1. Grammar & Composition Parts of Speech
Noun Notes
Grammar & Composition
Parts of Speech

2. Basics A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing or idea.
Persons: brother, scientist, Rita, Governor Granholm
Places: porch, stadium, Chicago, Africa
Things: television, cactus, hurricane, Holland Tunnel
Ideas: truth, democracy, ability, safety

3. Common and Proper Nouns
A common noun is a general name for a person, place, thing or idea.
A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, thing or idea; these need to be capitalized.
Common nouns
Proper nouns
man
Albert Einstein, Michael Jordan, _____________
holiday
Earth Day, Labor Day, ______________
city
Miami, London, Dallas, Beijing, _______________
language
Spanish, English, Hebrew, __________________

4. Singular, Plural & Collective Nouns
Singular nouns name one person, place, thing or idea.
Plural nouns name more than one.
A collective noun names a group – people or things that are regarded as a unit.
Example: tribe, litter, flock, committee, ________________

5. Abstract and Concrete Nouns
A concrete noun names something perceptible to the senses – something that can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or tasted.
An abstract noun names something that cannot be perceived through the senses such as an idea, quality, emotion or state.
Concrete Nouns
Abstract Nouns
coin, hand, fire, computer, _________
jealousy, freedom, laziness, _________

6. Compound Nouns
A compound noun consists of two or more words used together as a single noun.
A compound noun may be written as one word, as two words, or as a hyphenated word.
As one word
As two words
As hyphenated words
bookcase, candelight, _________
ice cream, New York,
________
great-grandmother, one-third, _________

7. Possessive Nouns
A possessive noun shows ownership or belonging. Add an apostrophe and s to a singular noun to make it possessive.
Example: Ricky Martin’s first CD, a dog’s bark.
Add only an apostrophe to a plural noun ending in s to make it possessive.
Example: horses’ mane, book-lovers’ delight