Nouns (continued)
Recognize a noun when you see one.
George! Jupiter! Ice cream! Courage! Books! Bottles! Godzilla! All of these words are nouns, words that identify the whos, wheres, and
whats in language. Nouns name people, places, and things. Read the sentence that follows:
George and Godzilla walked to Antonio's to order a large pepperoni pizza.
George is a person. Antonio's is a place. Pizza is a thing. Godzilla likes to think he's a person, is as big as a place, but qualifies as
another thing.
Understand the functions that nouns provide in sentences.
Nouns can function as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, objects of prepositions, and subject complements. Check out these
examples:
Godzilla ordered a large pepperoni pizza and ate the pie in a single bite.
Godzilla = the subject for the verbs ordered and ate.
George offered Godzilla a ten-dollar loan to buy a second pizza.
Godzilla = the indirect object of offered; loan = the direct object of offered.
While eating a piece of pizza, George dripped tomato sauce onto his shirt.
Shirt = the object of the preposition onto.
In Godzilla's opinion, George is a slob.
Slob = subject complement of the linking verb is.
Know the different classes of nouns.
Nouns have different classes: proper and common, concrete and abstract, count and noncount, and collective.
Proper nouns name specific, one-of-a-kind items while common nouns identify the general varieties. Proper nouns always begin with
capital letters; common nouns, on the other hand, only require capitalization if they start the sentence or are part of a title. Read these
two versions:
George and Godzilla dined at Antonio's.
George, Godzilla, Antonio's = proper nouns.
A boy and his monster dined at a pizza restaurant.
Boy, monster, restaurant = common nouns.
You classify concrete and abstract nouns by their ability to register on your five senses. If you can see, hear, smell, taste, or feel the
item, it's a concrete noun. If, however, you cannot experience the item with any of your senses, it's abstract. Here are two examples:
Pizza is Godzilla's favorite food.
Pizza = concrete because you can see, hear, smell, feel [though you get your fingers greasy], and thankfully taste it.
Godzilla never tips the delivery boy from Antonio's; politeness is not one of Godzilla's strong points.
Politeness = abstract [you cannot see politeness, or hear, smell, taste, or touch the quality itself].
Many nouns can be singular or plural; these are count nouns. Noncount nouns, on the other hand, have only a singular form; to make
them plural is illogical. Read the sentences that follow:
Godzilla ate three pizzas, two delivery boys, and six parked cars.
Pizzas, boys, and cars = count nouns. Godzilla didn't have to be such a pig; he could have eaten only one pizza, one delivery boy, and
one car.
After overindulging at Antonio's, Godzilla got severe indigestion.
Indigestion = noncount. You cannot write, "Godzilla got eleven indigestions."
Collective nouns name groups. Although the group is a single unit, it has more than one member. Some examples are army, audience,
board, cabinet, class, committee, company, corporation, council, department, faculty, family, firm, group, jury, majority, minority, navy, public, school, society,
team, and troupe.
Collective nouns are especially tricky when you are trying to make verbs and pronouns agree with them. The reason is that collective
nouns can be singular or plural, depending on the behavior of the members of the group.
For example, if the members are acting as a unit—everyone doing the same thing at the same time—the collective noun is singular and
requires singular verbs and pronouns. Read this example:
***** Keep in mind that a single noun can fall into more than one class. *****
Here is an example:
Godzilla has known five Georges in his life.
Georges = proper, concrete, and count.
Singular and Plural Nouns
A singular noun names one person, place, or thing.
example: A lizard crawls on top of the rock.
There is only one lizard in the sentence, so the word lizard is a singular noun.
Also, there is only one rock in the sentence, so the word rock is a singular
noun too.
A plural noun names more than one person, place, or thing.
example: Two rabbits ran through the trees.
There is more than one rabbit, so the word rabbits is a plural noun.
Also, there is more than one tree, so the word trees is a plural noun too.
Underline the noun in each sentence below. On the line next to the sentence, tell whether
the noun is singular or plural.
1. The squirrel is running fast. _______________________
2. Three of the plates are round. _______________________
3. My grandmother is very kind. _______________________
4. They gave her a nice gift. _______________________
5. Answer the telephone, please. _______________________
6. My crayons are broken. _______________________
7. Have you seen my keys? _______________________
8. That map is old. _______________________
9. It flew in the sky. _______________________
10. There are ten fish. _______________________
Directions: Underline the nouns in each sentence below. Above
each noun, write an S if the noun is singular or write a
P if the noun is plural.
1. We went to the store to buy two lamps. (2 nouns)
2. The notebook was filled with colorful drawings. (2 nouns)
3. That lady drives too fast. (1 noun)
4. Have you read all of the books on that shelf? (2 nouns)
5. The teacher assigned a project for her students to complete. (3 nouns)
6. Tonight I will clean the dishes in the kitchen. (2 nouns)
7. The nice man cleaned the chimney with his broom. (3 nouns)
8. The towels next to the pool were wet. (2 nouns)
Write the word singular next to the nouns that refer to one person, place or thing.
Write plural next to nouns that refer to more than one person, place or thing.
13. computers __________________
14. men __________________
15. hand __________________
16. fingers __________________
17. women __________________
18. man __________________
19. cow __________________
20. mice __________________
21. feet __________________
22. woman __________________
23. people __________________
24. fox __________________
25. knives __________________
26. home __________________
Use the words in the WORD BOX to complete the activity. You must take the SINGULAR NOUNS given and change
them into PLURAL NOUNS.
Basket
friend
bonnet
bunny
lily
chicks
egg
holiday
1. My brother and I always spend our Easter _____________ with my Aunt Margaret and Uncle Fred.
2. How many _____________ did your family dye for the egg hunt?
3. Our Easter _______________ are filled with candy and a chocolate rabbit.
4. We took white Easter __________ to our church service on Easter Sunday morning.
5. The baby girls had on white ____________ with their new Easter dresses.
6. We saw three little yellow ____________ with the Mother hen on the Easter card.
7. Our _______________ came for our Easter party at four o'clock on Easter afternoon.
8. How many chocolate ___________ were in your basket?
Common and Proper Nouns
Determine whether each noun is a common noun or a proper noun.
● If the noun is common, write “common noun” on the line.
● If the noun is proper, re-write the noun on the line using correct
capitalization.
example: waterfall common noun
niagara falls Niagara Falls
1. march ___________________ 2. month ___________________
3. day ___________________ 4. tuesday ___________________
5. holiday ___________________ 6. christmas ___________________
7. cereal ___________________ 8. cocoa puffs ___________________
9. dr. cube ___________________ 10. doctor ___________________
11. city ___________________ 12. boston ___________________
13. street ___________________ 14. main street ___________________
15. burger king ___________________ 16. restaurant _________________
17. slate creek ___________________ 18. creek ___________________
19. dog ___________________ 20. snoopy ___________________
Directions: Underline the common nouns ONE time. Underline the proper nouns TWO times.
1. The house is on Main Street. (1 common, 1 proper)
2. Karen played with her sister. (1 common, 1 proper)
3. Fran went to Friendly’s Pet Shop. (2 proper)
4. The car stopped quickly. (1 common)
5. Morgan Boulevard is a busy street. (1 proper, 1 common)
6. Michael and his friend chased the kitten. (1 proper, 2 common)
7. Did you see Kevin at the party? (1 proper, 1 common)
8. Laura looked at the stars through her telescope. (1 proper, 2 common)
9. There were no yellow markers in the box. (2 common)
10. Have you ever eaten a cheeseburger at Burger Planet? (1 common, 1 proper)
11. A young boy found a dollar on the sidewalk. (3 common)
12. Mary sat by the fire and roasted a marshmallow. (1 proper, 2 common)
Directions: Write the word “common” next to each common noun. Re-write each proper noun correctly.
13. alice smith
______________
14. carpenter
_______________
15. dog _______________
16. max _______________
17. book _______________
18. mayberry library _______________
19. jupiter _______________
20. planet _______________
Instruction: In the following sentences, underline proper nouns and circle common nouns.
1. In July, my family visited Washington, D.C.
2. Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
3. My puppy is named Max.
4. Sam and Mary swept the sidewalk for Mrs. Johnson.
5. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
6. Ice cream, cake and cookies were served at the picnic.
7. We saved pennies in a jar to send to the missions.
8. John, Joe and Tim built a fort in the backyard.
9. Teresa cleared the table while Katie washed the dishes.
10. Mom put a silver star on my spelling test.
11. On the wall in our classroom, Dad hung a colorful poster of the alphabet.
12. The fish took the bait!
13. This Saturday, we are painting the hall at church.
14. What dress are you wearing to the concert?
15. English is my favorite subject!
Rewrite the sentences so that the proper nouns are correctly capitalized.
When we had show and tell, angela always brought one of her barbie dolls.
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After the white sox won the world series, they toured chicago with their trophy.
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The credit card company suspended eric’s account.
___________________________________________________________________________________
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The andersons claim that george washington haunts their attic.
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The people of south africa are now free.
___________________________________________________________________________________
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The people of iraq have suffered greatly under saddam hussein.
___________________________________________________________________________________
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When I went to farrington high school i met a lot of kids who had the same interests as i had.
___________________________________________________________________________________
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Richard smith found my dog, sparky, and brought him to my house.
___________________________________________________________________________________
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Like amazon.com, many companies now do business on the internet.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Concrete and Abstract Nouns
Nouns can be concrete or abstract. Concrete nouns are “sense” nouns. You can see, hear, smell, taste, and/or touch
them. Abstract nouns are ideas or concepts – things that you feel or think about.
Example: The lonely dog pushed at the fence, longing for freedom.
Dog and fence are concrete nouns. Freedom is an abstract noun.
In each sentence below, underline the concrete nouns and circle the abstract nouns.
1. The principal asked all the students to think about the importance of friendship.
2. When I looked at the new mother, her love for her newborn baby was obvious.
3. He looked at the pile of money with greed in his eyes, and then he tried to grab it.
4. He patted his full stomach with satisfaction after he finished eating his dinner.
5. Her eyes were full of hope as she asked her mom to let her keep the puppy.
Think of three more concrete nouns, and three more abstract nouns. Write them below.
Concrete Nouns
Abstract Nouns
1._______________________________ 1.______________________________
2._______________________________ 2.______________________________
3._______________________________ 3.______________________________
Write a sentence using at least one of your concrete nouns and one of your abstract nouns.
_____________________________________________________________________
Identify whether the underline words are abstract or concrete nouns.
1. He was charmed by her beauty.
Answer: _______________________________________________________
2. It’s good to drink plenty of milk.
Answer: _______________________________________________________
3. Honesty is the best policy.
Answer: _______________________________________________________
4. These balloons are colourful.
Answer: _______________________________________________________
5. The murderer was finally brought to justice.
Answer: _______________________________________________________
6. How many apples are there?
Answer: _______________________________________________________
7. The sun shines brightly.
Answer: _______________________________________________________
8. These mountains are great.
Answer: _______________________________________________________
9. Life is full of joy.
Answer: _______________________________________________________
10. Mrs. Smith wins everybody’s heart with her kindness.
Answer: _______________________________________________________
Countables – Uncountables
What’s the difference?
Look at the underlined nouns. Are they countable or uncountable?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
There was a car behind us. Countable
I never eat meat.
Uncountable
Do you play golf?
Uncountable
I had to wait ten minutes. countable
Just tell me one thing.
countable
Love makes the world go round.
Uncountable
Good luck in your new job. Uncountable
Power stations produce energy.
Uncountable
I’m taking a photo.
Countable
Would you like an apple?
countable
Countable and uncountable nouns
Complete the conversation. Choose the correct form.
J:
What are you doing Andrew?
A:
I’m writing essay/an essay.
J:
Oh, you’ve got computer/a computer. Do you always write essay/essays on your computer?
A:
Yes, but I am not doing very well today. I’m working on my plan for about three hour/hours now.
J:
You’ve got lots of books to help you, though. I haven’t got as much/many books as you. That’s
because I haven’t got much money/moneys. Quite often I can’t even afford to buy food/foods.
A:
Really? That can’t be many/much fun
J:
I’d like to get job/a job I can do in my spare time and earn a/some money. I’ve got a few/a little
ideas, but what do you think I should do?
A:
I know someone who paints picture/pictures and sells them. Why don’t you do that?
J:
Because I’m no good at painting.
What did Tom buy at the supermarket? These are EXAMPLES:
Milk:
1 bottle of milk…….……………………………
1 kilo Flour:
1 kilo of flour…..…………………………………
Jam:
A Jar of jam………………………………………
Matches:
A box of matches………………………………
2 bread:
2 loaves of bread………………………………
Chocolate:
A bar of chocolate……………………………
5 kilos potatoes: 5 kilos of potatoes……………………………
Breakfast cereal: 1 carton of breakfast cereal.…………
2 Mineral water:
Toothpaste:
2 bottles of mineral water………………
1 tube of toothpaste…..……………………
Complete the sentence. Put in a/an or some.
1.
2.
I really ought to do ____ housework.
The people who camped in the field have left ____ rubbish.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
I’ve been working on the business plan. I’ve made ____ progress.
The visitors are here for two nights. They are looking for ____ accommodation.
That shop has __ nice sofa.
You will have to pay extra for the taxi because you’ve got ____ luggage.
The flat is quite empty. I need ____ furniture.
I can’t possibly fit this guitar into ___ suitcase.
You need ____ luck to win this game.
A potato or potato? A sport or sport?
Complete the conversations. Choose the correct form.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Can I pick an apple/some apple from your tree? –Yes, of course.
I think sport/a sport is boring. –So do I. I hate it.
We ought to buy some potato/some potatoes. –OK, I’ll get them.
I think painting/a painting is a fascinating hobby. –Well you’re certainly very good at it.
Did you hear noise/a noise in the middle of the night? –No, I don’t think so.
Is there cheese/a cheese in this soup? –Yes, a little.
Shall I put a chicken/some chicken in your sandwiches? –Yes, please.
I had conversation/a conversation with Vicky last night. –Oh, what about?
Are you a pacifist? –Well, I don’t believe in war/a war, so I suppose I am.
It isn’t fair. –No, life/ a life just isn’t fair, I’m afraid.
What’s the matter? –You’ve got some egg/some eggs on your shirt.
Complete Claire’s postcard to her sister. Choose the correct form.
This island is very peaceful. Life/A life is good here. Everybody moves at a nice slow pace. People have time/a
time to stop and talk. It’s experience/an experience I won’t forget for a long time. There aren’t many shops, so
I can’t spend all my money, although I did buy painting/a painting yesterday. Now I’m sitting on the beach
reading paper/a paper. The hotel breakfast is so enormous that I don’t need to have lunch. I’ve just brought
orange/an orange with me to eat later. I’ve been trying all the different fruit/fruits grown in this part of the
world, and they are all delicious.
Most of these sentences have a mistake in them. Correct them, or if there is no mistake, write right.
1.
I believe it’s very difficult to find a cheap accommodation in London.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2.
We are looking for a place to rent.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3.
We are late because they are re-surfacing the motorway and the traffics are terrible.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4.
He was asked to leave the college because of a bad behaviour at the end of term party.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5.
I’m going to phone my brother to wish him good luck for his driving test.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6.
I think it’s a pity Rebecca had her hairs cut short because she looked much more attractive before.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7.
It’s not a bad room, but the furnitures take up too much space.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8.
As an old friend, may I give you an advice?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9.
If we don’t have up-to-date information, how can we make sensible decisions?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10. Fortunately, the check-up was less unpleasant experience than I had expected.
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