Grammar Unit 1 Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives

Grammar A way of thinking about language. There are only 8 kinds of words – the 8 Parts of Speech.

Noun – the name of a person - place - thing - or idea - sister or Gayle home or London dog or Empire State Building freedom or The Big Boom Common Noun Proper Noun

Why is it important to recognize nouns? Because strong nouns make better writing. The boy and his dog walked beside the water. John and his golden retriever walked beside the ocean.

So let’s practice recognizing nouns. Which words are nouns? The Constitution, a document that has played an important role in history, clearly defines the freedoms and goals of the United States of America. Fifty-five representatives from a dozen states drafted the document between May and September of 1787.

A pronoun takes the place of a noun. Pronouns refer to nouns. Pronouns are the words that we use instead of repeating a noun. It allows up to speed up our communication. Instead of saying: Mary went to New York where Mary saw an opera. We can say: Mary went to New York where she saw an opera.

There are many types of pronouns. For now, concentrate on recognizing Subject, Object, and Possessive pronouns: Subject Pronouns I you He she it We you they Object Pronouns me you him her it us you them Possessive Pronouns my your his her its our their

Find the pronoun and decide which noun it is referring to. The teacher put his papers on the students’ desks. They were expecting a test, but they did not know they would have it at the beginning of class. My mother is a great cook. She cooks lots of cookies and cakes for the children in her neighborhood. They always stop by her house after school.

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. That means that adjectives change nouns. Using adjectives is another way that we are able to sharpen the mental image we create in our writing or speaking. Example: The coat was thrown on the floor. The yellow rain slicker was thrown on the floor.

Some special adjectives: Articles = a, an, the Don’t forget proper adjectives. Proper adjectives are made out of proper nouns. England becomes English. Rome makes Roman. Example: In south Florida, Spanish moss hangs from trees.

Find the adjectives in the sentences: He had a long chin and big, prominent teeth.