Nouns

Nouns A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. People farmer Alexander Graham Bell Places Chicago waiting room Things flowers keys Ideas success happiness

Two basic kinds of nouns Proper noun names a specific person, place, thing, or idea. Alexander Graham Bell Tarrytown “Rikki-tikki-tavi” Common noun names any one class of people, place, thing, or idea. inventor village story

Concrete and Abstract Nouns Common nouns can be either concrete or abstract. Concrete nouns things that you can see or touch. Abstract nouns name ideas, qualities, or feelings that cannot be seen or touched.

Kinds of Nouns Common Proper Abstract Concrete truth document Supreme Court courage crown Queen Victoria time snow December history museum Museum of Anthropology heritage buffalo Native American

Plural and Singular Nouns Singular Noun:  When a noun means one only, it is said to be singular.   Examples:  boy, girl, book, church, box Plural Noun:  When a noun means more than one, it is said to be plural.   Examples:  boys, girls, books, churches

Compound Nouns A compound noun is a noun made up of two or more words. A compound noun can be one word, like storybook; more than one word, like ice cream; or joined by hyphens, like runner-up. USE a dictionary if necessary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Compound Nouns One Word Hyphenated More Than One Word housekeeper mother-in-law dining room showcase runner-up ice cream bookmark great-grandmother maid of honor football kilowatt-hour music box

Plural Compound Nouns To form the plural of compound nouns written as one word, add –s or –es. To form the plural of compound nouns that are hyphenated or written as more than one word, make the most important part of the compound noun plural.

Forming Plural Compound Nouns Singular Plural One word Follow plural rules. Exception: footballs headlights strongboxes rosebushes passersby Hyphenated Make the most important part of the compound noun plural. great-grandmothers runners-up More than one word maids of honor music boxes

Possessive Nouns A possessive noun names who or what owns or has something. Possessive nouns can be common nouns or proper nouns. They can also be singular or plural. Notice the possessive nouns in the following sentences. Rita has a book on history. Rita’s book is new.

father’s car Dave’s book Add an apostrophe and an –s to show the possessive of most singular nouns. father’s car Dave’s book Add just and apostrophe to show the possessive case of plural nouns ending in –s or –es. dogs’ owner churches’ congregations

Add an apostrophe and –s to show the possessive case of plural nouns that do not end in –s or –es. the four men’s car the geese’s honking Add an apostrophe and –s (or just an apostrophe if the word is a plural ending in –s) to the last word of a compound noun to form the possessive. high school’s mascot Boy Scouts’ trip

Bibliography Alfieri, Catherine. "Nounsense." Monroe County Women's Disability Network. Monroe County Women's Disability Network. Sept. 2008 <http://www.mcwdn.org/grammar/endsf.html>. Carroll, Joyce A., Edward E. Wilson, and Gary Forlini. Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Royster, Jacqueline J., and Mark Lester. Writer's Choice Grammar Workbooks : Teacher's Wraparound Edition. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 1996.