LESSON 1
NOUNS
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
1
THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH
1 Of 8 - NOUNS :
A word (other than a pronoun) used
to identify any of a class of people,
places, or things common noun, or to
name a particular one
of these proper noun.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
2
THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH
2 Of 8 - PRONOUNS:
• A word that can function as a noun
phrase used by itself and that refers
either to the participants in the
discourse (e.g. I, you ) or to someone
or something mentioned elsewhere in
the discourse (e.g. she, it, this ).
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
3
THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH
3 Of 8 – VERBS:
A word used to describe an action,
state, or occurrence, and forming the
main part of the predicate of a
sentence, such as hear, become,
happen.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
4
THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH
4 Of 8 - ADJECTIVES:
A word naming an attribute of a
noun, such as sweet, red, or technical.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
5
THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH
• 5 Of 8 – ADVERBS:
A word or phrase that modifies the
meaning of an adjective, verb, or other
adverb, expressing manner, place,
time, or degree (e.g. gently, here, now,
very ). Some adverbs, for example
sentence adverbs, can also be used to
modify whole sentences.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
6
THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH
• 6 Of 8 – PREPOSITIONS:
A word governing, and usually preceding,
a noun or pronoun and expressing a
relation to another word or element in
the clause, as in ‘the man on the
platform’, ‘she arrived after dinner’, ‘what
did you do it for ?’
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
7
THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH
7 Of 8 - CONJUNCTIONS.
A word used to connect clauses or
sentences or to coordinate words in
the same clause (e.g. and, but, if ).
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
8
THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH
• 8 Of 8 – INTERJECTIONS:
An abrupt remark, especially as an
aside or interruption - "barracking and
interjections from the protesters"
Synonyms: exclamation, ejaculation,
sudden utterance, cry, shout, roar, call;
More an exclamation, especially as a
part of speech (e.g. ah!, dear me! ).
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
9
SO…WHAT IS A NOUN?
• NOUNS ARE THE PARTS OF SPEECH THAT NAMES:
•
A PERSON, A PLACE, A THING, AN IDEA, AN ANIMAL, A QUALITY, AN ACTIVITY.
• HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF NOUNS IN ACTION:
• JOHN IS READING ~ DALLAS IS NORTH OF HOUSTON ~
THE ROCK IS VERY HEAVY – PHILOSOPHY IS VERY
INTERESTING – MY CAT IS CHASING THE MOUSE ~
OVERCOMING FEAR REQURIES GREAT COURAGE ~
WRITING IS VERY IMPORTANT*
•
*IN THE LAST SENTENCE WRITING IS A NOUN BECAUSE IT NAMES THE ACTIVITY; IT
IS’INT PERFORMING THE ACTIVITY, WHICH IS WHAT A VERB DOES – FOR EXCAMPLE
~ JOHN IS WRITING HIS NAME ~ HERE IT WORKS AS A VERB BECAUSE IT IS THE
ACTION JOHN IS PERFORMING. MORE ABOUT VERBS LATER.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
10
QUICK TEST 1:
READING AND WRITING IN ENGLISH.
CAN YOU FIND THE NOUNS IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES?
CLUE: LOOK FOR A PERSON, PLACE OR THING.
1. Jerry is my English teacher.
2. Jerry comes from Ireland.
3. Reading is an important skill to learn.
4. My class reads stories from all over the world.
5. Besides being good readers John and Mary also want to be able to write and
speak English well.
6. Reading stories will help me to write English.
7. Tom uses a dictionary to look up words he doesn’t know.
8. I spend time every day learning new words and using the new words in
sentences.
9. I write the words and sentences in my notebook.
10. Last week, Tom wrote a story in his notebook and then typed it on the computer.
• Lets Look At The Answers And See How Many We Got Right
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
11
QUICK TEST 1 ANSWERS:
DID YOU FIND THE NOUNS IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Jerry is my English teacher.
Jerry comes from Ireland.
Reading is an important skill to learn.
My class reads stories from all over the world.
Besides being good readers John and Mary also want to be able to write and speak English well.
Reading stories will help me to write English.
Tom uses a dictionary to look up words he doesn’t know.
I spend time every day learning new words and using the new words in sentences.
I write the words and sentences in my notebook.
Last week, Tom wrote a story in his notebook and then typed it on the computer.
• As You Can See There Are Many Nouns. We Can Learn About Nouns
More Easily By Dividing Them Into Groups. Lets Begin By Grouping
Them Into Proper Nouns And Common Nouns.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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PROPER AND COMMON NOUNS
• Common Nouns: They name a person, place,
thing, idea, animal, quality or action.
• Proper Nouns: Names a specific person,
place, thing, idea, animal, quality or action.
• It is important to learn the difference
because the first letter of proper nouns must
be CAPITALISED.
• Lets look at some examples:
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
13
PROPER AND COMMON NOUNS
Common Noun
•
•
•
•
•
•
Girl
City
Holiday
Month
Country
Building
Proper Noun
•
•
•
•
•
•
Rosa
Chicago
Christmas
January
United States
Capitol
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
14
PROPER & COMMON NOUNS
• As you can see Common Nouns name people
(girl), places (country), and things (building)
generally. By comparison, Proper Nouns name
specific people (Rosa), places (United States),
and things (Capitol).
• Lets take a moment and see can we pick out
Common Nouns & Proper Nouns in the
following exercise:
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
15
QUICK TEST 2
THE BRITISH COLONIES IN 18TH CENTURY AMERICA
1. This land was home to nearly one million Europeans.
2. A quarter million Africans and a quarter million native Americans also
lived there.
3. Historians divide this area into two regions.
4. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire
comprised the colonies of New England.
5. Fishing became an important source of money for small towns along
the Atlantic Ocean.
6. A different society developed in the area that is today the states of
Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York.
7. These settlers became farmers of the fertile soil of the region.
8. The southern colonies included Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina,
South Carolina, and Georgia.
9. The climate allowed them to grow tobacco and rice.
10. Merchants in England, Germany, and Spain purchased these crops.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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QUICK TEST 2: ANSWERS.
ANSWERS IN RED ARE COMMON NOUNS
ANSWERS IN RED AND UNDERLINED ARE PROPER NOUNS
1. This land was home to nearly one million Europeans.
2. A quarter million Africans and a quarter million native Americans also
lived there.
3. Historians divide this area into two regions.
4. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire
comprised the colonies of New England.
5. Fishing became an important source of money for small towns along the
Atlantic Ocean.
6. A different society developed in the area that is today the states of
Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York.
7. These settlers became farmers of the fertile soil of the region.
8. The southern colonies included Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina,
South Carolina, and Georgia.
9. The climate allowed them to grow tobacco and rice.
10.Merchants in England, Germany, and Spain purchased these crops.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
17
CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT NOUNS
• Concrete Noun: Names something that can be
touched or seen.
(Also known as a countable noun)
• Collective Nouns: A group of people or things for
example: family, jury, group, majority, class, team,
nation, band
• Abstract Noun: Names something that cannot be
touched or seen: happiness, sadness are good
examples of abstract
(Also known as noncountable nouns)
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
18
CONCRETE & ABSTRACT NOUNS
CONCRETE NOUN
ABSTRACT NOUN
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Carlos
Computer
San Francisco
Butterfly
Car
Friendship
Humour
Fear
Happiness
Culture
It is important to know the difference between concrete and abstract nouns
so that you can use them properly. Abstract nouns are tricky because many
people don’t think of words such as fear and humour as nouns.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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QUICK TEST 3: CITIZENSHIP
2.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
1.
Find The Noun Or Nouns
Find The Abstract & Concrete Noun Or Nouns
3.
Find The Collective Nouns?
Fairness and responsibility are traits of a good citizen.
Fairness means to treat all people equally.
Your culture greatly determines how you live.
Culture can include language, customs and religion.
An ethnic group is a group of people who share the same culture.
Responsibility is addressing problems that occur in our society.
Attending school and following school rules are also part of our civic responsibility.
In this country, students are important citizens.
Citizens in a democracy vote to elect their representatives.
10. education helps citizens to be better voters because they can read about and
understand the problems facing their society.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
20
ALL THE MARKED WORDS ARE NOUNS
ABSTRACT NOUNS IN RED - CONCRETE NOUNS IN GREEN
(COLLECTIVE NOUNS ARE UNDERLINED)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Fairness and responsibility are traits of a good citizen.
Fairness means to treat all people equally.
Your culture greatly determines how you live.
Culture can include language, customs and religion.
An ethnic group is a group of people who share the same culture.
Responsibility is addressing problems that occur in our society.
Attending school and following school rules are also part of our
civic responsibility.
8. In this country, students are important citizens.
9. Citizens in a democracy vote to elect their representatives.
10. Education helps citizens to be better voters because they can read
about and understand the problems facing their society.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
21
SINGULAR & PLURAL NOUNS
SINGULAR
• DOG
• BOOK
• CAMERA
PLURAL
• DOGS
• BOOKS
• CAMERAS
Concrete Nouns can be singular or plural. A singular noun refers to a single
person, place, thing, idea, animal, quality or action. A plural noun refers to more
than one person, place, thing, idea, animal, or action. Usually you can make a
concrete noun a plural by adding an –s to the end of the word.
Abstract Nouns are always plural, as a result their spelling never changes.
But not all concrete nouns form their plurals so easily, but you can learn a
FOUR rules with the most difficult ones.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
22
RULE NO. 1
If the last word of the sound is –s, -ch, -sh, or –x, you must add an –es to
change the singular concrete noun to a plural noun, and so that it can be
easily pronounced. Here are some examples:
SINGULAR
• CLASS
• MATCH
• DISH
PLURAL
• CLASSES
• MATCHES
• DISHES
Rule No. 1 will guide you in forming the plural for many
nouns, but there are still many nouns remaining. Or
instance, some nouns end with the letter –y, and these
nouns have their own rule.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
23
RULE NO. 2
When a noun ends in a consonant followed by a –y, to
form the plural, drop the –y and add –ies. For Example:
SINGULAR
•
•
•
•
•
BABY
LADY
COUNTRY
CITY
PITY
PLURAL
•
•
•
•
•
BABIES
LADIES
COUNTRIES
CITIES
PITIES
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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RULE NO. 3
However, if the final-y is preceded by a vowel, you form the plural by simply
adding an –s. here are some examples:-
SINGULAR
• BOY
• DONKEY
• BAY
PLURAL
• BOYS
• DONKEYS
• BAYS
These three rules explain how to form plurals
when the concrete noun ends in –s, -ch, -sh, -x,
and –y.
Lets see how well you can now form plural nouns
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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QUICK TEST 4: FREQUENTLY USED NOUNS
Write on a sheet of paper the plural versions of
these singular nouns:
CHURCH
FLOWER
WISH
BIRTHDAY
DAY
WORD
HOUSE
SPEECH
FAMILY
SCHOOL
Now Lets Look At Some Nouns Whose Plurals
Are A Bit More Difficult To Form.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
26
RULE NO. 4
For most concrete nouns ending in –fe or m-f, you can form the plural by first
dropping the –fe or –f and then adding a –v and an –es.
Here are some examples…
SINGULAR
PLURAL
• WIFE
• SCARF
• LEAF
• WIVES
• SCARVES
• LEAVES
This rule covers most of the Nouns ending in –fe or –f.
There are some Nouns ending in –f that form their plurals just by adding an –s.
Chief becomes Chiefs – Others are: belief, reef, cliff, cuff, proof, roof, scruff, staff,
surf and whiff.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
27
OTHER ‘TRICKY’ NOUNS
Nouns ending in –o are a little confusing. Best to check a dictionary…..
Tomato = Tomatoes
Piano = Pianos
Some CONCRETE NOUNS have the same spelling in singular and plual forms:
Deer = Deer
Fish = Fish
Some NOUNS completely change their spelling:
Man = Men
Foot = Feet
Child = Children
REMEMBER: HAVING A DICTIONARY TO HAND
IS ALWAYS THE SAFEST OPTION.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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SOME UNUSUAL CONCRETE NOUNS
English has some unusual NOUNS that don’t have a plural:
FURNITURE – SUGAR – AIR – HARDWARE –
FLOUR – WATER – MONEY – DUST – TIMBER
While the following concrete nouns are always plural:
TROUSERS – CATTLE – SCISSORS –
CLOTHES - FRUIT
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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QUICK TEST 5:
MORE FREQUENTLY USED NOUNS
Use the rules we have discussed to help you change this list of concrete nouns from
singular nouns to plural nouns.
Write the plural of the singular noun on a piece of paper:
TOMATO
KNIFE
HALF
MOUSE
RODEO
WATER
THIEF
MAN
COMPUTER
SELF
TOMATOES
KNIFES
HALVES
MICE
RODEOS
WATER
THIEVES
MEN
COMPUTERS
SELVES
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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POSSESSIVE NOUNS 1
Possessive Nouns are important because you need to be able to
express that a Noun possesses something, that is, it owns something.
Gerry owns a boat – Gerry’s boat.
Gerry owns a house = The teacher’s house
Gerry has courage = Gerry’s courage.
The underlined words are all possessive nouns.
Remember: if the noun ends with an –s, add an apostrophe ( ‘ ) after it to
show possession. If it doesn’t, add an apostrophe and then add an –s as in
these examples:
Girl = Girl’s
Gerry = Gerry’s
Teacher = Teacher’s
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
31
POSSESSIVE NOUNS 2
To make a plural NOUN possessive, check the last letter – if the NOUN
ends in –s add an apostrophe after it to show possession. If it doesn’t, add
an apostrophe and then add an –s as in the examples here:
Plural Noun
Possessive Plural Nouns
Dogs
Children
Wives
Mice
Dogs’
Children’s
Wives’
Mice’s
Let’s test this and help you to better understand
possessive nouns:
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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QUICK TEST 6:
FREQUENTLY USED POSSESSIVE NOUNS
Write the possessive form of each of these nouns:
Tigers
Tree
Ms. Smith
Thief
Thieves
Leaf
Leaves
Teachers
Keyboard
Maria
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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ANSWERS TO QUICK TEST 6
Tigers’
Tree’s
Ms. Smith’s
Thief’s
Thieves’
Leaf’s
Leaves’
Teachers’
Keyboard’s
Maria’s
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
34
Using Multiple Possessive Nouns
But what happens when you have more than one noun possessing something?
Wrong: Gerry is Michael’s and Mary’s teacher.
Right: Gerry is Michael and Mary’s teacher.
Wrong: Michael’s and Mary’s trip was fun.
Right: Michael and Mary’s trip was fun.
We know Michael and Mary went on the same trip from the way the
sentence is written. If they had gone on different trips the sentence
would read:
Michael and Mary’s trips were fun.
The noun ‘trip’ would have been written in the plural.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
35
MULTIPLE NOUNS POSSESSING DIFFERENT THINGS
Wrong: Michael and Mary’s computers are broken.
Right: Michael’s and Mary’s computers are broken.
Wrong: The Jones and Smith’s houses are in Tianjin.
Right: The Jones’ and Smith’s houses are in Tianjin.
But if Jones and Smith owned the same house:
The Jones and Smith’ house is in Tianjin.
Lets see if you understand the idea of
possessive nouns…
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
36
QUICK TEST 7:
USING POSSESSIVE NOUNS
Each Of These Sentences Contains Possessive Nouns
Can You Say If They Are Right Or Wrong?
Mr. Parsons is Alfredo and Jesse's soccer coach.
CORRECT
Let’s go over to John’s and Sally’s house.
INCORRECT
Let’s go over to John and Sally’s house.
Bill and Obi’s pants are blue.
INCORRECT
Bill’s and Obi’s pants are blue.
The Tigers and the Lions’ uniforms look similar.
INCORRECT
The Tigers’ and the Lions’ uniforms look similar.
Ms. Jones, Mr. Clark’s, and Ms. Kelly’s classes were cancelled.
INCORRECT
Ms. Jones’, Mr. Clark’s, and Ms. Kelly’s classes were cancelled.
Sandy’s and Kelly’s fathers are police officers.
CORRECT
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
37
QUICK TEST 7 CONTINUED…..
Sandy’s and Kelly’s fathers are police officers.
CORRECT
Ricky is Henry and Bobby’s brother.
CORRECT
Roberta is Selena Pena’s and Juan Pena’s daughter.
INCORRECT
Roberta is Selena Pena and Juan Pena’s daughter.
Rex is Tito and Frank’s dog.
CORRECT
Roman’s and Jill’s bus rides were exciting.
CORRECT
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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FUNCTIONS OF NOUNS IN SENTENCES
YOU HAVE LEARNED WHAT NOUNS ARE, HOW TO FORM THEIR PLURALS,
AND HOW TO CHANGE NOUNS SO THAT THEY SHOW POSSESSION.
THESE SKILLS WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND ENGLISH AND BE BETTER
UNDERSTOOD WHEN YOU SPEAK AND WRITE IN ENGLISH.
NOW WE MUST LEARN HOW TO USE NOUNS.
NOUNS ARE USED IN MANY WAYS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. TO
UNDERSTAND THIS YOU MUST KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT VERBS (ONE OF THE 8
PARTS OF SPEECH) – WE WILL LEARN A LOT ABOUT VERBS LATER BUT FOR
NOW ALL WE NEED TO KNOW IS THAT VERBS ARE WORDS THAT SHOW
ACTION.
YOU CAN USE NOUNS MANY WAYS LETS LOOK AT THE MOST COMMON
FOUR WAYS THEY ARE USED:
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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1. NOUNS AS SUBJECTS OF SENTENCES
Nouns can be subjects of sentences. A sentence is a group of words that tells
a complete thought. The subject is all the words that describe whom or what
the sentence is about.
The lion ran through the tall grass.
The noun lion is the subject of the sentence because the rest of the sentence
is telling you about the lion. It ran through the tall grass.
Our teacher is very nice.
The noun teacher is the subject of the sentence because the teacher is
whom the rest of the sentence is telling you about.
John and Michael love to play soccer.
The nouns John and Michael are the subjects of the sentence because the
rest of the sentence tells you about them. They love to play soccer.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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2. NOUNS AS DIRECT OBJECTS OF SENTENCES.
Nouns can be direct objects of sentences. The direct object follows the verb
and answers the question who or what about the subject:
Albert’s father caught a fish.
The noun fish is the direct object. It answers the question: what did the subject
of the sentence (Albert’s father) catch?
John is my brother.
The noun brother is the direct object. It answers the question who is John?
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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3. NOUNS AS INDIRECT OBJECTS OF SENTENCES.
Nouns can be indirect objects of sentences. An indirect object is the noun
that tells us for whom or to whom the action was done. You will usually
write it between the VERB and the direct object:
Mr. Hannan handed Peter the chalk.
The noun Peter is an indirect object because it tells you to whom Mr.
Hannan handed the chalk. In this sentence, it appears after the VERB
handed and before the direct object chalk.
The students paid the cashier the money.
The noun cashier is an indirect object because it tells you to whom the
students paid the money. Can you identify the verb and the direct object in
the above sentence?
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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4. NOUNS AS OBJECTS OF PREPOSITIONS IN SENTENCES.
Nouns can be objects of prepositions in sentences. A preposition is a word
that shows a relationship between a noun and a pronoun and another noun
or pronoun:
The food is on the table.
In this sentence, on is a preposition. It shows the relationship between the
two nouns, food and table. We refer to the noun or pronoun connected to
the prepositional phrase as the object of the preposition. Here, on the
table is a prepositional phrase, and the noun table is the object of the
preposition, on.
We will discuss prepositions in greater detail later in the course. The main
point to remember now is that every prepositional phrase begins with a
preposition and ends a with a noun or pronoun.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
43
IMPORTANT.
A PHRASE IS ANY GROUP OF RELATED WORDS THAT, UNLIKE A
SENTENCE, HAS NO SUBJECT-PREDICTATE COMBINATION. THE
WORDS IN A PHRASE ACT TOGETHER SO THAT THE PHRASE
ITSELF FUNCTIONS AS A SINGLE PART OF SPEECH. A PHRASE
CANT STAND ALONE AS A SENTENCE.
In short……
A phrase is a small group of words standing together as a
conceptual unit, typically forming a component of a clause.
"‘to improve standards’ is the key phrase here“
NEVER CONFUSE A PHRASE FOR A SENTENCE OR VICE VERSA.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
44
REMEMBER….
Prepositional phrases act as either adjectives or adverbs which means they modify or
tell about a noun in the sentence or a verb. Adjectives and adverbs will be discussed in
later classes.
The man in the black pants is my father.
The prepositional phrase ‘in the black pants’ is acting as an adjective because it tells
you something about the subject of
the sentence, the man.
The students in the class cheered
for their teacher.
1.
2.
This sentence contains two prepositional phrases.
The first prepositional phrase ‘in the class’ contains the noun class. The phrase
acts as an adjective because it describes the subject of the sentence, the
students.
The second prepositional phrase ‘for their teacher’ contains the noun teacher.
This prepositional phrase acts as an adverb because it tells you about the verb
cheered.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
45
QUICK TEST 8: HURICANES
READ THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:
1. The storms form in the southern Atlantic
Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of
Mexico.
2. In the Northern Hemisphere, hurricanes
rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around
an ‘eye.’
3. When they come onto land, the heavy rain,
strong winds, and heavy waves can damage
buildings, homes and cars.
4. The heavy waves are called a storm surge.
5. Storm surges are very dangerous and are the
main reason why you must stay away from the
ocean during a hurricane.
6. A meteorologist studies the weather.
7. Meteorologists have been studying hurricanes
for about one hundred years.
8. Evidence indicated that hurricanes have been
occurring ever since our atmosphere formed.
9. The Mayan god ‘Hurakan’ became our word
‘hurricane.’
10. Their god Hurakan blew his breath across the
water.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
1. Can you identify ALL the
nouns?
2. Can you identify subject
nouns?
3. Can you identify direct
objects?
4. Can you identify indirect
object?
5. Can you identify object
of the prepositon?
46
END OF LESSON ONE
IN LESSON 2 WE WILL DISCUSS
PRONOUNS.
Thank you for your attention.
LESSON 1: NOUNS.
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