Parts of Speech I: Nouns and Pronouns

Parts of Speech I
Nouns and Pronouns
Created by Jasveen Bhasin

English Writing Tutor
Topics
 Nouns
 Pronouns
• Personal
• Possessive
• Demonstrative
• Relative
Nouns
Nouns name things:
Persons: Jack, man, lawyer

Places: hospital, prison, field
Things: table, briefcase, sheet
Concepts: joy, emergency, satisfaction
Pronouns
Pronouns act as nouns and often replace them,

e.g., She replacing Jessica or It replacing table.
There are several types of pronouns. In this
section, we will focus on the following types:
Personal
Possessive
Demonstrative
Relative
Personal Pronouns
There are two types of personal pronouns:
Subjective Pronouns
Subjects perform the action in the sentence.
Objective Pronouns
Objects receive the action in the sentence.

Subjective Pronouns Objective Pronouns
I Me
You You
He / She / It Him / Her / It
We Us
You You
They Them
Examples of Subjective and Objective Pronouns
 She took her to the doctor

 I called him last night.
 We beat them at chess
 They teach me good things.
The subjects perform the actions of the verbs

(took, called, beat, teach).
The objects receive the actions of the verbs.
Try this exercise
(She/Her) should show more patience and not

scold (he/him).
(We/Us) teachers understand our students more

than (they/them) do.
(I/Me) swim faster than (she/her).

Answers
 She should show more patience and not scold him.
She, the subject, is performing the action show, and

him, the object, is receiving the action scold.
 We teachers understand them more than they

themselves do.
We is the subject, performing the action understand;

them is the object receiving the action understand;
they is another subject performing the action do.
Answers
 I swim faster than she.
I is the subject because it performs the action swim.

But she is also a subject. Following she is an
invisible or implied swim, ie. I swim faster than she
swims, not I swim faster than her swims.
Possessive pronouns
Pronouns that are in the possessive case indicate

possession or ownership.
 This is my book
My is used with a noun (book) to indicate possession.
 This is mine
Mine is used instead of my + a noun (book) and still
indicates possession.
Types of Possessive Pronouns
My Mine
Your Yours
His / Her / Its His / Hers / Its
Our Ours
Your Yours
Their Theirs
Try this exercise
 This dress does not match the color of (her/hers)

eyes.
 I don’t believe that this book is (your/yours).

Answers
 This dress does not match the color of your eyes.
The pronoun your needs to be followed by a noun

(eyes). The pronoun yours cannot be followed by a
noun. So, yours eyes would be wrong.
 I don’t believe that this book is yours.
Again, the pronoun your needs to be followed by a

noun, but there is none: This book is your…?
Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns point to nouns, which

follow the pronouns. Sometimes, the
demonstrative pronouns replace nouns.
Examples:
This This is not what I expected.
That I’ve never heard you sing that before.
These These shoes are too tight to wear.
Those I’ll take these and those dresses.
Relative Pronouns
Some relative pronouns refer to nouns previously

mentioned in the sentence. Others introduce
noun clauses (clauses that function as nouns).
Examples of the first and second type:
That What
Which Whichever
Who Whoever
whom Whomever
That
 Dogs that are adorable have expressive eyes.
That refers to the noun before it, dogs. Note: That is

also a demonstrative pronoun. The demonstrative
pronoun that comes before the noun. E.g That dog bit
you. The relative pronoun that comes after the noun:
the dog that bit you...
Which
 Dogs, which are all adorable, have expressive

eyes.
Which also refers to the noun before it, dogs. Many
students confuse which with that, often assuming
they have the same functions. To learn the difference
between the relative pronouns which and that, go to
the PowerPoint presentation on Phrases and Clauses.
Right now, let’s just get familiar with the various types
of pronouns.
Who and Whom
 I saw the man who stole my car.

Who refers to the noun before it, man. Note: The man
is the subject performing the action stole. So, who
refers to the subject.
 Here is the person whom I spoke to you about.

Whom refers to the noun before it, person. Note: The
person is the object receiving the action spoke about.
So, whom refers to the object.
What(ever), and Whichever
 What you do with your life is your business.

What (or whatever) introduces the noun clause what
you do with your life. Again, noun clauses function as
one-word nouns, such as law: law is your business.
 Whichever dress you choose will look good.

Whichever also introduces a noun clause whichever
dress you choose. Replace the clause with a single
noun, e.g., the dress will look good.
Whoever and Whomever
 Whoever is appointed is bound to mess things

up.
Whoever introduces the noun clause whoever is
appointed. Here’s a one-word noun, Jack. Jack is
bound to mess things up.
 I dislike whomever she likes.

Whomever introduces the noun clause whomever she
likes. Replace this with the noun, Jack: I dislike Jack.
Try this exercise:
Identify the demonstrative and relative pronouns

in the following passage:
Tom couldn’t believe it! His sister had lost the CD that
he had lent to her. That girl was irresponsible. He
should have known: She was the same person who
had ruined his favorite T-shirt – the one that he wore
for good luck. He should have lent his CD to James, a
friend whom he always trusted. He was more
responsible than that sibling of his. Whatever she did
to make up for it would not get him to forgive her.
Answers
The relative pronouns are in green. The

demonstrative pronouns are in blue.
Tom couldn’t believe it! His sister had lost the CD that
he had lent to her. That girl was irresponsible. He
should have known: She was the same person who
had ruined his favorite T-shirt – the one that he wore
for good luck. He should have lent his CD to James, a
friend whom he always trusted. He was more
responsible than that sibling of his. Whatever she did
to make up for it would not get him to forgive her.
Well done!
You have completed the first part of

Parts of Speech.
You can now move on to:
Parts of Speech II
Concepts borrowed from:
Troyka, Lynn Quitman. Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers. New
Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990.
Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook. Boston: Bedford Books, 1998.

Parts of Speech I: Nouns and Pronouns

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Parts of Speech I

Nouns and Pronouns

Created by Jasveen Bhasin

Nouns name things:

Persons: Jack, man, lawyer

Pronouns act as nouns and often replace them,

There are two types of personal pronouns:

Objects receive the action in the sentence.

 She took her to the doctor

The subjects perform the actions of the verbs

(She/Her) should show more patience and not

(We/Us) teachers understand our students more

(I/Me) swim faster than (she/her).

 She should show more patience and not scold him.

She, the subject, is performing the action show, and

 We teachers understand them more than they

We is the subject, performing the action understand;

 I swim faster than she.

I is the subject because it performs the action swim.

Pronouns that are in the possessive case indicate

 This dress does not match the color of (her/hers)

 I don’t believe that this book is (your/yours).

 This dress does not match the color of your eyes.

The pronoun your needs to be followed by a noun

 I don’t believe that this book is yours.

Again, the pronoun your needs to be followed by a

Demonstrative pronouns point to nouns, which

Some relative pronouns refer to nouns previously

 Dogs that are adorable have expressive eyes.

That refers to the noun before it, dogs. Note: That is

 Dogs, which are all adorable, have expressive

 I saw the man who stole my car.

 Here is the person whom I spoke to you about.

 What you do with your life is your business.

 Whichever dress you choose will look good.

 Whoever is appointed is bound to mess things

 I dislike whomever she likes.

Identify the demonstrative and relative pronouns

The relative pronouns are in green. The

You have completed the first part of

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