Download Noun/Pronoun functions Subject—this is the noun or pronoun that

Noun/Pronoun functions
1. Subject—this is the noun or pronoun that does something in the sentence (action verb)
or that is in some state of being in the sentence (linking verb).
Many pronouns can be subjects. Examples:
Who took my towel? (The interrogative pronoun “who” is the subject of the sentence.)
The person who took my towel is in big trouble! (The relative pronoun “who” is the subject of
the dependent clause “who took my towel.”)
He is a cool guy. (The subject pronoun “he” acts as the subject of the sentence.)
These are great chocolates. (The demonstrative pronoun “these” is the subject.)
None of the students aced the test. (The indefinite pronoun “noun” is the subject.”
Yours was the best chili. (The possessive pronoun “yours” is the subject.)
2. Object—typically, subjects ACT; objects receive. There are three types of objects under
two categories:
a. Objects of a verb: direct and indirect objects.
Example: I ate pizza for dinner. What’s the direct object?
S TV
IO
DO
I gave my girlfriend flowers. What’s the direct object? What’s the indirect object?
b. Object of a preposition: I gave my keys to him.
Which word is an object of a preposition?
Object pronouns and reflexive pronouns are ALWAYS objects in a sentence (no exceptions).
These types of pronouns can also be objects: demonstrative pronouns, interrogative pronouns,
relative pronouns, and indefinite pronouns.
Examples:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Demonstrative: I gave those to him!
Interrogative: Whom did you ask to the dance?
Relative: The chocolates that we ate after dinner were delicious!
Indefinite: You want a donation? We already gave one to your organization!
3. Possessive pronouns—my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, their, theirs, our, ours—
stand for possessive nouns. These pronouns stand for nouns who possess or own
something.
Example: Whose shoes are these?
In this sentence, the interrogative pronoun whose is a possessive pronoun (it stands for
a possessive noun), and the demonstrative pronoun these is a predicate nominative (it
identifies the subject shoes, and since S = PN, the shoes and the pronoun these are
identical).
4. Predicate nominative: A predicate nominative is a noun or pronoun that identifies the
subject; it’s identical to the subject and can be interchanged with it. There will always be
a “be” verb in a sentence with a predicate nominative; these are the “be” verbs: is, am,
are, was, were, be, been.
Example:
The winner of the grand prize is (she, her). S = PN
In this case “winner” and “she” are identical; winner is the subject and she is the
predicate nominative. The S and PN can be reversed as in the following sentence:
She is the winner of the grand prize.
In this sentence, “she” is the subject and “winner” is the PN.
5. Intensifier: only an intensive pronoun has “intensifier” as its function. Reflexive
pronouns are always objects.
Examples:
Jill baked the cupcakes herself. (In this sentence, “herself” simply intensifies the idea that Jill
baked cupcakes; it has no other grammatical function.)
Jill baked herself some cupcakes. (In this sentence, “herself” is an indirect object and
therefore an essential element of the sentence.)