Nouns & Pronouns
Identify all abstract nouns and personal pronouns in the following sentence:
“The music box you sent for my birthday fills me with happiness each time I play it,” Joan wrote to her aunt.
abstract noun: happiness
personal pronouns: you, my, me, I, it, her
Identify the verb or verb phrase. For each phrase, identify the helping verb:
Professor Mike Xu is receiving attention for an interesting theory.
is receiving (is is the helping verb)
Identify whether the following verb is action, linking, transitive, or intransitive.
Ray bought a box of crackers, a wedge of cheese, and a bottle of water.
action, transitive
("box," "wedge," and "bottle" are all the objects)
Identify each underlined word as an adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, or interjection.
Our lunch bell usually rings at eleven o’clock, but I didn’t hear it today.
lunch- adjective (describing what kind of bell)
usually- adverb (describing when it rings)
at- preposition
but- conjunction (fanboy)
Identify each underlined word as a noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, or conjunction.
This map is easier to read than that one.
“This looks like a winning play to me!” the coach yelled.
first "this": adjective
second "this": pronoun
Identify all common nouns and interrogative pronouns in the following sentence:
Who said that they should keep the store open every day in November?
common nouns: store, day
interrogative pronoun: who
Identify the verb or verb phrase. For each phrase, identify the helping verb:
We will likely hear more about Xu’s theory.
will hear (will is the helping verb)
Identify whether the following verb is action, linking, transitive, or intransitive.
The audience waited quietly for the show to start.
action, intransitive
("quietly" is an adverb, not an object)
Identify each underlined word as an adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, or interjection.
“Wow! That dog is really clever!” Martha exclaimed.
wow- interjection
really- adverb (describing how clever)
clever- adjective (describing what kind of dog)
Identify each underlined word as a noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, or conjunction.
Have you ever driven across the Oklahoma panhandle?Will Rogers was very proud of being from Oklahoma.
first "Oklahoma": adjective
second "Oklahoma": noun
Identify each proper noun and relative pronoun in the following sentence:
Last weekend at Lost Valley State Park, I saw Robert and his family, who were there hiking.
proper nouns: Lost Valley State Park, Robert
relative pronoun: who
Identify the verb or verb phrase. For each phrase, identify the helping verb:
The Chinese could have crossed the Pacific Ocean more than 3,000 years ago.
could have crossed (could have are the helping verbs)
Identify whether the following verb is action, linking, transitive, or intransitive.
The curious cat stared at the motionless mechanical toy for a long time.
action, intransitive
("at the motionless mechanical toy" and "for a long time" are prepositional phrases, which cannot be objects of a verb)
Identify each underlined word as an adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, or interjection.
We had, oh, maybe thirty relatives here for a tasty potluck.
oh- interjection
thirty- adjective (describing how many relatives)
here- adverb (describing where they had)
a- adjective (indefinite article)
Identify each underlined word as a noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, or conjunction.
The first stop on the tour will be the McGregor Home.
“Please stop asking me when we’ll get there,” Dad said.
first "stop": noun
second "stop": verb
Identify each concrete noun and indefinite pronoun in the following sentence:
Yes, somebody should meet Eddie at the station, but does anyone know when his train arrives?
concrete noun: Eddie, station, train
indefinite pronoun: somebody, anyone
Identify the verb or verb phrase. For each phrase, identify the helping verb:
Have you read reports of the Texas Christian University faculty member’s ideas?
have read (have is the helping verb)
Identify whether the following verb is action, linking, transitive, or intransitive.
The wind grew stronger as the storm approached.
linking, intransitive
(wind cannot physically grow in size like a chia pet, making "grew" a linking verb and automatically an intransitive verb. Also, "stronger" is not an object.)
Identify each underlined word as an adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, or interjection.
According to Ms. Sanders, the council never will approve the freeway plan.
according to- preposition
never- adverb (describing when they will approve)
freeway- adjective (describing what kind of plan)
Identify each underlined word as a noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, or conjunction.
Let’s go inside and see what’s happening!
The duck stayed inside the barn until the dogs ran away.
first "inside": adverb
second "inside": preposition
Identify each proper noun and reflexive pronoun in the following sentence:
Frank asked himself why he waited until Wednesday to start his report on the French Revolution.
proper nouns: Frank, Wednesday, French Revolution
reflexive pronoun: himself
Identify the verb or verb phrase. For each phrase, identify the helping verb:
Some symbols from the Olmec, an early civilization in the Americas, and from the Shang dynasty in China look remarkably alike.
look (there is no helping verb)
Identify whether the following verb is action, linking, transitive, or intransitive.
“The Thai stir-fry tastes great!” Loretta said.
linking verb, intransitive
(stir-fry cannot physically taste because it does not have tastebuds, making "tastes" a linking verb and automatically an intransitive verb. Also, "great" is an adjective, not an object.)
Identify each underlined word as an adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, or interjection.
After hearing those words of encouragement, Meg’s mood became much brighter.
after- preposition
those- adjective (describing which words)
much- adverb (describing how much brighter)
brighter- adjective (describing what kind of mood)
Identify each underlined word as a noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, or conjunction.
“Everyone but me gets to go to the show,” Sam complained.
We had hoped to move to a bigger apartment, but now we must wait.
first "but": preposition
second "but": conjunction