A singular noun is a word that names one person, place, thing, or idea: brother, classroom,
piglet, and joy. A plural noun names more than one person, place, thing, or idea: brothers,
classrooms, piglets, and joys.
2. To help you determine whether a word in a sentence is a noun, try adding it to the following
sentences. Nouns will fit in at least one of these sentence.
I know something about brothers. I know something about a classroom.
3. A collective noun names a group. When the collective noun refers to the group as a whole, it is
singular. When it refers to the individual group members, the collective noun is plural.
The class meets two days a week. (singular)
The board of trustees come from all walks of life. (plural)
4. A common noun names a general class of people, places, things, or ideas: soldier, country,
month, or theory. A proper noun specifies a particular person, place, thing, event, or idea.
Proper nouns are always capitalized: General Schwartzkopf, America, July, or Big Bang.
5. A concrete noun names an object that occupies space or that can be recognized by any of the
senses: tuba, music, potato, and aroma. An abstract noun names an idea, a quality, or a
characteristic: courage, sanity, power, and memory.
6. A possessive noun shows possession, ownership, or the relationship between two nouns:
Raul’s house, the cat’s fur, and the girls’ soccer ball.
Pronouns
1. A pronoun takes the place of a noun, a group of words acting as a noun, or another pronoun.
2. A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing. First person personal pronouns refer
to the speaker, second person pronouns refer to the one spoken to, and third person pronouns
refer to the one spoken about.
Nominative Case Possessive Case Objective Case
First Person, Singular I my, mine me
First Person, Plural we our, ours us
Second Person, Singular you your, yours you
Second Person, Plural you your, yours you
Third Person, Singular he, she, it his, her, hers, its him, her, it
Third Person, Plural they their, theirs them
3. A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject of the sentence. An intensive pronoun adds emphasis
to a noun or another pronoun. A demonstrative pronoun points out specific persons, places,
things, or ideas.
Reflexive: They psyched themselves up for the football game.
Intensive: Freddie himself asked Julie out.
Demonstrative: That is a good idea! Those are my friends.
4. An interrogative pronoun is used to form questions. A relative pronoun is used to introduce a
subordinate clause. An indefinite pronoun refers to persons, places, or things in a more general
way than a noun does.
Interrogative: Which is your choice? With whom were you playing video games?
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Grammar and Language Workbook, Grade 11
Handbook 3
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Relative: The cake that we baked was delicious.
Indefinite: Everyone has already voted. No one should enter without knocking.
5. The antecedent of a pronoun is the word or group of words referred to by the pronoun.
Ben rode his bike to school. (Ben is the antecedent of his.)
Verbs
1. A verb is a word that expresses action or a state of being and is necessary to make a statement.
Most verbs will fit one or more of these sentences:
We . We loyal. We it. It .
We sleep. We remain loyal. We love it! It snowed.
2. An action verb tells what someone or something does. The two types of action verbs are
transitive and intransitive. A transitive verb is followed by a word or words that answer the
question what? or whom? An intransitive verb is not followed by a word that answers what? or
whom?
Transitive: Children trust their parents. The puppy carried the bone away.
Intransitive: The team played poorly. The light burned brightly.
3. A linking verb links, or joins, the subject of a sentence with an adjective, a noun, or a pronoun.
The concert was loud. (adjective) I am a good card player. (noun)
4. A verb phrase consists of a main verb and all its auxiliary, or helping, verbs.
My stomach has been growling all morning. I am waiting for a letter.
5. Verbs have four principal parts or forms: base, past, present participle, and past participle.
Base: I eat. Present Participle: I am eating.
Past: I ate. Past Participle: I have eaten.
6. The principal parts are used to form six verb tenses. The tense of a verb express
Base Past Past Participle
be was, were been
beat beat beaten
become became become
begin began begun
bite bit bitten or bit
blow blew blown
break broke broken
bring brought brought
Base Past Past Participle
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
come came come
do did done
draw drew drawn
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
Explanation:
