chapter 2
nouns & pronouns &
prepositions
LESSONS 2-10
Nouns Defined Plural Nouns Plural Compound Nouns Plural Abbreviations, Numbers, Expressions, and Letters
Possessives
Personal Pronouns and Prepositions
Relative, Demonstrative, Indefinite, and Interrogative Pronouns Intensive and Reflexive Pronouns Pronouns After Than and As
art & invention
✽ Congratulations! You can identify the subject and the predicate
of a sentence and you are familiar with the eight parts of
speech. Now you're ready to look at the details of the first
three—nouns, pronouns, and prepositions. Please read this:
I don't paint things. I only paint the difference between things.
—Henri Matisse
✽ In the sentences above, the nouns and the pronouns are in
bold type, and the preposition is italicized. Read the sentences
again, but this time, skip over these words.
Can you imagine a world without nouns, pronouns, and
prepositions? Neither can I.
nouns defined
PIERRE-AUGUSTE renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party
It’s inevitable. Wherever you are—at work, at a museum, at a quaint restaurant on the Seine—you're
going to encounter nouns. You can’t brush them aside, for they're the words that you use to name people,
places, animals, and things—everything worth writing and chatting about!
Spot the nouns in bold type below:
Located outside Paris, the Maison Fournaise (a small hotel that also
provided meals at its restaurant and skiffs for rowing) was the perfect
setting for this painting by Renoir.
Over a period of many months, his friends and acquaintances posed for
him—individually and in small groups. The restaurant, as you can see
by the colorful array of hats, welcomed all members of society.* And it
still does.
Would you like to learn how to recognize nouns? Merveilleux!
Pull up a chair, turn the page, and we'll begin!
s The Luncheon of the Boating Party (oil on canvas, 1880-1881) was painted by Pierre-Auguste
Renoir (1841-1919). In French, this work of art is called Le Déjeuner des Canotiers.
Aline Charigot, a seamstress, is the young woman holding the dog. She would later become
Renoir's wife. Gustave Caillebotte, another Impressionist painter and a friend of Renoir's, is
sitting across from her.
This centerpiece of the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., was acquired by Duncan Phillips in
1923. © Phillips Collection.
18
The Scoop on Good Grammar
*Read more of the museum's insights: http://www.phillipscollection.org. If you live in the area or are visiting Washington, D.C., do stop by to see this marvelous painting in person. At 51.3 x 69.1 inches (130.2 x 175.6 cm), it is truly something to talk about.
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
19
Please Pass the . . . Naming Words
When you look at a painting, you can step back and
take it all in or you can get close to admire all its
details. Interestingly, you can treat a sentence in
much the same way. Often, as you look closely, you'll notice that one
vital part of a sentence is the noun.
There are two principal classes of nouns: common
nouns and proper nouns.
— Common nouns name all kinds of people,
places, animals, and things.
Person
man, woman, artist, friend, patron
Place restaurant, city, country, river
Animal puppy, dog, terrier, pet
Thing This category includes the following:
objects
substances
actions
conditions
measures
qualities
concepts
20
table, chair, bottle, hat
salt, mineral, vitamin, wine, air, food, glass
eating, chatting, posing
health, hunger, thirst
day, week, month, year, age, pound, quart, mile
thoughtfulness, friendliness, happiness, stick-to-itiveness
liberty, equality, brotherhood
The Scoop on Good Grammar
Common and Proper Nouns: Concrete, Abstract, and Collective
— Proper nouns, which are capitalized, name
particular people, places, animals, and things.*
Person Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Gustave Caillebotte, Aline Charigot, Duncan Phillips
Place Maison Fournaise, Paris, Limoges (Renoir’s birthplace), France, the Seine, City of Light
Animal French Poodle, Yorkshire terrier, Fluffy, Fifi
Thing The Luncheon of the Boating Party (the painting), Limoges (china), Cabernet (wine), Tuesday (a day of the week), May (a month)
*Capitalized (uppercase) letters look like this: P-A-I-N-T. Uncapitalized (lowercase) letters look
like this: p-a-i-n-t.
w Concrete Nouns
w Collective Nouns
Concrete nouns name people, places, animals,
objects, and substances. They have physical
dimensions. You can identify them with your
senses (i.e., seeing, touching, hearing, tasting,
smelling):
A collective noun's singular form names a group of
people, animals, or things:
• audience, band, bunch, cast, choir, class, club,
the Wine and Cheese Club, the French Club,
committee, company, couple, crew, crowd,
faculty, family, group, jury, league, majority,
orchestra, pair, panel, quartet, staff, team
•Renoir, Maison Fournaise, river, dog, table, cinnamon
• flock, gaggle, herd, litter, pod
• fleet, luggage, galaxy
w Abstract Nouns
Abstract nouns name qualities, concepts,
measures, conditions, and actions:
• attentiveness, equality, individuality,
Impressionism, month, vitality, harmony, enthusiasm, tranquility, thirst, interest
More: For capitalization etiquette, please turn to
pages 174-181. There, for instance, you'll learn
why the o in of in Paris's nickname—City of
Light—is not capitalized.
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
21
Are You Having Trouble Locating Nouns? Adjectives to the Rescue!
There are cookies, and then there are scrumptious vanilla cookies.
Scrumptious and vanilla are functioning here as adjectives (from the Latin adjicere, “to add to”). Such descriptive words are wonderful—and often essential—company for nouns. They will also help you
locate nouns. Below are more examples of words (as well as a phrase and a clause) that are used as adjectives.*
the
quiz on
nouns defined
•a sandwich, an apple, the luncheon (articles as adjectives)
•this artist, these friends (demonstrative pronouns as adjectives)
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
•each table, many glasses (indefinite pronouns as adjectives)
20 Points (1 point each) • The answers are on page 227.
•You like which restaurant? (interrogative pronouns as adjectives)
•first day of June, two years (numbers as adjectives)
•his painting, Aline’s dog (possessives [pronouns and nouns] as adjectives)
•Renoir was an artist with great talent. (an adjective phrase)
•Renoir, who loved color, is my favorite artist. *Adjectives are discussed fully beginning on page 80.
(an adjective clause) t
Identify the common nouns and the proper nouns in the following sentences:
• The
name of the artist is Renoir.
• He grew up in the city of Paris.
• The woman holding the dog is Aline.
• The restaurant is on the Seine.
• Is her pet named Fifi?
• I love the month of May.
• Posing is hard work.
t
There are three nouns below. Two of them have been identified in bold type. Can you spot the third noun? Can you identify the three adjectives?
• Aline! You’re setting your pet on this beautiful table?
22
The Scoop on Good Grammar
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
23
plural nouns
lombard: A street among streets
As you zigzag down Lombard Street, you'll notice colorful flowers. Speaking of flowers, most nouns,
such as flower, can be singular (i.e., one flower) or plural (i.e., more than one: two flowers).
Here's another example: one driver . . . many drivers.
Spot the plural nouns in bold type below:
Lombard Street has eight turns, called switchbacks. It is one of the most
beautifully landscaped crooked streets in the world, and it is located
in what Mark Twain called “the most cordial and sociable city in the
Union”—San Francisco.
Where are these drivers going? Well, this quarter-mile stretch of
road is just blocks away from Ghirardelli Square, a chocolate lover’s dream, so perhaps that's their destination. If so, I hope they'll remember
to pick up some chocolate cable cars. What tasty mementos they'll be!
Turn the page to learn how to transform singular nouns into plural nouns.
s Lombard Street was engineered in 1923 to cope with the steep 27˚ slope.
24
The Scoop on Good Grammar
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
25
Start Your Engines If You're Ready to Hear the General
Rule About Creating Plural Nouns
There is one way to make most singular nouns plural: Add an s.
Common Nouns
Plural
Singular
Plural
two ducklings*
two lochs
two menus
two pairs
two pies
two roses**
two skis
two steps
two toes
two Loris
two Julies
the Espositos
two Julys
two Fridays
two Amys
the Pennys
the Mans
the Bachs
**Sometimes, an extra syllable is heard when
pronouncing plurals:
• roses • places
• sizes
rose–iz
place–iz size-iz
*Make Way for Ducklings (NOT: Duckling's]:
Apostrophes are not used to form plurals. (There's a tiny exception to this rule, which is explained on page 32.) This request— to make way for ducklings—is also the title of a beloved picture book by Robert McCloskey.
Lori Julie Ms. Esposito July Friday
Amy
Mr. Penny
Mr. Man
Mr. Bach
Echoes: Some proper names can be spelled two or
three different ways. To pluralize each, simply add
an s. • Smokys
As you’ve probably already guessed, the general rule for making plurals has some twists. In fact, there are eight—just like the number of twists on Lombard Street.
w TWIST 1
Proper Nouns
Singular
a duckling
a loch
a menu
a pair
a pie
a rose
a ski
a step
a toe
Eight Twists Ahead!
Smokeys
Smokies
• Alleghenys
Alleghenies
• Rockys
Rockies
Rockeys
Add an es, not an s, to a singular common or proper noun that ends in s, sh, x, z, or ch.* Batches and Bunches: That’s a soft ch, as in lunch or Finch, not a hard ch, as in loch or Bach, where the
ch has a k sound: lochs, Bachs. To pluralize some words that end in z, first double the z.** Common Nouns
Proper Nouns
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
the lenses
the addresses
P1: _________
the boxes
the buzzes
P2: _________
The Lopezes are here. The Finches are here.
The Luxes are here. P3: The ______ are here. two Charleses
two Joshes
the lens
the address
the bush
the box
the buzz
the bench
Dr. Lopez
Mr. Finch
Mrs. Lux
Ms. Jones
one Charles
one Josh
But: As The Gregg Reference Manual explains,
if adding an es makes the name too difficult to
pronounce, don't do it.*** • The Rodgers are here.
[NOT: The Rodgerses are here.] This is easy to pronounce: Rodg-irz. This is difficult to pronounce: Rodg-irz-iz.
*These plurals always create an extra syllable: •Lunch becomes lunches (pronounced lunch-iz).
**quiz . . . quizzes
whiz . . . whizzes
Practice Answers
P1: bushes
P2: benches
P3: Joneses
***See Notes on page 235.
26
The Scoop on Good Grammar
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
27
w TWIST 2
Brake for the letter F.
To pluralize most common nouns that end in f or
fe, follow the general rule: Add an s.
beliefs, briefs, chefs, chiefs, fifes, giraffes, handkerchiefs, motifs, proofs, reefs, roofs, safes, sheriffs, spoofs, strifes, tariffs
But: To pluralize some common nouns that end in
f or fe, change the f or the fe to a v and add es:
elf
elves
half
halves
life
lives*
loaf
loaves
shelf
shelves
wife
P4: _______
*Artistic exception: Still life. The plural is still lifes [NOT: still lives].
And: Some words form the plural either way.
calf calves or calfs
hoof hooves or hoofs
scarf scarves or scarfs
wharf wharves or wharfs
w TWIST 3
w TWIST 5
Some common and proper nouns have the same
form whether singular or plural:
Nouns of foreign origin don't always form plurals according to the rules of English, so if you're unsure,
stop to consult a dictionary. In the list below, or means you can spell it either way. Also means the first
spelling is preferred.
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
addendum
addenda
agenda
agendas
curriculum
curricula (also curriculums)
w TWIST 4 alumna (female)
alumnae
datum
data
alumnus (male) alumni (male; or male and female together)
formula
formulas or formulae
hypothesis
hypotheses
analysis
analyses
kibbutz
kibbutzim
apex
apexes or apices
maestro
maestros or maestri
bacterium
bacteria
basis
bases
medium
media (communications), mediums (people)
basso
bassos or bassi
beau
beaux or beaus
biscotto
biscotti
cactus
cacti or cactuses
census
censuses
concerto
concerti or concertos
crisis
crises
criterion
criteria (also criterions)
acoustics, athletics, Chinese, corps, deer, economics, headquarters, Japanese, moose, physics, pliers, politics, scissors, series, sheep, species, statistics Some common and proper nouns form their plurals by changing internally: a Frenchman . . . two Frenchmen a woman . . . two women And a few form their plurals by attaching -ren or -en: child . . . children, ox . . . oxen.
More examples:
One
Two +
foot
feet
goose
geese
tooth
teeth
man
men
die
dice
mouse
mice
memorandum
memorandums or memoranda
millennium
millennia or millenniums
nucleus
nuclei (also nucleuses)
rendezvous
rendezvous
terrarium
terraria or terrariums
vertebra
vertebrae or vertebras
virtuoso
virtuosos or virtuosi Practice Answer
P4: wives
28
The Scoop on Good Grammar
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
29
w TWIST 6
3. other nouns take an s or an es:
w TWIST 7
Brake for the letter O.
With some nouns, you can’t make a wrong turn. Or means you can spell it either way. Also means the first spelling is preferred.
Brake for the letter Y.
Add an s to a common noun that ends in o and is
preceded by a vowel:*
cameos, choo-choos, curios, duos, kangaroos, patios, portfolios, radios, scenarios, studios, trios, videos, zoos P5: How do you make the word stereo plural?
But: Things can get a bit loopy when a common
noun that ends in o is preceded by a consonant.*
1. some nouns take an s:
•banjo: banjos (also banjoes)
•buffalo: buffalo or buffaloes (also buffalos)
•cargo: cargoes or cargos
•domino: dominoes or dominos
•echo: echoes (also echos)
•halo: halos or haloes
•hobo: hoboes (also hobos)
•indigo: indigos or indigoes
•aficionados, allegros, altos, autos
•lasso: lassos or lassoes
•bravos, credos
•motto: mottoes or mottos
•egos, embryos, gazebos
•no: noes or nos
•photos, pianos, pros
•tuxedo: tuxedos or tuxedoes
•silos, solos, sombreros, sopranos
•zero: zeros (also zeroes)
•typos, tyros, yo-yos
2. some nouns take an es:
*Vowels: a, e, i, o, u Consonants: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t,
v, w, x, y, z
•heroes
•potatoes
•tomatoes
•vetoes
Yield: The letter y functions as a vowel in some
words (e.g., rhythm, cymbal, lynx, physical).
All Aboard: Interestingly, trolley is also spelled
trolly, so the plural form is either trolleys or
trollies. (Trolley is the preferred spelling.) Learn more about San Francisco: http://www.sanfrancisco.travel.
Add an s to a common noun that ends in y and is
preceded by a vowel:
bays, boys, buoys, chimneys, chop sueys, days, decoys, keys, plays, quays, rays, roadways, surreys, toys, turkeys, valleys
But: To pluralize a common noun that ends in a
consonant + y (bakery) or qu + y (colloquy), change
the y to an i and add es.*
•butterfly: butterflies
•candy: candies**
•city: cities
•diary: diaries***
•family: families
•gallery: galleries
•lady: ladies
•lily: P6: _______
•mommy: mommies
•puppy: puppies
•sky: skies
•soliloquy (u = w sound): soliloquies
•story: stories
•variety: varieties
•vocabulary: vocabularies
Practice Answer
P5: stereos
**Wrong Way: Recall from page 26 that proper nouns that end in y are pluralized with an s only: •My friend Candy: two Candys
[NOT: two Candies]
*Or as Bryan Garner explains in A Dictionary of
Modern American Usage, drop the y and add ies.
(See Notes on page 235.)
***Don't miss The Princess Diaries (2001), a
charming film, directed by Garry Marshall. Based
on Meg Cabot's novel, it stars Anne Hathaway,
Julie Andrews, Hector Elizondo, Heather
Matarazzo, and Robert Schwartzman. And it's set
in the welcoming city of San Francisco.
Practice Answer
P6: lilies
30
The Scoop on Good Grammar
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
31
w TWIST 8
To pluralize a highlighted word (i.e., a word referred
to as a word), add a roman type s. The highlighted
word itself may be italicized or underlined.
quiz on
the
•There are no ifs, ands, or buts in this rule. •There are no ifs, ands, or buts in this rule.
plural nouns
Curves Ahead: For some words (for the sake of
clarity), you may choose to add a roman type 's
instead. You may italicize the word or place it in
roman type. •There are no which's or that's [NOT: whiches or thats] in this rule.
•There are no which's or that's in this rule.
Be maestros (OR: MAESTRI)!
6 Points (1 point each) • The answers are on page 227.
t Fix
A REMINDER ABOUT THE GENERAL RULE
AND TWIST 1
Be careful with plural proper nouns on your
invitations and mats. Apostrophes are not welcome.
Invitations:
•The Twains [Or: Clemenses] are having a party! [NOT: The Twain's (Or: Clemens's) are having a party!] 32
The Scoop on Good Grammar
these six misspelled plurals:
•Let's
Welcome Mats:
•The Ghirardellis [NOT: The Ghirardelli's]
(Ghirardelli is pronounced gear-ar-delly.)
treat ourselves to some chocolate biscottos.
•We
ate too many loafs of bread during lunch.
•I’ve
taken many photo’s of this landmark.
•I
love the pictures with the butterflys.
•Lombard
•Did
Street has eight switchback’s.
the Vieira’s send out their invitations yet?
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
33
plural compound nouns
Mount Rushmore: a TREASURE in granite
Question: What do the words masterpiece, tour de force, father-in-law, and grown-up have in common? Answer: They are singular compound nouns.
To remember the definition of a compound noun, think of Lincoln: A compound noun is "the union of two or
more words used to name a person, an animal, a place, or a thing."
As you read the paragraph below, notice the two singular compound nouns in bold type:
In the autumn of 1927, two years before that devastating stock market
crash, an American sculptor named John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum
(1867-1941) began a nearly million-dollar project. His goal? To carve a
splendid work of art into the Black Hills of South Dakota. Nearly 400
people—including drillers, explosives experts, and artisans—came
together to create these magnificent faces. Fourteen years later, work
ceased. And millions of visitors have been admiring this masterpiece
ever since.
s Mount Rushmore. Pictured left to right are four commanders in chief: George Washington,
Please turn the page to learn how to transform a singular compound noun into a plural compound noun.
Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The height of each face is
approximately sixty feet. The mountain itself was named for Charles Edward Rushmore (18571931), an attorney from New York, who had admired it while inspecting mining claims in the area
in 1885.* Interestingly, four decades later, Mr. Rushmore himself donated $5000 to the project!
In Alfred Hitchcock's movie North by Northwest (1959), starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint,
this national monument is a powerful co-star, as is the magnificent score by Bernard Herrmann.
Visit Mount Rushmore in person or online: http://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm.
*Read a letter from Charles E. Rushmore: http://www.nps.gov/moru/historyculture/people.htm.
34
The Scoop on Good Grammar
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
35
Fill Your Toolbox With Three Types of Compound Nouns
A compound noun may be one of the following: Closed (i.e., a solid word): •master + piece = masterpiece Open (i.e., words written separately): •tour de force
Tip 1: The compound noun passerby was once a
hyphenated compound: passer-by. The plural was
passers-by. Then the hyphen was dropped. Now
the plural is passersby. Language evolves, too!
Hyphenated (i.e., words joined by hyphens): •father-in-law
• Singular: My eight-year-old loves this
Tip 2: Compound nouns that express age are a bit
irregular.
monument.
• Plural: My eight-year-olds love this monument.
Pluralizing Is Easy!
w CLOSED COMPOUNDS Pluralize the last word within the compound noun.
•masterpiece: masterpieces
•stonecutter: stonecutters
•newspaperwoman: newspaperwomen
*Things change when people (i.e., brothers,
fathers, sisters, and mothers) enter the picture:
It's brothers-, fathers-, sisters-, and mothers-inlaw [NOT: brother-, father-, sister-, and motherin-laws]:
• Our mothers-in-law are here. [NOT: Our mother-in-laws are here.] But: Our in-laws are here.
Sometimes . . .
The compound noun has no nouns
(i.e., it has no words being used as nouns):
There’s more than one chief word:
For these compounds, pluralize the last element.
•thing-in-itself: things-in-themselves
•chairman of the board: chairmen of the boards
SINGULAR
PLURAL
There’s only one obvious choice:
• bake-off
bake-offs
•board of elections: boards of elections
• cook-out
cook-outs
•dean of admissions: deans of admissions
• drive-in
drive-ins
•Jack-of-all-trades: Jacks-of-all-trades
• flip-flop
flip-flops
•woman of letters: women of letters
• foul-up
foul-ups
• get-together
get-togethers
• go-between
go-betweens
• grown-up
grown-ups
• hand-me-down
hand-me-downs
• pick-me-up
pick-me-ups
• pop-in
pop-ins
• push-up
push-ups
There's more than one choice:
•attorney general: attorneys general or attorney generals
•notary public: notaries public or notary publics
•right-of-way: rights-of-way or right-of-ways
•runner-up: runners-up or runner-ups
• run-on
run-ons
•toolbox: P1: _________
• sing-along
•craftsman: P2: _________ sing-alongs [NOT: sing-a-longs]
• stand-in
stand-ins
• tie-in
tie-ins
Practice Answers
• trade-in
trade-ins
P1: toolboxes
P2: craftsmen
P3: presidents-elect
• tune-up
tune-ups
• walk-in
walk-ins
• write-in
write-ins
w OPEN AND HYPHENATED COMPOUNDS
Pluralize the chief word in the compound noun. •attorney-at-law: attorneys-at-law
•bachelor’s degree: bachelor’s degrees
•crow’s-foot: crow’s-feet
•in-law: in-laws*
s flip-flops
•Medal of Freedom: Medals of Freedom
•president-elect: P3: _________
•work of art: works of art
•tour de force: tours de force
36
The Scoop on Good Grammar
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
37
the
OVERHEARD AT CARVERS CAFÉ
"I enjoyed two platefuls of dessert!"
FYI: That's enough dessert to fill
your plate twice.*
quiz on
plural compound
nouns
A REAL MASTERPIECE
4 Points (1 point each) • The answers are on page 227.
A noun that ends with the suffix -ful forms
the plural by adding an s. The question is,
Where do you place the s? Today's Special: Or means you can spell it
either way. Also means the first spelling is
preferred.
• bucketful: bucketfuls or bucketsful • cupful: cupfuls (also cupsful) • forkful: forkfuls or forksful • handful: handfuls (also handsful) • teaspoonful: teaspoonfuls (also s President Lincoln Preparing a Draft of the
Emancipation Proclamation at Lincoln’s Cottage
in Washington, D.C.
This painting was created in 1957 by Jes W.
Schlaikjer (1897-1982), artist, and reprinted with
permission of his friends.
Learn more about Lincoln's Cottage: http://www.lincolncottage.org.
t Fix
these compounds:
•Our
mother-in-laws went to Mount Rushmore together.
•Some
•My
passerbys said that they think this is one of the most beautiful works of art in the world.
in-law’s are adventurous.
•Mount
Rushmore depicts four commander in chiefs.
teaspoonsful) • plateful: platefuls (also platesful)
*Compare with a plural word + full:
• I see two plates full of delicious-looking cake. I'll have one forkful of carrot cake and
two forkfuls of chocolate cake.
38
The Scoop on Good Grammar
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
39
intensive and reflexive
pronouns
LEONARDO DA VINCI'S Mona Lisa*
Intensive (that is, highlighting) and reflexive (that is, mirroring) pronouns are certain personal pronouns with -self or -selves attached. The five singular forms are myself, yourself, himself, herself, and itself.
The three plural forms are ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.
Spot the reflexive pronoun in bold italics below. The word that it is mirroring is in bold type:
It is widely believed that this painting is named for the woman who sat
for Leonardo—Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo.** Thus, the portrait is also
known as La Gioconda. You can see it for yourself at the Louvre Museum
in Paris, France. This work of art is a beautiful example of sfumato, the
technique by which one color is gradually blended into another color
so that no line is visible between them. The Italian word sfumato is the
past participle of sfumare, which means ”to fade away,” from the Latin
fumare, “to smoke."
*Mona means "madam" or "my lady." **Gherardini was her maiden name. She was the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a Florentine merchant.
70
Cole Porter's song "You're the Top," from his
A Shakespeare sonnet, Broadway musical Anything Goes, features Mona Lisa!
You're Mickey Mouse. Here's a stanza:*** You're the Nile, You're the top! You're the Tower of Pisa, s Mona Lisa, 1503-1506 (oil on panel) by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).
You're the Coliseum. You're the smile on the Mona Lisa Learn more about the Mona Lisa—one of 35,000 works of art at the Louvre
Museum—when you visit the museum’s official site: http://www.louvre.fr/en
You're the top! I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop, You're the Louvre Museum. But if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!
Enter Mona Lisa in the search bar.
You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss ©Louvre, Paris, France/Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library Nationality/
copyright status: Italian/out of copyright.
You're a Bendel bonnet, The Scoop on Good Grammar
***This show inspired our sweet comedy legend Mel Brooks
(then age 9) to go into show business!
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
71
A PALETTE OF PRONOUNS
singular
plural
•I myself love this painting.
•You can see it for yourself at the Louvre. •He/Leonardo himself [NOT: hisself] painted it.
•She/Lisa was herself: all smiles.
•My print is worth $25, but the painting itself •You must see it for yourselves.
•We/Jacques and I did something nice for is priceless.
ourselves: We bought a print.
•They/Jacques and Jill took a tour by themselves [NOT: theirself, themself, or theirselves].
You may also use these pronouns to emphasize
that something was done without help:
•Leonardo asked me to make myself at home. •Leonardo asked them—Jacques and her •He painted it himself.
[NOT: she]—to make themselves at home.
(Or: He painted it by himself.)
Artist's Note: The pronoun (i.e., me, them) is also
functioning as the object of the preceding verb,
asked:
• Leonardo asked me to make myself at home. • Leonardo asked them to make themselves at home.
An infinitive = to + a verb: to be, to make, to see.
A reflexive pronoun mirrors the subject of an
infinitive, which itself is in the objective case
(i.e., me, you, him, her, it, us, them):
Such Technique!
w IF NOT HIGHLIGHTING OR MIRRORING, LEAVE these pronouns IN YOUR BRUSH JAR
These pronouns are used to highlight or mirror the noun or the pronoun just mentioned. The highlighting (i.e., emphasizing) pronoun is called intensive: The painting itself is priceless. The mirroring pronoun is called reflexive: You can see it for yourself at the Louvre.
As The Gregg Reference Manual explains, if you aren't highlighting or mirroring a noun or a pronoun
previously expressed in the same sentence, then you should not be using an intensive or a reflexive
pronoun.* Instead, depending on the sentence, you should be using a subjective personal pronoun—I, you,
he, she, it, we, they—or an objective personal pronoun—me, you, him, her, it, us, them. (If you're having
trouble deciding between subjective and objective pronouns, please turn to pages 140-142.)
Examples
w Highlighting: intensive
w Mirroring: reflexive
The intensive pronoun highlights the noun or the
pronoun already mentioned in the sentence:
The reflexive pronoun mirrors the noun or the
pronoun already mentioned in the sentence. It
accomplishes this artful feat as an object of (1) a verb (e.g., can see, congratulated, took, be) or
(2) a preposition (e.g., to, for). (1) •I [subject pronoun] can see myself as a painter. •Leonardo [subject noun] congratulated himself for painting such a lovely portrait. • I [subject pronoun] took myself on a tour. • Be yourself.
In the sentence above, you is the implied subject pronoun: You be yourself.
•I can’t emphasize this enough: You yourself can be a master painter!
Here is that sentence without added emphasis: •I can’t emphasize this enough: You can be a master painter! Here is another sentence without added emphasis: •Leonardo painted her portrait. With emphasis, the sentence above looks like this: • Leonardo himself painted her portrait.
The intensive pronoun frowns around commas: •Don't: Leonardo, himself, painted her portrait. (2) •I [subject pronoun] said to myself, “Wow, what a painting!” •Jacques and Jill/They [subject nouns/subject pronoun] bought a print for themselves.
•Jacques and I bought a print. [NOT: Jacques and myself bought a print.]
•The one-hour tour was perfect for Jacques and me. [NOT: The one-hour tour was perfect for
Jacques and myself.]
•For an artist like you, this painting must be
inspirational. [NOT: For an artist like yourself, this painting must be inspirational.]
•The museum relies on patrons like me/you/
him/us/them. [NOT: The museum relies on patrons like
myself/yourself/yourselves/himself/ourselves/
themselves.]
s The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre)
•Question: How are you? Answer: I’m fine. And (how are) you? [NOT: I’m fine. And (how are) yourself?]
A Q&A in French (and in English)
Q: Comment allez-vous? (How are you?)
A: Très bien. (Very well.) Et vous? (And you? [NOT: And yourself?])
*See Notes on page 235.
72
The Scoop on Good Grammar
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
73
Coffee and Croissants
w On Behalf of
quiz on
the
On behalf of means “as a representative of.”
MERCI ("THANK YOU"): People often incorrectly
use the reflexive pronoun myself in sentences that
begin with on behalf of. Let’s see if you recognize
these two everyday examples:
intensive and
reflexive pronouns
•On behalf of Jim and myself, I would like
to thank you for a lovely day. The tour was
magnificent.
•On behalf of the group and myself, I would
like to thank you for a lovely day. The tour was
magnificent.
Improve yourself!
10 Points (2 points each) • The answers are on page 228.
So then how do you properly say thank you when
speaking on behalf of others? That's an excellent
question! Here's how:
t Fill
•On behalf of Jim, I would like to thank you for a
• Many people love this painting, including Jacques and ____ (I, me, or myself).
lovely day. The tour was magnificent.
•On behalf of the group, I would like to thank you
•I
for a lovely day. The tour was magnificent.
That's right: The words and myself are simply
superfluous (or, as they say in French, superflu).
in each blank with the correct pronoun:
w In Behalf of
feel fine. And ____ (you or yourself)?
• She/Jill
In behalf of means “in support of" or "in the
interest of," or "for the benefit of.”
• We
•Leonardo spoke in behalf of keeping the •I
was ____ that day. That is, she was all smiles.
did something nice for ____ (us or ourselves).
____ love to paint.
art course.
ENSEMBLE ("TOGETHER"): Combine on behalf of
and in behalf of comme ça ("like this"):
•“Leonardo, on behalf of the group, I would like to thank you for speaking so beautifully in behalf of keeping the school’s art course,” Lisa said.
74
The Scoop on Good Grammar
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
75
pronouns after than and as
Shakespeare and Galileo: who's smarter than they?
Spot the correct personal pronoun following than:
William Shakespeare penned 154 sonnets, 5 long poems, and 38 plays.
Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet are three of his
great works. Amazingly, Shakespeare, who had a vast vocabulary, coined
more than 1500 words. Indeed, no one has coined more words than he
[NOT: him]. Among them are aerial, shooting star, glow, moonbeam,
radiance, dawn, lustrous, and majestic.
While Shakespeare wrote lyrically about celestial objects, Galilei wrote
scientifically about them. In fact, Italian astronomer and physicist
Galileo Galilei founded the modern science of motion. With the aid of a
telescope, he was first to see Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s moons. More
important, in 1632, he was the first to affirm the theory of Aristarchus and
Copernicus: The Sun, not the planet Earth, is the center of the universe.
(Aristarchus of Samos made his proclamation in about 300 BCE, and
Nicolaus Copernicus issued his paper approximately 18 centuries later,
in 1543.)
Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move,
Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt I love.
—Hamlet: Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 116–19 76
The Scoop on Good Grammar
By the way, these two talented and confident fellows—Shakespeare
and Galileo—were born in the same year, 1564, in England and Italy,
respectively.
Do you doubt that than he is correct? Turn the page to see why your doubt is misplaced.
Search Shakespeare's complete works: http://shakespeare.mit.edu. Learn more about Galileo: http://galileo.rice.edu.
nouns
&
pronouns
&
prepositions
Chapter 2
77