English Language Arts
Grade 6
15 min
Choose between personal and reflexive pronouns
Choose between personal and reflexive pronouns
What you'll learn
- Identify participles (present and past) within sentences with 80% accuracy.
- Explain how participles function as adjectives by describing the nouns or pronouns they modify in at least 3 out of 4 examples.
- Apply knowledge of participles to correctly rewrite 3 out of 4 sentences, adding participial phrases to enhance sentence descriptions.
- Analyze sentences to differentiate between participles used as adjectives and verbs used as part of a verb phrase.
Tutorial Preview
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Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Distinguish between personal pronouns and reflexive pronouns.
Identify possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives.
Explain why reflexive pronouns are not used to show possession.
Correctly use possessive personal pronouns and adjectives to indicate ownership.
Correct sentences where personal and reflexive pronouns are misused in contexts of possession.
Recognize the function of personal pronouns as subjects or objects in a sentence.
Recognize the function of reflexive pronouns when the subject and object of a verb are the same.
Whose backpack is this? Is it *mine* or *myself*? 🤔 Choosing the right word to show ownership can be tricky!
In this lesson, we'll learn how to choose between personal and reflexive pronouns, especially when we want to...
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
Personal PronounA pronoun that refers to a specific person or thing. They can be subjects (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) or objects (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) in a sentence.She read the book. The teacher called him.
Reflexive PronounA pronoun that refers back to the subject of the sentence, indicating that the subject is performing an action on itself. They always end in -self or -selves.He taught himself to play guitar. We enjoyed ourselves at the party.
Possessive PronounA type of personal pronoun that shows ownership or possession. They stand alone in a sentence and replace a possessive noun phrase.That book is mine. The blue car is theirs.
Possessive AdjectiveA word that modifies a noun by showing ownership. They come before a noun and are often related t...
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Key Rules & Conventions
Reflexive Pronouns Reflect the Subject, Not Possession
Use a reflexive pronoun (-self/-selves) only when the object of the verb is the same as the subject. Never use a reflexive pronoun to show ownership.
If 'I' am doing something to 'I', I use 'myself'. If 'I' own something, I use 'my' or 'mine', not 'myself'.
Personal Pronouns (Possessive Forms) Show Ownership
Use possessive personal pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) or possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) to clearly indicate who owns something.
These forms are specifically designed to express possession. Possessive adjectives come before a noun (e.g., 'my book'), while possessive pronouns stand alone (...
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Challenging
What is the fundamental grammatical reason that reflexive pronouns (like 'herself') are not used to show possession?
A.Because possessive pronouns (like 'hers') already exist for that specific function.
B.Because the function of a reflexive pronoun is to serve as the object of a verb or preposition when the object is the same as the subject, not to indicate ownership.
C.Because all reflexive pronouns must directly follow the noun or pronoun they refer to.
D.Because reflexive pronouns are considered informal and are not used in argumentative writing.
Challenging
Which sentence correctly uses a possessive adjective, a possessive pronoun, AND a reflexive pronoun?
A.She told herself that her idea was better than theirs.
B.My plan is to help themselves with their project.
C.He and myself think your car is faster than ours.
D.The cat gave itself a bath with its tongue.
Challenging
Read the paragraph: 'The team captain told myself that the trophy was our's. We had earned it ourself with a lot of hard work.' How many pronoun errors are in these two sentences?
A.One
B.Two
C.Three
D.Four
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What grade level is "Choose between personal and reflexive pronouns"?
Choose between personal and reflexive pronouns is a Grade 6 English Language Arts lesson on ExcelOS.
What will I learn in Choose between personal and reflexive pronouns?
You'll be able to: Identify participles (present and past) within sentences with 80% accuracy; Explain how participles function as adjectives by describing the nouns or pronouns they modify in at least 3 out of 4 examples; Apply knowledge of….
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This lesson includes 25 practice questions across multiple difficulty levels, each with instant feedback and explanations.