Nouns and Pronouns

Definitions oNoun—A noun is a word that names a person, object, idea, or place. oPronoun—A pronoun takes the place of a noun or another pronoun, saving the need to write the same word twice.

Singular and Plural Nouns o A singular noun names one person, object, idea, or place. o A plural noun names more than one person, object, idea, or place. o Most nouns are common nouns and begin with a lowercase letter. o character, holiday o Proper nouns name specific people, objects, ideas, or places. They begin with capital letters. o Homer Simpson, Christmas

Forming Plural Nouns o Most nouns add –s to form the plural  girls o Nouns that end in –s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, or –z, add –es to form the plural  churches o Some nouns have irregular plurals:  deerdeer  childchildren  lifelives

Have you met my teacher? She is always looking over my shoulder. Pronouns Pronouns take the place of nouns.

Uses oPronouns play many roles in a sentence. osubject oExample: He walks to school. oobject oExample: The professor wanted to meet her. omodifier oExample: Their project was the best in the class.

Pronouns and Antecedents oAntecedent: The antecedent is the word (a noun) the pronoun replaces. oSam and Lee had lunch together. They were late for class. oTony’s paper was really good. It was the best in the class.

PRONOUNS: The System SubjectiveObjectivePossessive SingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPlural 1 st person Iwemeusmyour 2 nd person you your 3 rd person he she it they him her it them his her its their

First Rule to Remember oA pronoun must agree with its antecedent (the noun it refers to) in number and gender. oA student who works hard will find their hard work is rewarded. oStudents who work hard will find their hard work is rewarded. X

PRONOUNS: Tip #1 These are all singular, so they must be matched with singular pronouns! oDid everyone finish their test? oDid everyone finish his or her test? NO

Second Rule to Remember oPronouns must refer clearly to one and only one antecedent. oBill called to Tom as he was leaving. oBill called to Tom as Tom was leaving. Bill or Tom ??

PRONOUNS: Tip #2 oEliminate vague and unnecessary pronouns to make your sentences more concise. oIn the college catalog it has all the required courses for graduation. oThe college catalog has all the required courses for graduation. XX

PRONOUNS: Tip #3 oTo decide which pronoun is correct in a compound, drop one of the words and see if what’s left sounds correct. oExample: oShe listened carefully to Sara and I. oShe listened carefully to I. oShe listened carefully to me. oShe listened carefully to Sara and me. NO

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns oAlways end in -self (singular) or -selves (plural) oWe made ourselves some popcorn. oI myself prefer potato chips.

PRONOUNS: Tip #4 oDon’t use reflexive or intensive pronouns alone; they can only be used when paired with their antecedents. oPlease send the report to myself as soon as possible. oPlease send the report to me as soon as possible. NO

Pronouns correctly paired with antecedents oReflexive pronoun paired with antecedent: oHe made himself keep up with the reading after the midterm. oIntensive pronoun paired with antecedent: oThe instructor said that she herself had to watch out for spelling errors.

To review pronouns, see Chapter 22.