English Reviewer

Singular and Plural Pronouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 07:33:00 +0000

A singular pronoun replaces a singular noun or a singular pronoun. A plural pronoun replaces a plural noun or plural pronoun. Take note that pronouns can either be singular or plural.

Examples:

Singular	Plural
I, he, she	we
my, mine, him, her	our, ours
myself	ourselves
yourself	yourselves
you	you
me, him, her	us
he, she, it	they, them
him, her, its	their, theirs
himself, herself, itself	themselves
who	who
which	which
that	that

Ben called Ben’s sister to give advice.
Ben called his sister to give advice.

The children played the piano in the children’s music room.
The children played the piano in their music room.

Mark gave Mark’s mother the prize that Mark won.
Mark gave his mother the prize that he won.

Jen, you need to get faster. (singular)
Guys, do you know how to dance? (plural)

Types of Pronouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 07:32:00 +0000

1) Personal Pronoun – represents people or things. There are two kinds of personal pronoun: subjective and objective. Subjective pronoun is a pronoun that is used as the subject of a sentence; while objective pronouns is a pronouns that is used as the object of the sentence. Personal pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they, me, you, him, her, us, them.

Examples:
Do you need help? (subjective)
Did he informed you of the test result? (objective)

She loves him. (subjective)
She loves him. (objective)

It is the answer to your question. (subjective)
Can you manage it? (objective)

2) Demonstrative Pronoun – points to things. Use this “this” (singular) and “these” (plural) to point to things that are near in distance or time; use “that” and “those” to point to things that are far in distance or time.

Examples:
This is the right time.
These are to be delivered to the buyers.

That is not what I wanted.
Those were the days.

This is more expensive than that.
These are larger than those from the other store.

3) Possessive Pronoun – shows ownership or possession. Below are the possessive pronouns:

Singular	Plural
my, mine	our, ours
your, yours	your, yours
her, hers, his, its	their, theirs

An apostrophe is not used in a possessive pronoun. “You’re”, “it’s”, “who’s” and “they’re” are contractions often confused with “your”, “its”, “whose”, and “their”.

Examples:
The notebook is mine.
The victory is ours.

Brenda, is this your pen?
Students, this is your task for today.

China is its origin.
Their contributions are enough.

4) Interrogative Pronoun – is used to ask a question and represents the thing that is being asked about. The interrogative pronouns are: who, whom, which, what, whose, whoever, whatever, whichever, whomever. Use "who" and "whom" to talk about people. Use "which" and "what" to talk about things.

Examples:
Who is your crush?
Whom did you tell our secret?
What time is it?
Which of the two do you like more?

Notice that the interrogative pronoun “whose” can also be a possessive pronoun (an interrogative possessive pronoun).

Example:
Whose bag is this?
Whose dress is that?

5) Reflexive Pronoun – is used when referring back to the subject. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).

Personal Pronoun	Reflexive Pronoun
I	myself
you	yourself / yourselves
he	himself
she	herself
it	itself
we	ourselves
they	themselves

Examples:
I can see myself in you.

Don’t blame yourself.

John talks to himself.

We treated ourselves to a fancy restaurant.

The children took care of themselves.

6) Intensive Pronoun – is used for emphasis. All reflexive pronouns can be intensive pronouns, but the function is different.

Examples:

I baked it myself.

Have you heard it yourself?

Donna herself wrote that song.

The task itself is easy.

We will do it ourselves.

7) Reciprocal Pronoun – is used when two or more subjects is doing the same thing towards the other.

Examples:

John loves Diana, and Diana loves John.

John and Diana loves each other.

Let us stop fighting one another.

8) Indefinite Pronoun – is a pronoun that does not refer to any specific person or thing. Indefinite pronouns are: all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, enough, everybody, everyone, everything, few, little, many, more, most, much, neither, nobody, nothing, none, one, other, others, several, some, somebody, someone, something, such.

Examples:

Anybody home?

Either juice or coffee is fine with me.

Little known is known about her past.

Nobody wants to be lonely.

Several items are missing.

9) Relative Pronoun – is a pronoun that links to a relative clause. The relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, which, that, what, whatever, whoever, whomever, whichever.

Examples:
The girl who won the contest is a genius
The lady, whose phone you have found, is high-ranking official.
Ben really loves the toy that I gave him.
Tell me what to do next.
The charge is $10 or 5% of the total amount whichever is higher.

Pronoun

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 07:31:00 +0000

A pronoun is a word that substitutes for a noun or another pronoun. The word or phrase replaced by a pronoun is called antecedent.

Examples:
George planned George’s travel itinerary.
George planned his travel itinerary.

The children will go to the playground. The children will play hide and seek.
The children will go to the playground. They will play hide and seek.

Types of Pronouns
A pronoun can be personal, demonstrative, interrogative, possessive, relative, reflexive, intensive, reciprocal or indefinite. Click here to view the types of pronouns.

Singular and Plural Pronouns
A singular pronoun replaces a singular noun or a singular pronoun. A plural pronoun replaces a plural noun or plural pronoun. Click here for more details on Singular and Plural Pronouns.

Counters of Mass Nouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 05:32:00 +0000

Counters can be used for mass nouns to be countable.

Examples:

Counter	Mass Nouns
kilo (kilos) of	rice, sugar, beef, tomatoes
lot (lots) of	knowledge, love, hope, humor
meter (meters) of	ribbon, wire, cord, garter
piece (pieces) of	cloth, advise, furniture, cloth
sheet (sheets) of	paper, iron, plywood
cup (cups) of	flour, coffee, tea, rice
ganta (gantas) of	beans, rice, mongo
quire (quires) of	parchment paper
bar (bars) of	gold, soap, chocolate
bottle (bottles) of	water, ink, wine, vinegar

Possessive Case of Nouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 03:08:00 +0000

The possessive case of a noun is used to show ownership or possession. Forming the possessive case of a noun can be done by adding an apostrophe and/or letter s depending on the rule where it falls.

1) Possessive case of a singular noun that does not end in s is formed by adding an apostrophe and s:

Examples:
The teacher’s pen is missing.
One of Italy’s best is pizza.
My favorite color is same as Ana’s.

2) Possessive case of a singular noun that ends in s is formed by adding an apostrophe and s, or an apostrophe only:

Examples:
Kris’s new bag is expensive. (or Kris’ new bag)
The bus’s tires are flat. (or bus’ tires)
Dolores’s class is Biology. (or Dolores’ class)

3) Possessive case of a plural noun that does not end in s is formed by adding an apostrophe and s:

Examples:
The children’s favorite food is spaghetti.
The men’s basketball team is ready.
People’s choice is you.

4) Possessive case of a plural noun that ends in s is formed by adding an apostrophe only:

Examples:
The boys’ average is slightly higher that the girls’.
The managers’ meeting is cancelled.
The doctors’ symposium is on Friday.

5) Possessive case of multiple nouns showing individual possession is formed by adding an apostrophe and s to each possessing noun:

Examples:
John’s, Ben’s and Kaye’s artworks are equally beautiful.

6) Possessive case of multiple nouns showing joint possession is formed by adding an apostrophe and s to the last possessing noun:

Examples:
Ken and Mary’s joint savings account is with a rural bank.

Masculine and Feminine Nouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:29:00 +0000

Masculine gender refers to a male person or animal. Feminine gender refers to a female person or animal.

Masculine	Feminine
godfather	godmother
uncle	aunt
prince	princess
king	queen
stag	doe
drake	deer
boar	sow
emperor	empress
conductor	conductress
duke	duchess
count	countess
tailor	dressmaker
bachelor	spinster
groom	bride
son	daughter
lad	lass
janitor	janitress
rooster	hen
brother	sister
father	mother
widower	widow
gander	goose
stallion	mare
nephew	niece
grandfather	grandmother
male	female
brother-in-law	sister-in-law
wizard	witch
boy	girl
man	woman
escort	muse
salesman	saleslady
fireman	firewoman
congressman	congresswoman
husband	wife
waiter	waitress
gentleman	lady
lion	lioness
actor	actress
baron	baroness
heir	heiress
steward	stewardess
dog	bitch
fox	vixen
hero	heroine
fiancé	fiancée
abbot	abbess
host	hostess
sorcerer	sorceress
patron	patroness

Click here for other gender of nouns.

Gender of Nouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:26:00 +0000

1) Masculine gender refers to a male person or animal.

Examples:
father, king, tailor, groom, rooster, stallion

Click here for more examples of masculine nouns with their corresponding feminine counterparts.

2) Feminine gender refers to a female person or animal.

Examples:
mother, queen, dressmaker, bride, hen, mare

Click here for more examples of feminine nouns with their corresponding masculine counterpart.

3) Common gender refers to a person or animal that can be male or female.

Examples:
parent, president, classmate, horse, dog,
nurse, mayor, neighbor, student, teacher,
artist, lawyer, press, dog, fish

4) Neuter gender refers to anything without life and, thus, can neither be male nor female.

Examples:
building, sun, newspaper, book, pillow,
pencil, paper, scissors, school, bank,
bag, folder, eyeglasses, bed, house

Plural Form of Nouns Ending in S, Ss, Ch, Sh, X or Z

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 08:25:00 +0000

Nouns ending in s, ss, ch, sh, x or z form their plural by adding es.

Singular	Plural
quiz	quizzes
wish	wishes
brush	brushes
bush	bushes
box	boxes
fox	foxes
address	addresses
guess	guesses
kiss	kisses
watch	watches
glass	glasses
class	classes
mass	masses
buzz	buzzes
bus	buses
church	churches
lass	lasses
bench	benches
dish	dishes
dress	dresses
branch	branches
cross	crosses
tax	taxes
princess	princesses
ax	axes
crutch	crutches
mattress	mattresses
peach	peaches

Click here for the complete list of rules of forming the plural of nouns.

Plural Form of Most Nouns by Adding S

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 08:20:00 +0000

Most nouns form their plural by adding s.

Singular	Plural
book	books
school	schools
car	cars
rat	rats
mother	mothers
ship	ships
farmer	farmers
mountain	mountains
sea	seas
river	rivers
bee	bees
hat	hats
flower	flowers
pencil	pencils
umbrella	umbrellas
table	tables
toy	toys
moon	moons
animal	animals
plant	plants
desk	desks
cake	cakes
fan	fans
hand	hands
planet	planets
guest	guests
booth	booths

Click here for the complete list of rules of forming the plural of nouns.

Singular and Plural Nouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 07:46:00 +0000

A noun that refers to one person, place, thing, event or idea is a singular noun. A noun that refers to more than one is a plural noun. Nouns can be countable of non-countable. Non-countable nouns are also known as mass nouns which are not usually counted and have no plural forms. Count nouns can be counted and form their plural in different ways.

Forming the Plural of Nouns:

1) Most nouns form their plural by adding s

Examples:

Singular	Plural
Books	books
Girl	girls
Ball	balls
Flower	flowers
Tree	trees

Click here for more examples of this rule.

2) Nouns ending in s, ss, ch,sh, x or z form their plural by adding es

Examples:

Singular	Plural
bus	buses
dress	dresses
church	churches
brush	brushes
box	boxes
quiz	quizzes

Click here for more examples of this rule.

3) Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel form their plural by adding s

Examples:

Singular	Plural
boy	boys
valley	valleys
key	keys
turkey	turkeys
day	days

4) Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant form their plural by changing y to i and adding es

Examples:

Singular	Plural
family	families
butterfly	butterflies
lily	lilies
lady	ladies
story	stories

5) Most nouns ending in o form their plural by adding es

Examples:

Singular	Plural
hero	heroes
echo	echoes
potato	potatoes
tomato	tomatoes
volcano	volcanoes

6) Other nouns ending in o form their plural by adding s

Examples:

Singular	Plural
radio	radios
piano	pianos
zero	zeros
bamboo	bamboos
peso	pesos

7) Most nouns ending in f or fe usually form their plural by changing f or fe to v and adding es

Examples:

Singular	Plural
leaf	leaves
life	lives
thief	thieves
loaf	loaves
wife	wives

8) Some nouns ending in f or fe form their plural by adding s

Examples:

Singular	Plural
roof	roofs
dwarf	dwarfs
hoof	hoofs
chief	chiefs
safe	safes

9) Some nouns form their plural by changing the vowel or vowels within them

Examples:

Singular	Plural
man	men
woman	women
tooth	teeth
foot	feet
mouse	mice

10) A few nouns take an en ending to form their plural

Examples:

Singular	Plural
child	children
ox	oxen

11) Some nouns have the same form in both the singular and the plural

Examples:

Singular	Plural
cattle	cattle
deer	deer
series	series
sheep	sheep

12) Letters, figures and signs form the plural by adding an apostrophe and an s

Examples:

Singular	Plural
1	1’s
A	A’s
Ω	Ω’s

13) Nouns ending in um or on form their plural by changing um or on to a

Examples:

Singular	Plural
agendum	agenda
datum	data
bacterium	bacteria
criterion	criteria
phenomenon	phenomena

Collective Nouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 04:54:00 +0000

Collective noun is a type of noun that denotes a name of a particular group of persons or things. Below are some examples of individual members of a group with their corresponding collective noun.

Examples:

Individual Members	Collective Noun
birds	flock
sheep	herd
cattle	herd
people	crowd
pupils	class
singers	choir
flowers	bouquet
players	team
members	club
scouts	troop
fishes	school
ships	fleet
judges	jury
bees	colony
ants	colony
teachers	faculty
islands	archipelago
father, mother, son, daughter, etc.	family
instruments	orchestra
countries	continent
soldiers	army

Mass Nouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 04:39:00 +0000

Mass Noun is a type of noun that denotes a name of anything that cannot be counted.

Examples:

rice	sugar	salt
hair	mongo	beans
corn	tea	coffee
vinegar	water	soy sauce
juice	sand	gasoline
oil	cheese	milk
flour	catsup	ink
soil	rain	oxygen
information	electricity	furniture
news	happiness	power

Abstract Nouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 02:56:00 +0000

Abstract noun is a type of noun that denotes a name, idea or quality having no physical form. It can be seen by our mind but not of our naked eyes.

Examples:

love	strength	beauty
courage	strength	beauty
unity	cooperation	faith
belief	anger	truth
kindness	hatred	justice
sympathy	peace	happiness
loneliness	cleanliness	duty
politeness	respect	obedience
duty	patience	admiration
health	acceleration	education

Common and Proper Nouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 07:58:00 +0000

Common noun is a type of noun that denotes a general name for a person, place, thing or event and begins with a small letter. On the other hand, proper noun is a name of a particular common noun and begins with a capital letter. A list of examples is provided below to better understand the difference between proper and common nouns.

Examples:

Common Noun	Proper Noun
state	California
company	Microsoft
dog	Brownie
beach	Boracay
country	Singapore
boy	John
girl	Ellen
movie	Avatar
university	Harvard University
book	The Alchemist
holiday	Independence Day
month	April
cartoon character	Spiderman
river	Mississippi River
language	English
subject	Science
actress	Julia Roberts
planet	Earth
fast food chain	McDonald’s
mountain	Mt. Everest

Types of Nouns

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:20:00 +0000

A noun can belong to more than one type of noun: proper or common, abstract or concrete, and countable (count noun) or non-countable (mass noun) or collective.

1) Proper Noun – is a name of a particular person, place, thing or event. It begins with a capital letter.

Examples:
Person – Abraham Lincoln
Place – Singapore
Thing – Sony
Event – Independence Day

Click here for more examples of Proper Nouns

2) Common Noun – is a general name for a class. This is the opposite of a proper noun and begins with a small letter.

Examples:
Person – president
Place – country
Thing – television
Event – holiday

Click here for more examples of Common Nouns

3) Abstract Noun – is a name, idea or quality having no physical form. It can be seen by our mind but not of our naked eyes.

Examples:
love, truth, freedom, hope, courage

Click here for more examples of Abstract Nouns

4) Concrete Noun – is a name of anyone or anything that can be perceived through physical senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch or taste. This is the opposite of an abstract noun.

Examples: driver, tune, aroma, pillow, food

5) Countable Noun – is a name of anyone or anything that can be counted. This type of noun has both singular and plural forms.

Examples: students, table, chairs, president, hands

6) Mass Noun (Non-Countable Noun) – is a name of anything that cannot be counted.

Examples:
sugar, flour, beans, juice, milk

Click here for more examples of Mass Nouns

Counters can be used for mass nouns to be countable.

Examples:
kilo(s) of sugar, bag(s) of flour, ganta(s) of beans, glass(es) of juice, liter(s) of milk

Click here for more examples of Counters of Mass Nouns

7) Collective Noun – is a name of a particular group of persons or things.

Examples:
flock of birds, school of fishes, staff, band, faculty

Click here for more examples of Collective Nouns

Noun

noreply@blogger.com (Ry) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 05:06:00 +0000

A noun is a name of a person, place, thing, event or idea.

Examples:
Persons – girl, boy, baby, president, John Smith
Places – park, mall, office, Asia, America
Things – laptop, pencil, plants, fan, mirror
Events – graduation, birthday, anniversary, Labor Day, Independence Day
Ideas – honesty, liberty, wisdom, perseverance, integrity

Types of Nouns
A noun can be proper or common, abstract or concrete, and countable (count noun) or non-countable (mass noun) or collective. Click here to view the Types of Nouns.

Singular and Plural Nouns
Most nouns form their plural form by adding s while others follow certain rules to form their plural. Click here to view the guidelines if forming the Plural of Nouns.

Gender of Nouns
Nouns can be masculine (male), feminine (female), common (male or female) or neuter (not male nor female). Click here to view the Gender of Nouns.

Possessive Case of Nouns
The possessive case of a noun is used to show ownership or possession. Forming the possessive case of a noun can be done by adding an apostrophe and/or letter s depending on the rule where it falls. Click here to view the guidelines in forming the Possessive Case of Nouns.