Page 118 - SpringBoard_Writing_Workshop_Grade7_Flipbook

Revising for Language and Writer’s Craft
A personal pronoun is a short word that takes the place of a noun or noun phrase. In English, personal pronouns fall into three distinct categories:
• First person: Used to reference the person speaking, or include the speaker
in the group (I, me, my, we, us, our, etc.)
• Second person: Used to reference the person/people being addressed (you,
your, etc.)
• Third person: Used to reference another person, group, or thing not present
(he, him, she, hers, they, them, etc.)
5. Skim/scan the script to find examples of different personal pronouns in “They’re Made Out of Meat.”
Possible responses: They (third person) made the machines. That’s what I’m (first person) trying to tell you (second person).
Antecedents: Pronouns almost always have antecedents, or words that precede the pronoun that reveal the identity of the pronoun. In the following example, the personal pronoun his refers to something belonging to the toddler. Therefore, toddler is the antecedent.
Example: The toddler giggled when his mother tickled his feet.
Sometimes, it is difficult to know which noun is the antecedent to the pronoun. In the following example, the personal pronoun his probably refers to the toddler, but it is possible that it may be referring to the puppy.
Example: The toddler giggled when the puppy licked his face.
At other times, there seems to be no identifiable antecedent in the text at all. In these cases, the reader must draw on prior knowledge and common sense to understand what is implied by the pronoun.
Example: It is supposed to rain later this afternoon.
6. In “They’re Made Out of Meat,” the title and script repeatedly use pronouns with no explicitly stated antecedents—the antecedents are understood by the characters but not, at first, by the audience. With a partner, identify the implied antecedents of “they” and “we” as used in the script. Provide evidence from the dialogue that helps you identify the antecedent.
Students’ responses will vary.
They:
Evidence:
Writing Workshop 9 • Script Writing 9
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
A personal pronoun is
a short word, such as I, he, she, me, or they, that takes the place of a noun or noun phrase.
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