Study Guide: NOUNS
A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.
 It also one of the eight parts of speech.
 Examples: man, Abraham Lincoln, city, Atlanta, book, courage.
 Nouns often follow words like a, an, and the (article adjectives).
 Nouns can be singular or plural in form. Plural means two or more.
Singular
Plural
Special Notes
house
houses
Add the letter “s” to form the plural of most nouns
baby
babies
city
cities
The last two letters of baby and city are a “consonant + y”.
In this case, drop the letter “y” and add the letters “ies” to form the
plural.
valley
valleys
trolley
trolleys
tray
key
trays
keys
box
boxes
boss
bosses
radio
radios
Nouns ending in the letter “o” preceded by a vowel form the plural
by adding the letter “s”.
piano
pianos
Most nouns ending with the letter “o” preceded by a consonant add
the letter “s” to form the plural
potato
potatoes
Some nouns ending in the letter “o” preceded by a consonant
add “es” to form the plural.
More examples:
echo/echoes … hero/heroes … tomato/tomatoes
The last two letters of valley and trolley are a “vowel + y”.
In this case, just add the letter “s” to form the plural.
Think about the word “day”.
I missed one day of school.
I missed two days of school.
The reason you add the letter s to the word “day” to make it plural
is not because “it looks right”. There is a reason.
If the word ends with a vowel + y, add the letter “s” to form the
plural.
man
men
woman
women
child
children
mouse
mice
tooth
teeth
goose
geese
ox
oxen
deer
moose
sheep
deer
moose
sheep
hypothesis
synopsis
hypotheses
synopses
I saw a deer. He saw five deer.
I saw a moose. He saw five moose.
These are examples of animals which have the same singular and
plural form.
For words that end in “-is”, change the “-is” to “-es” to make
the plural form.
 Nouns can be general (common) or specific (proper).
Common
Proper
(not capitalized)
(capitalized)
girl
Lauren
boy
David
teacher
Ms. Theodocion
school
Luella Middle School
city
Locust Grove
state
Georgia
country
United States
river
Chattahoochee River
book
Harry Potter
bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
car
Honda Accord
 Concrete nouns physically exist (cars, bikes, books, computers).
 Abstract nouns, on the other hand, are not detected by your five senses. You cannot see
them, hear them, smell them, taste them, or feel them.
o Abstract nouns name ideas, feelings, characteristics, or qualities.
o There are “clue endings” for abstract nouns such as:
Clue endings
-ity
Examples of abstract nouns
integrity, responsibility, curiosity, creativity,
-ion
cooperation, dedication, relaxation, education, ambition
-ship
friendship, relationship
-ness
kindness, happiness, sadness, fairness
-ence
independence, experience
-ty
loyalty, beauty, poverty, liberty