Relative and Intensive Pronouns — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Choose the best correction: 'The volunteer which organized the food drive thanked us.'
A) The volunteer whom organized the food drive thanked us.
B) The volunteer whose organized the food drive thanked us.
C) The volunteer who organized the food drive thanked us.
D) The volunteer that organized the food drive thanked us.
'Who' modifies an antecedent that names a person doing the action of the clause.
2. Choose the best correction: 'My sister built the model rocket by hisself.'
A) My sister built the model rocket by herself.
B) My sister built the model rocket by themselves.
C) My sister built the model rocket by itself.
D) My sister built the model rocket by yourself.
Reflexive pronouns must match the antecedent in number, person, and gender.
3. Choose the best correction: 'The author who book we read visited our class.'
A) The author whom book we read visited our class.
B) The author whose book we read visited our class.
C) The author who's book we read visited our class.
D) The author that book we read visited our class.
'Whose' shows possession and connects the antecedent to a possessed noun.
4. Choose the best correction: 'The students who we admire finished the project themself.'
A) The students whom we admire finished the project themselves.
B) The students who we admire finished the project hisself.
C) The students whom we admire finished the project theirselves.
D) The students whose we admire finished the project themself.
'Whom' is the object form, and 'themselves' is the standard plural reflexive pronoun.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. The principal herself visited each classroom delivered the news.
Intensive pronouns emphasize an antecedent and can be removed without changing meaning.
2. The reporter whom I interviewed last week wrote a feature about us.
'Whom' is the relative pronoun used as the object of a verb or preposition.
3. The dog whose leash dragged behind it sprinted across the yard.
'Whose' is the possessive relative pronoun and works for animals and things too.
4. We promised ourselves to finish the science fair project before Friday.
Reflexive pronouns rename the subject when subject and object are the same.
5. The bridge, which crosses the river, was built last summer.
'Which' introduces nonessential clauses that add extra information about things.