LESSON 1: NOUNS
GRAMMAR ROCK: NOUN
Words that name people, places and things are called nouns. The following table
lists a variety of nouns.
PEOPLE
PLACES:
THINGS:
ANIMALS:
OBJECTS:
SUBSTANCES
ACTIONS:
MEASURES:
QUALITIES:
EXAMPLES OF NOUNS
cashier
Carol
province
New Brunswick
boys
lake
cat
fork
iron
(a) race
kilogram
happiness
bug
car
gold
(the) hits
day
beauty
Dalmatian
television
air
(the) dance
centimetre
honesty
Nouns can be found anywhere in a sentence, and most sentences contain several
nouns. One way to find nouns is to look for the little words a, an, the. The naming
word that comes after them is probably a noun. Sometimes nouns appear without
these little words, but you can usually insert them without changing the meaning of
the sentence:
Paul and his children visited the continent of Africa and saw some lions.
Paul is a noun that names a person.
Children name people
Continent names a thing picture?
Africa names a place
Lions name a thing.
Can you find 10 nouns in this
picture?
Examine the following sentences carefully until you feel satisfied that you can
identify the nouns in most sentences.
Paul and his sister went to the zoo to see the elephants.
Her lawyer bought an old house in Moncton last year.
Finish your work before the big game starts on TV.
The Smiths lived on a farm until a week ago when the family moved to town.
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, and Fredericton is the capital of this province.
Sometimes people eat more food than their bodies need.
French is the first language of some citizens of Ontario.
Exercise 1: Nouns
Copy these sentences into your notebook and then underline all the nouns you can
find.
1. The dog chased the cat under the porch.
2. Muffins made with blueberries are delicious.
3. My daughter sold her computer to a friend.
4. Robert drove his car to Saint John and shopped for a new truck.
5. So much snow covered the roads, that even truck drivers pulled into motels.
6. The passengers on the ship witnessed the collision with the iceberg.
7. The Titanic sank in a few hours; many husbands and wives were separated.
8. Penguins live near the South Pole, but these birds aren’t bothered by the cold.
9. Many retired couples move to Florida where the weather is warmer.
10. Shediac is closer to the Confederation Bridge than Riverview is.
Exercise 2: Nouns
A. Copy these sentences into your notebook and then underline the nouns.
1. From the top of a small hill, we saw the Northumberland Strait.
2. The ocean was calm, and the clouds were beautiful.
3. Then, the little boats began to appear.
4. The fishermen were out checking their traps for lobster.
5. Many people in this area spend most of their lives on the sea.
6. Local markets are full of mussels, clams, scallops, and lobster.
7. In small villages, canneries prepare seafood for shipment to Japan.
8. When their boats are full, the fishermen return to their harbours for the night.
9. If the weather is good, their catch is usually large.
10. Storms make life on the water dangerous.
B. Write 10 sentences of your own. Underline all the nouns you used