1.3.1 Word Classes Notes, Quizzes & Revision
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1.3 Grammar in Use — 1.3.1 Word Classes
Subject: English • Target age: 15 (Kenya) — Clear notes on nouns and pronouns, with practice and answers. Use examples from everyday Kenyan life.
Specific learning outcomes
- a) Classify nouns as proper and common — (count, non-count, concrete, abstract).
- b) Use personal, possessive, reflexive (empathetic) and interrogative pronouns in sentences.
- c) Form plurals of count and non-count nouns.
- d) Use phrasal quantifiers with count and non-count nouns.
- e) Use proper and common nouns (count/non-count, concrete/abstract) in sentences.
- f) Acknowledge the role of nouns and pronouns in communication.
1. What is a word class?
Word classes (parts of speech) group words that do a similar job in a sentence. Here we focus on two important classes: nouns and pronouns.
2. Nouns — meaning and types
A noun names a person, place, thing, idea or feeling.
Proper nouns
Name specific people, places or organisations. Always capitalised.
Examples: Nairobi, Mount Kenya, Kenya Airways, Kofi, Mrs. Wanjiru.
Name specific people, places or organisations. Always capitalised.
Examples: Nairobi, Mount Kenya, Kenya Airways, Kofi, Mrs. Wanjiru.
Common nouns
General names of people, places, things.
Examples: school, river, teacher, phone, market.
General names of people, places, things.
Examples: school, river, teacher, phone, market.
Count nouns
Items you can count (have singular & plural).
Examples: book/books, student/students, mango/mangoes.
Items you can count (have singular & plural).
Examples: book/books, student/students, mango/mangoes.
Non-count (uncountable) nouns
Substances or ideas that we do not normally count with numbers.
Examples: water, rice, information, advice, ugali.
Substances or ideas that we do not normally count with numbers.
Examples: water, rice, information, advice, ugali.
Concrete nouns
Things you can touch or see.
Examples: chair, mango, lake Victoria.
Things you can touch or see.
Examples: chair, mango, lake Victoria.
Abstract nouns
Ideas, feelings or qualities you cannot touch.
Examples: freedom, love, justice, truth.
Ideas, feelings or qualities you cannot touch.
Examples: freedom, love, justice, truth.
3. Pronouns — types and use
Pronouns replace nouns to avoid repetition.
Personal pronouns
I, you, he, she, it, we, they.
Example: Lucy is tired. She needs rest.
I, you, he, she, it, we, they.
Example: Lucy is tired. She needs rest.
Possessive pronouns / adjectives
Possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their (come before nouns).
Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs (replace nouns).
Examples: This is my book. The book is mine.
Possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their (come before nouns).
Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs (replace nouns).
Examples: This is my book. The book is mine.
Reflexive / Empathetic pronouns
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
Use reflexive when the subject and object are the same; use emphatic to add force.
Examples: I cooked the food myself. She prepared the report herself.
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
Use reflexive when the subject and object are the same; use emphatic to add force.
Examples: I cooked the food myself. She prepared the report herself.
Interrogative pronouns
who, whom, whose, what, which — used for asking questions.
Examples: Who wrote this? Which school do you attend? Whose pen is this?
who, whom, whose, what, which — used for asking questions.
Examples: Who wrote this? Which school do you attend? Whose pen is this?
4. Forming plurals (count nouns)
- Regular: add -s → book → books, school → schools.
- Add -es for words ending in -ch, -sh, -s, -x, -z → class → classes, box → boxes.
- Change -y to -ies if a consonant before y → city → cities (but play → plays).
- Irregular forms: child → children, person → people, mouse → mice, tooth → teeth, foot → feet.
- Some nouns look the same in singular & plural: sheep, series, species.
Plurals for non-count nouns
Most non-count nouns do not take a plural form. We use quantifiers (see next) or a unit expression:
Example: water (not waters) — a glass of water, two glasses of water; rice — a kilo of rice, many bags of rice.
5. Phrasal quantifiers — using with count and non-count nouns
Phrasal quantifiers are groups of words that tell amount or number.
For count nouns
many, several, a few, a number of, a couple of, two/three etc.
Examples: Many students, a few mangoes, several buses.
many, several, a few, a number of, a couple of, two/three etc.
Examples: Many students, a few mangoes, several buses.
For non-count nouns
much, a little, a bit of, a great deal of, a lot of, some.
Examples: much information, a little sugar, a lot of rice.
much, a little, a bit of, a great deal of, a lot of, some.
Examples: much information, a little sugar, a lot of rice.
Some quantifiers work with both types: some, a lot of, lots of, plenty of.
Examples: some students (count), some water (non-count); a lot of people, a lot of milk.
6. Using nouns and pronouns in sentences (Kenyan context)
- Proper noun + common noun: Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya.
- Count noun plural: The students read the textbooks.
- Non-count with quantifier: There is some maize in the store.
- Pronoun replacing noun: Joseph bought a ticket. He paid with cash.
- Possessive adjective: Our coach praised the team.
- Reflexive for emphasis: The head teacher herself opened the new laboratory.
7. Role of nouns and pronouns in communication
Nouns identify what we talk about (people, places, things, ideas). Pronouns make sentences shorter, clearer and avoid repetition. Together they help speakers and listeners understand who or what is involved and how many there are.
8. Practice activities
- Classify each noun: teacher, Nairobi, rice, freedom, mango, Lake Victoria — say Proper/Common, Count/Non-count, Concrete/Abstract.
- Fill in with the correct pronoun: "Aisha and I made a cake. _____ gave it to the neighbours." (answer: we / we gave it ...)
- Choose the correct quantifier: "There are _____ students in the hall." (many / much)
- Make plurals: child, church, berry, bus.
- Rewrite replacing the noun with a pronoun: "The farmers sold the maize. The farmers were happy."
- Pick whether the sentence uses an emphatic/reflexive pronoun: "He fixed the radio himself."
Answers (check after you try)
- teacher — common, count, concrete; Nairobi — proper, (count as a place/name), concrete; rice — common, non-count, concrete; freedom — common, non-count, abstract; mango — common, count, concrete; Lake Victoria — proper, (count/place), concrete.
- We gave it to the neighbours. (subject pronoun "we")
- many (students = count noun)
- child → children; church → churches; berry → berries; bus → buses.
- The farmers sold the maize. They were happy. (replace "The farmers" with "They")
- "himself" is a reflexive pronoun used emphatically / reflexively — here emphatic (shows he did it without help).
9. Tips for learners (age 15, Kenya)
- Look for capital letters to spot proper nouns (Nairobi, Kenya, Kisumu).
- Ask: Can I count it? If yes → use count forms and plural; if not → non-count (use quantifiers).
- Use pronouns to avoid repeating names: write one sentence with a name, then rewrite using pronouns.
- Practice with local examples: ugali, tea, maize, market, school, county names — helps remember count vs non-count.
Quick visual summary: 👇
Noun = name of person/place/thing/idea 🧑🏫🌍🍎💡
Proper = specific (Nairobi) 📍
Count = can be counted (mangoes) 🔢
Non-count = no plural (rice) 🍚
Pronoun = replaces noun (she, they) 🔁
If you want, I can make a printable worksheet with more exercises using Kenyan topics (tea, schools, counties, crops).