
There are three classes of nouns in English.
› A common noun names any one of a class of
objects.
 Examples: car, school, teacher
› A proper noun names a particular person, place,
thing, or idea. Proper nouns always begin with a
capital letter.
 Examples: Ford Explorer, St. Peter School, Ms. Daily
› A collective noun names a whole class or group
of objects.
 Examples: family, flock, multitude, fleet, team,
group
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Write a proper noun suggested by each
common noun. Then use both the common
noun and the proper noun in a sentence.
Write the sentences in your notes.
Building
Mall
Painting
Actor
Celeberty

Nouns can be concrete or abstract.
› A concrete noun names something that can
be perceived with at least one of the five
senses.
 Examples: apple, house, smoke, fur, motor
› An abstract noun names an idea or quality
that cannot be perceived by the senses.
 Examples: freedom, courage, anger, honesty,
truth
Classify each common noun as
concrete, collective, or abstract. Then
write a sentence that shoes the meaning
of the noun.
1. Religion
2. Alien
3. Herd
4. Ethics
5. Army

The following chart shows how to change singular nouns into plural
nouns.
NOUN
PLURAL FORM
EXAMPLES
Most nouns
Add -s
King – kings,
skate - skates
Nouns ending in a
consonant and -y
Change the –y to –i and
add -es
Pony- ponies
Navy – navies
Nouns ending in -o
Add –es or -s
Potato – potatoes
Piano – pianos
Most nouns ending in –f or Change the –f or –fe to -fe
ves
Leaf – leaves
Most nouns ending in
–ch, -sh, -s, or -x
Add -es
Match – matches
Rash – rashes
Pass – passes
Fox – foxes
Many two-word or threeword compound words
Add –s to the principal
word
Teaspoonfuls
Governorsgeneral

Exceptions to the basic rules for forming plurals
include the following:
› Some words form plurals by changing their middle
vowel sound.
 Examples: foot – feet, louse – lice, woman – women
› Some words have plural forms that are identical to
their singular form.
 Examples: aircraft, salmon, species, deer
› Some words that come from foreign languages
retain their original plural form. Others have two
accepted plural forms.
 Examples: alumnus – alumni, axis – axes, criterion –
criteria, parenthesis – parentheses, cactus – cactuses or
cacti, appendix – appendixes or appendices, radius –
radiuses or radii

A possessive noun shows possession of the
noun that follows.
› Form the possessive of most singular nouns by
adding an apostrophe (’) and -s.
 Examples: the bird’s nest, Canada’s ambassador,
Cass’s voice
› Form the possessive of most plural nouns ending
in –s by adding only an apostrophe.
 Examples: birds’ nests, other counties’
ambassadors
› Form the possessive of plural nouns that do not
end in –s by adding an apostrophe and –s.
 Examples: the men’s bathroom, the people’s
choice.
Rewrite each phrase using a possessive
noun.
1. The blade on the scissors
2. The centre of Saskatoon
3. The wings on those birds
4. The end of the game
5. The wages for one day


A verb is a word or group of words that
expresses an action or a state of being.
› Action verbs expresses an action.
 Examples: Lisa skated her best
 Marcus watched in awe.
 We were cheering.
› Linking verbs describe a state of being . They link
the subject to a word that describes or renames
the subject. The most common linking verb is be.
 Examples: Steven is the drummer.
 My old car was rusty.
 Our aunt has been promoted.
› Some verbs can act as both linking verbs and
action verbs. If a verb can be replaced by a
form of be in a sentence without significantly
changing the meaning, it is acting as a linking
verb.
 Examples: Linking:
 Mario looks good.
 The jar appears full.
 The pie smells ready.
 Action:
 Mario looks out the window.
 Sandy smells the pie.
 The gopher appears from its hole.

Three of the principal parts of a verb are the
present, the past, and the past participle. The
past participle is the form of the verb that is
used after have. In regular verbs, the past and
present participle forms are identical. In
irregular verbs, however, these forms may
differ.
› Examples:
Regular
Irregular
Present
Past
(I) love (I) Loved
(I) break (I) broke
Past participal
I (have) loved
I (have) broken

Dictionaries list irregular forms of verbs
under the main entry for the verb. If no
forms are listed, the verb is regular.

Verb tense tells the time when the action or
state of being occurred. The present tense
tells what is happening now, the past tense
tells about something that happened in the
past, and the future tense tells about
something that will happen in the future.
› Example:
 Present: Sharla makes bread on Wednesday.
 Past: Sharla made bread on Wednesday.
 Future: Sharla wil make bread on Wednesday.

Rewrite the following paragraph in the
past tense:
I begin my journey by taking a plane to
Athens. It rains every day for a week.
Eventually, I pack it in and head by boat
for Crete. The weather there is better,
and I go swimming every day.

Rewrite the following paragraph in the
present tense.
The film Citizen Kane began with the death
of a wealthy newspaper magnate, Charles
Foster Kane. Before he expired, the dying
man whispered a single mysterious word –
rosebud. The rest of the film presented
flashbacks from the dead man’s life, but
the meaning of the word rosebud was not
revealed until the very ending of the film.

Rewrite the following paragraph in the
future tense.
The new system serves two purposes.
First, it allows companies to track
financial records more accurately;
second, it helps them to monitor the
performance of each production team
and assists senior managers to make
useful comparisons. The result is a more
efficient organization.
The present tense is also used
 To express a general or scientific truth or belief;
› Examples:
 Canada’s economy depends largely on it’s natural resources.
 All people are created equal.

To describe a customary or repeated action or condition;
› Example
 Duane reads detective stories whenever he can.
 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s last name is not hyphenated.

In reviews of academic essays, to describe the characters
or events in a film or literary work.
› Example:
 Michael Ondaatje wrote The English Patient, which portrays a
man torn between love and duty.