Nouns & Pronouns9th Grade

The Noun A noun is a word or word group that is

used to name a person, a place, a thing, or an idea.

Common Nouns A common noun names any one of a

group of persons, places, things, or ideas and is not capitalized.

Proper Nouns A Proper Noun names a particular

person, place, thing, or idea and is capitalized.

Classifying Nouns man Germany singer Adam Sandler scientist mercy street San Antonio

Identifying Nouns Businesses sometimes use gigantic

objects to advertise their products. A stand that sells fruit might look like an

enormous orange, complete with doors and windows.

Many restaurants in San Antonio, Texas, use surveillance cameras.

An old hotel in New York was even built to look like an elephant.

Collective Nouns A collective noun is a word that names

a group. People

audience, chorus, committee, crew, team Animals

brood, flock, gaggle, herd Things

assortment, batch, bundle, cluster

Collective NounsWhen the group is acting as a

single unit, all together at the same time, the collective noun is SINGULAR.

When the group is acting individually, not as a single unit, the collective noun is PLURAL.

Identifying Collective NounsState whether the sentences below are grammatically correct.

The football team is going to Laredo.The jury has reached a verdict in the trial.Maroon 5 is appearing in concert at the AT&T center.The track team is competing in their events at this time.The jury is debating among themselves about the evidence.The Gym Class Heroes are appearing in concert at the AT&T center.

The Pronoun A pronoun is a word that is used in place of one

or more nouns or pronouns. A personal pronoun refers to the one speaking

(first person), the one spoken to (second person), or the one spoken about (third person). First Person

I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, ours Second Person

you, your, yours Third Person

He, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their, theirs

The Pronoun

The Pronoun Nominative case – is used for the

subject and for the predicate nominative of a sentence

Possessive case – is used to show possession

Objective case – is used for the direct object, indirect object, and object of a preposition

The Pronoun The predicate nominative follows a linking verb

only (is, are, was, were, be, been, seems, etc.)

The direct object follows an action verb only (answers the question “what?” or “whom?” to the action verb)

The indirect object answers the questions “to whom?” or “for whom?” to the verb

The object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun that follows a preposition

The Pronoun Examples:

The girl in the picture was she. = predicate nominative

The teacher gave him a different novel to read. = IO

The linebacker sacked him for a ten-yard loss. = DO

The quarterback placed the ball perfectly between him and the defender. = Object of the preposition

Reflexive & Intensive Pronouns A reflexive pronoun refers to the

subject of a sentence and functions as a complement or as an object of a preposition.

An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent and has no grammatical function.

Reflexive & Intensive Pronouns First Person

myself, ourselves Second Person

yourself, yourselves Third Person

himself, herself, itself, themselves

Identifying Reflexive & Intensive Pronouns Michael drove Joe and myself to the game. I asked Michael to drive Joe and myself to

the game. Nicholas treated himself to a snack. Albert himself organized the fund-raiser. Mary sewed the wedding gown for herself. Mary sewed the wedding gown herself.

Demonstrative Pronouns A demonstrative pronoun is used to

point out a specific person, place, or thing. this, that, these, those

That is John’s favorite store in St. Louis. The tacos I made taste better than

those.

Relative Pronouns A relative pronoun introduces a

dependent clause. that, which, who, whom, whose

The ship that you saw is sailing to Greece.

Chris is my friend who is training for the Boston marathon.

Relative Pronouns Helpful Hints

The relative pronoun should be placed immediately after the noun to which it refers.

The relative pronoun always introduces a dependent clause. Who refers to people only Which refers to things only That refers to either people or things

Identifying Relative Pronouns State whether the sentences below are

grammatically correct.

The runner which was thrown out is the catcher.

We saw the new car that Matt just purchased.

Which might never have happened otherwise. The coach replaced the player who was

injured.

Who & Whom Steps to Identify Who & Whom

Isolate the dependent clause from the main clause

Find the verb in the dependent (relative) clause Replace “who/whom” with somebody Substitute “he” or “they” with “who” Substitute “him” or “them” with

“whom” (remember the M’s stick together)

Who & Whom Select the word in ( ) that makes these

sentences grammatically correct. 1. The police questioned the man (who, whom) the

witnesses identified. 2. Someone caught the pass, but I don’t know (who,

whom) it was. 3. Gandhi was a man (who, whom) many people

respected. 4. They are curious about (who, whom) you talked to

last night. 5. She is the teacher (who, whom) I think will be your

substitute.

Indefinite PronounsAn indefinite pronoun refers to a

person, place, thing, or idea that is not always specifically named. Singular = each, either, neither, much,

and words ending in –one or in –body (e.g., anyone, somebody)

Plural = both, few, several, many

S or P = all, any, none, and some

Indefinite PronounsIndefinite pronouns are

singular when they answer the question “How much?”

Indefinite pronouns are plural when they answer the question “How many?”

Identifying Indefinite Pronouns All of the trash was picked up.

“How much of the trash?” All of it. None of the players remain.

“How many players?” None of them. Some of the birds had already flown away.

“How many birds?” Some of them. Are any of you going to the game next

Friday? “How many of you?”