Pronouns
Pronouns
• A word used to take the place of a noun (or
group of words acting as a noun)
– Ex. Michelle went to the observatory. She thought
it was the clearest night so far.
• Antecedent is the noun which a pronoun
stands for
– Ex. After their party, the astronomers went to a
party.
Personal Pronouns
• Used to refer to:
– The person speaking
– The person spoken to
– The person, place, or things spoken about
Singular
Plural
First Person
I, me, my, mine
We, us, our, ours
Second Person
You, your, yours
You, your, yours
Third Person
He, she, it, him,
her, his, her, hers,
its
They, them, their,
theirs
Personal Pronouns (cont.)
• The antecedent of a personal pronoun may or
may not be directly stated, but rather is
implied.
– We read about the origin of the universe.
– You must submit your paper soon.
– The technicians ate their lunch at noon.
Demonstrative Pronouns
• Direct attention to specific people, places or
things
Singular
Plural
This, that
These, those
– May be located before OR after their antecedent
• Before: That is a newly discovered galaxy.
• After: A star to steer by – this was all I had.
Interrogative Pronouns
• Used to begin a question
– The antecedent for an interrogative pronoun may
not always be known.
What, which, who, whom, whose
• Direct Question: What fell from the sky?
• Indirect Question: He had two problems. I asked which
needed to be solved first.
Indefinite Pronouns
• Refer to people, places, or things, often
without specifying which ones
– No specific antecedent: Nobody was required to
clean up, but many offered to assist.
– Specific antecedent: I bought new book covers,
but none were the right size.
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Another
much
anybody
Neither
anyone
nobody
Anythingno one
each
Nothing
either
one
Everybody
other
everyone
Somebody
everything someone
Little
something
Plural Indefinite Pronouns
• Both
• Others
few
several
many
Singular or Plural Indefinite
• All
• Most
any
none
more
some
Reflexive Pronouns
• Used to add information to a sentence by
pointing back to a noun or pronoun near the
beginning of the sentence
– Ex. Cosmologists ready themselves for discovery
Intensive Pronouns
• Used simply to add emphasis to a noun or
pronoun
– Ex. You yourself agreed with the theory.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
Singular
Plural
First Person
Myself
ourselves
Second Person
Yourself
yourselves
Third Person
Himself, herself, itself
themselves
Verbs
• A word that expresses time while showing an
action, a condition, or the fact that something
exists
• (It’s what you do!!)
Action verbs
• Verb that tells what action someone or
something is performing
– Visible – Jeremy ate the whole pizza.
– Mental – Elena wondered about her future.
Linking verbs
• Connects its subject with a word generally
found near the end of the sentence and
identifies, renames, or describes the subject
– Augustus was emperor
• The verb be is the most common linking verb
Forms of “be”
Am
Are
Is
Was
were
Am being
Are being
Is being
Was being
Were being
Can be
Could be
May be
Might be
Must be
Shall be
Should be
Will be
Would be
Have been
Has been
Had been
Could have been
May have been
Might have been
Shall have been
Should have been
Will have been
Would have been
Other Linking Verbs
• Appear, come, feel, grow, look, remain, seem,
smell, sound, state, taste, turn
– The leader looked determined.
• To determine whether these are action or
linking, insert am, are, or is in its place
– Linking: Caesar looks busy. (Caesar is busy.)
– Action: Enemies looked for an opportunity.
Transitive Verbs
• Action verb that directs action toward
someone or something in the same sentence.
– The host interviewed Sue.
• Interviewed whom? Sue
– The word that receives that action of a transitive
verb is the object of the verb
Intransitive Verbs
• Action verb that does not direct action toward
someone or something named in the same
sentence.
– She smiled when she won.
• Smiled what? No answer.
Linking Verbs
• A verb that connects its subject with a word at or
near the end of the sentence
– Ex: Hudson’s ship was the Half Moon.
Adjectives
• A word used to describe a noun or pronoun
• Give a noun or pronoun a more specific
meaning
• Answers one of the following questions:
– What kind?
– Which one?
– How many?
– How much?
Nouns used as Adjectives
• Answers the question What kind? or Which
one? about a noun that follows it
• Nouns
Nouns Used as Adjectives
Automobile
automobile mechanic
Consumer consumer reporter
Proper Adjectives
• An adjective formed from a proper noun
Proper Noun
Hawaii
Athens
Proper Adjective
Hawaiian pineapples
Athenian temple
Compound Adjectives
• An adjective that is made up of more than one
word
Hyphenated
Upside-down cake
Full-scale rebellion
Combined
upright piano
keynote speaker
Pronouns Used as Adjectives
• A pronoun is used as an adjective if it
describes a noun
Possessive Pronouns or Adjectives
My, your, his, her, its, our, their
The bride threw her bouquet.
Demonstrative Adjectives
This, that, these, those
This lettuce and these dandelions are
composite flowers.
Interrogative Adjectives
Which, what, whose
Which orchard do you own?
Indefinite Adjectives
Another, either, little, much, neither, one,
both, few, many, several, all, any, more,
most, other, some
Each rose had thorns.
We appreciate any donations.
Verb Forms as Adjective
• Verb forms used as adjectives usually end in –
ing or –ed and are called participles
– Ex. I pruned the wilting flowers.
• Nouns, pronouns, and verb forms function as
adjectives ONLY when they modify other
nouns or pronouns
Regular Function
Noun
As an Adjective
The deck of the boat tilted.
I sat in the deck chair.
Pronoun
This was an idyllic life.
This life was idyllic.
Verb
I arranged the flowers.
The arranged flowers were
admired.
End Marks
• Periods
– The sky is clear today.
• Question Marks
– Is it sunny outside?
• Exclamation Marks
– How clear the sky is!
– Ouch! That hurt!
Other Uses of End Marks
• Periods
– Mr. L. A. Ranson, Ph.D.
– I. Causes of revolt
• A. Pay inequities
• Question Marks
– The group raised $25.80 (?).
– On January 21 (?) the group will have its first
meeting.
Commas Separating Basic Elements
Commas w/Independent Clauses
• Use a comma before the conjunction (and, or, but,
etc) to separate 2 independent clauses in a
compound sentence.
– Independent clause – part of a sentence that can stand
alone as its own sentence
– Compound sentence – a sentence that is made of two
sentences joined by a conjunction
• Ex. We worked most of the day, but we didn’t finish the room.
• Ex. Not only were we late for the party, but most of the food was
gone also.
Commas w/Items in a Series
• Use commas to separate three or more words,
phrases, or clauses in a series
• Remember to put a comma before the “and”
– Mom bought candy, milk, and cookies for the
party.
Commas w/Adjectives
• Use commas to separate adjectives of equal
rank but not adjectives that must stay in a
specific order
– Eager, devoted fans waited outside the star’s
dressing room.
– Many eager fans waited outside the star’s dressing
room.
More Commas
• Use a comma after an introductory word or
phrase
– Introductory word – No, you can’t have an A.
– Introductory phrase – After he spoke, the
president left the stage.
• Use commas to set off nonessential
expressions
– Names of people being address – If you don’t stop,
Jack, I’m going to hurt you.
– Certain adverbs – I wanted, however, to go
elsewhere.
– Common expressions – Girls, of course, are
smarter than boys.
– Contrasting expressions – Boys are stronger, not
girls.
Commas (last time, swear)
• When a date, geographical name, or an
address is made up of two or more parts, use
a comma after each item except in the case of
a month followed by a day.
• Use commas to set off a title following a
name.
• Use a comma in the following:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Date: On April 18, 1775…
Geographical Name: Atlanta, GA was…
Address: My address is 408 Wash St., M’ville, VA
Name w/title: Joe Schmo, Ph.D.
Salutation/closing: Dear Ann, / Your friend,
Numbers: 1,234
Elliptical sentence: Joe excels at golf, Dan, at tennis
Direct Quote: “You know,” she said, “I hate stupid
people.”
– To prevent confusion: Riding with Tim, Jill jumped in the
car.
Nouns
• Names a person, place, or thing
• Concrete noun – things that can be touched,
seen, or recognized through any of the 5
senses
• Abstract nouns – things that cannot be
recognized through the 5 senses…they are
ideas
• Compound nouns – noun that’s made up of
more than one word
• Collective nouns – name groups of people or
things
• Common nouns – name any one of a class of
people, places, or things (very generic/vague)
• Proper nouns – name a specific person, place,
or thing and begins with a capital letter
Semicolons ;
• Use a semicolon to join:
– Independent clauses not joined by a conjunction
(and, but, or, etc.)
• The chief sounded the alarm; the firefighters raced to
their stations
– Separated by a conjunctive adverb (consequently,
therefore, however, etc.)
• Helen has a 4.0 average; consequently, she has a good
chance for a scholarship
– Separated by a transitional expression (in
addition, at the same time, etc)
• In the first place, Stan loves all sports; in addition, he
has excellent coordination
– With items that already have commas
• The judges will include Mrs. Haley, the drama coach;
Mr. Dakin, the choral director; and Mr. Odem, the local
drama critic.
• Our summer house, a ramshackle bungalow, is far from
elegant; but the views from the porch are spectacular.
Colons :
• Use a colon:
– To introduce a list of items after an independent
clause
• The arrangement consisted entirely of spring flowers:
irises, daffodils, and tulips.
– To introduce a quotation that is formal, lengthy, or
lacks a “he said/she said” expression
• Ellen waved goodbye: “Have a good trip.”
– To introduce a sentence that summarizes or
explains the sentence before it
• The paper reported the election results: All three
present school board members were unseated.
– To introduce a formal noun (appositive) that
follows an independent clause
• The class play will be an American classic: Our Town.
Use Colons in these situations:
•
•
•
•
•
Numbers giving time
8:17 a.m.
Periodical references
Nat Geo XI: 421
Biblical references
I Cor. 13:1-4
Subtitles
Pierre: A Tale
Greetings in business letters
» Dear Mr. Anderson:
• Labels telling important ideas
» Caution: Slippery when wet
Forms of “be” (a verb)
• Amis
• Has
• Being
are
have
been
was
had
be
were
• Using these words makes your paper passive
voice
• You want to write in active voice, so avoid
using these words
Subject-Verb Agreement
• Number refers to the two forms of a word: singular
and plural
• Singular words indicate one
• Plural words indicate more than one
• Singular subjects must have a singular verb
– A vase of flowers is on the table.
• Plural subjects must have plural verbs
– The flowers in the vase are roses.
• Anything that comes between the subject and verb
does NOT affect subject-verb agreement
Part of
speech
Nouns
Pronoun
Verbs
Singular
Plural
Sing/plur
Shop,
Shops,
freshman
freshmen
I, he, she, it We, they
Deer, fish
Explore,
does
(I, you, we,
they)
explore
(I, you, we,
they) have,
do
You
Subject-Verb Agreement pt. 2
• A singular subject after “or” (or “nor”) takes a
singular verb
• A plural subject after “or” (or “nor”) takes a
plural verb
• Compound subjects joined by “and” take a
plural verb unless they are thought of as one
thing or it includes “each” or “every”
Agreement with Compound Subjects
• Joined by or or nor
– Jason, Jen, or Pat does the dishes every night.
– Neither the owners nor the realtor has keys
• Joined by and
– Kim and Sally are coming for dinner.
– Every guest and family member is sure to enjoy it.
“Quotation Marks”
• Direct quote = a person’s exact words or
thoughts
– Requires quotation marks
– “Do you think it will rain?” asked Harry.
• Indirect quote = the general meaning of what
a person said or thought
– Does NOT require quotation marks
– Harry wondered whether or not it would rain.
• In direct quotations use:
– A comma or colon after an introductory
expression
– A comma, question mark, or exclamation mark
after the quote
• Harry asked, “Do you think it will rain?”
– A comma to surround interrupting expressions in
a direct quote
– A comma, question mark, or exclamation mark at
the end of a quote, but before the interrupting
part and a period at the end
• “I certainly hope,” Cheryl said, “that we win.”
Other punctuation with quotes
• Always place a comma or period inside the
final quotation marks
• Semicolons and colons go outside the final
quotation mark
• Use the meaning of the sentence to
determine where to put question and
exclamation marks
Special Uses
• Use single quotation marks for a quote within
a quote
– Ann answered, “The soliloquy ‘To be or not to be,’
and is found in Act II of Hamlet.”
• When writing dialogue, start a new paragraph
every time the speaker changes
• For quotes longer than 1 paragraph, put
quotes at the beginning and only at the end of
the final paragraph
Adverbs
• Word that modifies (describes) a verb, an
adjective, or another adverb
– When it describes a verb, it answers the following
questions:
•
•
•
•
Where?
When?
In what way?
To what extent?
– When it describes an adjective or another adverb,
it only answers: To what extent?
Adverbs Modifying (Describing)
Where?
The plant grew upward.
The bushes were planted there.
In what way?
He officially announced it.
She was graciously helping.
Verbs
When?
She never raked the leaves.
Later, we toured the greenhouse.
To what extent?
The bees were still buzzing.
He always did it right.
Adverbs Modifying Adjectives
Adverbs Modifying Adverbs
To what extent?
The solution was quite logical.
To what extent?
He worked very competently.
It was an extremely overgrown yard.
I am not completely finished.
Subjects and Predicates
• A sentence is a group of words with two main
parts: a complete subject and a complete
predicate
– Complete subject contains the noun, pronoun, or
group of words acting as a noun, plus their
modifiers (descriptions). Tells you who or what the
sentence is about.
– Complete predicate is the verb or verb phrase and
any modifiers (adverbs). Tells you what the
complete subject does or is.
Complete Subject
Complete Predicate
Critters
creep.
A bell-clanging streetcar
moved through the intersection.
Wood or cellulose
is a delicious meal for a termite.
The candidate’s pragmatic approach to
the fiscal problem
impressed the voters attending the rally
last Thursday.
In some sentences, a portion of the predicate may precede the complete
subject.
complete
complete subject
predicate
At midnight, the multitude of spiders spun webs.
Fragments
• A fragment is a group of words that does not
express a complete thought.
• You correct fragments by adding the missing
parts.
Fragments
Complete Sentences
People allergic to bug bites. (complete
predicate missing)
People allergic to bug bites should avoid
the outdoors. (complete predicate
added)
Thrive in the rain forests. (complete
subject missing)
Tarantulas thrive in rain forests.
(complete subject added)
From the barn. (complete subject and
predicate missing)
Flies from the barn made their way into
the house. (complete predicate and rest
of complete subject added)
**Verbals/Verbal Phrases
• Verbal – a word the comes from a verb but
used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb
– Like verbs, verbals can be described (modified) by
adverbs and adverb phrases or have complements
(words that complete the predicate).
– Verbals with modifiers or a complement are called
verbal phrases.
Participles/Participial Phrases
• Many adjectives are actually verbals known as
participles.
• A participle is a form of a verb that can act as
an adjective.
• Participles come before or after the word they
describe, answering Which one? or What
kind?
• Participles come in three forms: present, past,
and perfect
Kind of Participle
Forms
Examples
Present Participle
Ends in –ing
The burning embers fell to the
ground.
The water shone with glimmering
phosphorescence.
Past Participle
Usually ends in –ed;
sometimes –t, -en, or
another irregular ending
The scorched forest eventually
regenerated itself.
The exhausted firefighter didn’t
hear the alarm.
Perfect Participle
Includes having or
having been before a
past participle
Having tested the smoke
detector, I replaced its cover.
Having been asked, he gave his
opinion.
Participial Phrases
• A participle described (modified) by an adverb
or adverb phrase or accompanied by a
complement.
• The entire phrase acts as an adjective.
– With an adverb: Burning brightly, the fire lit up
the room.
– With an adverb phrase: The bone, broken in two
places, healed slowly.
– With a direct object: Holding the high-pressure
hose, I struggle to stand still.
• Participial phrases can be used to combine
information in two sentences into sentence.
– Two sentences: The fire marshal’s speech,
expressed her opinion about several important
issue. It convinced many people to vote for her.
– Combined sentences: The fire marsh’s speech,
convincing many people to vote for her, expressed
her opinions about several important issues.
– The fire marshal’s speech, expressing her opinions
about several important issues, convinced many
people to vote for her.
Capitalization for First Words
• Capitalize the first word of a sentence.
– The mountain was tall and forbidding.
• Capitalize the first word in interjections and
incomplete questions.
– Oh! Marvelous!
Why not? When?
• Capitalize the first word in a quotation if the
quotation is a complete sentence.
– “The water rushes to the edge of the falls,” he
said. “It could crush a person.”
– After seeing it, Roosevelt said that “no man can
improve it.”
• Capitalize the first word after a colon if the
word begins a complete sentence.
– Livingstone set out to attempt something new: He
led a trip to discover the source of the Nile.
(complete sentence)
– Before this, he explored much of Africa: the
Kalahari, the Zambezi River, Lake Ngami, etc. (list
of words/phrases)
• Capitalize the first word in each line of
traditional poetry.
– Tyger! Tyger! burning bright,
– In the forests of the night…
• Capitalize the first word after a colon in a
formal resolution that states subject of
debates, legislative decisions, and acts.
– Resolved: That the Senior Class hold an exhibit of
its work on natural wonders.
Capitalization for Proper Nouns
• Capitalize all proper nouns.
– Henry, Sir Edmund Hillary, the White House,
H.M.S. Beagle
• Capitalize each part of a person’s full name.
– Francis Drake T. S. Eliot
– McCarthy
O’Donovan
– Lassie, a dog Velvet, a horse
St. James
• Capitalize geographical and place names
– Hillside Road
– British Colombia
– the Southwest
– the Oval Office
Dallas
the Alps
Saturn
Room 14
Putnam County
Fiji Islands
the Alamo
Laboratory C
• Capitalize the names of specific events and
periods of time
Special Events and Times
Historical Events
the Louisiana Purchase, the Russian
Revolution
Historic and Geographic Periods
the Renaissance, the Ice Age
Documents
the Magna Carta, the Declaration of
Independence
Days and Months
Tuesday, July 20, the third week in
April
Holidays and Religious Days
Easter, Hanukah, Memorial Day
Special Events
the World’s Fair, the Super Bowl
• Capitalize abbreviations of titles before and
after names.
– Mr. Green
Mrs. Paige
Art Romano, Ph.D.
• Capitalize the names of various organizations,
government bodies, political parties, races,
nationalities, languages, and religious
references.
Various Groups
Clubs
New York Athletic Club, MV Chess Club
Organizations
the Salvation Army, American Medical Association
Institutions
National Museum of Art, the Boston Symphony
Schools
Stanford University, Genoa Area High School
Businesses
Allied Chemical Corporation, Prentice-Hall Inc.
Government Bodies
the Senate, Army of the Potomac
Political Parties
Republican party, Liberal party, the Democrats
Nationalities
American, Mexican, Chinese, German
Languages
English, Spanish, Swahili
Religious References
Christianity: God, the Lord, the Bible
Islam: Allah, the Koran, Muslims
• Capitalize names of awards; names of specific
types of air, sea, space, and land craft; and
brand names.
– Awards: Nobel Peace Prize, the Pulitzer Prize
– Specific Crafts: Boeing 747, Apollo V, Ford
Mustang
– Brand Names: John’s Elixer, Aunt Molly’s Crackers
Capitalization for Proper Adjectives
• Capitalize most proper adjectives.
– Proper adjectives from proper nouns: American
Elizabethan, biblical
– Proper nouns as adjectives: a Chicago accent, a
March day
• Do not capitalize certain frequently used
proper adjectives.
– bowie knife, china cabinet, french toast
• Capitalize brand names used as an adjective,
but do NOT capitalize the common noun it
modifies.
– Everlasting refrigerator, Big Guy jeans
• Do not capitalize a common noun used with
two proper adjectives.
Compound Proper Noun
Two Proper Adjectives with Common
Noun
Volstead Act
Main Street
Mississippi River
Volstead and Payne acts
Main, Welch, and West streets
Mississippi and Missouri rivers
• Do NOT capitalize prefixes attached to proper
adjectives unless the prefix refers to a
nationality.
– pro-English
Franco-Prussian War
• In a hyphenated adjective, capitalize only the
proper adjective.
– Swedish-speaking immigrant
Faulty Parallelism
• Parallelism involved presenting equal ideas in
words, phrases, or clauses of similar types.
– Parallel grammatical structures may be:
• Two or more words of the same part of speech
• Two or more phrases of the same type
• Two or more clauses of the same type (phrase with a
subject and verb)
• Two or more sentences of the same type
• Parallel words
– The surfer looked strong, fit, and agile.
• Parallel phrases
– The greatest feeling I know is to ride a giant wave
flawlessly and to have all my friends watching me
enviously.
• Parallel clauses
– The surfboard that you recommended and that
my brother wants is on sale.
• Parallel sentences
– It couldn’t be, of course. It could never, never be.
– Dorothy Parker
(Don’t Write This)
• It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age
of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it
was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season
of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was
the spring of hope, it was the winter of
despair….
– from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Correcting Faulty Parallelism
• Faulty parallelism occurs when a writer uses
unequal grammatical structures to express
related ideas.
• Correct a sentence containing faulty
parallelism by rewriting it so that each parallel
idea is expressed in the same grammatical
structure.
Correcting Faulty Parallelism in a series
Nonparallel Structures
Corrected sentence
(gerund) (gerund)
(noun)
Planning, drafting, and revision are three
steps in the writing process
(gerund) (gerund)
(gerund)
Planning, drafting, and revising are three
steps in the writing process.
(infinitive phrase)
I could not wait to try my new surfboard,
(infinitive phrase)
(participle phrase)
to catch some waves, and visiting the
(infinitive phrase)
I could not wait to try my new surfboard,
(infinitive phrase)
(infinitive phrase)
to catch some waves, and to visit the
beach.
beach.
(noun clause)
Some people feel that surfing is not a
(independent clause)
sport, but it requires athleticism.
(noun clause)
Some experts feel that surfing is not a
(noun clause)
sport, but that it requires athleticism.
Correcting Faulty Parallelism in
Comparisons
Nonparallel Structures
Correlated Sentences
(N)
Most people prefer corn to eating
(gerund phrase)
Brussels sprouts.
(N)
(N)
Most people prefer corn to Brussels
(prep phrase)
I left my job at 7:00 P.M. rather than
(part phrase)
stopping work at 5:00 P.M.
(prep phrase)
I left my job at 7:00 P.M. rather than at
(prep phrase)
the usual 5:00 P.M.
(S)
(prep phrase)
I delight in foggy days as much as sunny
(S)
(DO)
days delight other people.
(S)
(prep phrase)
I delight in foggy days as much as other
(S)
(prep phrase)
people delight in sunny days.
sprouts.