The Noun
Perhaps the words most frequently used are those that identify
someone or something. These labels, or name words, are called
nouns.
**Definition – A noun is a word used to name a person, place,
thing, or idea.
Persons: Jamie, Captain Smith, hair stylist, teacher
Places:
New York, Mars, library, downtown
Things:
leaf, cartoon, rocket, pencil, dog
Ideas:
peace, excellence, truth, justice, honesty
(Teacher Note: Administer Exercise #1A)
Common and Proper Nouns
There are two classes of nouns: proper nouns and common nouns.
**Definition – A proper noun names a particular person, place,
or thing and is always capitalized.
Examples  Mr. Giancursio, Rochester, Tom Cruise
**Definition – A common noun names any one of a group of
persons, places, or things and is not capitalized.
Examples  teacher, town, actor
Here are some more examples of common vs. proper nouns:
COMMON
PROPER
singer
male
city
continent
day
Brittney Spears, Mariah Carey
Derek Jeter, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
New York City, St. Louis, Paris
North America, Africa, Asia
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
(Teacher Note: Administer Exercise #3, use Ex. #2 in lab)
Compound Nouns
By now, you have probably noticed that two or more words may be
used together as a single noun. These types of nouns are called
compound nouns.
**Definition – A compound noun is any noun that uses two or
more words together to make up a single noun.
Examples  prizefighter, basketball, news room, cold front, health
education, brother-in-law, push-up
**Note – Compound Nouns can be written as one word, two words,
or as a hyphenated word. If you are not sure how to write a
compound noun, always check a dictionary.
(Teacher Note: Administer Exercise #4)
The Pronoun
**Definition – A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.
Example  Gloria stepped back from the picture and looked
at it carefully.
The pronoun “it” takes the place of “the picture.”
Example  Where is John? He said he would be here on
time.
The pronoun “he,” used twice, takes the place of “John.”
Pronouns almost always refer to a noun mentioned earlier in the
sentence. This noun on which the pronoun depends for its meaning
is called the antecedent (pronounced an-teh-cee-dent.)
Example  Jill opened her book and read from it.
“it”  pronoun
“book”  antecedent
Example  The coach showed the players how they should
throw the ball.
“they”  pronoun
“players”  antecedent
Identify the pronouns and antecedents in the following
sentences:
1. Sean took his dog to the veterinarian on Main Street.
2. Mr. Giancursio took his poster off of the wall and gave it to
Andy.
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns show one of three things:
1. The persons speaking can talk about themselves (first)
2.The persons speaking can talk to one person or many (second)
3.The persons speaking can talk about anyone or anything else
(third)
SINGULAR
First person
(the person speaking) I, my, mine, we
Second person
(the person spoken to) you, your, yours
Third person
(some other person
or thing spoken
about)
he, his, him
she, her, hers
it, its
PLURAL
we, our, ours, us
you, your, yours
they, their, theirs,
them
Other Commonly Used Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns (the –self, -selves forms of the personal
pronouns)
myself
ourselves
yourself
yourselves
himself, herself, itself themselves
Relative Pronouns (used to introduce adjective clauses)
who
whom
whose
which
that
Interrogative Pronouns (used in questions)
Who…?
Whose…?
What…?
Whom…?
Which…?
Demonstrative Pronouns (used to point out a specific person or
thing)
this
that
these
those
Indefinite Pronouns (not referring to a definite person or thing;
frequently used without antecedents)
all
another
any
anybody
anyone
anything
both
each
either
everybody
everyone
everything
few
many
more
most
much
neither
nobody
none
no one
(Teacher Note: Administer Exercise #5)
one
other
several
some
somebody
someone