Language and Grammar: Engage in Conversation

Group Talk With a group, look at the photos of Mount St. Helens on pages 142–143. Share your thoughts and ideas about the photos. Use subject pronouns.

Animals probably ran away if they could.

You’re right. They were probably terrified.

Writing and Grammar: Write About an Interesting Place

Study the Models When you write about an interesting place, it’s important not to repeat words too many times. Your writing will be choppy and hard to read if you keep using the same words. Using subject pronouns in place of the subject can help make sentences smooth.

Not Ok

Paricutín is a small volcano in Mexico. Paricutín started in a cornfield in 1943. Paricutín eventually destroyed the nearby town of San Juan. My uncle visited San Juan. My uncle took pictures of the town. My uncle told me that no one was killed by the lava and ash. The town is almost completely covered in lava rock, though. The town is a strange place.

The writer repeats nouns in the subjects. The reader thinks: “This is not very easy to read.”

Ok

Paricutín is a small volcano in Mexico. It started in a cornfield in 1943. It eventually destroyed the nearby town of San Juan. My uncle visited San Juan. He took pictures of the town. He told me that no one was killed by the lava and ash. The town is almost completely covered in lava rock, though. It is a strange place.

The writer replaces some nouns with subject pronouns.

Illustration of a pen icon WRITE ON YOUR OWN Write about an interesting place that you or someone you know visited. When you can, use subject pronouns to make your sentences smooth.

REMEMBER

There are singular and plural subject pronouns.

SingularPlural
Iwe
youyou
he, she, itthey