Nouns
Can’t live without ‘em!
What is a noun?
•
•
•
•
•
Person
Place
Thing
Idea
Emotion
Nouns name people, things,
places, ideas, emotions
There are several types of nouns:
(see page 308, Resourcelines 9/10)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Concrete
Abstract
Proper
Common
Compound
Singular
Plural
Possessive
Collective
1. Concrete nouns
•
name something physical that can
be perceived by the senses
Examples:
• student, doctor, librarian, custodian
(people)
•
•
town, park, country, field (places)
flower, classroom, snow (things)
2. Abstract Nouns
• name things that one cannot see, hear,
smell, taste or touch
• Examples:
• love, joy, sadness, jealousy (emotions)
• peace, patience, prosperity, time,
collaboration (ideas or qualities)
3. Proper Nouns
• name particular people, places, things or
ideas
• begin with capital letters
Examples:
• Jeremy Wotherspoon, Hailey Wickenheiser,
Patrick Chan, Jennifer Heil
• Elmira, Vancouver, South Africa, Illyria
• Christmas, Canada Day, Catholicism,
Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism
4. Common Nouns
• are named in a non-specific or general
way (not capitalized)
• Eg. car, boat, mountain, city, religion,
athlete, student
5. Compound Nouns
• consist of more than one word and are
written as one word, joined with a
hyphen
• Examples: sister-in-law, well-wisher,
jack-o’-lantern, bull’s-eye, secretarygeneral
6. Singular and Plural Nouns
• Singular Nouns:
– One of something
– Examples: bird, calf, sheep, fox
• Plural Nouns:
– More than one of something
– Examples: birds, calves, sheep, foxes
Spelling Plural Nouns
• See page 318, Resourcelines
• Add “s”: school – schools; book – books
• Add “es” to nouns ending in ch, s, sh, x, z:
atlas – atlases; fox – foxes; watch – watches;
wish – wishes
• Change y to i and add es: butterfly –
butterflies; apology – apologies; library –
libraries; company - companies
Spelling Plural Nouns, cont’d.
• Change f to v and add es: calf – calves;
knife – knives; half – halves; leaf – leaves
• If a noun ends in a vowel + o, add s: stereo
– stereos
• If a noun ends in consonant + o, add es:
hero – heroes; echo – echoes; potato –
potatoes; tomato – tomatoes; Exceptions:
pianos, sopranos, solos, altos, banjos
Plural Nouns, Cont’d.
• To form the plural of a compound noun, add s
to the most important word: mother-in-law
mothers-in-law; passer-by passers-by;
man-of-war  men-of-war
• Some nouns use the same word for the
singular and plural: sheep, series, fish
• Some nouns have irregular plurals: child –
children; foot – feet; tooth – teeth; goose –
geese; octopus – octopi; crisis – crises;
medium - media
7. Possessive Nouns
• page 319, Resourcelines 9/10
• show ownership or possession
• To form the possessive of a singular
noun, add ‘s:
– one boy’s knapsack
– the school’s rules
– Jaime’s book
– the child’s toy
Possessive Nouns, cont’d.
• To form the possessive of a plural
nouns that end in s, add an apostrophe
only:
– the
– the
– the
– the
– the
heroes’ ship
lawyers’ club
teachers’ lounge
students’ textbooks
referees’ schedules
Possessive Nouns, cont’d.
• To form the possessive of plural nouns
not ending in s, add ‘s:
– The
– The
– The
– The
– The
children’s toys
men’s washroom
women’s washroom
sheep’s wool
media’s attention
Sometimes the “thing owned” is
implied (assumed):
• Example:
– East Side Mario’s restaurant
– Shoeless Joe’s restaurant
– Starbuck’s coffee bar
Collective Nouns
• A noun that is singular in form but
indicates a group
• Examples: flock, band, class,
committee, gaggle (of geese), herd (of
cattle), pod (of whales); geek (of
engineers); gang (of hoodlums)
Food for thought!