L.6.1: Pronoun Case, Intensive Pronouns, Pronoun Shifts and Vague Pronouns
In plain English: L.6.1 is the Common Core grade 6 ELA standard that asks students to show command of standard English grammar and usage, with a focus on pronouns. Students put pronouns in the right case, use intensive pronouns such as myself and ourselves, fix shifts in pronoun number and person and vague pronouns, and revise nonstandard wording into conventional English.
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a.Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective, objective, possessive).
c.Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person.
d.Recognize and correct vague pronouns (i.e., ones with unclear or ambiguous antecedents).
e.Recognize variations from standard English in their own and others' writing and speaking, and identify and use strategies to improve expression in conventional language.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy · Domain: Language Standards · Cluster: Conventions of Standard English · Official standard
Students learn to choose the right pronoun and to make every pronoun point clearly to its antecedent, the noun it stands for. They practice the three pronoun cases (subjective for subjects, objective for objects, possessive for ownership), use intensive pronouns such as myself and ourselves to add emphasis, and find and fix two kinds of pronoun trouble: shifts in number or person, and vague pronouns whose antecedent is unclear or missing.
The last part of the standard asks students to notice when their own or others' writing and speaking differ from standard English, and to use strategies to revise. Students read a scene from Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), where Tom and Ben talk in the everyday speech of their town, and they revise an invented class-trip draft and a transcript of a group discussion. The lesson treats dialect and informal speech with respect: they follow their own patterns, and standard English is the form writers choose for school, formal and public audiences.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Choose subjective, objective and possessive pronouns correctly, including in compound subjects and objects
Use intensive pronouns such as myself and ourselves for emphasis and tell them apart from reflexive pronouns
Find and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person
Find and correct vague pronouns by naming the antecedent or rewording the sentence
Recognize variations from standard English in writing and speech and revise them with named strategies
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Pronoun-antecedent agreement L.3.1
Relative pronouns such as who, whom and whose L.4.1
Fixing shifts in verb tense L.5.1
Finding the subject and the object in a simple sentence
"Which sentence would you put in a thank-you note to the principal, and why? What does the word ourselves add? (1) Me and Jonah painted the hallway mural ourselves. (2) Jonah and I painted the hallway mural ourselves."
Take a quick vote. Many students pick sentence 2 but find it hard to say why. Ask a student to read each sentence with the other person removed: "Me painted the mural" sounds wrong, while "I painted the mural" sounds right. Then cover the word ourselves: the sentence still makes sense, so ourselves only adds emphasis (no one helped). Tell students that today they will learn the names for both ideas, pronoun case and intensive pronouns, and three more pronoun checks good writers use.
Direct Instruction15-20 minutes
Key words. A pronoun is a word that stands for a noun (she, them, its). The noun it stands for is its antecedent: in "Rosa lost her key," Rosa is the antecedent of her. Pronouns have person (first person is the speaker, I or we; second person is the listener, you; third person is anyone else, he, she, it, they) and number (singular means one; plural means more than one).
Part 1: Pronoun case (standard a). Use Diagram 1. A subjective pronoun is the subject, the one doing the action (She won). An objective pronoun receives the action or follows a preposition such as to, for, with or between (The coach thanked her; a gift for them). A possessive pronoun shows ownership (their bikes; the choice is yours), and it never takes an apostrophe. Three tests help: the cover test (cover the other person in a pair and read the pronoun alone), the drop-the-noun test for we and us ("We students" becomes "We"), and the no-apostrophe rule (it's always means "it is" or "it has").
Part 2: Intensive pronouns (standard b). An intensive pronoun is a -self or -selves word that emphasizes a noun or pronoun already in the sentence: "I myself saw it." Test it by removing it: the sentence still makes sense. The same words are reflexive pronouns when they are needed as an object that points back to the subject: "Leo hurt himself" falls apart without himself. The standard forms are himself and themselves; hisself, theirselves and ourself (for a group) are not standard. A -self pronoun never replaces I or me: write "Ana and I will present," not "Ana and myself."
Part 3: Shifts in number and person (standard c). Once a sentence or paragraph sets up its person and number, the pronouns keep it. A plural antecedent takes a plural pronoun, and a writer who starts with we does not switch to you without a reason.
Part 4: Vague pronouns (standard d). A pronoun is vague when a reader cannot tell which noun it means (two possible antecedents) or when it has no antecedent at all ("They said on the news"). Fix it by naming the noun or rewording. Diagram 2 shows the arrow strategy: draw an arrow from each pronoun to its antecedent; if you need two arrows, or none, revise.
Pronoun case in a compound object
The coach gave Rosa and I the new jerseys.
Result: Revised: The coach gave Rosa and me the new jerseys. The pronoun receives the jerseys, so it is an object and takes the objective case. The cover test proves it: "The coach gave me the jerseys," not "gave I."
Possessive pronouns without apostrophes
The school changed it's lunch schedule, and the choice of table is your's.
Result: Revised: The school changed its lunch schedule, and the choice of table is yours. Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe. It's means "it is," which does not fit the first clause.
Adding intensive pronouns (official examples myself and ourselves)
I checked every answer. We baked all the bread for the sale.
Result: With intensive pronouns: I myself checked every answer. We baked all the bread for the sale ourselves.Myself emphasizes I, and ourselves emphasizes we (no one else did it). Remove either word and the sentence still works, which is how you know it is intensive. Standard forms only: The twins built the fort theirselves becomes The twins built the fort themselves.
Fixing shifts in number and person
The new laptops are fast, but it gets hot. When we finished the puzzle, you felt proud.
Result: Revised: The new laptops are fast, but they get hot. When we finished the puzzle, we felt proud. The plural laptops needs the plural they (number), and a sentence that begins in the first person (we) stays in it (person).
Fixing a vague pronoun
Marcus told Eli that he had won the art contest.
Result: Revised: Marcus told Eli, "You won the art contest." or Marcus told Eli that Eli had won the art contest. In the original, he could point to Marcus or to Eli, so the reader needs the name or a direct quotation.
Part 5: Standard English and other ways of speaking (standard e). Everyone speaks in more than one way: we talk one way with friends and another way in a job interview. Standard English is the form expected in school writing, formal speeches and most public writing. Informal speech and regional dialects follow patterns of their own, and writers use them on purpose in dialogue. When the audience calls for standard English, use these strategies: read the sentence aloud, use the cover test for pairs, draw antecedent arrows, check that every pronoun keeps the same person and number, and look up an unsure form in a dictionary or grammar handbook.
Guided Practice15 minutes
Before reading. In chapter II, Tom must whitewash (paint with a cheap white paint) his aunt's long fence on a sunny Saturday while other boys play. His friend Ben Rogers comes by, pretending to be a steamboat. Words to know: up a stump (stuck, in trouble), ranged up alongside (came up beside), druther (would rather), let on (pretend or admit), reckon (think or guess), awful particular (very fussy), lemme (let me).
During reading. Read the excerpt aloud with two volunteers as Tom and Ben. Then pairs work on paragraphs 1-10: they circle each pronoun, draw an arrow to its antecedent, and name the case. Model the first row of the organizer together. Next, pairs find three places where Tom or Ben speaks in a way that differs from standard English and write the standard form. Remind students that Twain spelled the boys' talk this way on purpose, so readers could hear them; the boys are not "wrong," they are talking the way people in their town talked. A formal report about the book would use standard English.
1Tom went on whitewashing—paid no attention to the steamboat. Ben stared a moment and then said: “Hi-Yi! You’re up a stump, ain’t you!”
2No answer. Tom surveyed his last touch with the eye of an artist, then he gave his brush another gentle sweep and surveyed the result, as before. Ben ranged up alongside of him. Tom’s mouth watered for the apple, but he stuck to his work. Ben said:
3“Hello, old chap, you got to work, hey?”
4Tom wheeled suddenly and said:
5“Why, it’s you, Ben! I warn’t noticing.”
6“Say—I’m going in a-swimming, I am. Don’t you wish you could? But of course you’d druther work—wouldn’t you? Course you would!”
7Tom contemplated the boy a bit, and said:
8“What do you call work?”
9“Why, ain’t that work?”
10Tom resumed his whitewashing, and answered carelessly:
11“Well, maybe it is, and maybe it ain’t. All I know, is, it suits Tom Sawyer.”
12“Oh come, now, you don’t mean to let on that you like it?”
13The brush continued to move.
14“Like it? Well, I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”
15That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple. Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a touch here and there—criticised the effect again—Ben watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed. Presently he said:
16“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”
17Tom considered, was about to consent; but he altered his mind:
18“No—no—I reckon it wouldn’t hardly do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly’s awful particular about this fence—right here on the street, you know—but if it was the back fence I wouldn’t mind and she wouldn’t. Yes, she’s awful particular about this fence; it’s got to be done very careful; I reckon there ain’t one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it the way it’s got to be done.”
19“No—is that so? Oh come, now—lemme just try. Only just a little—I’d let you, if you was me, Tom.”
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, chapter II (Tom and Ben at the fence) (1876). Public domain (published 1876). Source text.
Pronoun and speech organizer (teacher key in the last two columns)
Paragraph
Words from the passage
Antecedent and case, or standard form (teacher key)
2
Ben ranged up alongside of him.
him = Tom; objective (follows the preposition of)
2
but he stuck to his work
he = Tom, subjective; his = Tom's, possessive
10
Tom resumed his whitewashing
his = Tom's; possessive
6
Don't you wish you could?
you = Tom (second person); subjective, the subject of wish and of could
5
I warn't noticing.
Standard: I wasn't noticing.
6
you'd druther work
Standard: you would rather work
9
ain't that work?
Standard: isn't that work?
Discuss: how would the scene change if Tom and Ben spoke in standard English? (It would lose the sound of two real boys.) Save paragraphs 11-19 for the quiz.
Independent Practice10-15 minutes
Students revise the invented class-trip draft below so it could be posted on the class blog. They underline every pronoun, draw antecedent arrows, and fix each error in pronoun case, intensive pronouns, number, person or clarity, plus the one sentence that uses a nonstandard pronoun and verb. Beside each fix, they name the rule. Warn them that some sentences, including two with pronouns that may look suspicious, are already correct and should stay as they are.
Last Friday, Ms. Delgado took our class to the city aquarium. Me and Priya sat together on the bus. When we got there, you had to leave your backpack in a locker. The guide showed us the jellyfish, and she said that they do not have brains. Priya and Lena watched the octopus while she took notes. The octopus changed it's color to match the rocks. The sea turtles were huge, and it swam right past the glass. Between you and I, the shark tunnel was the best part. Ms. Delgado herself had never walked through it before. Mr. Tran, the bus driver, carried the lunches hisself. Them sea otters was the funniest animals there. Priya and me already want to go back next year.
Written for this page (an invented student draft), Draft for revision: Our Trip to the Aquarium. Original passage written for this page.
Teacher key. (1) Me and Priya sat: Priya and I sat (subjective case for a subject). (2) you had to leave your backpack: we had to leave our backpacks (shift in person). (3) while she took notes: while Lena took notes (vague pronoun). (4) it's color: its color (possessive, no apostrophe). (5) and it swam: and one of them swam or and they swam (shift in number). (6) Between you and I: Between you and me (objective case after a preposition). (7) hisself: himself (standard intensive form). (8) Them sea otters was: Those sea otters were (nonstandard pronoun used as an adjective, and the verb agrees with a plural subject). (9) Priya and me already want: Priya and I already want (subjective case). Correct as written: the first sentence, the jellyfish sentence (they can only mean the jellyfish, because guide is singular) and Ms. Delgado herself, an intensive pronoun.
Closure5 minutes
Exit ticket: (1) Write one sentence about today's class that uses an intensive pronoun, and show the removal test. (2) Fix this sentence and name the rule: Jordan and me asked Ms. Kim if we could borrow her stapler, and she said it was fine. (Answer: Jordan and I asked; the pronoun is part of the subject.)
Teacher note on language: Twain wrote this novel in 1876 about boys in the 1840s, and he spelled their speech to sound like a Missouri river town. Other parts of the novel, including earlier pages of this chapter, use racial words that were common in Twain's time; this excerpt does not include those passages. If students read the full chapter, discuss that language as part of the historical text and do not repeat it. When the class talks about dialect, keep the focus on audience and purpose rather than on "good" and "bad" speech.
For homework: students read the transcript below, a small group planning a class garden, which Problem 5 uses.
Andre: Okay, so me and Mia already asked Mr. Park about the garden beds.
Mia: Yeah, and he said we can plant whatever we want, as long as we take care of it ourself.
Tomas: Cool. Who has the seeds? Can you give them to Jalen and I after lunch?
Andre: Them seeds are in the science room. Mr. Park has the key, and nobody else don't have one.
Mia: Wait, I think Jalen told Marcus he left the hose on last week.
Tomas: Anybody who wants to help, you should sign up by Friday.
Andre: And the tomato plants need a lot of sun, so we should put it by the fence.
Mia: They're going to look great. Every class that walks by will see our garden.
Written for this page (an invented small-group discussion), Transcript: Planning the Class Garden. Original passage written for this page.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give students a copy of Diagram 1 to keep on the desk and let them point to the right column before writing a pronoun
Practice the cover test out loud first with pairs such as "Dad and me" and "Dad and I," then move to written sentences
For vague pronouns, have students draw quick stick-figure sketches of both possible meanings before revising
For Advanced Students
Have students write a short dialogue in which one character speaks informally and another speaks formally, then explain their pronoun choices
Ask students to find three intensive pronouns in a book they are reading and explain what each one emphasizes
Have students collect three vague pronouns from signs, ads or news headlines and rewrite each one clearly
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Check each skill separately. For case, look for correct pronouns in compound subjects and objects and after prepositions, where many students slip. For intensive pronouns, look for standard -self forms used only for emphasis, never in place of I or me. For shifts, look for pronouns that keep one person and number across a paragraph. For vague pronouns, look for revisions that name the noun rather than only moving words around. For standard English, look for students who can name the strategy they used (cover test, arrows, reading aloud) and who revise for the audience without calling the original speaker wrong.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Pronoun Case Card Sort
15 minPairs
Each pair gets 12 sentence cards, each with two pronoun choices. Partners choose the standard pronoun, sort the card into a subjective, objective or possessive pile, and say which test they used (standard a).
Sentence Cards
1. (She / Her) and Tomas built the model bridge.
2. The judges gave (we / us) a blue ribbon.
3. The cat licked (its / it's) paw.
4. Please sit between Lily and (I / me).
5. (We / Us) sixth graders run the book swap.
6. Is this water bottle (yours / your's)?
7. Mom and (he / him) fixed the fence.
8. The teacher asked Ari and (she / her) to read aloud.
9. (Whose / Who's) turn is it to feed the fish?
10. Omar and (I / me) wrote the skit.
11. The story was written by Zoe and (they / them).
12. The bikes by the door are (theirs / their's).
Procedure
Partner A reads the card aloud with each choice; partner B names the test that decides it (cover test, drop-the-noun test or no-apostrophe rule)
Together they place the card in the subjective, objective or possessive pile and switch roles for the next card
When all cards are sorted, pairs compare piles with another pair and settle any disagreements with Diagram 1
Teacher key: 1. She (subjective); 2. us (objective); 3. its (possessive); 4. me (objective); 5. We (subjective); 6. yours (possessive); 7. he (subjective); 8. her (objective); 9. Whose (possessive); 10. I (subjective); 11. them (objective); 12. theirs (possessive). Each pile ends with four cards.
Discussion Questions
Which cards were easiest to get wrong when you read them silently? Why does reading aloud help?
On which cards did the cover test decide the answer?
Why do you think people add apostrophes to possessive pronouns such as yours and theirs?
2
Pronoun Repair Relay
15 minGroups of 4
Groups race to repair 8 sentences with pronoun shifts or vague pronouns, naming the problem before fixing it (standards c and d).
Repair Cards
1. The science posters were finished, so I hung it in the hallway.
2. If students want to try out for the play, you should sign up by Monday.
3. My sneakers are old, but I still love it.
4. When I practice piano every day, you get better fast.
5. Mateo called Ben after he got home from the game.
6. The box was on the table, but it was broken.
7. At the museum, they don't let you take flash photos.
8. Dad put the cake next to the pie and then cut it.
Procedure
The first student takes a card, draws antecedent arrows on it, names the problem (shift in number, shift in person, or vague pronoun) and writes a repair
The next student checks the repair before taking a new card; a group finishes when all eight cards are repaired and checked
Groups post one repair on the board and explain why the new version has exactly one arrow for each pronoun
Teacher key (one good repair each): 1. shift in number: so I hung them in the hallway; 2. shift in person: If students want to try out for the play, they should sign up by Monday; 3. shift in number: but I still love them; 4. shift in person: When I practice piano every day, I get better fast; 5. vague: two possible antecedents: After Mateo got home from the game, he called Ben; 6. vague: two possible antecedents: The box on the table was broken; 7. vague: no antecedent: The museum does not allow flash photos; 8. vague: two possible antecedents: Dad put the cake next to the pie and then cut the cake
Discussion Questions
Which cards could be fixed in more than one way? Did the fixes mean the same thing?
How did you decide whether a pronoun shift was a problem or a choice?
Challenge Variation
Each student writes a new vague sentence, trades it with a partner, and the partner sketches both possible meanings before repairing it.
3
Same Message, Two Audiences
15 minGroups of 3
Groups take 4 scenario cards. Each card has an informal message and a formal audience. Students rewrite the message in standard English, read it aloud, and name the strategy that caught each change (standard e).
Scenario Cards
1. Text to a friend: "Me and Jayden made the whole poster by ourself." Rewrite it for a note to the principal.
2. Group chat: "Them new tablets is way faster than the old ones." Rewrite it for a report to the school board.
3. Voice message from Maria: "Me and Ana can't make it Saturday, Coach." Rewrite it for an email to the coach.
4. Hallway talk: "Everybody was cheering, and you could hear it all the way down the hall." Rewrite it for an article for the school newspaper.
Procedure
One student reads the informal message aloud, one rewrites it for the audience on the card, and one checks the rewrite with the checklist: pronoun case, standard -self forms, same person and number, one clear antecedent, standard verb forms
The checker names the strategy that caught each change (reading aloud, cover test, antecedent arrows, a dictionary)
Roles rotate for each card; at the end, each group reads its best formal version to the class as if speaking to that audience
Teacher key (sample rewrites): 1. Jayden and I made the whole poster ourselves. 2. Those new tablets are much faster than the old ones. 3. Coach Lee, Ana and I cannot come to practice on Saturday. 4. The cheering could be heard all the way down the hall.
Discussion Questions
When is the informal version the better choice?
Which checklist question led to the most changes on your cards?
Modification for Distance Learning
Post the scenario cards in a shared slide deck. Each group records a short audio clip of its formal version and adds a comment naming the strategy it used.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: Pronoun Case and Intensive Pronoun Chart
Each row shows one person and number (singular means one; plural means more than one). Use the subjective column for subjects, the objective column for objects of verbs and prepositions, and the possessive column for ownership. The intensive column shows the -self and -selves forms, which add emphasis; the same words are reflexive when they are needed as an object.
Diagram 2: Antecedent Arrows for Vague Pronouns
In the first sentence, the pronoun she has two possible antecedents, so it needs two arrows and is vague. The revision names the scorer, and the pronoun her now points to one person. One arrow per pronoun is the goal.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
L.6.1 Homework: Using Pronouns Clearly and Correctly
Directions: Complete all six problems. Use Diagram 1 for Problems 1 and 2. Problem 5 uses the garden transcript at the end of the lesson plan, and Problem 6 uses a paragraph of your own writing.
Part 1: Pronoun Case and Intensive Pronouns (Problems 1-2)
Choose the standard pronoun, name its case (subjective, objective or possessive), and name the test you used: (a) Grandpa taught my sister and (I / me) to fish. (b) (He / Him) and his cousin painted the shed. (c) The coach reminded (we / us) players to stretch. (d) The dog wagged (its / it's) tail. (e) The red umbrella is (hers / her's). (f) Ms. Lin and (they / them) planned field day.
(a) Add an intensive pronoun to each sentence: The principal ___ served lunch on field day. I ___ wrote every line of this poem. We ___ raised the money for the new benches. (b) Label each bold pronoun intensive or reflexive and explain with the removal test: Leo hurt himself at practice. The mayor herself answered our letter. The kitten found itself stuck in a box. (c) Rewrite in standard English: The boys fixed the bike theirselves. Dad built the shelf hisself.
Part 2: Shifts and Vague Pronouns (Problems 3-4)
Each sentence has a shift in pronoun number or person. Name the shift and rewrite the sentence: (a) When we visited the farm, you could pet the goats. (b) The library books are due Friday, so return it on time. (c) If a person wants to join the band, you need an instrument. (d) I like running in the morning because you feel awake all day. (e) The paintbrushes were dirty, so Leah washed it.
Each sentence has a vague pronoun. Explain why it is unclear, then rewrite it so the reader knows exactly who or what the pronoun means: (a) Sam told Luis that he was late for practice. (b) I took the lid off the jar and washed it. (c) In the newspaper, they said the bridge will close in May. (d) Aria and Kim went to the library, and she checked out three books. (e) Write one vague sentence of your own, then fix it.
Part 3: Standard English in Speaking and Writing (Problems 5-6)
Read the garden transcript. Find at least six places where the speakers use a pronoun or verb form that differs from standard English, or a pronoun whose meaning is unclear. For each, quote the words, write the standard version and name the rule. Then rewrite the plan as a four- or five-sentence announcement for the school website, and name two strategies you used.
Choose a paragraph of at least five sentences that you wrote this year (a journal entry, a story or an earlier assignment). Underline every pronoun, draw an arrow to each antecedent, and check each pronoun with the cover test and Diagram 1. Record every change you make, the rule behind it and the strategy that found it. If you find nothing to fix, write two sentences explaining how you checked, then add one intensive pronoun where it adds emphasis.
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
No Credit (0 pts)
Pronoun Case
All six pronouns correct with the case and test named
Four or five correct, or tests missing
Fewer than four correct
Intensive Pronouns
Three correct intensives, all labels explained, both forms fixed
Most parts correct
Intensive and reflexive confused throughout
Shifts and Vague Pronouns
Every shift named and fixed; every vague pronoun explained and made clear
Most fixed, or explanations missing
Few fixes, or new errors added
Standard English Revision
Six variations found and revised with rules; clear announcement; own paragraph checked with strategies named
Four or five found, or strategies not named
Fewer than four, or no revision
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
Questions 13-16 and 19 use the Tom Sawyer excerpt in Guided Practice; paragraph numbers are shown beside the passage. The other questions use new sentences. Your score updates as you answer, and Reset quiz clears everything so you or your students can try again.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence uses pronoun case correctly?
Answer: C
In C, me is an object of drove, so it takes the objective case; the cover test gives "Dad drove me." A puts the objective me in the subject ("me rode"). B puts the subjective I in the object position ("drove I"). D uses the objective Him as a subject.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which pronoun completes the sentence in standard English? The librarian saved the last copy for ___ and Ava.
Answer: A
The pronoun follows the preposition for, so it takes the objective case: "for me." B is a common overcorrection; the cover test gives "for I," which is wrong. C uses a -self pronoun with no antecedent in the sentence to point back to. D is possessive and does not fit.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence uses we or us correctly?
Answer: B
Drop the noun to test: "The mayor thanked us," so the object of thanked takes the objective us. A and D put the objective Us in the subject ("Us cheered," "Us painted"); they need We. C puts the subjective we where an object belongs ("gave we").
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence uses possessive pronouns correctly?
Answer: D
Possessive pronouns never take an apostrophe, so its and ours are correct. A and C use it's, which means "it is" ("lost it is first game"); A also adds an apostrophe to ours. B puts apostrophes after both words, which no possessive pronoun takes.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence uses an intensive pronoun?
Answer: A
In A, herself only emphasizes the author; remove it and the sentence still works, so it is intensive. B and D are reflexive: herself and itself are needed objects ("Ana taught" and "The puppy saw" are incomplete). C misuses a -self pronoun as a subject; standard English is "Omar and I will hand out."
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence uses the standard form of the intensive pronoun?
Answer: C
The antecedent players is plural, so the standard intensive is themselves. A and D build the word on their; these forms are heard in some kinds of speech but are not standard. B uses the singular -self for a plural antecedent.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence has an inappropriate shift in pronoun person?
Answer: D
D starts in the first person (we) and switches to the second person (you) for the same people, which is an inappropriate shift. A, B and C keep one person all the way through: first person plural, first person singular and third person plural.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which pronoun keeps the number consistent? The tomato plants need water every day, or ___ will wilt.
Answer: C
The antecedent plants is plural, so the pronoun must be the plural they. A and B are singular, a shift in number. D shifts to the second person and changes the meaning.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which revision fixes the vague pronoun? Grace told her aunt that her bike had a flat tire.
Answer: B
The direct quotation shows the bike is Grace's, so there is only one possible owner. A and C still leave the reader unsure whether the bike belongs to Grace or her aunt. D makes things worse by replacing the name Grace with another pronoun.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which revision fixes the vague pronoun? On the school website, it says that the spring dance is canceled.
Answer: A
In the original, it has no antecedent; A makes the website the subject, so no pronoun is needed. B swaps in they, which also has no antecedent. C only moves the vague it. D adds a second, unneeded it after the dance.
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Luis writes, "The coach picked Dev and I for the relay." Which strategy best helps him check the pronoun?
Answer: B
The cover test removes the other person so the pronoun stands alone; "picked I" sounds wrong, so the standard form is "picked Dev and me." A swaps in a -self pronoun, which cannot stand in for me. C gets the courtesy order backward (the other person usually comes first), and word order does not change case anyway. D checks punctuation, not the pronoun.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Kai texts a friend, "me and nia r gonna be late." Which version fits an email to the teacher in standard English?
Answer: D
The pronoun is part of the subject, so it takes the subjective case: "I am going to be late" becomes "Nia and I." The text message is fine between friends, but a formal email needs standard English. A and B keep the objective me in the subject. C uses a -self pronoun as a subject.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 15 of the Tom Sawyer excerpt, who is he in "Presently he said"?
Answer: B
The next paragraph begins "Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little," so the speaker is talking to Tom and must be Ben; Ben is also the last person named before he ("Ben watching every move"). A ignores who is being spoken to. C cannot be right, because he does not refer to a woman. D is wrong because Ben is named in the same paragraph.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 16, Ben says, "let me whitewash a little." Why is me the standard case?
Answer: C
Let is an action word that needs an object: let whom? let me. Objects take the objective case. A is an overcorrection (no one says "let I"). B confuses the objective me with the possessive my. D is wrong because intensive pronouns end in -self; Twain's italics show Ben's eager stress, not a different kind of pronoun.
Question 15 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 18, Tom says, "I reckon it wouldn't hardly do, Ben." Which revision follows standard English?
Answer: A
Hardly already has a negative meaning, and standard English uses one negative in a clause, so wouldn't becomes would (all four options also replace the informal reckon with think). B keeps the double negative. C only spells out the contraction, so the double negative remains. D adds never, making the problem worse.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
In paragraph 11, Tom says, "All I know, is, it suits Tom Sawyer." Explain the shift in person in this sentence. Is it an inappropriate shift here? Then rewrite the idea as one sentence for a formal book report.
Model answer: Tom starts in the first person (I) and ends in the third person, naming himself (Tom Sawyer). In a report it would be a shift, but here it is a choice in spoken dialogue: talking about himself by name makes Tom sound proud and makes the chore sound special, which is part of his trick on Ben. (Tom Sawyer is a name, not a pronoun, but it works the way he would.) Formal version: "Tom claims that the work suits him." (Leaving Ben out of this sentence keeps him from being vague.) Rubric line: 2 points for naming both persons, a reasoned judgment tied to the scene, and a consistent formal rewrite; 1 point for two of the three.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
Revise this note for the class newsletter. Fix every pronoun error and name the rule for each: Our class held a bake sale on Tuesday. Us volunteers sold cookies, muffins and lemon bars. The lemon bars were popular, and it sold out by noon. Deshawn told Omar that he should count the money. When a customer paid with a large bill, you had to find change in the cash box.
Model answer: "Our class held a bake sale on Tuesday. We volunteers sold cookies, muffins and lemon bars. The lemon bars were popular, and they sold out by noon. Deshawn asked Omar to count the money. When a customer paid with a large bill, we had to find change in the cash box." Rules: We is subjective because it is part of the subject (drop-the-noun test); they matches the plural bars (number); the he sentence is reworded so only one person could count the money (vague pronoun); we keeps the first person the note began with (person). Rubric line: 2 points for all four fixes with rules; 1 point for two or three.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
Write two sentences about a class project: one that uses myself as an intensive pronoun and one that uses ourselves as an intensive pronoun. Then show the removal test for one of them.
Model answer: "I myself counted every ticket from the play." "We built the model volcano ourselves." Removal test: "We built the model volcano" is still a complete sentence, so ourselves only adds emphasis and is intensive. Rubric line: 2 points for two correct intensive uses and a correct removal test; 1 point if one sentence uses the pronoun reflexively or the test is missing.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
Rewrite Ben's words in paragraph 19 of the Tom Sawyer excerpt in standard English, and name each change you made.
Model answer: "No, is that so? Oh, come now, let me just try, only a little. I would let you if you were me, Tom." Changes: lemme becomes let me (the standard spelling of the two words); you was becomes you were (standard English uses were with you); "just a little" is attached to a complete sentence. Commas may replace Twain's dashes, or students may keep them. Rubric line: 2 points for both key changes (let me, you were) with reasons; 1 point for one.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
A student wrote this announcement to read on the morning news. Revise it in standard English and name the rule behind each change: Anybody who wants to join the art club, you should come to Room 12 on Tuesday. Me and Ms. Rossi will be there. Bring you're own sketchbook if you have one.
Model answer: "If you want to join the art club, come to Room 12 on Tuesday. Ms. Rossi and I will be there. Bring your own sketchbook if you have one." Rules: the first sentence now stays in the second person instead of shifting from anybody to you (person); I is subjective because it is part of the subject, and the other person comes first (case); your is the possessive pronoun, while you're means "you are" (possessive, no apostrophe). Reading the draft aloud is a good strategy for catching the first two. Rubric line: 2 points for all three fixes with rules; 1 point for two.
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06
Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does L.6.1 mean?
L.6.1 means that sixth graders use standard English grammar when they write and speak, with a focus on pronouns.
Its five parts ask students to use the right pronoun case, use intensive pronouns such as myself, fix shifts in pronoun number and person, fix vague pronouns, and notice and revise language that differs from standard English.
What are the three pronoun cases?
The three cases are subjective, objective and possessive.
Subjective pronouns (I, he, she, we, they) are subjects. Objective pronouns (me, him, her, us, them) are objects of verbs or prepositions. Possessive pronouns (my, mine, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) show ownership and never take an apostrophe.
Is it "my friend and I" or "my friend and me"?
It depends on the pronoun's job: use I in the subject and me as an object.
Cover the other person to check. "My friend and I went" works because "I went" works, and "Mom called my friend and me" works because "Mom called me" works.
What is the difference between an intensive and a reflexive pronoun?
They use the same -self words, but an intensive pronoun can be removed and a reflexive pronoun cannot.
In "I myself fixed it," myself adds emphasis only. In "I hurt myself," myself is the object of hurt, so the sentence needs it.
What is a vague pronoun?
A vague pronoun is one whose antecedent, the noun it stands for, is unclear or missing.
"Mia called Rosa after she got home" is vague because she could be either girl. "They say it will snow" is vague because they names no one. Fix it by naming the noun or rewording.
Is "Everyone brought their lunch" a shift in number?
Style guides now disagree, so this lesson does not mark it wrong.
Singular they is accepted by several major style guides, including those of the Modern Language Association and the American Psychological Association, while some teachers still ask for "Everyone brought lunch" in formal writing. The quiz and homework use clear cases instead, such as plural nouns followed by it.
Does L.6.1 say that dialects and informal speech are wrong?
No: the standard asks students to recognize variations from standard English, not to reject them.
Informal speech and dialects follow their own patterns, and authors such as Mark Twain write dialogue in them on purpose. Students learn to choose standard English when the audience and purpose call for it, such as school writing and formal speaking.
How is L.6.1 tested?
L.6.1 is usually tested with editing questions that ask students to choose or correct a pronoun in a sentence or short passage.
Many state tests use this format, and classroom tests often add short revisions where students fix a draft and name the rule.
What comes after L.6.1 in grade 7?
In grade 7, L.7.1 moves from pronouns to phrases, clauses and sentence types.
Students explain what phrases and clauses do, choose among simple, compound and complex sentences, and fix misplaced and dangling modifiers. Clear pronoun reference stays important in every later grade.
How can parents help with pronouns at home?
Play the cover test out loud when a pronoun choice comes up.
If your student says "Me and Sam are going," ask them to drop Sam and listen: "Me am going" sounds wrong. You can also point out a vague pronoun in a news story or sign and ask who or what it means.
07
Related Standards
6 standards
These standards connect to L.6.1: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.
Before this lesson
L.3.1Prerequisite
Explain the function of pronouns and ensure pronoun-antecedent agreement
Lesson coming soon
L.5.1Prerequisite
Use and explain conjunctions and prepositions, and fix shifts in verb tense
Lesson coming soon
Alongside
L.6.2Parallel
Set off nonrestrictive elements with commas, parentheses and dashes; spell correctly
