Nouns

1
Nouns

• Unit 2

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Nouns

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

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Two basic kinds of nouns

• Proper noun names a specific person, place,
  thing, or idea.
• Alexander Graham Bell
• Tarrytown
• Rikki-tikki-tavi
• Common noun names any one class of people, place,
  thing, or idea.
• inventor
• village
• story

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• Identify if the noun is a common or a proper
  noun. Then, if it is a common noun give an
  example of a proper noun. If it is a proper noun
  give an example of a class to which each proper
  noun belongs.
• government
• common, Congress
• pony express
• common, Wells Fargo

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• postmaster general
• common, Benjamin Franklin
• United States
• proper, country
• city
• common, Appleton
• president
• common, Abraham Lincoln

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• postal service
• common, U.S. Postal Service
• Benjamin Franklin
• proper, inventor
• century
• common, Victorian Era
• history
• common, the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

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Concrete and Abstract Nouns

• Common nouns can be either concrete or abstract.
  
• Concrete nouns things that you can see or touch.
• Abstract nouns name ideas, qualities, or feelings
  that cannot be seen or touched.

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Kinds of Nouns
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• State if the underlined common noun is abstract
  or concrete.
• Born in slavery, Fredrick Douglass escaped and
  fled to Massachusetts.
• abstract
• In 1841 he addressed a meeting and talked about
  freedom.
• abstract
• After he spoke, he was hired to talk to other
  groups.
• concrete

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• It took courage for him to speak out as he did.
• abstract
• After his autobiography was published in 1845, he
  went to England.
• concrete
• When he returned, he continued to talk about his
  beliefs.
• abstract
• He helped men, women, and children flee to
  Canada.
• concrete

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Plural and Singular Nouns

• Singular Noun  When a noun means one only, it is
  said to be singular.  Examples  boy, girl,
  book, church, box
• Plural Noun  When a noun means more than one, it
  is said to be plural.  Examples  boys, girls,
  books, churches
• Rule 1The plural of nouns is usually formed by
  adding - s to a singular noun.
• lamp - lamps cat - cats fork -
  forks 
• flower -flowers  pen - pens dog - dogs

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• Rule 2Nouns that end in ch, sh, s, ss, x, z, zz
  form the plural form by adding es. moss -
  mosses buzz - buzzes
• box - boxes  church - churches
• Special NoteIf you add - s to such nouns as
  fox, bush, and bench, you will find that you
  cannot pronounce them without making an
  additional syllable.  This is why such nouns form
  the plural by adding - es.

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• Rule 3There are several different rules for
  singular nouns ending in the letters f, fe or ff
  when changing them to the plural form.
• Most nouns ending in the letters f, fe or ff form
  the plural by adding the letter s.
• surf - surfs
• Some nouns that end in f, fe or ff form the
  plural by changing the final f form to ves.
• calf - calves

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• Rule 4Most nouns that end in i form the plural
  by adding the letter s.
• ski skis
• Some nouns ending with the letter i form the
  plural both by adding s and/or es
• taxi-taxis-taxies

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• Rule 5If a singular noun ends in y and is
  preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to i
  and es is added.
• butterfly - y i es butterflies
• If a singular noun ends in y and is preceded by a
  vowel, the letter s is simply added with no other
  changes made.
• monkey s monkeys

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• Rule 6There are some nouns that form the
  plurals differently.
• Some nouns change their vowels in the middle of
  the singular form when forming the plural
• goose geese
• mouse mice
• woman - women

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Spell the plural of each of the following nouns.

• chair 
• chairs
• star 
• - stars
• dress
• dresses
• farm 
• farms

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• storm 
• storms
• brush
• brushes
• wish
• wishes
• paper
• papers

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• grass 
• grasses
• computer 
• - computers
• rock
• rocks
• bench
• benches
• fox
• foxes

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• cup 
• cups
• cross 
• - crosses
• door
• doors
• owner
• owners
• ax
• axes

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• shelf 
• shelves
• man
• - men
• fly
• flies
• day
• days
• taxi
• taxis, taxies

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• dwarf 
• dwarfs or dwarves
• foot
• - feet
• loaf
• loaves
• lady
• ladies
• tail
• tails

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Compound Nouns

• A compound noun is a noun made up of two or more
  words.
• A compound noun can be one word, like storybook
  more than one word, like ice cream or joined by
  hyphens, like runner-up.
• USE a dictionary if necessary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  !!!

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Compound Nouns
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• Identify the compound noun in each sentence.
• We definitely need a new football.
• football
• Visit the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
• Smithsonian Institution
• How late is the post office open on Saturday?
• post office

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• Her outlook is always positive.
• outlook
• How did your cousin like her new junior high
  school?
• junior high school
• Paul Simon is my favorite songwriter.
• songwriter

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• To improve, we will need a lot of teamwork.
• teamwork
• No medicine is a complete cure-all.
• cure-all
• This cartridge uses an advanced magnetic tape.
• magnetic tape
• We are going to assemble a new mailing list.
• mailing list

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Plural Compound Nouns

• To form the plural of compound nouns written as
  one word, add s or es. To form the plural of
  compound nouns that are hyphenated or written as
  more than one word, make the most important part
  of the compound noun plural.

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Forming Plural Compound Nouns
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Collective Noun

• A collective noun names a group of individuals.
• class herd audience
• staff team orchestra
• The family struggled through the crowd to see
  the band.

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• Identify the collective noun in each sentence.
• An angry crowd assembled in front of the church.
• crowd
• My uncle hopes to raise a flock of sheep.
• flock
• Our class voted to have a spring picnic.
• class

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• Melissa applauded the performance of the
  orchestra.
• orchestra
• What did you think about the reaction of the
  audience?
• audience
• A company of dancers will entertain us first.
• company

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• The jury voted to acquit the defendant.
• jury
• Later, the trio played three interesting numbers.
• trio
• A squadron of soldiers surrounded the building.
• squadron
• The bill was sent to a committee for further
  study.
• committee

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Singular and Plural Collective Nouns

• Collective nouns can have either a singular or a
  plural meaning.
• When referring to the group as a unit, the noun
  has a singular meaning and takes a singular verb.
• The team works on its defensive plays.

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• When referring to the individual members of the
  group, the noun has a plural meaning and takes a
  plural verb.
• The team go to their individual lockers.

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• To help you determine whether a collective noun
  in a sentence is singular or plural, substitute
  the word it for the collective noun and any words
  used to describe it. If the sentence still makes
  sense, the collective noun is singular. If you
  can substitute they, the collective noun is
  plural.
• The team works on its project. (it, singular)
• The team work on their separate projects. (they,
  plural)

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• Identify the collective noun in each sentence and
  state what verb form in the parentheses that best
  completes each sentence.
• The book club (discusses, discuss) their personal
  opinions of the plot.
• - book club, discuss
• The class (is, are) going on a bus to the art
  museum.
• - class, is

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• The choir from East High School (sings, sing) the
  loudest.
• - choir, sings
• The elephant herd (makes, make) a thundering
  noise during a stampede.
• - herd, makes
• The baseball team (boasts, boast) an excellent
  batting average.
• -team, boasts

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• The budget committee (reaches, reach) a final
  decision.
• - committee, reaches
• The theater troupe (come, comes) out separately
  at the end of the play.
• - troupe, come
• The jury (argues, argue) among themselves over
  the verdict.
• -jury, argue

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Possessive Nouns

• A possessive noun names who or what owns or has
  something.
• Possessive nouns can be common nouns or proper
  nouns. They can also be singular or plural.
  Notice the possessive nouns in the following
  sentences.
• Rita has a book on history.
• Ritas book is new.

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• Add an apostrophe and an s to show the
  possessive of most singular nouns.
• fathers car Daves book
• Add just and apostrophe to show the possessive
  case of plural nouns ending in s or es.
• dogs owner churches congregations

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• Add an apostrophe and s to show the possessive
  case of plural nouns that do not end in s or
  es.
• the four mens car the geeses honking
• Add an apostrophe and s (or just an apostrophe
  if the word is a plural ending in s) to the last
  word of a compound noun to form the possessive.
• high schools mascot Boy Scouts trip

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• Spell the possessive case of the plural nouns in
  the following sentences adding apostrophes as
  needed.
• The gold seekers need for money led them to the
  Yukon.
• gold seekers
• At that time, many countries economies were
  suffering.
• - countries

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• The prospectors haste to reach the Yukon began in
  1896.
• prospectors
• It was many travelers belief that they could find
  gold.
• travelers
• Many prospectors would seek a guide assistance.
• - guides

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• Explorers depended on the native peoples
  knowledge.
• peoples
• Settlers lives were eased by friendships with the
  Chinook people.
• Settlers
• The dogs lives were not altogether unpleasant,
  although they worked hard.
• dogs

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Using Apostrophes with Pronouns

• Use an apostrophe and s with indefinite pronouns
  to show possession.
• anothers preference nobody elses business
• Do not use an apostrophe with possessive personal
  pronouns.
• my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its,
• our, ours, their, and theirs

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• The following sentences contain possessive
  pronouns. If a possessive is written
  incorrectly, spell it correctly. If all pronouns
  in the sentence are used correctly, say they are
  correct.
• In the new claim, the lake was his and the island
  was theirs.
• his/correct theirs

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• Once prospectors reached the Klondike, they had
  only to find open land and stake their claims.
• correct
• If a prospector took anothers claim, it was
  called claim jumping..
• anothers

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• Imagine the disappointment of surviving the trip
  to the Klondike only to lose what was yours to
  claim jumping!
• yours
• Finally, the Miners Association was formed to
  protect everyones legal claims.
• everyones
• The association had its first building in
  Discovery, the tent city of the Pine Creek.
• - correct

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Distinguishing Plurals, Possessives, and
Contractions

• Most plural nouns, most possessive nouns, and
  certain contractions end with the letter s. As
  a result they sound alike and can be easily
  confused. Their spellings and meanings are
  different.

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Noun Forms and Contractions
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Contraction

• A contraction is a word made by combining two
  words into one and leaving out one or more
  letters. An apostrophe shows where the letters
  have been omitted.
• is not isnt could not couldnt
• your are youre we will well
• I would Id where is wheres

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• Each sentence contains a word group that can be
  written as a contraction. Spell the new
  contraction.
• Who is the new student representative?
• whos
• I am not certain whether he is upstairs or
  downstairs.
• - Im, his

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• This pen will write if you will just keep shaking
  it.
• youll
• You are ignoring what I am saying.
• Youre, Im
• Glenda is the one I would like to invite.
• - Glendas, Id

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• There cannot be any doubt about who will be
  invited.
• Cant, wholl
• You will enjoy looking at these old pictures of
  the class of 1956.
• -Youll
• They were not sure who would be on the committee.
• - werent, whod

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• Plural nouns do not have an apostrophe. The
  plural possessive nouns end with an apostrophe,
  The singular possessive nouns end with an
  apostrophe and an s. You can tell these words
  apart by the way they are used in a sentence.

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• Identify if the underlined word is a plural noun,
  a plural possessive noun, a singular possessive
  noun, or a contraction.
• That kittens sure cute.
• The kittens fur is the color of taffy.
• I wonder how many kittens were in the litter.
• The kittens owners must be thrilled!

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• In each sentence, add apostrophes to the
  possessive noun and the contractions.
• Woodrow Wilson was Americas twenty-eighth
  president.
• Americas
• As a student at Princeton, he joined the schools
  debating society.
• - schools

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• Before becoming president, he served as Princeton
  Universitys president.
• Universitys
• Wilsons regarded today as an educational and
  political reformer.
• Wilsons
• He was elected New Jerseys governor in 1910.
• Jerseys

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• His success in New Jersey brought him to the
  Democrats attention.
• Democrats
• Wilsons first term of office as president began
  in 1913.
• Wilsons
• The wars outbreak in Europe kept his attention on
  foreign affairs.
• wars

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Appositives

• Appositives give information about nouns or
  pronouns.
• An appositive is a noun or pronoun placed next to
  another noun or pronoun to identify, rename, or
  explain the preceding word.
• Appositives are very useful in writing because
  they give additional information without using
  many words.
• Ron Burns, a dentist, was elected to the City
  Council.

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Appositive Phrase

• An appositive with its own modifiers creates an
  appositive phrase.
• An appositive phrase is a noun or pronoun with
  modifiers. It is place next to a noun or pronoun
  and adds information or details.
• The appositive phrase can be identified because
  it always begins with an article, a noun, or a
  pronoun. The noun or pronoun in an appositive
  phrase always follows the noun or pronoun that
  the phrase modifies.

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• The modifiers in the phrase can be adjectives or
  adjective phrases.
• San Juan de los Caballeros, the Spanish capital
  of the New Mexico territory, was moved to a new
  site in 1610.
• The painting, a mural in many bright colors,
  highlights the entrance.

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• Appositives and appositive phrases can also be
  compound.
• Volunteers, boys or girls, are wanted.
• These poems, The Sea Gypsy and Before the
  Squall, are about a love for the sea.

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• Do not put commas around the appositive when it
  is essential information. Without the appositive,
  the sentence would be The popular US president
  was known for his eloquent and inspirational
  speeches. We wouldn't know which president was
  being referred to.
• The popular U.S. president John Kennedy was known
  for his eloquent and inspirational speeches.

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Grammar Tip

• Appositives provide an excellent way to combine
  certain types of sentences.
• - This antique car is a Studebaker.
• It is worth thousands of dollars.
• This antique car, a Studebaker, is worth
  thousands of dollars.

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• Identify each appositive or appositive phrase.
  Next identify the noun or pronoun it renames.
• The capital, Santa Fe, was the place from which
  the Spaniards ran their territorial government.
• Santa Fe
• capital

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• El Palacio, the Palace of the Governors, was the
  building where government business was carried
  out.
• the Palace of the Governors
• El Palacio
• Pope, a Native American leader, led a revolt
  against the Spanish in 1680.
• a Native American leader
• Pope

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• This revolt drove their enemies, the Spanish, out
  of the area.
• the Spanish
• enemies
• Twelve years later, the Spanish general Diego de
  Vargas returned to conquer the area for the
  Spaniards again.
• Diego de Vargas
• General
• (The restrictive appositive, Diego de Vargas, is
  not set off because its needed to make the
  sentence clear.)

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• Combine each pair of sentences by using an
  appositive or appositive phrase.
• New Mexico is a popular tourist destination. The
  state is known for its beauty.
• New Mexico, a popular tourist destination, is
  known for its beauty.

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• After Mexico won its independence in 1821, it was
  open to settlement by Americans. The territory
  consisted of present-day Arizona, New Mexico,
  Nevada, and Utah.
• - After Mexico won its independence in 1821, the
  New Mexico Territory, present-day Arizona, New
  Mexico, Nevada, and Utah, was open to settlement
  by Americans.

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• When trade began with the United States, the
  Santa Fe Trail became popular. It was a route
  from Santa Fe to Missouri.
• - When trade began with the United States, the
  Santa Fe Trail, a route from Santa Fe to
  Missouri, became popular.

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• In 1846, the United States declared war on
  Mexico, and the capture of northern Mexico became
  one of its first objectives. The area is now
  known as New Mexico.
• - In 1846, the United States declared war on
  Mexico, and the capture of northern Mexico, New
  Mexico, became one of its first objectives.

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Bibliography

• Alfieri, Catherine. "Nounsense." Monroe County
  Women's Disability Network. Monroe County Women's
  Disability Network. Sept. 2008 rg/grammar/endsf.html.
• Carroll, Joyce A., Edward E. Wilson, and Gary
  Forlini. Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar.
  Boston, Massachusetts Pearson Prentice Hall,
  2008.
• Royster, Jacqueline J., and Mark Lester. Writer's
  Choice Grammar Workbooks Teacher's Wraparound
  Edition. New York Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 1996.