Nouns & Pronouns: English Language Notes for Bank and Other Competitive Exams (Download PDF) |

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Nouns &
Pronouns

Definition:

Noun: These are the words which are the
names of some particular things or collection of things such as living
organisms (including humans), objects, places, actions, qualities, etc.

Ex – Raghav is the new
Chairman of the National Bank. (Underlined words represent nouns)

Pronoun: These are the words which are used
in place of nouns (to refer to a noun) in a sentence, when a particular noun
has already been mentioned or is about to be mentioned.

Ex – Raghav is the new Chairman of the
National Bank. He is most suited for the job. (Underlined word represent
pronoun); Here ‘he’ refers to ‘Raghav’.

Some basic rules/points to remember:

Nouns –

> Following common nouns are ALWAYS in plural form and do
not have singular forms:

Scissors; trousers; pants; shorts; spectacles;
goggles; binoculars; sunglasses; amends;
archives; congratulations; fireworks; outskirts; Shambles; Braces; Embers; Athletics; Belongings; Proceedings; Surroundings; Tongs; Vegetables; Valuables; etc

> Following nouns are Singular in form but Plural in meaning, i.e. they look
to be singular but are plural, and hence take plural verb:

Cattle; Cavalry; Infantry; Poultry; Police; People; Children; Peasantry;
Gentry, etc.

> Collective
nouns are ALWAYS singular:

Example–

A herd of cows is grazing the field.

The committee took the decision unanimously.

> The Following nouns are same in Singular as well as
Plural forms:

Sheep; Deer; Series; Species; Fish; Crew; Aircraft;
Counsel; Team; Jury, etc.

> The following are uncountable nouns and hence will take singular verb
with them (A/An/many/few/number of and
plural forms are NEVER used with
these) –

Poetry; furniture;
advice; information; baggage; stationery; business; crockery; News; Percentage; Pottery; Work(literary work);
Cost; Equipment; Postage; Hair;
Scenery; Dirt; Dust; Fuel; Traffic; Music; Evidence; Wastage; Jewellery;
Electricity; Money; Mischief; Luggage; Knowledge;
Crockery; etc.

Example –

I have some equipments that I needed for the project.
(Incorrect)

I have some equipment that I needed for the project. (Correct)

> Plural form is used after one of the; each of the; either of the; neither of the; some of the;
many of the, etc.

Pronouns –

· > ONLY subjective pronouns – He, She, It, You, They; We and I are used in place of the subject
in a sentence. Usage of objective pronouns like myself, himself, me, him, her,
them etc as the subject is grammatically incorrect.

For example –

Hello, Myself Nitesh Kaushal. (Incorrect)
Hello, I am Nitesh Kaushal (Correct)

> Reflexive
Pronouns – Myself,
himself, herself, itself, yourself, Yourselves, themselves; ourselves.

· > Usage of Reflexive pronouns – A reflexive pronoun is
used ONLY when the object and the subject of a sentence are the same thing.

For example:

You (sub.)
can talk to Neha (obj.) or myself (obj.).
(Incorrect)

You can talk to Neha or me. (Correct)

Rohit saw me in the mirror. (Correct) Here, ‘Rohit’ and ‘me’ are different people. ‘Me’ refers
to the speaker.

Rohit saw himself in the mirror. (Correct) Here, ‘Rohit’ and ‘himself’
refer to the same person.

Payal made herself fruit juice. (Correct
– because the subject and object are same)

Payal made myself fruit juice. (Incorrect – because the subject and
object are different persons, hence reflexive pronoun can’t be used)

Hence, –> Payal made me fruit juice. (Correct)

· > Possessive
Pronouns – These
reflect possession of something by some. These include: My, mine, your, yours,
his, her, hers, their, theirs, its, our, ours

Usage – This is my pen. OR This pen is
mine. (Both Correct)

· > If a pronoun is used before a gerund (V1+ing), then it
HAS TO BE a possessive pronoun.

For example:

Sakshi said, she did not have any problem with him using her laptop. (Incorrect)

Sakshi said she did not have any problem with his using her laptop. (Correct)

· > Usage of relative pronouns: –

Relative Pronoun	Used for	Used as
Who	People	Subject
Which	Things/animals	Subject/Object
Whom	People	Object
Whose	People/Things	In place of possessive pronouns; subject as well as object.
That	People/Things	Subject/Object