Definition: A noun is a part of speech used to name a person, place, or thing. Nouns can function as the subject or object of other parts of speech such as verbs and prepositions. Nouns answer the questions “who,” “what,” “where,” and sometimes “when.”
noun noun noun
Example: Students at Missouri Baptist University work hard the entire academic year.
Person/entity (students), Place (Missouri Baptist University), Thing (academic year)
Who works hard? Students
Where are the students? Missouri Baptist University
When do the students work hard at Missouri Baptist University? The academic year noun noun noun
Example: To succeed at MBU, students must have perseverance and determination.
Person (students), Thing or Quality (perseverance, determination)
Nouns can also be qualities. “Perseverance” and “determination” are qualities that describe the students.
Types of nouns
Common noun: A general noun that does NOT begin with a capital letter.
(examples: books, store, shoe, house)
Proper noun: It names a specific person, place or thing and DOES begin with a capital letter.
(examples: Missouri Baptist University, Nike, Chicago, Christmas)

common noun proper noun common noun
Example: Students at Missouri Baptist University work hard the entire academic year.
Collective noun: It is singular in form but names a group.
(examples: family, company)
proper noun collective noun
Example: Elizabeth decided to join the Writing Lab.
Definition: A pronoun substitutes for nouns or other pronouns. Pronouns can be used as subjects or objects in a sentence and are used to make writing less repetitive. subject pronoun object pronoun
Example: She asked him about the meaning of football.
In this sentence, “she” and “him” are both personal pronouns.
Personal pronoun: It refers to a specific individual. Personal pronouns have three different forms: subject, object, and possessive. In the above example, “she” is the subject pronoun of the sentence, and “him” is the object pronoun (the one receiving the action).
Here is a table of subject and object pronouns:
Subject and Object Pronouns
Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns
I
We
You
Me
Us
You

She Her
He
It
They
Him
It
Them
( Table from Purdue OWL)
Possessive pronoun: It shows ownership: my, your, his/her/its, mine, yours, our, their, ours, theirs.
Examples: My book for English class was fun to read!
Their team had won every game that season.
Indefinite pronoun: It does not refer to specific people, places, or things.
Singular indefinite pronouns: each, everyone, another, either, everybody, nobody, neither, everything, nothing, anyone, someone, anybody, somebody, anything, something
Plural indefinite pronouns: both, few, many, several
Singular or plural indefinite pronouns: some, none, any, most, all, more
Examples: Everybody should study for the math test.
Both speeches were identical.
Most of the people were gone when I arrived at the bowling alley. (“Most” refers to
people, which is plural.)
Source: Arnold, George . Media Writer’s Handbook: A Guide to Common Writing and Editing Problems. 5 th ed.
Boston: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print.
Should I use the pronoun “I” or “me”?

1) To determine the correct pronoun when the sentence contains two pronouns or a noun and a pronoun, read the sentence and mentally drop one of the pronouns or the noun.
Example: Mr. Smith wrote a haiku for Julie and I/me.
Read the sentence without the proper noun “Julie.” It would then read: “Mr. Smith wrote a haiku for I”
OR “Mr. Smith wrote a haiku for me.”
Since “cake for I” does not make sense, “Mr. Smith made the cake for Juanita and me” is correct.
Use “me” (object pronoun) when you are referring to an action or verb that is being done to the person “me.”
2) To determine the correct pronoun in comparison situations where words are omitted, read the sentence and mentally add the missing words.
Example: Bill is taller than I/me. (This is a comparison in height between Bill and the personal pronoun.)
Read the sentence and mentally add the omitted words “am tall.” The sentence would read: “Bill is taller than I am tall” OR “Bill is taller than me am tall.”
Since “me am tall” does not make sense, “Bill is taller than I” is correct.
Use “I” when you are referring to the person “I” performing the action or verb.
Pronoun Agreement

Examples: An applicant must submit all transcripts before he or she can be considered for the job.
(Since “applicant” is a singular, gender-neutral noun in this sentence, the singular
pronouns “he or she” must both be used.)
The students must finish their work.
(Since “students” is a plural noun, the plural pronoun “their” must be used.)
poss. pronoun plural noun poss. plural pronoun noun
My intelligent friends and I finished our very difficult homework in The Perk.
(Since “friends and I” includes “friends” and the personal pronoun “I,” it is plural and the
plural possessive pronoun “our” must be used.)
Source: Ashford University’s Academic and Career Success Handbook
Noun and Pronoun Exercises
Write a paragraph comparing something meaningful to you to something meaningful to one of your closest friends. Explain reasons why the objects are different from one another.
Circle all uses of nouns and pronouns in the paragraph you wrote. Determine what types of nouns and pronouns you used and how each of those types affected the meaning of your sentence.

Connection Center: Apply Your Knowledge to Your Writing
Apply your understanding of these concepts from the definitions and exercises above and read your work of writing.
1.
Choose a paragraph in your writing and circle the nouns and pronouns in the paragraph.
2.
What types of nouns did you include?
3.
What types of pronouns did you include?
4.
How do the types of pronouns and nouns impact the sentences’ meanings?
5.
How would changing your nouns and pronouns affect your sentences?
6.
If you used “I” or “me” in your paragraph, look at your usage and compare your usage with the rules above. Did you use them properly?
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