Parts of Speech, I
Nouns, Adjectives, Adverbs
Noun
A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea:
I didn’t see the man.
We live in Georgia.
She baked a cake.
Freedom isn’t free.
See if you can identify the ONE noun in
each phrase or sentence before clicking to
see the answer.
under the beautiful blue sky
living in Spain if possible
believing that love will always win
Jacob is going to eat here again.
Click on the following link to go to an explanation of
COMMON NOUNS vs. PROPER NOUNS.
http://www.mcwdn.org/grammar/nouncomprop.html
Be sure to do the exercise that is linked to it.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/nouns_quiz1.htm
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/nouns/ex1.htm
http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=ABC802
Pronouns
Simply, a pronoun stands in place of a noun.
But there are several types of pronoun.
1. Personal pronouns take the place of a noun so
that we avoid repeating the noun.
noun
noun
pronoun
pronoun
Alex proposed to Addison because he loved her.
This is true of places, things, & ideas as well as of
people:
Scotland is cold because it’s in the north.
The balls bounced when the boy dropped them.
Freedom isn’t free because people have died for it.
2. Indefinite pronouns don’t take the place of
a particular noun; they refer to an unknown
or undetermined person, place, thing, or
idea.
I don’t know anyone who hates chocolate.
Nobody works in this building.
He doesn’t have anything we need.
Everybody likes chocolate.
3. Demonstrative pronouns demonstrate or show: THIS is
the phone I want.
There are 4 demonstrative pronouns:
This is the phone I want.
That is the phone I want.
These are the phones I want.
Those are the phones I want.
Be aware that demonstratives can also be adjectives:
I don’t like this phone.
Here, “this” is identifying (describing) the noun “phone,” not
standing in place of it.
4. Interrogative pronouns ask a question:
Who lives here?
Whom do you see?
What do you want?
Which do you want?
You can see they’re pronouns if you replace the
pronoun with a noun (although sometimes you
have to change word order). Think of how we
phrase these questions when we’re being
emphatic:
You want WHAT?? -- I want chocolate!
5. Possessive pronouns show possession
& stand in place of the noun, of course:
This money is ours. (“Ours” stands in place
of “our money.”)
The job is yours. (“your job”)
6. Relative pronouns come right after (or very soon
after) the noun they replace & are followed by
verbs. They help identify or describe the noun.
I want to see the man who helped you.
I want to borrow the car that you just bought.
The pencil with which you are writing is red.
“Whom” & “what” are also relative pronouns. Notice
that, with the exception of “that,” the relative
pronouns are the same as the interrogative. The
difference is that interrogative pronouns are used to
ask questions.
7. Reciprocal pronouns show the relationship
between individuals or groups. It’s not as
intimidating as it sounds, because there are
only two:
Addison & Alex always help each other.
The older people always visit one another.
Identifying pronouns
• http://depts.dyc.edu/learningcenter/owl/exercises/pronouns_ex1.htm
• http://www.esldesk.com/grammar/practice/identify-pronoun (lots of
exercises, a couple where they forgot to include a couple of
pronouns)
Adjectives
Adjectives describe or identify nouns or
pronouns, provide extra information about
them:
The room is cold.
I like the pink dress.
Go out the other door.
She has two brothers.
Identifying adjectives
http://www.softschools.com/quizzes/grammar/adjective/quiz219.html
http://knowledgesolutionsindia.com/page.php?54 (just the first one;
write answers on your paper & then click on “answer key”)
http://www.dukeofdefinition.com/adjectives_identify_multi.htm
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/adjectives_quiz2.ht
m (this may be a little tough; ASK IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS)
Click here to go to your assignment.