Standard 5: Language

Students will apply knowledge of grammar and rhetorical style to reading and writing.

Student Actions 

Teacher Actions 

• Students will recognize when pronouns have not been used correctly and make adjustments in pronoun number and person.
• Students learn what an antecedent is and recognize that pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and gender.
• Students learn how to identify and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and gender.

• Teachers model how to correctly identify pronoun usage.

• Teachers provide opportunities that allow students to recognize and correct sentences with incorrect pronoun number and person usage.

• Teachers monitor and provide feedback for students to recognize and correct pronoun number and person usage.

• Teachers review and explain pronouns (a word that takes the place of a noun or another pronoun) and antecedent (the noun the pronoun is replacing).  An antecedent always falls before its pronoun.

• Teachers explain to students that an antecedent may be in a previous sentence or in the same sentence as the pronoun.

• Teachers explain that a pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number and person.

Supporting Resources 

Teacher Insights 

• This standard involves students reading text (including their own or peers’ writing) and locating and correcting inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person.

• One of the most common mistakes in pronoun usage is the shift from I/ we/ he/ she/ it (first or third person) in the subject to you/ your/ yours (second person) later in the sentence:

• Inappropriate shift: It is important for a person to identify strengths before you choose a career. (third person to second person)

• Corrected: It is important for a person to identify strengths before he or she chooses a career.

• Corrected: It is important for you to identify strengths before you choose a career.

• Inappropriate shift: We love our new school; you feel included in everything you do. (first person to second person)

• Corrected: We love our new school; we feel included in everything we do.

• Similarly, many will shift from a singular pronoun in the subject of the sentence to a plural pronoun later in the sentence:

• Inappropriate shift: A student will succeed if they work hard. (singular to plural)

• Corrected: Students will succeed if they work hard.

• Corrected: A student will succeed if she or he works hard.