The Word Cloud

Hi folks, this is coming in late as a reply but may be of use to someone somewhere and I'm learning it myself again right now. I've gotten hold of 'Improve your Punctuation and Grammar' by 'Marion Field' Study Skills www.Howtobooks.co.uk, it's a third edition if it helps and I've spoted a couple of typo's already in it and only gotten to page twenty... Leaving that aside I'd forgotten much of what I must have learnt at some point going back in English lessons at school, and yet can remember covering similarities in French! Anyway I wanted to remind us of how much I've learnt so far that we need to know just to write a complete sentence (so we can indulge further) and will add more as I consider necessary, unless someone else has kindly gotten there first to clarify (and is of course welcome to do so)...
The subject of the sentence is the noun or pronoun that is the main reason for the sentence. It performs the action. eg. The girl walked across the road. (Here the subject is the girl.)
The object of the sentence is the noun or pronoun to which something is done. eg. Tom played the violin. (The object here being the violin.)

A sentence MUST contain a SUBJECT but there DOES NOT have to be an OBJECT in the sentence.
(Tom plays very well.)

You need to know about definite (The) and indefinite articles (A and An,) in order to know what parts of your sentence structure are. (An is also an indefinite article when used for ease of pronunciation in front of a vowel, eg you wouldn't 'eat a egg', you would 'eat an egg'.)

Each sentence should contain at least one noun or pronoun. A Pronoun is a word that replaces a noun, a noun phrase, or a noun clause. Here we start getting a little more complex but it is easy once you see written.

There are personal pronouns, demonsative pronouns, possessive pronouns, reflexive pronouns, intensive pronouns and interrogative pronouns.

Personal pronouns
take the place of nouns, noun phrases or noun clauses. They are known as the first, second and third persons. These can be used as both subject and objects within the sentence.

Singular Plural
Subject Object Subject Object
First person I me we us
Second person you you you you
Third person he him they them
she her they them
it it they them

In years gone by thou (subject) and thine/thee (object) was used as singular but today we tend to use 'you' in general for both, althought you may still here the afore mentioned regionally, more so 'thou'.

Replacing nouns with personal pronouns
this is done so that a noun is not repeated too frequently,
e.g. Craig was upset that Craig was not allowed to go to the rave.
The 2nd Craig would read better if replaced by the word 'he'. 'He' would be the subject part of the sentence.

e.g. Holly went to the swimming pool. She enjoyed the swimming pool.
The second sentence would read better if 'swimming pool' were replaced by 'it' as the object of the second sentence.

Do not repeat nouns unneccesarily when writing, instead replace them with the use of pronouns.

Demonstrative pronouns
can also replace nouns. These are the
singular this that
plural these those

e.g. 'This' is their car.
'Those' are her cats.

This, that, these and those can also used as adjectives when they are to be attached to a noun.

Possessive pronouns
also replace nouns and indicate that something 'belongs'. They are related to the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronoun Possessive Pronoun
First person singular I mine
Second person singular you yours
Third person singular he his
she hers
it its
First person plural we ours
Second person plural you yours
Third person plural they theirs

e.g. This pen is 'mine'.
'Yours' is the beauty.
The house was 'hers'.
That delapidated car is 'theirs'.

Reflexive Pronouns
used when the subject and the object of the sentence refer to the same person or thing. They 'reflect' the 'subject'.

Personal Pronoun Reflexive Pronoun
First person singular I myself
Second person singular you yourself
Third person singular he himself
she herself
it itself
First person plural we ourselves
Second person plural you yourselves
Third person plural they themselves

e.g.
I groomed 'myself' thoroughly.
The dog scratched 'itself' all over.
You must treat 'yourself'.

N.B.
Notice that the reflexive third person plural pronoun is 'themselves' not 'theirselves'.
e.g. They wore 'themselves' out.
NOT
They wore 'theirselves' out.

Intensive pronouns
are the same words as reflexive pronouns only used for emphasis instead.
e.g. She, 'herself', read the speech.
I drew it 'myself'.

It is not correct to use this form of the pronoun when the object does not reflect the subject.
e.g. NOT
This book belongs to 'myself'.
Which should read
This book belongs to 'me'.

Asking a question...(don't forget question marks).

Interrogative pronouns
are used to ask a question and are usually at the beginning of a sentence.
They are:-
which who whom whose
Which way do you go?
Who is that lady?
To whom are you referring?
Whose is that?


(c) Marion Field (with odd example or reword from myself).
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I hope I've not stepped on anyones toes here, for the main this is from the book, but some items slightly changed for own purposes. (c) is not mine so please give credit to rightful owner accordingly should you need quote or use. Thankyou. Next stop needs be verbs/participles and tenses for this I believe ...
Perhaps someone else would care to contribute and enlighten?

Erm... shouldn't that be "with odd example or reword from me"?

Thanks Tony, and yes that would have been easier wouldn't it? I guess by the time I'd finished I couldn't think straight - or could well have just been my meds! Smiles. Oh yes, I'm serious! Smiles. Thanks for noticing and let that be a lesson learnt for me!