Page 14 - The Language Sandwich

Pronouns (The Type of Bread)

Pronouns are used in place of nouns. The purpose of

pronouns is to avoid repetition and make sentences

easier to understand. A noun that is replaced by a

pronoun is referred to as the antecedent. Some of

the most common pronouns to remember are he,

she, it, they, and this.

Choosing a pronoun is like choosing which type of

bread to use for your sandwich. Will it be white

bread (he), whole-wheat bread (she), rye (it),

sourdough (they), or pita bread (this)? Though there

are many types of bread out there—white, whole

wheat, rye, baguettes, naan—at the end of the day,

it’s all still bread, and we can call it such. The same

goes for pronouns, which we use in the place of

nouns.

Further, there is a proper type of bread for every

sandwich. You can’t just use banana bread to make a

pulled-pork sandwich! In the same way, you can’t

use he to describe the Queen of England. (Well, you

could, but you’d be wrong, and I don’t think Her

Majesty would appreciate it.)