Grammar - Beginner - Pronouns (Personal Pronouns)

Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a common noun or a proper noun. There are different kinds of pronouns.

Personal Pronouns
The words I, you, he, she, it, we and they are called personal pronouns. They take the place of nouns and are used as the subject of the verb in a sentence.
My name is David. I am the youngest in the family.
This is my father. He is a teacher.
This is my mother. She is a lawyer.
I have a brother and two sisters.
They are Peter, Sharon and Jenny.
I have a dog. It is called Lucky.
Lucky, you are a good dog.
Good morning, children! You may sit down now.
My family and I live in a big city. We have an apartment.
- The subject of a sentence is the person, animal, place or thing that does the action shown by the verb.
The words me, you, him, her, it, us and them are also personal pronouns. They also take the place of nouns. These pronouns are used as the object of the verb in a sentence.

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

Baby birds cannot fly. Mother bird has to feed them.
Tom likes riding my bicycle. I sometimes lend it to him.
- 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 and third person.
The person speaking is called the first person. The first-person pronouns are I or me (in the singular) and we or us (in the plural).
The person spoken to is called the second person. The second-person pronoun is you (in both singular and plural).
The person (or animal, or thing) spoken about is called the third person. 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.

Here is a table to help you.
                                                 Subject              Object
First person singular                   I                      me
Second person singular             you                   you
Third person singular                he                      him
                                                  she                       her
                                                  it                          it
First person plural                    we                      us
Second person plural                you                    you
Third person plural                   they                    them

Grammar - Beginner - Masculine and Feminine Nouns

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.

Word File
Masculine     Feminine
boy                 girl
man                woman
prince             princess
steward         stewardess
waiter           waitress
Here are some more masculine and feminine nouns for people.
Masculine            Feminine
actor                     actress
brother                  sister
emperor                empress
father                    mother
gentleman             lady
grandfather           grandmother
grandson               granddaughter
headmaster           headmistress
man                      woman
master                  mistress
nephew                niece
prince                   princess
son                       daughter
steward                stewardess
uncle                    aunt
wizard                 witch
Masculine nouns belong to the masculine gender.
Feminine nouns belong to the feminine gender.
- 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.
For example:
actress       stewardess
lioness       tigress
princess    waitress

Many nouns are used for both males and females.
Word File
Nouns like these are used for both males and females:
accountants        parents
artists                managers
designers           pupils
engineers          singers
lawyers             teachers
- We call these nouns common-gender nouns.
Words for things that are neither male nor female are called neuter nouns.
Word File
Here are some neuter nouns:
ball               forest
building        gymnasium
broom           playground
cake              rock
computer     sky
card             socks
floor            wind

Grammar - Beginner - Collective Nouns

Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are words for groups of people, animals or things.
These are nouns for groups of people.
- Many collective nouns can be used with a singular or plural verb.
For example:
My family was happy to see me.
or
My family were happy to see me.
But the following collective nouns always take a plural verb:
cattle - people - the police.

Here are more collective nouns that are used for groups of people, animals or things.
Word File
Here are some more collective nouns:
a bunch of keys
a class of pupils
a collection of books
a deck of cards
a fleet of ships
a flock of sheep
a gaggle of geese
a gang of robbers
a herd of cattle
a litter of cubs
a pod of whales
a pack of wolves
a pride of lions
a set of stamps
a swarm of bees
a troupe of actors

Grammar - Beginner - Plural Nouns

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.
Word File
Singular     Plural
bird            birds
broom        brooms
camel        camels
desk          desks
doll          dolls
egg           eggs
flower      flowers
fork          forks
game        games
lamb        lambs
nest          nests
pen          pens
photo       photos
shirt        shirts
spoon      spoons
Some plural nouns end in -es.
Word File
Singular       Plural
beach            beaches
branch          branches
box               boxes
bush             bushes
church         churches
dish             dishes
dress           dresses
sandwich    sandwiches
witch          witches
When the last letters of singular nouns are ch, sh, s, ss or x, you usually add -es to form the plural.
Some plural nouns end in -ies.
Word File
Singular        Plural
baby               babies
cherry            cherries
diary              diaries
dictionary      dictionaries
fairy                fairies
family             families
fly                   flies
lady                 ladies
library             libraries
puppy              puppies
story                stories
strawberry       strawberries
Nouns like these are made plural by changing y to i, and adding -es.

What if there is a vowel before the y? In that case, add -s to form the plural.
Word File
Singular            Plural
chimney            chimneys
cowboy             cowboys
day                    days
donkey             donkeys
jersey               jerseys
kidney              kidneys
monkey           monkeys
toy                   toys
trolley             trolleys
valley             valleys

If a noun ends in -f, you often change f to v, and add -es.
Singular       Plural       Singular       Plural
calf               calves      loaf              loaves
elf                elves        shelf            shelves
half              halves      thief            thieves
leaf              leaves      wolf            wolves

Often nouns that end in -f, just need -s to form the plural.
Singular         Plural        Singular            Plural
chef               chefs          handkerchief     handkerchiefs
chief             chiefs         roof                   roofs
cliff             cliffs          sheriff                sheriffs
For some words that end in -f, the plural can be spelled in two different ways.
Singular           Plural
dwarf              dwarfs or dwarves
hoof                hoofs or hooves
scarf               scarfs or scarves

With some words that end in -fe, you change f to v, and add -s.
Singular       Plural
knife            knives
life              lives
wife           wives
But you only add -s to giraffe to form the plural.

If a noun ends in -o, you just add -s to form the plural.
Word File
Singular      Plural
a hippo        hippos
a video        videos
a zoo            zoos
But with some nouns that end in -o, you add -es to form the plural.
Word File
Singular      Plural
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.

Some plural nouns don’t follow the -s rule. They don’t end in -s, -es, -ies or -ves. Instead, the word changes form.
Word File
Singular          Plural
child               children
man                men
ox                   oxen
tooth              teeth
woman          women
The plural of the mouse that you use with your computer is either mice or mouses.

Some plural nouns are the same as the singular noun.
Word File
Singular     Plural
bison         bison
deer          deer
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.
Word File
pants          scissors
pajamas     sneakers
shorts        slippers
trousers     stockings
sandals
Another word for spectacles is glasses.

- You can make these plural nouns singular by using a pair of:
a pair of binoculars
a pair of spectacles
a pair of goggles
a pair of jeans
a pair of shorts
a pair of pliers

Grammar - Beginner - Singular Nouns

Singular Nouns
Nouns can be singular or plural. When you are talking about one person, animal, place, or thing, use a singular noun.
Word File
These are also singular nouns:
an airplane - a letter
a bicycle - a map
a boy - a photograph
a bus - a refrigerator
a comb - a slide
a girl - a swing
a key - a van

- Use a or an before singular nouns.
Use an before words beginning with vowels
(a, e, i, o,u).
For example, say:
an axe - an igloo
an egg - an orange
an envelope - an umbrella
an ice cream - an uncle
- But some words don’t follow this rule. For example,
use a (not an) before these words that begin with u:
a uniform - a university
- Use a before words beginning with the other
letters of the alphabet, called consonants.
For example, say:
a basket - a rainbow
a bowl - a monster
a car - a pillow
a hill - a watch
a house - a zoo
- But some words don’t follow this rule. For example,
use an (not a) before these words that begin with h:
an heir
an honor
an hour

Grammar - Beginner - Proper Nouns

Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are names for particular people, places or things. They always begin with a capital letter.
Word File
Here are some more names of people:
Ali Baba
Florence Nightingale
Derek Jeter
Pauline
Johnny Depp
Patrick
Harry Potter
Pinocchio
Robin Hood
Your own name and the names of your friends are proper nouns too.
The names of countries and their people are also proper nouns.
American - Egyptian - Indian - Italian - Thai -
Japanese - Korean - Malay - Filipino - Pakistani.

The names of towns, cities, buildings and landmarks are proper nouns.
Bangkok - New Delhi
London - Denver - the Grand Canyon
New York - Central Park - the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Paris - the Eiffel Tower - Brooklyn Bridge
Beijing - Big Ben - Pike’s Peak

The days of the week and months of the year are proper nouns.
Days
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

Months
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
The names of mountains, seas, rivers and lakes are proper nouns.
Lake Michigan
the Alps - the Himalayas
the Dead Sea - the Pacific Ocean
Mount Fuji - the Yellow River
- You often use the before names of oceans,
rivers, seas and ranges of mountains.
Mount means mountain.
It is often used in the names of mountains.
For example: Mount Everest
Mount St. Helens
The written short form for Mount is Mt.
For example: Mt. Everest, Mt. Fuji
The names of festivals, some special events and holidays are proper nouns, too.
Word File
Here are more names of festivals and holidays:
Christmas - Mother’s Day
Memorial Day - April Fool’s Day
Labor Day - Thanksgiving Day
Independence Day - St. Patrick’s Day

Grammar - Beginner - Common Nouns

Common Nouns

Nouns are divided into common nouns and proper nouns.
Common nouns are words for people, animals, places, or things.
These are words for people. They are common nouns.

Word File
Here are more words for people:
actor      lawyer
aunt       judge
baby      man
baker     nurse
cook      police officer
dentist  singer
doctor   soldier
giant     teacher
These are words for animals. They are common nouns.
Word File
Here are more words for animals:
cat         goose
cow        hen
dog         horse
dolphin    mouse
duck       parrot
fish        shark
goat       whale

These are words for places. They are common nouns.
Word File
Here are more words for places:
airport      market
cave         mountain
church      playground
farm         restaurant
hill           school
hospital   seashore
hotel       stadium
house     supermarket
island    temple
mall      zoo
These are words for things. They are common nouns.
Word File
Here are more words for things:
bag      kite
box      ladder
bread   lamp
can      picture
chair    radio
cot      television
cup     train
desk   truck
door   watch
egg    window