Intensive Pronouns, The Mayor Herself Came

Teach the drop test: take the self pronoun out. If the sentence still works, as in Mom herself baked the cake, it is intensive. Check with the answer key.

Write intensive pronouns like herself and themselves to stress who did it, then check with the drop test. An intensive pronoun ends in self or selves and stresses the word right before it. The directions on the page read: Read each sentence and find the word the pronoun will stress. Then, write the intensive pronoun on the line. Then, write 1 sentence of your own. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 5th Grade pronouns, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with types of pronouns. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

The worksheets cover possessive, relative (who, which) and indefinite pronouns, plus reflexive and intensive pronouns (himself, themselves) and the drop test that tells those two apart.

Sorting activities, sentence fill-ins, and labeling exercises give students multiple angles for recognizing how each pronoun type behaves in context.

Pronoun use falls under Common Core L.5.1, command of grammar and usage. Intensive pronouns are named in the 6th grade standard L.6.1.B, so these pages give an early start.

Fifth graders work on pronoun-antecedent agreement (CCSS L.5.1) ensuring pronouns match their antecedents in number and gender. They address vague or ambiguous pronoun references in their writing and learn to use intensive pronouns (myself, himself, themselves) for emphasis rather than as subjects.

Pronoun-antecedent agreement means a pronoun must match the noun it refers to in number (singular/plural) and gender. For example, Everyone should bring his or her pencil uses singular forms to match Everyone. CCSS L.5.1 requires students to recognize and correct agreement errors in writing.

A vague pronoun reference occurs when it is unclear which noun a pronoun replaces (Sam told Tom that he won - who won?). To fix it, replace the pronoun with the specific noun or rewrite the sentence. Worksheets that present sentences with ambiguous pronouns and ask students to rewrite them for clarity build editing skills.