Download Parts of Speech Nouns and Pronouns Handout

Parts of Speech
Nouns & Pronouns
Nouns
Definition: A noun is a part of speech used to name a person, place, thing, or idea. 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.”
Nouns help provide specificity to your writing and make the writing more interesting. Compare
the following two examples:
Example 1: The man ran across the place with an object, driven by an idea.
Example 2: The football player sprinted across the field with the ball clutched in the crook
of his arm, driven by his love for the sport.
Thinking exercise: Which example sounds more interesting? Create your own interesting
sentence using the first example. Write out a list of interesting nouns: people, places, things,
and ideas.
TYPES OF NOUNS
Common noun: A general noun that does NOT begin with a capital letter and explains a person,
place, thing, or idea that is common. (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
Students at Missouri Baptist University work diligently the entire academic year.
Collective noun: It is singular in form but names a group. (examples: family, company)
proper noun
collective noun
Elizabeth decided to join the Writing Lab.
OTHER ITEMS TO NOTE:
Nouns can be abstract (love, wealth, happiness, religion) or concrete (cat, movie, viola, Aunt Lynn).
Nouns can be countable (dog, book, phone) or uncountable (snow, rain, music).
Nouns can be singular (horse, ship, baby) or plural (horses, ships, babies) or possessive (Dad’s
horse, the student’s ship, the teacher’s baby).
Pronouns
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.
Personal pronoun: It refers to a specific individual. Personal pronouns have three different forms:
(1) subject, (2) object, and (3) possessive.
1) Subject pronoun: Pronoun that is the subject of the sentence.
2) Object pronoun: Pronoun that is the one receiving the action.
Subject and Object Pronouns
Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns
I
Me
We
Us
You
You
She
Her
He
Him
It
It
They
Them
(Table retrieved from Purdue OWL)
3) Possessive pronoun: Pronoun that shows ownership
Examples: my, your, his/her/its, mine, yours, our, their, ours, theirs).
subject pro. object pro.
She asked him about the meaning of football.
possessive pro.
My book for English class was fun to read!
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
Everybody should study for the math test.
Both speeches were identical.
Most of the people were gone when I arrived at the bowling alley.
Source: Arnold, George. Media Writer’s Handbook: A Guide to Common Writing and Editing Problems. 5th ed.
Boston: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print.
SHOULD I USE THE PRONOUN “I” OR “ME”?
1) Use “me” when referring to an action or verb that is being done to the person “me.”
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.” It makes sense with the second option.
2) Use “I” when you are referring to the person “I” performing the action or verb.
To determine the correct pronoun in comparison situations where words are omitted, read the
sentence and mentally add the missing words.
Bill is taller than I/me.
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.
PRONOUN AGREEMENT
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. Pro.
plural noun
poss. plural pro.
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?
Check out the Writing Space at thembuwritingspace.wordpress.com to practice or
to ask a question:

Go to Writing Lab Handouts, and click on “Parts of Speech Nouns and
Pronouns.”

Click on “Parts of Speech Nouns and Pronouns Writing Exercise” or
“Parts of Speech Nouns and Pronouns Question Forum.”

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