Pronouns Explained

Pronouns replace a noun in order to aid cohesion and avoid repetition. First introduced in Year 4 and important to help children write in a way that flows.

First Person

A person talking about themselves.

I   |   me   |   my   |   mine   |   myself/ves    |  we   |   us   |   ours

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Second Person

A person talking to someone else, about that person.

you   |   yours   |   yourself/ves

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Third Person

A person talking about someone else, when they’re not around or nearby.

she   |   he   |   it   |   her   |   him

hers   |   herself   |   him   |   himself

they   |   them   |   theirs   |   themselves

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In The Classroom

It is great to introduce pronouns and the difference between first, second and third person pronouns practically. Ask two pupils to come to the front of the classroom.

The first will introduce first person pronouns, ask them to talk about themselves.

Example: 

I am a singer: I like to sing for my family and we have a band.

Then ask the same pupil to talk about the second person, to them. Trying to use as many second person pronouns as possible (some first person pronouns will sneak in) 

Example: 

You are one of my friends and you forgot your bag today.

Now time for third person, ask one of the pupils to talk about someone else who is on the other side of the classroom or even someone outside of the classroom. A teacher is a good person to use.

Example: 

Mrs Barnes is the teacher, she is very tall and she has a dog who is her best friend.

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How Resourcefully Can Help

Once pronouns have been introduced it is important to make sure children know what text types use different pronouns, this will help them to write a range of different text types. Our pronouns bundle will help you to consolidate this learning and have a great story activity, where children can identify the overuse of nouns and replace them with pronouns in order to make the writing flow.