3. Introduction
Read the following sentences and see how the word fishing is being
used.
In general, it is important to read the sentence and determine how
the word is being used, even though some words are strictly thought
of as verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc.
I am fishing on Sunday.
She has a fishing rod.
Fishing is my favorite sport.
verb
adjective
noun
5. Nouns
A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea.
The cat chased the toy.
Toby made macaroni for the picnic.
The leaves on the plant are shriveling.
The author discusses philosophy in her book on liberty.
Nouns
Grammar Rock: Nouns! (3:00)
6. Nouns
Nouns can be singular or plural. Plural nouns usually end in s or es.
Three wolves howled at the moon.
The library has thousands of books.
The professor explained his beliefs.
7. Nouns
Some nouns, called collective nouns, are thought of as one unit. While it would
sometimes be possible to count each individual person or item, the collective noun
is considered as one.
The committee meets on Wednesdays.
Sand is in my bathing suit.
A flock of birds is overhead.
8. Exercise 1: Identifying Collective Nouns Write the collective nouns in
each sentence in the blank at the right.
1. A large crowd stood on the platform. _____________________
2. On Thursday the army marched six miles. ____________________
3. The club held a meeting at my house. _____________________
4. Our family owns a house in the country. _____________________
5. A herd of sheep grazed on the hillside. _____________________
6. The orchestra tuned up before the concert. ____________________
7. Mr. Ferguson spoke to our class. _____________________
8. Gretchen is the president of our committee. ___________________
9. The navy sailed three ships into the harbor. ___________________
10. A large group went swimming at the lake. ____________________
crowd
army
club
family
herd
orchestra
class
committee
navy
group
9. The post office is closed on Sundays. (separate words)
Railroad crossings can be dangerous to those who don’t pay attention.
(combined words)
My sister-in-law married my brother three years ago. (hyphenated words)
A compound noun is made up of two or more words. The words used together
form a new word with a different meaning. They are written in three ways: with
separate words, combined words, or hyphenated words.
10. Exercise 2: Identifying Compound Nouns Underline the common
nouns in each sentence.
1. Large tomatoes are growing in our backyard.
2. My great-grandfather is living with us.
3. A new high school was built last year.
4. Suddenly the doorknob began to turn slowly.
5. The racehorse ran like the wind.
6. I left angry, but I exercised self-control.
7. There are three lifeguards at the beach this summer.
8. The stars lie many light-years away.
9. Two astronauts were flying in the landing-craft.
10. My bedroom is located at the end of the hall.
11. Nouns
It is important to determine whether the noun is singular or plural. If a noun is plural,
it will take a plural verb form; if a noun is singular, it will take a singular verb form.
The officer approaches the jail.
singularsingular
Many lions hunt at night.
plural plural
Will Alberto and Maria go to the party?
plural plural
12. Nouns
A noun will be either common or proper; it cannot be both.
Nouns can be broken into numerous categories.
Proper
A proper noun is the name of a person, organization, official document, holiday,
etc. A proper noun always begins with a capital letter.
Common
A common noun refers to a person, place, thing, or idea in general. A common
noun is capitalized only if it is the first word of the sentence.
Common vs. Proper Nouns (3:41)
14. Exercise 3: Identifying Common and Proper Nouns Underline the
common nouns in the sentences below. Circle the proper nouns.
1. I’ve just read a play by Shakespeare.
2. The Drama Club elected a new president.
3. Soon our family plans to visit Miami.
4. A new house is being built on Elm Street.
5. My father has been transferred to Colorado.
6. She named her new dog Max.
7. Have you ever seen the Statue of Liberty?
8. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.
9. My brother went climbing in the Rocky Mountains.
10. I have pictures of Niagara Falls.
15. Nouns
A noun will either be concrete or abstract; it cannot be both.
The puppy chewed my shoes.
Every time Maria cooks, the kitchen smells like garlic.
As quickly as the thought entered her mind, it vanished.
Depression affects millions of Americans.
Concrete
A concrete noun names a person or thing that you can perceive with one of
your senses (touch, smell, hearing, taste, sight).
Abstract
An abstract noun is the opposite of a concrete noun—it cannot be observed by
your senses.
Grammar Time: Mission Noun (3:58)
16. Nouns
Nouns can be possessive. A noun takes an apostrophe + s to show that it owns
something. The apostrophe means of the or belongs to. In these examples, only the
possessive nouns are italicized.
Shannon’s car wouldn’t start this morning.
the car belongs to Shannon
The play will be held on Tuesday at the children’s party.
The mayor’s speech was full of lies.
the party belonging to the children
the speech of the mayor
17. Nouns Exercise
Look at the underlined noun in each sentence and decide which groups it belongs to.
In the first blank, mark a C for common or P for proper; in the second blank, mark
an A for abstract or a C for concrete; in the third blank, mark an S for singular or a
P for plural.
1. __ __ __ The workers poured wet cement.
2. __ __ __ Collette worked on the project all night.
3. __ __ __ I had a notion that she was telling the truth.
4. __ __ __ It is difficult to explain my desires.
5. __ __ __ Carlos sent her flowers for her birthday.
C C S
P C S
C A S
Nouns Exercise
C A P
C C P
18. Nouns Exercise
6. __ __ __ Senator Clark is running for re-election.
7. __ __ __ Nail polish is on sale this week at the pharmacy.
8. __ __ __ Get a broom from the closet, please.
9. __ __ __ People all over the world want peace.
10. __ __ __ Her family takes vacations in Hawaii.
P C S
C C S
C C S
C A S
C C S
Nouns Exercise (cont.)
The Noun Song (2:58)
20. Pronouns
Pronouns
Read the following sentences:
Ava works in a store where Ava gets to meet interesting customers.
Candace, Thomas, and Gregory are visiting relatives in Colorado. When Candace,
Thomas, and Gregory return, I will have Candace, Thomas, and Gregory call Mr.
Ramos back.
These sentences are long and boring because the nouns are repeated. To avoid
repeating a noun, a pronoun can be used instead.
Ava works in a store where she gets to meet interesting customers.
Candace, Thomas, and Gregory are visiting relatives in Colorado. When they
return, I will have them call Mr. Ramos back.
21. Pronouns
Look at the following sentence:
Jacob met with Natalie, and then Jacob met with Will.
To avoid repeating “Jacob,” use the pronoun he.
Jacob met with Natalie, and then he met with Will.
The pronoun them could substitute for the names “Natalie” and “Will.”
Jacob met with them.
To avoid using names altogether, the pronouns he and them could be used. (We
should do this only if we know who “he” and “them” are from previous sentences.)
He met with them.
22. Pronouns
Pronouns allow you to write shorter sentences and use less repetition. There are
different pronouns in English, depending on the noun and its location:
I, you, he, she, it, we, and they are used as subjects.
Me, you, him, her, it, us, and them are used as objects.
My/mine, your/yours, his, her/hers, its, our/ours, and their/theirs are possessive
pronouns.
Pronouns can also end in self or selves, one, or body (e.g., myself, ourselves,
someone, anybody, etc.)
Grammar Rock: PRONOUNS!
23. Pronouns
Antecedents
The word or group of words a pronoun replaces is called an antecedent.
The firefighters described how they did their job.
Finally, the rescue worker reappeared. She appeared to be unharmed.
24. Exercise 1: Identifying Pronouns and Antecedents Underline the personal
pronoun in each sentence. Then circle its antecedents.
1. The explorers sailed their ship across the Pacific.
2. Bill left his homework on the bus.
3. Where are you going, Bob?
4. The champion skater always performed on his newest skates.
5. The woman washed her car every week.
6. The actors practiced their parts at rehearsal.
7. Two deer led their young to the river.
8. The bicycle is yours, Martha.
9. When the astronaut landed his spaceship, the sun had already set.
10. A large sheepdog buries its bones behind the barn.
25. Fill in the sentences with pronouns:
__________ asked ________ to dance.
________ said “No,” because ________ was too shy.
Now __________ is dancing with ________.
_______ feels bad for _______.
She me
He
I
she him
I
me
Pronouns
Pronoun Problems (2:05)
26. Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns are either singular or plural. Personal pronouns refer to the
person speaking (first person), the person spoken to (second person), or the person,
place, thing, or idea spoken about (third person).
SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON
SECOND PERSON
THIRD PERSON
I, me, my, mine we, us, our,ours
you, your, yours you, your, yours
he, him, his
she, her, hers
it, its
they, them
their, theirs
Personal Pronouns Song
27. Pronouns
Demonstrative Pronouns
Pronouns such as this, that, these, and those point out a specific
person, place or thing. BUT BE CAREFUL!! If a noun follows one of these words,
the word is no longer considered a pronoun. For example:
Give me that. that is a pronoun
Give me that pencil. that is not a pronoun
Read the following sentence:
Give the ball to Kisha.
To substitute for “Kisha,” use the pronoun her. Give the ball to her.
To substitute for “ball,” use the pronoun that. Give that to Kisha.
Both nouns can be substituted: Give that to her.
NOTE: When a noun follows an demonstrative pronoun, that pronoun becomes an adjective!
28. Pronouns
Interrogative Pronouns
The pronouns what, which, who, whom, and whose are interrogative pronouns.
An interrogative pronoun is used to begin a question.
What did the doctor say?
Which is the best treatment?
NOTE: All four demonstrative pronouns begin with a “T”!
All five interrogative pronouns begin with a “W”!
Where did I put my homework?
29. Exercise 2: Distinguishing Between Demonstrative and Interrogative
Pronouns Write whether each underlined word is a demonstrative or
interrogative pronoun.
1. What are we eating for dinner? _____________________________
2. This is the present I gave my mother. ________________________
3. Of all my courses, that is my best. ___________________________
4. What is your name? ________________________________
5. Which is your house? ________________________________
6. These belong to the band. ________________________________
7. Of all the flowers, which bloom earliest in spring? _______________
8. Whose is that bicycle in the driveway? _______________________
9. Those were painted by Monet. _____________________________
10. He said these are the world’s smallest birds. _________________
interrogative
demonstrative
demonstrative
interrogative
interrogative
demonstrative
interrogative
interrogative
demonstrative
demonstrative
It Ain't Nothin' But a Pronoun
30. Pronouns Out of Place: Fix the sentences below that have been confused by the
misplacement of a relative pronoun. Rewrite each sentence on the line provided.
1. The trainer turned to the crowd and said, “We need someone to jump into the
tank with Boris the shark, who is absolutely odorless.”
2. Julio bought cotton candy from a girl at the fair that was way too sweet.
3. I’d like to hire someone to feed and train our horse who doesn’t smoke.
4. Never trust a lady with a dog who walks everywhere in high heels.
5. At the race track, I saw a horse which was oval shaped and 300 yards wide.
6. I met two men carrying smoked fish who wore chrome-plated sunglasses.
The trainer turned to the crowd and said, “We need someone who is
absolutely odorless to jump into the tank with Boris the shark.”
Julio bought cotton candy that was way too sweet from a girl at the fair.
I’d like to hire someone who doesn’t smoke to feed and train our horse.
Never trust a lady who walks everywhere in high heels with a dog.
At the race track which was oval shaped and 300 yards wide, I saw a horse.
I met two men who wore chrome-plated sunglasses carrying smoked fish.
31. Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns
An indefinite pronoun refers to a person, place, thing, or idea that is not
specifically named. BUT BE CAREFUL!!! If a noun follows one of these
words, the words is no longer considered a pronoun. For example:
NOTE: When a noun follows an indefinite pronoun, that pronoun becomes an adjective!
Both want to be nurses. Both is a pronoun
Both is not a pronounBoth students want to be nurses.
32. Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns
Write some examples of indefinite pronouns from the following chart:
SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR OR PLURAL
another
anybody
anyone
anything
each
either
everybody
everyone
everything
little
much
neither
nobody
no one
nothing
one
other
somebody
someone
something
both
few
many
others
several
all
any
more
most
none
some
33. Ex. 3: Identifying Indefinite Pronouns
1. We want everybody to have fun at the party.
2. Neither of the trails looks difficult to climb.
3. He knew none of the answers on the test.
4. Somebody left a window open, and rain came in during the storm.
5. Karen gave each of the kittens a dish of food.
6. Several of these homes were built centuries ago.
7. Something tells me that we are going to have a problem.
8. Most of the team members have already boarded the bus.
9. We can accomplish little unless we work together.
10. Nothing succeeds like success.
Pronouns
Numa Numa Pronoun Challenge
(3:43)
34. Pronouns Exercise
Pronouns
ExerciseRead the following sets of sentences and put the appropriate pronoun in the blank.
1. Sandra likes to paint and draw; in fact, ______ are ______ favorite activities.
______ makes portraits of ______ by looking into a mirror.
2. My wife and ______ are taking ______ kids and their friends to the circus.
Since they have never been to a circus before, ______ are excited. ______ will
all be leaving around five.
those her
She herself
I our
they We
35. 3. The boy complained to ______ mother about stomach pains. “______ tummy
hurts,” ______ said to ______. Then, ______ gave ______ some medicine.
“______ tasted awful,” he said.
Pronouns Exercise
him
his
shehe her
That
My
Pronouns Exercise (cont.)
4. A man driving a Volvo hit ______ from behind while ______ was stopped at a
red light. ______ drove off. I hope ________ witnessed the accident so ______
can present more evidence to police.
5. “I want the rosebush over there because ______ leaves are bright green and
______ has many buds,” Kendra said. “Will ______ please get it for ______?”
______ asked a worker at the nursery. “I’m on ______ break,” he replied.
its
it you me
myshe
me I
He someone I
