1. Definition: Person, place, thing, or idea.
Nouns
Definition: Person, place, thing, or idea.

2. Examples
People: Justin Bieber, doctor, singer, Tarzan, Spongebob Squarepants Places: Venice, city, Macomb County, Partridge Creek Mall Things: Nostril, tuba, uvula, dentures, monkey Ideas or qualities: Peace, love, honor, anger

3. singer (or so she thinks)
Common vs. Proper
Nouns are usually divided into two main classes: common and proper. A common noun is just a general person, place, or thing; but a proper noun refers to a particular person, place, or thing. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are capitalized.
Common noun
Proper noun
frog
Kermit
team
Red Wings
city
Detroit
artist
Van Gogh
singer (or so she thinks)
Rebecca Black
ape
King Kong

4. Common (general, not capitalized) Proper (specific, capitalized)
You try…
Common (general, not capitalized)
Proper (specific, capitalized)

5. Concrete vs. Abstract
A concrete noun names an object that can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or tasted. An abstract noun names an idea, quality, or state.
Concrete noun
book, bell, flower, sand, apple
Abstract noun
independence, curiosity, pride, uncertainty, sadness

6. Your turn…
Name four concrete nouns: ?
Name four abstract nouns:

7. Singular vs. Plural
The word “singular”, of course, means only one, and “plural” means more than one. It’s pretty simple to form the plural of most nouns; you just add an “s” or “es”. However, the English language is full of oddballs, and many nouns don’t follow this simple rule. Here are some rules to help you spell the plural of those ornery nouns that don’t fit the mold…

8. Rules #1 and 2
The plural of a noun ending in “y” preceded by a consonant is formed by changing the “y” to “i” and adding “es”.
baby – babies
buggy – buggies
The plural of a noun ending in “y” preceded by a vowel is formed by adding “s”.
guy – guys
ray- rays

9. Rules #3 and 4
The plurals of some nouns ending in “f” or “fe” are formed by changing the “f” to “v” and adding “s” or “es”.
leaf – leaves
calf – calves
wife – wives
The plural of a noun ending in “o” preceded by a vowel is formed by adding “s”.
radio – radios
rodeo – rodeos

10. Rule #5
The plural of a noun ending in “o” preceded by a consonant is formed by adding “es”.
hero – heroes
tomato – tomatoes
Note: This rule has a weird exception, though. In many cases, if it is “music related”, you form the plural by adding an “s”.
solo – solos
piano – pianos

11. Rule #6 Some nouns are the same in the singular and plural: deer moose
Japanese
fish
trout
sheep

12. Rules #7 and 8
If a compound noun is written as one word, add “s” or “es” to form the plural.
footballs
spoonfuls
Occasionally a noun is just plain strange; its plural is formed in an irregular way.
ox – oxen
foot – feet
louse – lice

13. Final Rule
Add an apostrophe “s” (‘s) to form the plural of capital letters, numbers, and symbols. It’s also acceptable in these cases to just add “s” (without the apostrophe) if doing so presents no confusion.
Zzuzzuzzanna’s last name has seven Z’s in it.
Dana thinks her name has too many a’s in it.
My zip code has five 9’s in it.
My mom was young during the 1960s.