Noun Notes

Noun

• A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.

• Person nouns: Bob, mom, sister, teacher, student

• Place nouns: Paris, school, home, Scottsboro

• Thing nouns: desk, Elmo, computer, pen

• Idea nouns: happiness, tiredness, sadness

Compound Nouns

• Some nouns are compound nouns. They may be written as one word, a hyphenated word, or as two or more words.

• Examples: grandmother, basketball, father-in-law, grand piano

Proper and Common Nouns

• A proper noun names a particular person, place, thing, or idea. Always begins with a capital letter.

• A common noun names any one of a group of persons, places, things, or ideas. Usually not capitalized.

Common and Proper Noun Examples

• Proper Nouns: President Barak Obama, Australia, English, Statue of Liberty, Playstation, Harry Potter

• Common Nouns: student, teacher, statue, country, state, love

Collective Nouns

• A collective noun is a singular noun that names a group of persons, animals, or things.

• Examples: class, team, band• Animal groups: herd of reindeer,

flock of sheep, pack of wolves, pod of whales, gaggle of geese, pride of lions, colony of ants

Concrete Nouns

• A concrete noun names a person, place, or thing that can be seen, heard, touched, or smelled.

• Concrete noun examples: food, concrete, dog, cat, pen, book, shoe

Abstract Nouns

• An abstract noun names an idea, a feeling, a quality, or a characteristic.

• Abstract examples: sadness, happiness, fatigue, anger, stress

Jobs of Nouns

• Subject of the sentence• Direct Object• Indirect Object• Object of the Preposition• Predicate Noun• Appositive

Singular and Plural Nouns

• A singular noun refers to one person, place, thing, or idea.– Examples: book, toy, car, boy, shoe

• A plural noun refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea.– Examples: books, toys, cars, boys, shoes

Possessive Nouns

• A possessive noun shows ownership or relationship.

• Rules for forming possessive nouns:– To make a singular noun possessive, add an ‘s to

the end of the word.– Examples: Mrs. Lewis’s class, boy’s bike, dog’s

bone.– To make a plural noun possessive, add an ‘ after

the s. – Examples: The Curtises’ mini van, the girls’

phones– To make an irregular plural noun possessive, add

‘s to the end of the word.– Examples: children’s books, deer’s hooves

Rules for correctly forming plurals

1. For most singular nouns, add s to the end of the word. Examples: girls, boys, pencils

2. For nouns ending with s, x, z, sh, or ch, add es to the end of the word. Examples: gases, boxes, churches, waxes, waltzes, marshes

3. For nouns ending with a consonant and y, change the y to i and add -es. Examples: lady-ladies, hobby-hobbies

4. For nouns ending with a vowel and y, add s to the end of the word. Examples: toy-toys, highway-highways

5. For some nouns ending with f or fe, add s. For others, change the f to v and add s or es. Examples: gulfs, beliefs, knives, loaves, wolves

6. For nouns that end with o, if o is preceded by a vowel, add s. Examples: patio- patios, ratio- ratios

7. If o is preceded by a consonant, add es to the end of the word. Examples: veto-vetoes, hero-heroes

8. Some nouns have irregular plural forms. Examples: man-men, foot-feet, child-children

9. A few nouns have the same singular and plural forms. Examples: deer, salmon, sheep, fish, buffalo.

10. A few nouns have only plural forms. Examples: scissors, pants, jeans, shorts

11. A few nouns that end with s look plural, but are considered singular. Examples: news, measles, United States

12. For a compound noun written as one word, make the last part plural. Examples: basketballs, billboards

13. For a compound noun written with hyphens or as a separate word, make the main word plural. Examples: sisters-in-law, chiefs-of-state, track meets, grand pianos