Word that names Word that names b A b A Person b An b An Idea b A b A Thing Place

Kinds of Nouns

The pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns. It may stand for a person, place, thing, or idea. The pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns. It may stand for a person, place, thing, or idea. Personal Pronouns I, me, mine you, your, yours she, her, hers, it, its we,us, our, ours they, them, their, theirs myself yourself Indefinite Pronouns anybody each either none someone, one, etc. Interrogative Pronouns who whom what which whose Demonstrative Pronouns this that these those

Personal Pronouns A pronoun is a word that takes the place of one or more nouns. The most frequently used pronouns are called personal pronouns. They refer to people or things.

Indefinite Pronouns An indefinite pronoun is a pronoun that does not refer to a particular person, place, or thing. Does anyone know the story of Midas? Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural.

Possessive Pronouns b A possessive pronoun is a pronoun that shows who or what has something. b A possessive pronoun may take the place of a possessive noun.

Possessive Pronouns ours yours theirs mine yours his, hers Used alone our your their my your his, her, its Used before nouns PluralSingular

Pronouns and Antecedents (the words they replace) Read the following sentences. Can you tell to whom the word She refers? Arachne competes with Athena. She weaves skillfully. The sentence is not clear because the word She could refer to either Arachne or Athena. Sometimes you must repeat a noun or rewrite the sentence. Arachne competes with Athena. Athena weaves skillfully.

Pronouns and Antecedents The noun or group of words that a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent. When you use a pronoun, you should be sure that it refers to its antecedent clearly. Be especially careful when you use the pronoun they. Read the following sentence. They have several books about Greek myths at the library.

Pronouns and Antecedents The meaning of They is unclear. The sentence can be improved by rewriting it in the following manner. Several books about myths are available at the library.

Pronouns and Antecedents b When using pronouns, you must also make sure that they agree with their antecedents in number (singular or plural) and gender. b The gender of a noun may be masculine (male), feminine (female), or neuter (referring to things).

Modifies or describes a noun or pronoun. Is that a wool sweater? Just give me five minutes. Did you lose your address book? Answers these questions: