P1SA: Syntax

Question 1

How are common nouns categorised?

Answer 1

based on number (singular/plural), countability (count/mass) and meaning (concrete/abstract)

Question 2

What are the 7 types of pronouns? 3 of these are types of personal pronouns.

Answer 2

personal pronouns: subject pronoun, object pronoun, reflexive pronoun

other pronouns: interrogative pronoun, demonstrative pronoun, relative pronoun, indefinite pronoun

Question 3

Give an example of a first-person, second-person and third-person reflexive pronoun.

Answer 3

(singular) myself, yourself, herself

(plural) ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Question 4

Give an example of an interrogative pronoun.

Answer 4

who, whom, whose, what, which

Question 5

Give an example of a demonstrative pronoun.

Answer 5

this, that, these, those

*demonstrative pronouns are used to refer to proximal (near) or distal (far) entities such as “Whilst this shall be mine, that can be yours.”

Question 6

Give an example of an indefinite pronoun.

Answer 6

anybody, everybody, nobody, somebody, anyone, everyone, no one, someone, anything, everything, nothing, something

*indefinite pronouns do not refer to any person, amount, or thing in particular such as “Nothing beats having ice cream on a hot summer day.” By implication, all other pronouns are definite pronouns too

Question 7

Give an example of a relative pronoun.

Answer 7

who, whom, whose, whoever, what, whatever, where, which, whichever and that

*relative pronouns are used to introduce relative clauses, which serve to provide additional information about the noun phrase they follow such as “Anglo-Chinese Junior College is a school which offers English Language and Linguistics.”