Kinds of Nouns
A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Examples include student, store, pencil,
and beauty.
A common noun is a general name for a person, place, thing, or idea. A proper noun is the name of
a particular one. For example, school is a common noun; Hobbs Middle School is a proper noun.
Only proper nouns need to be capitalized.
A concrete noun names a thing that can be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or touched.
An abstract noun names an idea, feeling, quality, or characteristic. For example, horse and villain are
concrete nouns, while excitement and dishonesty are abstract.
A collective noun is a word that names a group of people or things, such as crew.
Sentences are taken from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.
A. Identifying Nouns
Underline all the nouns in each of the following sentences.
1. Tarry Town was truly a beautiful place.
2. Folks who lived near there, even those passing through, wandered around like they were in a
dream.
3. At first glance, Sleepy Hollow seemed to be nothing more than a quiet, wooded valley.
4. In Sleepy Hollow a restless ghost was almost always on the prowl.
5. Some said that the Horseman carried a pumpkin head wherever he went.
B. Identifying Proper and Common Nouns
Underline all the nouns in each of the following sentences. Write P above proper nouns. Write C
above the common nouns.
1. Ichabod Crane moved to Tarry Town from the neighboring state of Connecticut.
2. Soon the people of Tarry Town suspected that Ichabod Crane was smitten with Katrina Van
Tasssel.
3. Nestled in a fertile nook of land on the shores of the Hudson River, the Van Tassel farm was
anything but plain.
4. On the Van Tassel farm a troop of fat pigs paraded across their pen.
5. Many people in Sleepy Hollow claimed to have had run-ins with the Headless Horseman.
6. Each man who told a story about the war was sure that he himself had had a hand in helping
America win its freedom.
7. Ichabod Crane was face-to-face with the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow!
8. Gossips and gazers gathered in the churchyard on Sundays and at the edge of the brook where
the pumpkin and Ichabod’s hat were found.
9. Those who listen very closely might sometimes even hear a low, sad psalm tune carried along by
the wind, the long-forgotten voice of Ichabod Crane.
C. Identifying Types of Nouns
Review the underlined nouns in the sentences in Exercise B. Write the noun requested on the lines
below.
1. An abstract Noun in sentence 6__________________________________________________________
2. A concrete noun in sentence 2___________________________________________________________
3. A collective noun in sentence 4___________________________________________________________
Kinds of Nouns
Sentences taken from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
A. Identifying Nouns
Underline all the nouns in each of the following sentences. On the lines below each sentence, write
one of the nouns that match the description in parentheses.
1.
…there lies a small market town which is generally known by the name of Tarry Town.
(proper) ____________________ (common) ____________________
2. Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power that holds a spell
over the minds of the descendants of the original settlers.
(concrete) ____________________
(abstract) ____________________
3. [Ichabod Crane] had to encounter a host of rustic admirers, who kept a watchful and angry eye
upon each other, but were ready to fly out in the common cause against any new competitor.
(collective) ____________________
(proper) ____________________
4. A stately squadron of snowy geese were riding in an adjoining pond, convoying whole fleets of
ducks…
(collective) ____________________
(common) ____________________
5. …his heart yearned after the damsel who was to inherit these domains, and his imagination
expanded with the idea how they might be readily turned into cash...
(concrete) ____________________
(abstract) ____________________
B. Using Nouns
Rewrite the following sentences, replacing each bold faced common noun with a proper noun.
Each new noun should reflect the same idea or subject as the boldfaced noun. You may need to
change some words, such as a, an, or the, or delete adjectives.
Example:
The girl at that table lives in a small town.
The girl at that table lives in Cherry Valley.
Where: Sleepy Hollow
Who: Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van Tassel, Gunpowder (horse)
1. Not far from this village, perhaps about two miles, there is a little valley…
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. He was a suitable figure for such a steed.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Was her encouragement of the poor pedagogue all a mere trick to secure her conquest
of his rival!
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
4. His terror rose to desperation…
________________________________________________________________________________________