English Test Study Guide for 6/7
Pronoun and capitalization portion of the midterm
Personal Pronouns
Pronouns that refer to people or things are called personal pronouns. Some are used as objects and some are used as subjects. Review your chart to see which ones are used as subjects, and which ones are used as objects.
I read the book yesterday. (used as a subject)
My father helped them. (used as an object)
Jennifer helped Richard and me. (used as an object)
Antecedents
This is the noun or group of words that a pronoun refers to. Antecedents often appear in different sentences than their pronoun. Antecedents and pronouns must agree in gender and number.
A man lived in the forest. He was very poor. (man is the antecedent of the pronoun he)
The children heard a noise. They were afraid. (children is the antecedent of the pronoun they)
Possessive Pronouns
These are pronouns in the possessive case. They show who or what has something. Apostrophes are not used in possessive pronouns.
Some are used before nouns to show ownership.
His car is blue.
Some possessive pronouns stand alone in a sentence with no noun immediately following them.
The car is mine.
Review the chart you copied in your notebook of possessive pronouns.
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a particular person, place, thing, or idea.
Some are always singular, such as: another, each, everyone, someone, and nothing.
Ex: Everyone likes to read an exciting myth.
Some are always plural, such as: both, few, many, others, and several.
Ex: Both live on the same island.
Some indefinite pronouns change their number depending on the noun that follows them, such as: all, any, most, none, and some.
Ex: Most of the sandwich is gone. (singular)
Ex: Most of the characters are animals. (plural)
Capitalization Rules
· Make sure to capitalize the first word of a sentence and the first word of a direct quotation that is a complete sentence.
Reading is fun.
My teacher said, “Reading is fun.”
· Make sure to capitalize proper names of people, countries, states, stores, etc.
· Make sure to capitalize initials that stand for proper names as well as titles. (Mrs., Dr., Mr.)
· Capitalize names and abbreviations for academic degrees that follow a person’s name. (Ph.D., M.D.)
· Capitalize Jr. and Sr.
· Capitalize names of specific buildings, bridges, and monuments. (Empire State Building, Washington Monument.