PVOC = Pronoun + Verb + Object + Complement

Nouns
A noun is a word that names something, such as a person, place, thing, animal, or idea.
Nouns can be categorized as concrete (things you can see, touch, or feel) or abstract
(concepts or ideas).

Examples

● Person
○ Specific (Proper Nouns): Albert Einstein, Lebron James
○ General (Common Nouns): President, boy, mother, teacher
● Place
○ Specific (Proper Nouns): Disneyland, Eiffel Tower
○ General (Common Nouns): Bedroom, park, city, country
● Thing
○ Concrete: Shoes, basketball, phone, pizza
● Animal
○ Concrete: Dog, elephant, lion
● Idea
○ Abstract: Freedom, peace, love, happiness, basketball

Nouns as subjects

Every sentence must have a subject, and the subject is always a noun.
The subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing that performs the action of the
verb or is being described by the verb.

Examples

Example 1: Maria is happy.

1. Who is the subject in this sentence?

○ Maria is the subject because she is the one the sentence is about.
2. What is the verb/action in the sentence?
○ The verb is to be (is), which shows a state of being. Maria is happy.

Example 2: Maria loves the dog.

1. Who is the subject in this sentence?

○ Maria is the subject because she is the one performing the action of the verb
(loves).
2. What is the verb/action in the sentence?
○ The verb is loves, which shows the action Maria is performing.
3. Who or what is receiving the action (the object)?
○ The dog is the object because it is the one receiving Maria’s love.

Nouns as objects

Nouns can also function as objects of a verb in a sentence.

An object can be:

1. A direct object – the noun that directly receives the action performed by the subject.
2. An indirect object – the noun that indicates to whom or for whom the action is
performed or the direct object is given.

Example:

Give the book to her.

● Book is the direct object because it answers the question "What is being given?"
● Her is the indirect object because it answers the question "To whom are the books
being given?

Pronouns
Pronouns form a small but essential subcategory of nouns. Their defining characteristic is
that they can replace other nouns to avoid repetition and make sentences more fluid.

For example, imagine you’re telling a story about your sister, Sarah. Repeating “Sarah”
throughout the story can quickly become tedious:

Example:

● Sarah has always loved fashion. Sarah announced that Sarah wants to go to fashion
school.

Even if you try to mix it up by sometimes referring to Sarah as “my sister,” it could sound as
though you’re talking about two different people:

● Sarah has always loved fashion. My sister announced that Sarah wants to go to
fashion school.

Instead, pronouns like she and her can replace Sarah’s name, making your sentences
smoother and less repetitive:

● Sarah has always loved fashion. She announced that she wants to go to fashion
school.

Personal Pronouns
There are several types of pronouns, and some can belong to more than one category. For
instance, she and her are classified as personal pronouns. Other personal pronouns
include:

● I and me
● You
● He and him
● It
● We and us
● They and them

What are Personal Pronouns?

Personal pronouns are like the "stunt doubles" of grammar:

● They stand in for people, animals, or things that play key roles in our sentences.
● By using personal pronouns, we can write and speak more efficiently, avoiding the
overuse of proper nouns.

Why do we use them?

Consider the example:

● Instead of: “Sarah loves Sarah’s dog because Sarah thinks Sarah’s dog is the
best.”
● You can say: “Sarah loves her dog because she thinks it is the best.”

This makes sentences more concise, natural, and easier to understand.

Person Pronoun Example

First Person Singular I I am learning English.

First Person Singular (Object) Me The teacher gave the book to me.

Second Person Singular/Plural You You are very kind.

Second Person Singular/Plural (Object) You I will help you with the homework.

Third Person Singular (Male) He He is reading a book.

Third Person Singular (Male, Object) Him The dog followed him home.

Third Person Singular (Female) She She loves cooking.

Third Person Singular (Female, Object) Her We invited her to the party.

Third Person Singular (Neutral) It It is raining outside.

Third Person Singular (Neutral, Object) It The cat likes it.

First Person Plural We We are going to the park.

First Person Plural (Object) Us The teacher asked us a question.

Third Person Plural They They are playing soccer.

Third Person Plural (Object) Them I saw them at the mall.

PVOC
In grammar, PVOC is a method used to analyze sentence structure by identifying four key
components:

● P (Pronoun/Person): The subject of the sentence, the person or thing performing

the action.
○ Example: In "She loves cooking," She is the Pronoun.
● V (Verb): The main verb in the sentence, which expresses the action or state.
 ○ Example: In "He is reading a book," is reading is the verb.
● O (Object): The element that receives the action, either directly (direct object) or
indirectly (indirect object).
○ Example: In "The teacher gave the book to me," the book is the direct object,
and to me is the indirect object.
● C (Complement): Adds additional information about the verb, object, or sentence,
such as location, time, or manner.
○ Example: In "I saw them at the mall," at the mall is the complement.

P V O C

She loves cooking -

He is reading a book -

The teacher gave the book (direct -

object) to me
(indirect object)

I saw them At the mall

Exercises

1. Analyze the following sentence and identify the PVOC components:

Sentence P V O C

I am learning I am learning English -

English

You are beautiful You are - beautiful

We invited her to We invited her to the party

the party

We are going to to We are going - to the park

the park

I saw them at the I saw them at the mall

mall.

2. Make 14 sentences using PVOC using Simple Present

# Sentence P V O C

2
3

10

11

12

13

14