Learning Basic English Grammar - PRONOUNS

PRONOUNS

• A pronoun is a word that takes the places of a common noun or a proper noun.
• In this chapter, you'll learn about:

                     - personal pronouns

                     - reflexive pronouns

                     - interrogative pronouns

                     - demonstrative pronouns

Personal Pronouns

• I,you,he,she,it,we and they are called personal pronouns.
• These words are used as the subject of the verb in a sentence.

e.g : 

1. My name is Jason. I am a lawyer.
2. This is my younger sister. She is a dancer.
3. I have a brother and five sisters.
4. They are Shawn, Sally and Peter.
5. I have a cat. It is called Phoebe.
6. My family and I live in a a big city.
7. We have an apartment.

NOTE!! 


 The subject of a sentence is the person, animal, place or       thing that does the action shown by the verb.

• Me, you, him, her, it, us and them are also personal pronouns.
• These words are used as the object of the verb in a sentence.

e.g : 

1. I am standing on my head. Look at me.
2. My mother is kind. Everybody likes her.
3. Lisa, I told you to tidy your bed!
4. Sharon and Jenny! Dad is waiting for you!
5. Lucky and I are playing in the park. Dad is watching us.
6. You must not play with the knife. Give it to me.
7. Pick up your toys and put them away.

NOTE!! 

The object of a sentence is the person, animal, place or thing that receives the action shown by the verb.

There are three groups of pronouns:

• first person
• second person
• third person

1. First Person

• is the first person speaking.
• the first-person pronouns are I or me (in the singular) and we or us (in the plural)

2. Second person

• the person spoken to.
• the second person pronoun is you (in both singular and plural)

3. Third person

• the person or animal or thing spoken about.
• the third-person pronouns are he or him, she or her, and it (in the singular), and they or them (in the plural)

The word I is always spelled with a capital letter.

The pronoun he is used for men and boys, she for women and girls and it for things and animals.

Exercise on Masculine and Feminine Nouns

Exercise : 


Fill in the blanks with a suitable masculine and feminine noun.

1. The host and the _________ welcomed their guests.
2. The steward and the ___________ look after the passengers on the plane.
3. My uncle and __________ lived in Nebraska.
4. The king and the __________ had two children, a boy and a _______. The prince was eight and the ________ was five.
5. Ladies and __________, welcome to our party this evening.

Leraning Basic English Grammar - NOUNS cont...

Masculine and Feminine Nouns


Masculine nouns are words for men and boys, and male animals.
Feminine nouns are words for women and girls, and female animals.


e.g : bride (feminine) ; bridegroom (masculine)
      hen (feminine) ; rooster (masculine)
      lioness ( feminine) ; lion (masculine)
      queen (feminine) ; king (masculine)


Here are some more masculine and feminine nouns for people.


Masculine               Feminine
actor                   actress
brother                 sister
emperor                 empress
father                  mother
gentleman               lady
grandson                granddaughter
headmaster              headmistress
man                     woman
nephew                  niece
son                     daughter
steward                 stewardess


Here are some masculine and feminine nouns for male and female animals.




Animal             Male               Female
chicken           rooster               hen
cattle            bull                 cow
deer              buck                 doe
donkey            jack                jenny
duck              drake               duck
fox               fox                 vixen
goose             gander              goose
horse             stallion            mare
lion              lion                lioness
sheep             ram                 ewe
tiger             tiger               tigress




Nouns that end in -ess and -ress often belong to the feminine gender.


e.g : actress,stewardess,lioness,tigress,princes,waitress.




Many nouns are used for both males and females.


e.g : accountants,parents,artists,designers,teachers.




Words for things that are neither male nor female are called neuter nouns.


e.g : bench,computer,leaves,sky,fire,floor,cake,wind

Exercise on Plural Nouns

Exercise 1 : 


Do you add -s or -es to these singular nouns to make them plural? Write your answers on the lines.

1. desk    __________
2. class   __________
3. comb    __________
4. mug     __________
5. bus     __________
6. basket  __________
7. peach   __________
8. belt    __________
9. taxi    __________
10. box     __________

Exercise 2 :

Do you change -y to -ies, or just add -s to make these singular nouns plural? Write your answer.

1. key        _________
2. city       _________
3. butterfly  _________
4. monkey     _________
5. fly        _________
6. toy        _________
7. baby       _________
8. party      _________
9. chimney    _________
10. lady       _________

daily quotes

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. 
Norman Vincent Peale 

Learning Basic English Grammar - NOUN con...

Plural Nouns


When you are talking about two or more people, animals, places, or things, use plural nouns. Most nouns are made plural by adding -s at the end.


e.g :           Singular             Plural
                  bird               birds
                  broom              brooms
                  egg                 eggs
                 photo               photos


Some plural nouns end in -es.


e.g : glass - glasses
      bus   - buses
      watch - watches


Some plural nouns end in -ies.


e.g : butterfly - butterflies
      candy     - candies
      baby      - babies
      family    - families


What if there is a vowel before the y? In that case, add -s to form the plural.


e.g : key  - keys
      tray - trays
      day  - days


If a noun ends in -f, you often change f to v, and add -es.


e.g : calf  - calves
      elf   - elves
      half  - halves
      leaf  - leaves


Often nouns that end in -f, just need -s to form the plural.


e.g : chef   - chefs
      cliffs - cliffs
      roof   - roofs


For some words that end in -f, the plural can be spelled in two different ways.


e.g : dwarf  - dwarfs/dwarves
      hoof   - hoofs/hooves
      scarf  - scarfs/scarves


With some words that end in -fe, you change f to v, and add -s.


e.g : knife - knives
      life  - lives
      wife  - wives


If a noun ends in -o, you just add -s to form the plural.


e.g : a rhino    - rhinos
      a zoo      - zoos
      a kangaroo - kangaroos


But with some nouns that end in -o, you add -es to form the plural.


e.g : a tomato  - tomatoes
      a potato  - potatoes
      a hero    - heroes


With some nouns that end in -o, you can add either -s or -es to form the plural.


e.g : a mango  - mangoes/mangos




Some plural nouns don't follow the -s rule. They don't end in -s,-es,-ies, or -ves. Instead, the word changes form.


e.g : mouse  - mice
      goose  - geese
      child  - children
      man    - men
      ox     - oxen
      tooth  - teeth
      woman  - women


Some plural nouns are the same as the singular noun.


e.g : sheep    -  sheep
      reindeer -  reindeer
      bison    -  bison
      deer     -  deer
      fish     -  fish


NOTE!!


  You can use fishes as the plural of fish when you are talking about different kinds of fish : all the fishes of the Pacific Ocean.


Some nouns are always plural.


e.g : binoculars 
      goggles
      pants
      scissors
      shorts
      slippers


NOTE!!


  You can make these plural nouns singular by using a pair of :


    a pair of binoculars
    a pair of goggles
    a pair of shoes
  








     

Learning Basic English Grammar - NOUNS cont...

Singular Nouns


Nouns can be singular or plural. When you are talking about one person,animal,place, or thing, use a singular noun.


e.g : A woman, A boy, An airplane, A car


Use a or an before singular nouns. Use an before words beginning with vowels (a,e,i,o,u).


e.g : an axe, an egg, an envelope


But some words don;t follow this rule. For example, use a (not an) before this words that begin with u:




e.g : a uniform, a university


Use a before words beginning with the other letters of alphabet, called consonants.


e.g : a basket, a bowl, a car, a rainbow, a pillow.


But some words do not follow this rule. For example, use an (not a) before these words that begin with h.


e.g : an hier, an honor, an hour