NOUNS &

PRONOUNS
Subject
Predicate Nominative
Appositive
Direct & Indirect Object
Object of the Preposition
 Nouns and Pronouns as
Subject
 A noun or pronoun may be used as subject of a
sentence.

Every complete sentence has a subject, a verb, and an object.

 The subject (or subject pronoun) is always a person, thing,

place, or idea, or the plural of one of those, i.e. people, things,
places, or ideas.

 The object or object pronoun is always on the receiving end

of the action.
 TIP!
One of the easiest ways to identify
a subject or subject pronoun is to
remember that it is always going
to be the who or what that has a
direct effect on the action that’s
taking place.
 Examples:
1. We g a v e t h e m a h e a d s t a r t i n t h e r a c e .

2. Yo u t o l d J e r r y t h a t h i s s c o r e w a s a m o n g t h e
b e s t ; t h a t m a d e h i m f e e l b e t t e r.

3. S h e l o s t w e i g h t b y c u t t i n g o u t j u n k f o o d .

4. T h e y d r a n k w a t e r f r o m a s p r i n g t h a t r a n r i g h t
out of the mountainside.
 Exercise:

1 . _H
_ _e_ _ k i c k e d t h e b a l l s o h a r d
that his shoe came off.

2. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I

t h i n k _ _y_ o
_ _u e n j o y s t u d y i n g .

3 . T h e d o g s t o l e Ta r a ’s i c e c r e a m
b e f o r e _ _ _ _ _ r a ni ta w a y .
 Interrogative

For interrogative sentences, the subject is

usually a between the parts of a verb phrase.

Wi l l y o u g o w i t h u s ?

You will go with us. (declarative)

Exercise:

1. Are you going to take out the

trash?

2. Whom do you live with?

PREPOSITIONAL
PHRASES
Some sen tences begin with preposition al
ph rases .
Subjects cannot be found in prepositional
ph rases.

On the porch lay a rusty shotgun.

On the porch lay a rusty shotgun.

Examples:

1. Across many deserts, an oasis

awaits.
2. Throughout the thick forest is a
variety of wildlife.
3. To the amusement park they
went.
Exercise:
1. A c c o r d i n g to the weather
forecast, Bagyong Falcon will
a r r i v e t o m o r r o w.

2. O u t t h e d o o r a r e c a r o l l e r s .

3. I n s i d e t h e r o o m they played
hide and seek.
 NOUNS & PRONOUNS AS
PREDICATE NOMINATIVES
A p r e d i c a t e n o m i n a t i v e i s a n o u n o r p r o n o u n
t h a t f o l l o w s a l i n k i n g v e r b a n d renames o r
explains t h e s u b j e c t .

Mr. Vic Gonzales is our debate

coach.

Mr. Vic Gonzales is our debate coach.

 NOUNS & PRONOUNS AS
PREDICATE NOMINATIVES

 Predicate Nominatives may be

compound.

The members of the debate team

are Jessie, Ray, and Mon.
Examples:
Mr. Johanson is a teacher .

Mr. Johanson is a father .

Mr. Johanson is my neighbor .

Mr. Johanson is a teacher, father, and my

neighbor.
Important Note:

Predicate nominatives only follow

linking verbs . The linking verbs include
the following: the helping verbs is, am,
are, was, were , be, being, and been; the
sense verbs look, taste , smell, feel, and
sound; and verbs helping verbs like
become, seem , appear, grow, continue ,
stay, and turn.
PREDICATE NOMINATIVES
review
Identify the subject and the predicate nominative.

1. My favorite musical instruments are the radio,

television, and stereo.
2. Two popular trees are the linden and the honey
locust.
3. The winner will be either Jeff or Will.
4. Are those people our neighbors and friends?
5. Baseball and golf are outdoor sports.
 Nouns and Pronouns as
direct & indirect objectS
In its simplest form, a sentence has two
parts:
a subject and a verb.
They express a complete thought when
they are together. Remember a
sentence is like a bike…
 Subject + Verb
• Answers who/what is doing the action?
• Options: noun or pronoun
▫ Shows an action or a state of being
▫ Options: action verb, linking verb,
or verb phrase (helping verb + main verb)
Direct object

A noun or a pronoun;
Follows an action verb;
Receives the action of a verb.

A direct object can be found

by asking Whom? or What?
about an action verb.
A direct object can be found by asking
Whom? or What? about an action verb.

subject action verb Direct Object

The message reached the lawyer.

The message reached WHOM?

A direct object can be found by asking
Whom? or What? about an action verb.

subject action verb Direct Object

His landlord is raising the rent.

Is raising WHAT?
A direct object can be found by asking
Whom? or What? about an action verb.

action
subject DO
verb
Marty and Carol served pie and
DO
ice cream for dessert.

Marty and Carol served WHAT?

A direct object is never an adverb or the
object of a preposition.

D.O.
Joanne walked her dog.
adverb
Joanne walked briskly.
Prepositional phrase
Joanne walked to the store.
 Subject Verb Direct Object

The teacher explained the rules.

Cats eat fish.
John loves Mary.
I like chocolate.
They have bought a car.
The company is considering my proposal.
Notice that in all cases the subject is
“doing” the action, and the direct
object is “receiving” or “undergoing”
the action.
A direct object can be one word or several
words. It can be:

1. Noun (People eat rice.)

2. Noun phrase (They bought a big red car.)
3. Pronoun (I love you.)
4. Phrase (Princess hates cleaning the house.)
5. Clause (I love when he tells jokes.)
We use Direct Object with Transitive Verbs only.

We do not use direct objects with all verbs. Only a

transitive verb can have a direct object. With a
transitive verb, the action “transits” from the subject
through the verb to the direct object.

Ex. He kicked the ball.

The verb kicked is a transitive verb because it can

have a direct object.
But verbs like live, die, cough, sit do
not pass action to something else – they
are intransitive and have NO object.
Transitive Verb with Direct Object

They put off the wedding.

Most people like ice cream.
He drinks wine.
The mechanic has fixed our car.
He likes Tara.
Intransitive Verb with no OBJECT.

Smoke rises.
John was sleeping.
I will go first.
He died in 1989.
She lived for 100 years.
Do NOT use Direct Object with Linking Verbs

Verbs like be, seem, smell, taste do not express

action. Instead, they are linking verbs. Instead,
they are like an equals sign (=) in Mathematics.
They are linking verbs.

Examples:

Mr. Brown is my teacher. (Mr. Brown = my teacher)

It seems strange. (It = strange)
If Direct Object is a pronoun, the pronoun must be in
objective case.

Objective case
me
you
him, her, it
us
them
Examples:

Fred helped me.

Does she like him?
I told them.
EXERCISE:
Label the sentence parts:

1. Monkeys eat bananas.

2. She loves her job.
3. He’s eating an orange.
1. Monkeys eat bananas.
S V DO

2. She loves her job.

S V DO

3. He’s eating an orange.

S V DO
INDirect object
A noun or a pronoun.
Tells to whom or to what or for whom or
for what the action of the verb is done.

subj. action verb direct obj.

Andy brought a flower .

subj. action verb indirect obj direct obj.
Andy brought me a flower.
 Please Note…
If there is an indirect object,
there must be a direct
object.
However, you can have a
direct object without an
indirect object.
 **ONLY ACTION VERBS HAVE
INDIRECT OBJECTS and DIRECT
OBJECTS**
Linking verbs do NOT have indirect
objects or direct objects

Linking verb: Zachary was a silly boy.

Action verb: Zachary saw a silly boy.
An indirect object is really a prepositional phrase
in which the preposition to or for is not stated but
understood.

It tells to whom or for whom something is done.

It comes between the verb and the direct object.

Examples:

She gave me a gift. (indirect object)

She gave to me a gift. (prepositional phrase)
The indirect object always modifies the
verb. It may have modifiers and be
compound.

Examples:

She gave the man and me a gift. (indirect

objects)
She gave to the man and to me a gift.
(prep. phrase)
EXERCISE:
Label the sentence parts:

1. The teacher gave her students A's.

2. Grandfather will leave the dogs his money.

3. The pirate sold me his boat.

1. The teacher gave her students A's.
S V IO DO

2. Grandfather will leave the dogs his money.

S V IO DO

3. The pirate sold me a boat.

S V IO DO
PRACTICE!
Rewrite the following sentences by putting the indirect
objects before the direct objects.

1. Jane told a secret to me.

2. John’s father left a huge property for him.
3. Call a taxi for me.
4. They promised their help for us.
5. My mother gifted a necklace to me.
 Answers:
1. Jane told me a secret.

2. John’s father left him a huge property.

3. Call me a taxi.

4. They promised us their help.

5. My mother gifted me a necklace.

 REMINDER!!!
The indirect object comes before the
direct object when it is shorter than the
direct object, or when the direct object
has to be made prominent.
Find the verb, direct object, indirect object in the
following sentences.

1. Has your boss sent you a notice about the next

convention?
2. John read his tiny nephew an exciting story.
3. Our father built the family a redwood picnic
table.
4. The doctor sent me a bill for his services.
5. We gave our mother a book for her birthday.
6. Simon gave his uncle a dirty look.
7. Jim built his granddaughter a sandcastle on the
beach.
8. Tomas paid the mechanic 200 dollars to fix the
squeaky brakes.
9. Dad made Will a sandwich.
10. Mrs. Santos assigned the class 10 Math
problems.
 Nouns and
Pronouns as
Appositives
 What is an
APPOSITIVE?
is a word that explains or identifies the
noun or pronoun that precedes it.

Example:
subject appositive
Nehemiah, the king’s cupbearer
rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.
 Examples:
The insect, a cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen
table.
The insect, a large cockroach, is crawling across the
kitchen table.
The insect, a large cockroach with hairy legs, is
crawling across the kitchen table.
The insect, a large, hairy-legged cockroach that has
spied my bowl of oatmeal, is crawling across the kitchen
table.
 What is the difference between
Predicate Nominative and Appositives ?

Predicate Nominative is connected with a linking

verb such as:
linking verb
Harry B. Villasor is an international researcher.
subject predicate nominative
While Appositive does not need a linking verb
such as:
appositive
Mr. Villasor , an international researcher, visited
subject CJC yesterday.
Appositives may be
compound...
Examples:

The home run hitters BabeRuth and Roger Maris

played for the Yankees.

A witch and a friend, Hermoine, is known to be

good at spells.
Punctuate the appositive correctly.

The important point to remember

is that a nonessential appositive is
always separated from the rest of
the sentence with comma(s).
 • When the appositive begins the sentence, it looks
like this:
A hot-tempered tennis player, Robbie charged the
umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull with a
racket.

• When the appositive interrupts the sentence, it looks

like this:
Robbie, a hot-tempered tennis player, charged the
umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull with a
racket.
• And when the appositive ends the sentence,
it looks like this:

Upset by the bad call, the crowd cheered

Robbie, a hot-tempered tennis player who
charged the umpire and tried to crack the
poor man's skull with a racket.
 Exercise:
1. Don't leave your shoes there, or
my dog, Ollie, will munch them.

2. My best friend, Lee, caught a whelk

when he was fishing for bass.

3. Dr. Pat, the creator of the turnip brew,

sold 8 barrels on the first day.
More examples...
• During the dinner conversation, Clifford,
the messiest eater at the table , spewed
mashed potatoes like an erupting
volcano.

• My 486 computer, a modern-day

dinosaur , chews floppy disks as noisily
as my brother does peanut brittle.
More examples...
• Genette's bedroom desk, the biggest
disaster area in the house, is a collection
of overdue library books.

• Reliable, Diane's eleven-year-old beagle,

chews holes in the living room carpeting
as if he were still a puppy.
OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION

A noun attached to a sentence by a preposition is

the object of the preposition, which requires
the objective case of a pronoun taking the place of
the noun.

Wrong: It’s a Grammar Book for you and I.

Correct: It’s a Grammar Book for you and me.
Wrong: It’s a big problem for she and I.
Correct: It’s a big problem for her and me.
• In the above, the words for and to are
prepositions, forming prepositional phrase. Each
preposition has two objects.
Exercise A.

1. Tammy left her shoes beside the pool.

2. Running through the halls will not be allowed.
3. Are those candles on the table for the kids?
4. Today we talked about Shakespeare.
5. Someone put onions in my garden salad.
Quiz
IDENTIFY THE DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECTS.
D R AW A B O X F O R I N D I R E C T O B J E C T A N D
C I R C L E F O R D I R E C T O B J E C T.
1. I can hardly see the street.
2. The hurricane shattered our cities and villages.
3. I placed all students on a waiting list.
4 . To m a n d J e r r y a t e t h e e n t i r e c a k e .
5 . Va n e s s a c a l l e d t h e s a l e s p e r s o n c h a r l a t a n a n d
fraud.
6 . S h e b a k e d M r. S m i t h a p i e .
7. Should I buy my daughter a bike?
8 . T h e t e a c h e r t o l d t h e g i r l s a s t o r y.
9. I paid the mechanic 100 dollars.
10. Jamie looked for the boxes in the attic.
DRAW A BOX FOR PREPOSITION AND CIRCLE
FOR THE OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION.
1. Were you sneaking around the corner?
2. You should never jump over a hungry dragon.
3. Snoring in class does not earn you an A.
4. We marched behind the unhealthy cow.
5. Bill looked into the box and smiled.
6. Santa needs radar when he flies to Buffalo.
7. I’m looking beyond tomorrow when I make
these plans.
8. I won’t sit with your grumpy sister.
9. Linda’s gift is hidden under the old blue couch.
10. Charles stood calmly by the glittering tree.
 Instruction: Identify the appositives in the following sentences.
DRAW A BOX FOR THE APPOSITIVES.

1. My son, the policeman, will be visiting us next week.

2. The captain ordered the ship's carpenters to assemble the shallot, a

large rowboat.

3. Walter, the playboy and writer, is very attached to his mother,

Mrs. Hammon.

4. The actor Paul Newman directed only one picture.

5. Elizabeth Teague, a sweet and lovable girl, grew up to be a

mentally troubled woman.
6. Sweetbriar a company known throughout the South is
considering a nationwide advertising campaign.

7. An above-average student and talented musician John made

his family proud.

8. The extremely popular American film Titanic was widely

criticized for its mediocre script.

9. The greatest American film ever made Citizen Kane won

only one Academy Award.

10. 60 Minutes the TV news magazine program featured a

story on the popular singer Whitney Houston.