If we compare a pronoun and a noun, it is easy to notice that they both have common and distinctive features. Common, for example, is that both parts of speech can answer the same questions and perform the same syntactic function. What is the difference between a pronoun and a noun? Let's try to figure it out.
Some information
The name of the part of speech "pronoun" is derived from " instead of a name. " This group includes words that replace certain parts of speech. For example, pronounsheandsomeonereplace nouns, and pronounsseveralandso manyreplace numerals. Pronouns are different for their purpose. In this regard, they are divided into personal, indicative, attributive and others.
The noun belongs to the category of a name. In the language, it has the status of an independent part of speech (which also applies to the pronoun). Words of this category call things (sofa), faces (teenager), substances (sugar), living organisms (calf), phenomena (lightning), qualities (kindness) and much more, related in the general sense of the word to objects.
Comparison
There are several points that make the difference between a pronoun and a noun. One of them is that each noun contains the name of a specific subject and therefore the lexical meaning of such speech units becomes clear without clarification. For example, the word "house" evokes quite definite associations, and in this case it is quite clear what is being said.
The pronoun does not give a clear idea of what it is about. Take, for example, the sentence:They met there.This immediately raises questions about who met and where it happened. But you can put it more concretely by using nouns:Friends met at the cinema.This sentence is as informative as possible. When pronouns are found in the narrative, their lexical meaning becomes clear from the context.
Another distinctive aspect is as follows. Only the names of objects belong to nouns, and only two questions can be asked to such words: "who?" and what?". A pronoun can also indicate an object, in this case answering questions of a noun (who? -I). But, besides this, it correlates with the attribute of the object, as well as with the quantity, answering the corresponding questions (whose? -ours, how much? -somewhat).
What is the difference between a pronoun and a noun yet? It consists in the fact that one can always say about a noun whether it is animate or inanimate. Examples of both:a student, a salesman, a lynx- animate,a stone, cheese, a rocket- inanimate. In the pronoun, the sign of animation is not defined. For example, the word “they” can replace both “trees” (inanimate) and “people” (animate).
Table
Pronoun | Noun |
Does not specifically name the subject | Names the subject |
Corresponds also with the attribute and quantity | Has only subject value |
Only a part of pronouns answer the questions of the noun | Questions: "who?", "What?" |
Animatedness is not defined | Animated and inanimate |