a noun: my bag.
Method. Find the job of she in the sentence, then name its word class.
- Read the sentence and find the word. Look at the word in its sentence, not on its own.Mia lost her scarf, so she looked for it.
- Ask the test question. A pronoun takes the place of a noun or a noun phrase.Can a noun take the place of she? If so, she is a pronoun, because it stands in place of a noun.
- Write the answer. pronoun
Check. Check the job of she once more in the sentence. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun is used instead of a noun. It is not used after the noun it replaces.
Method. Find each word in the sentence that is a pronoun.
- Read the sentence. Check the job of each word.Ben gave the book to Ali, and Ali thanked him.
- Pick out the pronouns. Each pronoun does the job that the chapter describes.him
- Write the answer. him
Check. Each word in the answer is a pronoun. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun is used instead of a noun. It is not used after the noun it replaces.
Method. Find the one word that is a determiner.
- Read the sentence. Check the job of each word.Those books are mine.
- Find the word that is a determiner. Only one word in this sentence does this job.Those is a determiner
- Write the answer. Those
Check. Read the sentence again and check Those. ✓
Watch out. A determiner comes before a noun: my bag, every child, a bag.
Watch out
Watch out: her is a pronoun in I gave her the pen, but it is a determiner in her pen. The same word can have different word classes. Check what comes after it.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Read a short passage together. Ask your child to point to each pronoun and say which noun it stands for. Then ask: does a noun follow it? If so, it is a determiner.
Exercise 3D Practice: pronouns
Method. Find the job of she in the sentence, then name its word class.
- Read the sentence and find the word. Look at the word in its sentence, not on its own.Mia lost her scarf, so she looked for it.
- Ask the test question. A pronoun takes the place of a noun or a noun phrase.Can a noun take the place of she? If so, she is a pronoun, because it stands in place of a noun.
- Write the answer. pronoun
Check. Check the job of she once more in the sentence. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun is used instead of a noun. It is not used after the noun it replaces.
Method. Find the job of him in the sentence, then name its word class.
- Read the sentence and find the word. Look at the word in its sentence, not on its own.Ben gave the book to Ali, and Ali thanked him.
- Ask the test question. A pronoun takes the place of a noun or a noun phrase.Can a noun take the place of him? If so, him is a pronoun, because it stands in place of a noun.
- Write the answer. pronoun
Check. Check the job of him once more in the sentence. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun is used instead of a noun. It is not used after the noun it replaces.
Method. Find the job of mine in the sentence, then name its word class.
- Read the sentence and find the word. Look at the word in its sentence, not on its own.The bag is mine, and the coat is yours.
- Ask the test question. A pronoun takes the place of a noun or a noun phrase.Can a noun take the place of mine? If so, mine is a pronoun, because it stands in place of a noun.
- Write the answer. pronoun
Check. Check the job of mine once more in the sentence. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun is used instead of a noun. It is not used after the noun it replaces.
Method. Find the job of seeds in the sentence, then name its word class.
- Read the sentence and find the word. Look at the word in its sentence, not on its own.They planted seeds in the tub.
- Ask the test question. A noun names a person, a place, a thing, an animal or an idea.Put the in front: the seeds makes sense, so seeds is a noun.
- Write the answer. noun
Check. Check the job of seeds once more in the sentence. ✓
Watch out. Ideas such as kindness are nouns too. Proper nouns start with a capital letter.
Method. Find each word in the sentence that is a pronoun.
- Read the sentence. Check the job of each word.They planted seeds in the tub.
- Pick out the pronouns. Each pronoun does the job that the chapter describes.They
- Write the answer. They
Check. Each word in the answer is a pronoun. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun is used instead of a noun. It is not used after the noun it replaces.
Method. Find each word in the sentence that is a pronoun.
- Read the sentence. Check the job of each word.We saw the lions, and they roared.
- Pick out the pronouns. Each pronoun does the job that the chapter describes.We, they
- Write the answer. We, they
Check. Each word in the answer is a pronoun. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun is used instead of a noun. It is not used after the noun it replaces.
Method. Find each word in the sentence that is a pronoun.
- Read the sentence. Check the job of each word.The teacher gave us a sticker.
- Pick out the pronouns. Each pronoun does the job that the chapter describes.us
- Write the answer. us
Check. Each word in the answer is a pronoun. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun is used instead of a noun. It is not used after the noun it replaces.
Method. Find each word in the sentence that is a pronoun.
- Read the sentence. Check the job of each word.Those are mine.
- Pick out the pronouns. Each pronoun does the job that the chapter describes.Those, mine
- Write the answer. Those, mine
Check. Each word in the answer is a pronoun. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun is used instead of a noun. It is not used after the noun it replaces.
Method. Replace the noun phrase with the pronoun that stands for it.
- Find the words to replace. Mia is one person, so a pronoun for one person stands in her place.Mia likes apples.
- Write the answer. She likes apples.
Check. Read the new sentence aloud: it still makes sense. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun must match the noun it replaces.
Method. Replace the noun phrase with the pronoun that stands for it.
- Find the words to replace. The bus is a thing, so it stands in its place.The bus was late.
- Write the answer. It was late.
Check. Read the new sentence aloud: it still makes sense. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun must match the noun it replaces.
Method. Replace the noun phrase with the pronoun that stands for it.
- Find the words to replace. Ben and Ali are two people, so they stands in their place.Ben and Ali ran home.
- Write the answer. They ran home.
Check. Read the new sentence aloud: it still makes sense. ✓
Watch out. A pronoun must match the noun it replaces.
Method. The pronoun must stand for the bus, which is a thing.
- Find the noun. The bus is the noun that the pronoun stands for.the bus
- Choose the pronoun. It stands for a thing, so the pronoun is it.it
- Write the answer. it
Check. It will be here soon. ✓
Watch out. Use it for a thing or an animal. Use he or she for a person.
Method. A possessive pronoun shows who owns something, and it stands alone.
- Look at mine. Mine stands alone, and no noun follows it.mine
- Look at yours. Yours also stands alone.yours
- Write the answer. mine, yours
Check. Mine and yours both show ownership. ✓
Watch out. Mine and yours do not come before a noun.
Method. Sam and Ella are two people, so the pronoun must mean more than one person.
- Look at Sam and Ella. Two people, so the pronoun is for a group.two people
- Choose the pronoun. They means more than one person. We would mean the speaker too. Him means one man.they
- Write the answer. they
Check. They can replace Sam and Ella. ✓
Watch out. Him is for one man. They is for more than one person.
Method. Ben is a person, so use the pronoun for one man in the place of Ben.
- Find the noun. Ben is the person who was thanked.Ben
- Use the pronoun. Ben is the object of the verb thanked, so use him.him
- Write the answer. Ali thanked him.
Check. The sentence still makes sense. ✓
Watch out. Him comes after a verb or a preposition.
Method. Look at the word after it.
- Look at it. The sentence ends after it, so no noun follows.looked for it
- Check the job. It stands in place of the scarf, so it is a pronoun.it: pronoun
- Write the answer. No. No noun follows it, so it is a pronoun. It stands in place of the scarf.
Check. It takes the place of the noun scarf. ✓
Watch out. A determiner always comes before a noun.
Method. Check whether a noun comes after the word.
- Look at Those are mine. No noun follows those, so it is a pronoun.Those are mine
- Compare Those books are mine. Here those comes before the noun books, so it is a determiner.Those books
- Write the answer. No. No noun follows those, so it is a pronoun. In Those books are mine, it comes before books, so it is a determiner.
Check. The noun after the word decides its class. ✓
Watch out. The same word can be a pronoun or a determiner.
Method. Use them after a verb, and theirs at the end of a phrase.
- Use them. Them comes after the verb saw.saw them
- Use theirs. Theirs stands alone, and no noun follows it.is theirs
- Write the answer. Any correct sentence, for example: The children saw them, and the bag is theirs.
Check. Them and theirs are both pronouns. ✓
Watch out. Theirs does not come before a noun.