Take Tibbles Out: using subject and object pronouns correctly

The object of this activity is to help children understand when to use the subject pronoun ‘I’ and when to use the object pronoun ‘me’. 

Children will sometimes confuse these pronouns and use them in the wrong positions in sentences.  This usually happens when more than one subject or object fills the subject or object position in a sentence.  For example, children will correctly say:

·        I went to the swimming pool.

However, when another subject is included, they often change the subject pronoun to the object pronoun:

·        Me and my family went to the swimming pool. ) Incorrect as object pronoun

·        Me and Suzie went to the swimming pool.       ) ‘me’ used in the subject position.                             

Similarly, the object pronoun is sometimes confused when another object is added.

·        Grandma loves me.  (Correct)

·        Grandma loves Suzie and I.  (Incorrect as subject pronoun ‘I’ used in the object  position.)

This is Tibbles.  The idea is to use the cards to make a sentence and then ‘Take Tibbles out’ of each sentence to check if the sentence sounds right and the correct pronoun has been used.

Children should choose one sentence card and decide which Tibbles card and pronoun card they need to complete the sentence correctly.

When they have made the sentence, ask them to ‘Take Tibbles out’.  Does the sentence still make sense?

‘Tibbles and I’ should be used before the verb (highlighted red) as this is the subject position. Usually the proper noun comes before the subject pronoun ‘I’.  If children have used ‘me’ in this position, talk to them about whether it sounds right to say, for example, ‘Me chased bubbles’.  What would sound better?

If the object position (after the verb) needs completing, children will need to use the ‘me’ pronoun card.  Again, if they select ‘I’, talk about sense and ask how it sounds.

It is also quite useful for children to notice the positional pattern: ‘I’ is used before the verb and ‘me’ is used after. 

I

me

Tibbles and

and Tibbles

_____ watched TV.

_____  went for a walk.

_____ chased bubbles.

_____ played in the garden.

_____ sat on the sofa.

_____ fell asleep.

Mum gave some treats to _____ .

The thunder frightened _____ .

My brother drew _____ .

The dog barked at _____ .

Using the template cards, children could make up their own sentences to vary the activity.

Return to pronoun post

Apostrophes to show where letters are missing (contractions)

In English we can use apostrophes to show where one or more letters have been missed out:  don't (do not), I'm (I am), They're (They are).  These are often referred to as 'contractions' because the words have been made shorter.

We tend to use contractions in speech, because they are quicker to use than saying the two words in full.  This sort of abbreviation is not used in writing where formal, Standard English is required: children will need to learn that they are useful for informal writing, such as speech in stories, plays and forms non-fiction where writing is more conversational, e.g. newspaper quotes, some persuasive writing, etc.

The apostrophe should be used in the position where the letter/s are omitted, e.g. can’t (cannot), it’s (it is), you're (you are), they'll (they will). These apostrophes help the reader distinguish between words which use the same letters: I’ll – ill, he’ll – hell, we’re – were.

The following table lists some of the most common contractions and their full versions.  You can use these in two ways with your children:

• Show them the contracted version and ask them what it means.  What is it short for?  Discuss what letters are missing.  What is the punctuation mark that replaces the missing letters?
• Show them the full, two-word version.  How could we make this shorter?  What word do we usually use instead of these two words?  What letters do we miss out?  What punctuation mark do we need to use instead of the letters?  How do we write it? (Make sure they use the apostrophe above the line – not as they would use a comma!)

I’m	I am	they’re	they are
I’ll	I will	they’ll	they will
you’re	you are	can’t	cannot
you’ll	you will	don’t	do not
he’s	he is	didn’t	did not
he’ll	he will	shan’t	shall not
she’s	she is	won’t	will not
she’ll	she will	mustn’t	must not
it’s	it is	hasn’t	has not
it’ll	it will	haven’t	have not
we’re	we are	hadn’t	had not
we’ll	we will	aren’t	are not

What are the present progressive and past progressive forms of verbs?

Progressive forms of verbs (sometimes referred to as ‘continuous’ forms) are used to indicate continuation of an action or state of being.

The present progressive shows that the action or state of being is continuing at the present time, e.g. He is running; she is getting stronger.

The past progressive shows that the action or state of being was continuing at the time being referred to, e.g. He was crossing the bridge; she was feeling sad.

Progressive forms are constructed by using a form of the verb ‘be’ + the present participle of a verb, which ends in –ing. 

The present progressive is detailed below, giving some examples of use with proper nouns (names), common nouns (the robot/the children) and pronouns:

• I am writing
• Jack/he is writing
• Amy/she is writing
• The robot/it is writing
• You are writing
• We are writing
• The children/they are writing

You can see that the form of the verb ‘be’ is different for ‘I’ (am), ‘he/she/it’ (is) and ‘you/we/they’ (are) so, when using the present progressive, children need to choose the correct form of ‘be’ to match the person or pronoun.

The past progressive is formed using the past tense of the verb ‘be’:

• I was writing
• Jack/he was writing
• Amy/she was writing
• The robot/it was writing
• You were writing
• We were writing
• The children/they were writing

With this form of the progressive, only ‘was’ and ‘were’ are used.

If we just write the present participle (-ing verb) in a sentence, we cannot tell whether the action is in the past or the present and the sense will not be complete, so it is the verb ‘be’ (am/is/are/was/were) that indicates whether we are writing in the past or present.

The dragon flying.  (doesn’t make full sense; we cannot say present or past tense)

The dragon is flying. (present tense) 

The dragon was flying. (past tense)

To use Standard English, children need to match the correct form of ‘be’ to the pronoun, so it is important to know when to use am, is, are, was, were.  The ‘Happy Families’ game (link below) helps children get used to the different forms of ‘be’ and how they should be used to make the present and past progressive.  The verbs are all used in the context of a sentence.  

Happy Families: present and past progressive card game

Standard English

Standard English is a dialect of English which uses what is considered to be 'correct' grammar and is used in formal situations.  It contrasts with other, local dialects of English which we use in our everyday life in whatever area of the country we come from.

Dialect is more than just an accent: each local dialect may have different ways of using grammar and different vocabulary.  For instance, if you come from Newcastle, in your dialect you would use 'me' instead of 'my' and 'wor' instead of 'our'.  You might 'hoy' something, instead of 'throw' it.

We must ensure children understand that it is not wrong to use their own, local dialect.  Every dialect has its own rich grammar and vocabulary and is used perfectly to communicate in its own area.  However, we need to explain that the Standard English dialect should be used when we write, and also when we speak in formal situations, so that we can be understood everywhere in the English speaking world.