NOUNS AND PRONOUNS

NOUNS

NOUNS NOUNS are naming words. NOUNS help people identify what they are talking or thinking about. NOUNS are naming words. NOUNS help people identify what they are talking or thinking about. A NOUN is the name of a PERSON, PLACE, THING, or IDEA. A NOUN is the name of a PERSON, PLACE, THING, or IDEA. Examples: Examples: People—farmer, Bostonians, Alexander Graham Bell, pilot People—farmer, Bostonians, Alexander Graham Bell, pilot Places—Chicago, theater, waiting room, Madison Square Garden Places—Chicago, theater, waiting room, Madison Square Garden Things—flowers, goldfish, elephant, ballpoint pen, modem, poem Things—flowers, goldfish, elephant, ballpoint pen, modem, poem Ideas and Things That You Cannot Usually See—success, happiness, anger, revolution, fairness, health Ideas and Things That You Cannot Usually See—success, happiness, anger, revolution, fairness, health

COLLECTIVE NOUNS Recognizing Collective Nouns Certain nouns name groups of people or things. For example, a jury is a group of people; a herd is a group of animals. These nouns are called collective nouns. A collective noun is a noun that names a group of individual people or things. Examples: team, class, committee, crowd, group, audience

COMPOUND NOUNS Recognizing Compound Nouns You have probably used the words soft and drink separately many times. When both words are used together, however, they form a single noun that has a special meaning, as in “She had a soft drink with her pizza.” A compound noun is a noun made up of two or more words. Compound nouns are usually written in one of three ways: TYPES OF COMPOUND NOUNS Separate Words Hyphenated Words Combined Words Hard drive Chief justice Empire State Building Cure-all Cha-cha Mother-in-law Congresswoman Network Classroom

COMMON AND PROPER NOUNS Using Common and Proper Nouns All nouns can be divided into two large groups: common nouns and proper nouns. A common noun names any one of a class of people, places, or things. A proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing. Common nouns are not capitalized. Proper nouns are always capitalized. Common NounsProper Nouns inventor village story Alexander Graham Bell Tarrytown “Rikki-tikki-tavi”

PRONOU NS

PRONOUNS Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. They are generally used when it would not make sense to repeat a noun over and over again. Imagine, for example, that you are writing about Aunt Jenny. If you were using only nouns, you might write the following sentence: With Nouns: Aunt Jenny was late because Aunt Jenny had waited for Aunt Jenny’s computer technician. With Pronouns: Aunt Jenny was late because she had waited for her computer technician.

PRONOUNS A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or a group of words activing as a noun. Sometimes a pronoun takes the place of a noun in the same sentence. Example: My father opened his files first. A pronoun can also take the place of a noun used in an earlier sentence. Example: My father opened his first. He couldn’t wait any longer. A pronoun may take the place of an entire group of words. Example: Trying to make the team is hard work. It takes hours of practice everyday.

RECOGNIZING ANTECEDENTS OF PRONOUNS A pronoun is closely related to the noun it replaces. The noun that the pronoun replaces has a special name. It is called the antecedent. An antecedent is the noun (or group of words acting as a noun) for which a pronoun stands. The Latin prefix ante- means “before,” and most antecedents do come before the pronouns that take their place. In the preceding examples, father and trying to make the team are the antecedents of their pronouns. Examples: My father opened his mail first. He couldn’t wait any longer. Trying to make the team is hard work. It takes hours of practice every day.

RECOGNIZING ANTECEDENTS OF PRONOUNS Sometimes an antecedent will come after the pronoun. Example: Although he was known as an expert software developer, Darryl enjoyed selling computers. Occasionally, a pronoun will have no definite antecedent. Examples: Who will represent the class? Everything was lost in the flood. In these examples, the pronouns who and everything do not stand for any specific person or thing.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS Using Personal Pronouns The pronouns used most often are personal pronouns. Personal pronouns refer to (1) the person speaking, (2) the person spoken to, or (3) the person, place or think spoken about. PERSONAL PRONOUNS I, me, my, mine we, us, our, ours you, your, yours he, him, his, she her, hers, it, its they, them, their, theirs

PERSONAL PRONOUNS First-person pronouns, such as I, my, we, and our, are used by the person or people speaking to refer to himself, herself, our themselves. Example: I waited for my computer to boot up. Second-person pronouns, such as you and your, are used to speak directly to another person or to other people. Example: Sheila, you left your computer on. Third-person pronouns have many forms. They are separate masculine pronouns ( he, him, his) and feminine pronoun ( she, her, hers) for people and neuter pronouns ( it, its) for things. Third-person pronouns refer to someone or something that may not even be present. Example: I haven’t seen my grandfather in a year. He will arrive from Florida tomorrow.

USING DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS Demonstrative pronouns are pointers. A demonstrative pronoun points out a specific person, place, or thing. There are four demonstrative pronouns: A demonstrative pronoun can come before or after its antecedent. Examples: This is the book I chose. Those are my new friends. Of all my stamps, these are the most valuable. We stopped in Bad Neustadt and Salz. These are the towns where our ancestors lived. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS SingularPlural this thatthese those

USING RELATIVE PRONOUNS Relative pronouns are connecting words. A relative pronoun begins a subordinate clause and connects it to another idea in the same sentence. There are five relative pronouns. RELATIVE PRONOUNS that which who whom whose

USING RELATIVE PRONOUNS The following chart give examples of relative pronouns connecting subordinate clauses to independent clauses. Independent ClausesSubordinate Clauses Here is the book Dino bought our old house, She is a singer Is this the man She is the one that Betsy lost. which needs many repairs. who has an unusual range. whom you saw earlier today? whose house has a fire alarm.

USING INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS Some relative pronouns can also be used as interrogative pronouns. An interrogative pronoun is used to begin a question. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS what which who whom whose

USING INDEFINITE PRONOUNS You should learn to recognize one other kind of pronoun—the indefinite pronoun. Indefinite pronouns refer to people, places, or things, often without specifying which ones. Notice that a few indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural, depending upon their use in the sentence.

USING INDEFINITE PRONOUNS INDEFINITE PRONOUNS Singular PluralSingular or Plural another much anybody neither anyone nobody anything little no one everything each nothing either one everybody other everyone somebody someone something both few many others several all any more most none some