Below are explanations for the two Pronoun Samples:

Pronouns from The Brothers Karamazov

It came to pass that, settling permanently in Paris he, too, forgot the child, especially when the Revolution of February broke out, making an impression on his mind that he remembered all the rest of his life.

As the interactive exercise instructs, the first step is to highlight any words that could be pronouns:

It came to pass that, settling permanently in Paris he, too, forgot the child, especially when the Revolution of February broke out, making an impression on his mind that he remembered all the rest of his life.

There appear to be three pronouns in this sentence:

1. IT: Indefinite Pronoun; subject; no clear antecedent
2. HE: Personal Pronoun; subject; no clear antecedent
3. HE: Personal Pronoun; subject; no clear antecedent

Challenge Sample from The Brothers Karamazov

He completely abandoned that child of his first marriage, not from malice, nor because of some matrimonial grievances, but simply because he forgot him.

Again, the first step is to highlight any words that might be pronouns:

He completely abandoned that child of his first marriage, not from malice, nor because of some matrimonial grievances, but simply because he forgot him.

For this sample, there appears to be three pronouns in this sentence:

1. HE: Personal Pronoun; subject; no clear antecedent
2. HE: Personal Pronoun; subject; no clear antecedent
3. HIM: Personal Pronoun; direct object; clear antecedent (THAT CHILD)

Tips to Keep in Mind

Like determiners, when reviewing for pronouns, the most important consideration is naming the element precisely. You can't identify a word as simply a "pronoun" because there are different categories of pronoun. So be precise! The KEY MARKERS for pronouns are if it fills a noun role (subject, direct object, object of the preposition, etc.)(so don't confuse pronouns with determiners!) and if it has a clear noun or nominal phrase antecedent.

If you have questions about these sample analyses, please contact your instructor or start a conversation in your work group.