Nouns and Pronouns
Definitions
o Noun—A noun is a word that names a person,
object, idea, or place.
o Pronoun—A pronoun takes the place of a noun
or another pronoun, saving the need to write
the same word twice.
Singular and Plural Nouns
o A singular noun names one person, object,
idea, or place.
o A plural noun names more than one person,
object, idea, or place.
o Most nouns are common nouns and begin with
a lowercase letter.
o character, holiday
o Proper nouns name specific people, objects,
ideas, or places. They begin with capital letters.
o Homer Simpson, Christmas
Forming Plural Nouns
o Most nouns add –s to form the plural
 girls
o Nouns that end in –s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, or –z,
add –es to form the plural
 churches
o Some nouns have irregular plurals:
 deer
deer
 child
children
 life
lives
Pronouns
Have you met my teacher?
She is always looking over my
shoulder.
Pronouns take the place of nouns.
Uses
o Pronouns play many roles in a sentence.
o subject
o Example: He walks to school.
o object
o Example: The professor wanted to meet
her.
o modifier
o Example: Their project was the best in
the class.
Pronouns and Antecedents
o Antecedent: The antecedent is the word (a
noun) the pronoun replaces.
o Sam and Lee had lunch together. They
were late for class.
o Tony’s paper was really good. It was the
best in the class.
PRONOUNS: The System
Subjective
Objective
Possessive
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
1st
person
I
we
me
us
my
our
2nd
person
you
you
you
you
your
your
they
him
her
it
them
his
her
its
their
3rd
person
he
she
it
First Rule to Remember
o A pronoun must agree with its antecedent (the
noun it refers to) in number and gender.
X
o A student who works hard will find their
hard work is rewarded.
o Students who work hard will find their hard
work is rewarded.
PRONOUNS: Tip #1
These are all singular, so they must be matched
with singular pronouns!
another
anybody
anyone
anything
each
either
everybody
everyone
everything
much
neither
nobody
none
no one
nothing
one
somebody
someone
something
oDid everyone finish their test? NO
oDid everyone finish his or her test?
Second Rule to Remember
o Pronouns must refer clearly to one and only
one antecedent.
o Bill called to Tom as he was leaving.
o Bill called to Tom as Tom was leaving.
PRONOUNS: Tip #2
o Eliminate vague and unnecessary pronouns to
make your sentences more concise.
X
X
o In the college catalog it has all the required
courses for graduation.
o The college catalog has all the required
courses for graduation.
PRONOUNS: Tip #3
o To decide which pronoun is correct in a
compound, drop one of the words and see if
what’s left sounds correct.
o Example:
o She listened carefully to Sara and I.
NO
o She listened carefully to I.
o She listened carefully to me.
o She listened carefully to Sara and me.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
o Always end in -self (singular) or -selves
(plural)
o We made ourselves some popcorn.
o I myself prefer potato chips.
PRONOUNS: Tip #4
o Don’t use reflexive or intensive pronouns
alone; they can only be used when paired
with their antecedents.
NO
o Please send the report to myself as soon
as possible.
o Please send the report to me as soon as
possible.
Pronouns correctly paired with
antecedents
o Reflexive pronoun paired with antecedent:
o He made himself keep up with the reading
after the midterm.
o Intensive pronoun paired with antecedent:
o The instructor said that she herself had to
watch out for spelling errors.
To review pronouns, see
Chapter 22.