GRADE 8 English NATURAL RESOURCES:WILDLIFE – GRAMMAR IN USE:PRONOUNS Notes

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ENGLISH NOTES — GRAMMAR IN USE: PRONOUNS

Topic: NATURAL RESOURCES: WILDLIFE (examples use Kenyan places and animals). Level: Age 13 — simple and clear explanations only about pronouns.

1. What is a pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. Pronouns help avoid repeating the same noun. Example: "The elephant walked slowly. It lifted its trunk." — "it" and "its" are pronouns.

2. Main types of pronouns (with wildlife examples)

  • Personal pronouns (subject / object)
    Subject: I, you, he, she, it, we, they — "We watched the lions in Maasai Mara." 🦁
    Object: me, you, him, her, it, us, them — "Rangers helped them move the injured animal."
  • Possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns
    Possessive adjectives (before a noun): my, your, his, her, its, our, their — "Their giraffes grazed."
    Possessive pronouns (stand alone): mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs — "The camera was ours."
  • Reflexive pronouns — myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
    Use when subject and object are the same: "The ranger treated himself to a rest after the patrol."
  • Demonstrative pronouns — this, that, these, those.
    "This rhino is calm." / "Those flamingos are beautiful." 🦩
  • Relative pronouns — who, whom, whose, which, that.
    "The guide who saw the leopard called for help." / "The lake, which is shallow, has many birds."
  • Interrogative pronouns — who, whom, which, what.
    "Who spotted the elephant?" / "Which species are common here?"
  • Indefinite pronouns — someone, anyone, everyone, nobody, something, everything, some, all, both, each, either, neither.
    "Everyone visited the national park." / "Some went bird-watching early."

3. Pronoun case: Subject vs Object

Use subject pronouns when the pronoun does the action. Use object pronouns when it receives the action.

Examples:
- Subject: "They watched the herd." (They = subject)
- Object: "The tourists watched them." (them = object)

4. Agreement: Pronoun must match its antecedent

The pronoun should agree in number (singular/plural) and usually in gender with the noun it replaces.

Examples:
- Singular: "The rhinoceros ate slowly. It lifted its head." (rhinoceros → it)
- Plural: "The zebras ran fast. They crossed the plain." (zebras → they)

5. Special notes for animals and people

  • Use it/its for animals when you do not know or do not want to say the animal’s sex: "The lion licked its paw."
  • Use he/him or she/her if the sex is known: "The mother elephant (she) defended her calf."
  • Use they/them as a singular pronoun for someone whose gender you do not want to specify: "Someone left their water bottle."

6. Common mistakes and tips

  • Wrong: "The ranger gave the map to I." — Correct: "to me". (object case)
  • Wrong: "Each of the animals ate their food." — Better: "Each of the animals ate its food." OR accept modern: "Each of the animals ate their food." (both used; be consistent)
  • Avoid repeating nouns: "The tourists watched the tourists." Use pronoun: "The tourists watched them." (or better: "They watched the wildlife.")

7. Short practice — Fill in the blanks

Write the correct pronoun in each blank.

  1. The Maasai guide carried ___ binoculars. (he / his)
  2. The flamingos looked beautiful. ___ were pink. (They / It)
  3. The ranger told Anna and me to follow ___. (they / us)
  4. Each bird built ___ nest carefully. (their / its)
  5. Who found the lost calf? — ___ found it. (We / Us)
  6. There is a lion near the hill. ___ is sleeping. (He / They / It)
  7. Some tourists left ___ bags behind. (their / its)
  8. The guide who saw the cheetah waved at ___. (we / us / him)
  9. The zebra cleaned ___ coat. (her / itself / themselves)
  10. Someone dropped a water bottle. I hope ___ pick it up. (they / he / she)

8. Answers to practice

  1. his — "The Maasai guide carried his binoculars."
  2. They — "The flamingos looked beautiful. They were pink."
  3. us — "The ranger told Anna and me to follow us."
  4. its — "Each bird built its nest carefully." (singular agreement)
  5. We — "We found it." (subject pronoun)
  6. It — "It is sleeping." (the lion is singular)
  7. their — "Some tourists left their bags behind." (some → plural)
  8. him — "The guide who saw the cheetah waved at him." (him = the guide waved at a male person)
  9. itself — "The zebra cleaned itself." (reflexive for animal)
  10. they — "I hope they pick it up." (singular they for unknown person)

9. Quick practice — Identify the pronouns

Underline or name the pronoun in each sentence.

  • "The ranger saw them near the river." — pronoun: them
  • "This is our campsite." — pronoun: our
  • "Who left their umbrella?" — pronoun: Who, their
  • "The guide herself checked the traps." — pronoun: herself
Final tip: Always ask: "What noun does this pronoun replace?" and check number and case. Use wildlife examples from your visits (Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru) to practise making sentences.

Created for Kenyan learners (age 13). Use these notes for class revision or homework practice.

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