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NOUN NOTES
I. What is a noun?
A noun is a __word____ that names a person, __place___, __thing___, or __idea_____.
II. When to capitalize nouns:
1. Names of specific people
Caps: Juana, Kathie, the Stevens family, the Jones’ = _proper nouns__
No Caps: family, boy, girl, sister, cousin = ___common nouns__
What about mom and dad? _these are capitalized only when being used as a name____
2. Days of the week, months, holidays, but not seasons
Caps: Passover, December, Monday
No Caps: autumn, fall, spring, winter, summer
3. Ranks and titles, but only when used with a particular person’s name
Caps: This is Doctor Smith, this is Aunt Anne, and that man is Coach Karb.
No Caps: That man is a doctor, that woman is her aunt, and that man is my coach.
4. Geographic area: cities, states, countries, streets, parks, and oceans.
5. Regions of the United States, but not simple directions.
Caps: I was born in New England, but I grew up in the South.
No Caps: I live on the north side of town.
6. Historical periods
Caps: The Renaissance, World War II, the Middle Ages
7. Religions, nationalities, races of people, languages, countries and adjectives related to
those countries.
8. The various names for God and the names of sacred books.
Caps: God, Jehovah, Allah, the Bible, the Koran
No Caps: There were many gods and goddesses in ancient myths.
9. Names of specific schools, businesses, buildings, organizations.
10. Brand Names
Caps: Nintendo, Cheerios, Nestlé’s Crunch
11. Names of planets, but not sun and moon.
12. Letters that stand-alone
Caps: U-turn, T-shirt, X-ray
13. Names of specific teams and clubs and their members
Caps: the Boston Red Sox, the Republican Party, Democrats
14. Titles of movies, books, chapters, and articles
Caps: “Tar Heels Beat Duke 102-96,” Jane Eyre
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Directions: Underline the nouns in the following passage:
We use nouns all the time when we write letters to friends or papers for class. For example, all these
underlined words are nouns. Some students get carried away with making common nouns proper. They
seem to think that every word they capitalize suddenly becomes exciting or important. Too many capitals
make your work look bad.
PRONOUN NOTES
•A _pronoun___ is a word that takes the place of one or more nouns. It serves as a stand-in, or substitute,
for a noun.
•The word or group of words that a pronoun replaces, or refers to, is called its _antecedent__.
• An antecedent usually comes before the pronoun. It may be in the same sentence as the pronoun
or in another sentence.
Marcy is happy. Her dog won in a pet contest.
• A pronoun can have more than one antecedent.
Allison and Connie have taken their eye tests.
• Sometimes more than one pronoun can refer to the same antecedent.
Jason took his raincoat with him.
I. PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Of all the different kinds of pronouns, __personal____ pronouns are used most often.
•A personal pronoun refers to (1) the person speaking, (2) the person being spoken _to, or (3) the person,
place, or thing being spoken __about____.
First Person
(speaker)
Second Person
(person spoken to)
Third Person
(person or thing
spoken about)
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Singular
Plural
I, me, my, mine
we, us, our, ours
you, your, yours
you, your, yours
he, him, his
she, her, hers
it, its
they, them, their, theirs
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II. OTHER KINDS OF PRONOUNS
 ___Demonstrative____ pronouns are pointers. They point out a specific person, place, or thing.
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
Singular
Plural
this, that
these, those
 A __relative__ pronoun is a connecting word. It begins a subordinate clause and connects it to another
idea in the same sentence.
that
which
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
who
whom
whose
 An __interrogative___ pronoun is used to begin a question.
what
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
which
who
whom
whose
 An ___indefinite___ pronoun does not have a definite antecedent. It refers to people, places, or things,
often without naming or specifying which ones.
another
anybody
anyone
anything
each
either
everybody
Singular
everyone
everything
little
much
neither
nobody
no one
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
Plural
nothing
both
one
few
other
many
somebody
others
someone
several
something
Singular or Plural
all
any
more
most
none
some
VERB NOTES
I. ____Verbs____ tell what action a person or thing is performing.
II. Action verbs are used to show both ___mental__ and __visible/physical___ actions.
Mental Actions
Examples:
think
dream
worry
consider
wonder
believe
decide
He remembers many events from World War II.
Visible/Physical Actions
Examples:
dance
eat
stand
run
grow
sing
The quarterback threw a long pass.
open
put
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III. An action verb is __transitive_ if the receiver of the action is named in the sentence.
She broke the lamp.
IV. An action verb is __intransitive__ if no receiver of the action is named in the sentence.
The lamp broke in the living room.
V. _Linking verbs__ connect a noun or pronoun at or near the beginning of the
sentence with a word at or near the end.
Examples:
am
are
is
was
were
am being
are being
is being
was being
Example:
The soup smells delicious.
were being
Non-example:
John smells the soup.
VI. ___Helping verbs____ are added before another verb to make a verb phrase.
Examples:
is
was being
had shall
should be
should
had been
will
might have been
would
do
can
does
could
did
have has
may might must
She ___has__ ___been___ waiting at the station for more than two hours.
In another half hour, Brian ___will__ __have__ __been__ sleeping for twelve hours.
ADJECTIVE NOTES
I. An adjective is a word that modifies a _noun or pronoun_.
II. An adjective modifying a noun or pronoun will answer one of the following four questions:
1.__what kind__? 2.__which one___? 3.__how many___? 4.__how much__?
Which questions do the following adjectives answer?
1. many wonderful songs __ how many? _______
3. tired old man __what kind?/which one?______
2. clear blue water ___what kind?_________
4. tiny little baby __ what kind?/which one?_____
III. Three commonly used adjectives are: a, an, and the. These words are called __articles___
Definite article = __the_____
Indefinite articles = __a, an__
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IV. Nouns are sometimes used as adjectives.
They brought a long grocery list to the market.
Guitar music soothes me.
Proper Adjectives are proper nouns being used as adjectives; adjective formed from a proper noun
The Thanksgiving dinner was delicious.
A Newsweek editor called several hours ago.
V. A compound adjective is like a compound noun. It is made up of more than one word. Compound
adjectives can be made up of two hyphenated words or two combined words.
Yours is a purely one-sided opinion.
Please bring your worn-out clothing to the St. Vincent DePaul.
VI. Pronouns used as Adjectives
A pronoun is used as an adjective if __it modifies a noun_.
All four kinds of pronouns can used as adjectives. They are:
1._possessive_ 2._demonstrative__ 3._interrogative__ 4._indefinite__
Possessive adjectives are personal pronouns used as adjectives.
My, your, his, her, its, our, their = _possessive adjectives_______
The four demonstrative pronouns are: 1. __this__ 2. __that__ 3.__these___ 4. __those__
I’ll buy that watch.
This book is very interesting.
Interrogative adjectives are interrogative pronouns used as adjectives.
What name did he give?
Whose umbrella is that?
Indefinite adjectives are indefinite pronouns used as adjectives.
I don’t want any beans.
Each game came with instructions.
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ADVERB NOTES
I. An adverb is a word that modifies a _verb__, ____adjective___, or __another adverb_____.
II. Adverbs Modifying Verbs
An adverb modifying a verb will answer one of the following four questions:
1.__where___? 2.__when___? 3._in what manner_? 4.__to what extent_?
Which questions do the following adverbs answer?
1. traveled rapidly __in what manner?___
3. immediately described ___when?_____
2. fully understand __ to what extent?____
4. move away from Boston ___where?____
III. Adverbs Modifying Adjectives and Other Adverbs
Adverbs modifying adjectives and other adverbs answer the question __to what extent?
• Learning where to look for adverbs will help you to identify them. List the seven positions or locations
in which adverbs can appear in a sentence.
1. _at the beginning of a sentence_
5. _between parts of a verb___
2. _at the end of a sentence__
6. _before an adjective___
3. _before a verb__
7. _before another adverb___
4. _after a verb__
• Directions: Circle the adverbs and draw an arrow to the words they modify.
1. Brad has almost finished his model airplane.
3. She tearfully told us the accident.
2. These apples are especially good.
4. He was rather shy when he was little.
IV. Distinguishing Between Adverbs and Adjectives
*Remember, adjectives modify nouns and pronouns whereas adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other
adverbs.
In the blank space, indicate whether the underlined word is an adverb or an adjective.
1. Robert ran too quickly. adverb
4. My puppy is much calmer now. adverb
2. Sheila is a quick runner. adjective
5. They bought a beautiful home. adjective
3. I added too much sugar. adjective
6. Carrie sang beautifully. adverb
Many adverbs end with the letters _-ly_. HOWEVER, not all words ending in these two letters are
adverbs.
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PREPOSITION NOTES
I. A preposition _relates__ a noun or pronoun following it to another word in the sentence.
Look at the “mountain” below. Consider how you could relate to the mountain. For example, “You are
on the mountain.” List as many prepositions as possible that could represent relationship to the
mountain.
above
across
after
against
around
at
before
beside
between
by
down
from
in
into
near
off
on
over
through
to
toward
under
upon
Directions: Circle the preposition in the following sentences.
1.
Imagine a huge forest growing in a hot, steamy environment.
2.
The tallest trees rise nearly two hundred feet above the ground.
3.
Direct sunlight reaches only the highest of their branches.
4.
Only dim light filters through the leaves.
5.
Thundershowers occur often throughout the year.
II. A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with the __noun or pronoun following it__.
Directions: In the following sentences, underline the entire prepositional phrase.
1.
Few raindrops fall directly to the ground.
2.
The place teems with life.
3.
Many animals spend their entire lives in the trees.
4.
Frogs, toads, lizards and snakes dwell among the branches.
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5.
Bats, monkeys, and squirrels eat nuts and fruits from the highest branches.
CONJUNCTION NOTES
I.
____Conjunctions___ connect words or groups of words. The three types of conjunctions
are__coordinating__, __correlative__, and ____subordinating____.
II. __Coordinating conjunctions____ connect words of a similar kind (two or more verbs, prepositional
phrases or entire sentences.)
Coordinating Conjunctions
and
but
for
nor
or
so
yet
We bought a small yet comfortable car.
The actor was talented but unattractive.
III.
__Correlative conjunctions___ connect words as do coordinating conjunctions BUT correlatives come
in pairs.
Correlative Conjunctions
both…and
either…or
neither…nor
whether…or
not only…but also
I don’t care whether Marla or Lisa represents us.
Not only was he a fine athlete, but he was also a fine student.
IV.
_Subordinating conjunctions__ connect two ideas by making one idea dependent on the other and
always comes before the dependent idea.
after
as long as
wherever
in order that
where
while
Subordinating Conjunctions
although
as
as soon as
as though
before
even though
since
so that than
unless
until
whenever
as if
because
if
though
when
I did the planting after he prepared the soil.
When he phoned this morning, he was unable to reach the senator.
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