Knots in My YoYo String By Jerry Spinelli

Knots in My Yo-Yo String By: Jerry Spinelli with a focus on pronouns and sensory details

Autobiography vs. Memoir Both autobiographies and memoirs are told in the first person and both are true accounts about the author's life. They each contain personal information and are meant to allow the reader insight into the author's mind. Both are in-depth, but memoirs are often considered the more personal of the two.

Autobiography An autobiography is a sketch of the author's entire life, often from birth up until the time of the writing. When you write an autobiography, you start with your earliest memories and no one incident or time of life takes precedence over another. An autobiography is usually structured based on the chronological timeline.

Memoir A memoir focuses on one aspect of the author's life. Many people write memoirs to talk about their experiences in a war or their careers or their family life. Memoirs usually cover a relatively brief span of time, and their main purpose is to draw the reader's attention to a specific theme or circumstance. A memoir doesn't necessarily have to go in chronological order.

Characteristics of a Memoir A memoir is a story about something that happened to the writer. The author is in the story somehow (either physically or is telling it from their point of view). Many memoirs are stories about the author’s family or friends. Memoirs are stories about events that are important to the writer. Often, the book will end with the writer explaining why that event is important to him now or how it changed his life.

Why do we need pronouns? Pronouns take the place of nouns when we are writing or talking about something. It would be very tiresome if we had to repeat the same noun over and over again.

A life without pronouns… A Day at the Park Sammy went to the park with Sammy’s mother and Sammy’s father. Sammy and Sammy’s mother and Sammy’s father ran on the lawn. Then Sammy’s father pushed Sammy on the swings while Sammy’s mother smiled and watched. Then Sammy’s mother spread out a blanket on the lawn and read a book while Sammy and Sammy’s father played catch with a ball. Sammy threw the ball too hard, and Sammy’s father had to chase after the ball. Sammy did somersaults, rolling forward on Sammy’s head and kicking Sammy’s feet up over Sammy’s head. Sammy giggled and lay on the grass until Sammy’s dad came back. Sammy, Sammy’s mother, and Sammy’s father ate sandwiches together before Sammy, Sammy’s mother, and Sammy’s father went back home.

Subjective Pronouns A subject pronoun is used as the subject of a sentence in place of a person’s or thing’s name or description, particularly after the subject has already been introduced. Remember: A subject is a word which does an action and usually comes before the verb. Example: We were in the living room.

Objective Pronouns An object pronoun is used in place of a person or thing that is acted upon, or receives the action of the verb in a sentence. Remember: An object is a word that receives an action and usually comes after the verb. Example: She was nice to us.

Possessive Pronouns We use possessive pronouns to show ownership. The possessive pronouns are: my mine our(s) your(s) his her(s) its their(s) whose Examples: I like your flowers. Do you like mine? (object = my flowers) My flowers are dying. Yours are lovely. (subject = Your flowers) *Note that there are no apostrophes used with possessive personal pronouns. This includes "its. " Just as you would say "That is hers, " you would say "Success is its own reward. " It's stands for the contraction that represents "It is" or "It has. " It's is NEVER possessive.

Pronouns

Guided Practice 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. (My Aunt Jane) My brother and I wrote thank you letters to _____. (Nick and I) _____ have a favorite restaurant in town. John found his passport but Mary couldn't find _____. (Joe, Scott, and Bob) _____ went hiking on the mountain together. (The neighbor’s car) The mechanic from the garage went to work on _____. All the essays were good but (Jack) _____ was the best.

Demonstrative Pronouns Demonstrative pronouns point to something specific that can be either near or far in distance or time. The demonstrative pronouns are: this (singular – near in either distance or time). that (singular – far away in either distance or time). these (plural – near in either distance or time). those (plural – far away in either distance or time). Examples: This is heavier than that. These are bigger than those.

To put it into perspective…

Interrogative Pronouns Interrogative pronouns are used in sentences that ask questions. The interrogative pronouns are: subject object person whom thing what person/thing which person whose (possessive) Examples: What do you want? Which came first?

Who versus Whom Who and whoever will be the subjects of verbs. Use these forms when a sentence has a leftover verb that needs a subject. Whom and whomever will be objects in sentences—direct or indirect objects and objects of a preposition. Use these forms when every verb in a sentence already has a subject. The rule: Use the he/him method to decide which word is correct. he = who him = whom Examples: [Who/Whom] wrote the letter? He wrote the letter. Therefore, who is correct. For [who/whom] should I vote? Should I vote for him? Therefore, whom is correct.

Guided Practice 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. [Who/Whom] did he blame for the accident? (These/This) are the shoes I like. _____ one of the books is your favorite? (This/That) car over there is the best one. To _____ should I address the letter? [Who/Whom] is going to do the dishes?

Reflexive Pronouns A reflexive pronoun is used when the subject and object of the sentence are the same. They refer back to the subject of a sentence. Reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves Examples: I gave myself plenty of time to get to work. Jim bought himself a shirt.

Intensive Pronouns Intensive pronouns are the same as the reflexive words, but they are used to emphasize the subject of the sentence. They usually appear right near the subject of the sentence. Examples: The actress herself wrote those lines. You yourselves can win this game.

You A trick to remember: can easily tell the difference between a reflexive and intensive pronoun by following this easy trick: 1. Remove the pronoun from the sentence. (If it is in a prepositional phrase, remove that too). 2. If it still makes sense without the pronoun, it is intensive. 3. If it doesn’t make sense, it is reflexive. Use the trick: Is it reflexive or is it intensive? I used a video to teach myself how to knit. I myself used a video to learn how to knit.

Guided Practice 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. I dressed myself this morning. We ourselves made the meal. The president himself appeared at the rally. He made breakfast all by himself. We had to cook for ourselves since mom didn’t want to make dinner. The cat itself caught the mouse.

Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns are used to refer to people, places, or things that are unknown or not stated. An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not definite". Some typical indefinite pronouns are: all, another, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, several, somebody/someone Examples: I put my soda down on the table, but someone moved it! The party is going to be great! Everybody will be there.

Singular or Plural, it must match the verb! Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some of them can be singular in one context and plural in another. Examples: Each of the players has a doctor. Many have expressed their views. All is forgiven. All have arrived.

Relative Pronouns A relative pronoun introduces a dependent clause that modifies (gives more information about) a word, phrase, or idea in the independent clause. The most common relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, that, which Examples: The book that I got from the library is due tomorrow. My father, whom I respect, congratulated me on a job well done.

Guided Practice 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. I am always frustrated by people _____ talk while watching a movie. We can start the meeting because [everybody/anybody] has arrived. The store no longer sold the computer _____ I wanted. John likes coffee but not tea. I think [one/both] are good. The child to _____ you have spoken is my sister. The tallest man _____ came to the show is my Uncle James.