A noun is a word describing who or what in a sentence—it can be a person, place or thing. Remember, a “thing” can be anything—an animal, a device, a point, an object, an event, and so on. A noun is usually an essential part of any basic sentence. It’s typically who or what the sentence is about, but other nouns are often also included in longer or more complex sentences.
Noun Examples:
o Larry smiled.
o Larry smiled at Isabel, Kevin, and their two dogs, Trevor and Lance.
o Trevor and Lance were watching a show on Animal Planet.
o Alaska is home to many interesting creatures.
o That plain red wooden chair in the corner is a priceless antique.
o The iceberg was massive underneath the water.
o Austin, Texas is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World,”i but the New York Times created controversy when it referred to it as the “Live Music Capital of the South.”ii
• A proper noun names a particular person, place or thing, and the first letter of a proper noun is always capitalized. From the examples listed above, Larry, Isabel, Kevin, Trevor, Lance, Animal Planet, Alaska, Austin, Texas, “Live Music Capital of the World,” New York Times, and “Live Music Capital of the South” are all proper nouns.
• Common nouns are not specific and don’t require capitalization. From the examples listed above, dogs, show, creatures, chair, corner, antique, iceberg, and water are all common nouns.
Pronouns
Pronouns can be used in place of nouns (when appropriate), and a pronoun operates just like a noun in a sentence. It’s important to remember, however, to use pronouns carefully. Often times, writers make the mistake of referring to a noun with a pronoun without first providing and introducing the actual noun a pronoun is replacing. This creates confusion for readers since it’s then not clear who or what a pronoun is referring to. Also, once introduced, nouns should be mentioned again here and there throughout a paragraph to remind readers of the name or title of a noun (or noun phrase) even if it’s only a common noun, such as “philosophy student” or “kitten.” Nouns should be renamed even more often when many different nouns are being talked about in the same paragraph, especially when writers are describing interaction between characters or objects…e.g., He swore to her he would never deceive her again even though she was the one who had first lied to him about it after he told her what the other man told him she said. How many people are being referred to in the previous sentence? When starting a new paragraph, it’s also a good idea to re-introduce a noun in the first sentence since readers typically look for a change in thought or direction in a new paragraph. On the other hand, it is a good idea to use plenty of pronouns intermittently throughout paragraphs to replace nouns (once they’ve been introduced) so that all sentences don’t begin exactly the same or follow the exact same pattern each time. Sentences may start to sound redundant or choppy (and sometimes boring) when they’re all the same and become very predictable to readers. Without sacrificing meaning and direction in your paragraphs, it’s good to mix it up a bit with sentences.
Personal pronouns tend to come to mind first when we think about pronouns. It’s because most people use them a lot in their writing, and most writers instinctively know to use personal pronouns when referring to people or things even if they’re not always sure when or how often to use them. The main thing to remember about personal pronoun usage is that it is based on number, person and gender. However, with the factor, gender, a lot has changed over the years in English language usage when it comes to the political correctness (PC) of referring to a person by their gender. It’s something to keep in mind when writing since the main change has to do with writers no longer automatically referring to an anonymous someone as “he” or “him.” For instance: “A baseball pitcher must work constantly on the accuracy of his pitch.” How do we know the pitcher isn’t female? So, it’s better to replace the word “his” with either “his or her” or with the word “their.” Even though “their” is typically known as a plural to refer to someone: “A baseball pitcher must work constantly on their pitch.” (More information on gender can be found in the Sexist Language section under Word Choice in this handbook.) Another thing to remember about personal pronouns is that when writers use certain statements or commands, such as “Stop!’ or “Listen to me!” the personal pronoun “you” is implied… “You stop!” or “You listen to me!”
Personal Pronoun Examples:
o He smiled at them, but I wish he would also smile at me.
o You gave me your new recipe, so of course my lasagna tastes great.
o Today, they watched it until she arrived; you will have to watch it all day tomorrow.
o A philosophy student spends a lot of time writing papers for his or her courses.
o A law student spends hours studying their law books. (gender-neutral)
o They gave him to us yesterday, and we are really enjoying our new kitten.
o Its name is Sunflower.
Note: In most of the examples above, it’s not always clear who or what the sentence is about (besides a pronoun of some type). That’s why it’s important for a writer to make sure readers always know who or what is being referred to before using a huge splattering of personal pronouns to replace nouns in a paragraph.
Personal pronouns and slang go together like…well, a lot of people use slang pronouns. And in common everyday conversation, it’s usually very acceptable; however, as most academic writers probably know, words like “y’all” aren’t used in scholarly writing unless a writer is directly quoting someone else using such a word. Depending on various cultures and regions, different versions of the plural form of the pronoun “you” are used. Other slang personal pronouns include but are not limited to “you guys” (referring to males and females), or “yous guys” and “yous.” It’s only
(The word “dude”iv or “dudes” has been used as a personal pronoun recently too, but it’s also slang and shouldn’t be used in academic, business or formal writing.)
•
Pronoun confusion is common with certain personal pronouns:
note :
Confusion often occurs also around the words “your” and “you’re.” The word “your” is a personal pronoun (refer to the Personal Pronouns chart in this section), and the word “you’re” is the contraction for the words “you are.” Unfortunately, technology and computers have not helped us any with word confusion. Many a person has recently sent an email or instant message (IM) reply to someone across the Internet cloud saying, “Your welcome!” Whose welcome?
•
The possessive form of a personal pronoun is not punctuated with an apostrophe. For instance, many people get the words “its” and “it’s” mixed up. However, the word “its” is the possessive form of the pronoun “it,” whereas the word “it’s” is a contraction for the words “it is.”
Possessive Personal Pronoun Examples:
o Is that hamburger yours? (NOT: “your’s”)
o Where is hers? (NOT: “her’s”)
o Theirs was the first to compete in the race. (NOT: Their’s)
o His is the book next to hers. (NOT: “her’s”)
o Its characteristics are similar to the other dated sample’s characteristics. (NOT: “It’s”)
o Ours is much bigger than yours. (NOT: “your’s”)
o It’s sad that Harry’s transferring to another university. (CONTRACTION)
• Reflexive pronouns are used only to reflect or refer back to the main noun of a sentence or the subject—who or what the sentence is about. Reflexive Pronoun Examples:
o Jerome hurt himself playing tennis. (Jerome)
o Michelle struggled with herself over the issue. (Michelle)
o I said to myself I would never get behind on my studies. (I)
o The couple enjoyed themselves on vacation in Norway. (The couple)
o We set ourselves on the right course and never looked back. (We)
o You should prepare yourselves for a wonderful experience at the restaurant. (You)
o It duplicated itself after a massive exposure to radiation and chemicals. (It)
o NOT: The meeting will be attended by Miguel and myself. (The meeting?)
o NOT: It’s only Cecilia and myself going. (It’s?)
Intensive reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize the subject of a sentence.
Examples:
o He himself will be the first to admit he was wrong.
o I like chocolate cake with chocolate icing myself!
• Reciprocal pronouns include “each other,” which refers to two nouns, and “one another,” which refers to more than two nouns.
Examples:
o Trevor and Rover always hurt each other when they play too rough.
o Participants in the group support one another.
• Demonstrative pronouns are used to determine “number” and proximity.”vii
Examples:
o This latte’ is yours, and that one is mine.
o These shoes will be okay for hiking the low trail today, but you will need those boots for hiking the higher trail tomorrow.
Demonstrative pronouns may also be used to replace a common noun (or noun phrase) in a sentence as long as it’s first clear to readers who or what the pronoun is referring to. It’s not accurate to refer to a human as “that” or “this”
unless it precedes a noun: “That belongs to “this” man.” However, it is okay to refer to a group of humans as “those” or “these.”
Examples:
o The fast roller coaster caused my stomach to ache.
That caused my stomach to ache.
o Which kids knocked over the table?
Oh, those.
• Indefinite pronouns are used to replace universal groups and general quantities or parts of groups or things. (They are also used as adjectives, which describe nouns.)
Examples:
o Many people joined the organization after the meeting.
o One will know when it’s the right time.
References
American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). (2001). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Strunk, William, Jr. “III. Elementary Principles of Composition: 9. Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.” The Elements of Style. (1999). http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.html
Noun Examples:
o Larry smiled.
o Larry smiled at Isabel, Kevin, and their two dogs, Trevor and Lance.
o Trevor and Lance were watching a show on Animal Planet.
o Alaska is home to many interesting creatures.
o That plain red wooden chair in the corner is a priceless antique.
o The iceberg was massive underneath the water.
o Austin, Texas is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World,”i but the New York Times created controversy when it referred to it as the “Live Music Capital of the South.”ii
• A proper noun names a particular person, place or thing, and the first letter of a proper noun is always capitalized. From the examples listed above, Larry, Isabel, Kevin, Trevor, Lance, Animal Planet, Alaska, Austin, Texas, “Live Music Capital of the World,” New York Times, and “Live Music Capital of the South” are all proper nouns.
• Common nouns are not specific and don’t require capitalization. From the examples listed above, dogs, show, creatures, chair, corner, antique, iceberg, and water are all common nouns.
Pronouns
Pronouns can be used in place of nouns (when appropriate), and a pronoun operates just like a noun in a sentence. It’s important to remember, however, to use pronouns carefully. Often times, writers make the mistake of referring to a noun with a pronoun without first providing and introducing the actual noun a pronoun is replacing. This creates confusion for readers since it’s then not clear who or what a pronoun is referring to. Also, once introduced, nouns should be mentioned again here and there throughout a paragraph to remind readers of the name or title of a noun (or noun phrase) even if it’s only a common noun, such as “philosophy student” or “kitten.” Nouns should be renamed even more often when many different nouns are being talked about in the same paragraph, especially when writers are describing interaction between characters or objects…e.g., He swore to her he would never deceive her again even though she was the one who had first lied to him about it after he told her what the other man told him she said. How many people are being referred to in the previous sentence? When starting a new paragraph, it’s also a good idea to re-introduce a noun in the first sentence since readers typically look for a change in thought or direction in a new paragraph. On the other hand, it is a good idea to use plenty of pronouns intermittently throughout paragraphs to replace nouns (once they’ve been introduced) so that all sentences don’t begin exactly the same or follow the exact same pattern each time. Sentences may start to sound redundant or choppy (and sometimes boring) when they’re all the same and become very predictable to readers. Without sacrificing meaning and direction in your paragraphs, it’s good to mix it up a bit with sentences.
Personal pronouns tend to come to mind first when we think about pronouns. It’s because most people use them a lot in their writing, and most writers instinctively know to use personal pronouns when referring to people or things even if they’re not always sure when or how often to use them. The main thing to remember about personal pronoun usage is that it is based on number, person and gender. However, with the factor, gender, a lot has changed over the years in English language usage when it comes to the political correctness (PC) of referring to a person by their gender. It’s something to keep in mind when writing since the main change has to do with writers no longer automatically referring to an anonymous someone as “he” or “him.” For instance: “A baseball pitcher must work constantly on the accuracy of his pitch.” How do we know the pitcher isn’t female? So, it’s better to replace the word “his” with either “his or her” or with the word “their.” Even though “their” is typically known as a plural to refer to someone: “A baseball pitcher must work constantly on their pitch.” (More information on gender can be found in the Sexist Language section under Word Choice in this handbook.) Another thing to remember about personal pronouns is that when writers use certain statements or commands, such as “Stop!’ or “Listen to me!” the personal pronoun “you” is implied… “You stop!” or “You listen to me!”
Personal Pronoun Examples:
o He smiled at them, but I wish he would also smile at me.
o You gave me your new recipe, so of course my lasagna tastes great.
o Today, they watched it until she arrived; you will have to watch it all day tomorrow.
o A philosophy student spends a lot of time writing papers for his or her courses.
o A law student spends hours studying their law books. (gender-neutral)
o They gave him to us yesterday, and we are really enjoying our new kitten.
o Its name is Sunflower.
Note: In most of the examples above, it’s not always clear who or what the sentence is about (besides a pronoun of some type). That’s why it’s important for a writer to make sure readers always know who or what is being referred to before using a huge splattering of personal pronouns to replace nouns in a paragraph.
Personal pronouns and slang go together like…well, a lot of people use slang pronouns. And in common everyday conversation, it’s usually very acceptable; however, as most academic writers probably know, words like “y’all” aren’t used in scholarly writing unless a writer is directly quoting someone else using such a word. Depending on various cultures and regions, different versions of the plural form of the pronoun “you” are used. Other slang personal pronouns include but are not limited to “you guys” (referring to males and females), or “yous guys” and “yous.” It’s only
(The word “dude”iv or “dudes” has been used as a personal pronoun recently too, but it’s also slang and shouldn’t be used in academic, business or formal writing.)
•
Pronoun confusion is common with certain personal pronouns:
note :
Confusion often occurs also around the words “your” and “you’re.” The word “your” is a personal pronoun (refer to the Personal Pronouns chart in this section), and the word “you’re” is the contraction for the words “you are.” Unfortunately, technology and computers have not helped us any with word confusion. Many a person has recently sent an email or instant message (IM) reply to someone across the Internet cloud saying, “Your welcome!” Whose welcome?
•
The possessive form of a personal pronoun is not punctuated with an apostrophe. For instance, many people get the words “its” and “it’s” mixed up. However, the word “its” is the possessive form of the pronoun “it,” whereas the word “it’s” is a contraction for the words “it is.”
Possessive Personal Pronoun Examples:
o Is that hamburger yours? (NOT: “your’s”)
o Where is hers? (NOT: “her’s”)
o Theirs was the first to compete in the race. (NOT: Their’s)
o His is the book next to hers. (NOT: “her’s”)
o Its characteristics are similar to the other dated sample’s characteristics. (NOT: “It’s”)
o Ours is much bigger than yours. (NOT: “your’s”)
o It’s sad that Harry’s transferring to another university. (CONTRACTION)
• Reflexive pronouns are used only to reflect or refer back to the main noun of a sentence or the subject—who or what the sentence is about. Reflexive Pronoun Examples:
o Jerome hurt himself playing tennis. (Jerome)
o Michelle struggled with herself over the issue. (Michelle)
o I said to myself I would never get behind on my studies. (I)
o The couple enjoyed themselves on vacation in Norway. (The couple)
o We set ourselves on the right course and never looked back. (We)
o You should prepare yourselves for a wonderful experience at the restaurant. (You)
o It duplicated itself after a massive exposure to radiation and chemicals. (It)
o NOT: The meeting will be attended by Miguel and myself. (The meeting?)
o NOT: It’s only Cecilia and myself going. (It’s?)
Intensive reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize the subject of a sentence.
Examples:
o He himself will be the first to admit he was wrong.
o I like chocolate cake with chocolate icing myself!
• Reciprocal pronouns include “each other,” which refers to two nouns, and “one another,” which refers to more than two nouns.
Examples:
o Trevor and Rover always hurt each other when they play too rough.
o Participants in the group support one another.
• Demonstrative pronouns are used to determine “number” and proximity.”vii
Examples:
o This latte’ is yours, and that one is mine.
o These shoes will be okay for hiking the low trail today, but you will need those boots for hiking the higher trail tomorrow.
Demonstrative pronouns may also be used to replace a common noun (or noun phrase) in a sentence as long as it’s first clear to readers who or what the pronoun is referring to. It’s not accurate to refer to a human as “that” or “this”
unless it precedes a noun: “That belongs to “this” man.” However, it is okay to refer to a group of humans as “those” or “these.”
Examples:
o The fast roller coaster caused my stomach to ache.
That caused my stomach to ache.
o Which kids knocked over the table?
Oh, those.
• Indefinite pronouns are used to replace universal groups and general quantities or parts of groups or things. (They are also used as adjectives, which describe nouns.)
Examples:
o Many people joined the organization after the meeting.
o One will know when it’s the right time.
References
American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). (2001). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Strunk, William, Jr. “III. Elementary Principles of Composition: 9. Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.” The Elements of Style. (1999). http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.html
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