TYPES OF NOUNS

NOUNS The name of a person, place, thing, or idea

COLLECTIVE NOUNS Certain nouns name groups of people or things. A collective noun names a group of individual people or things Class

COMPOUND NOUNS A noun made up of two or more words 3 types- Separate words/hyphenated words/combined words hard drive cure-all congresswoman chief justice cha-cha network Empire State mother-in-law classroom Building

COMMON AND PROPER NOUNS All nouns are divided into 2 large groups common and proper nouns Common nouns name any person, place, thing or idea inventor, village, story Proper Nouns- name specific people, places, things, or ideas Alexander Graham Bell Tarrytown “Rikki-tikki-tavi”

ABSTRACT AND CONCRETE NOUNS Abstract nouns- Your five senses cannot detect this group of nouns. You, cannot see them, hear them, smell them, taste them, or feel them. Bravery, honesty, annoyance, deceit, trust, happiness, relaxation

CONCRETE NOUNS You can experience this group of nouns with your five senses: you see them, hear them, smell them, taste them, and feel them. student fire fighter dog pencil computer

POSSESSIVE NOUNS Possessive nouns and pronouns demonstrate ownership or some similar relationship over something else. Plural nouns indicate more than one person, place or thing. Possessive nouns typically include an apostrophe. For example: Jennifer’s imagination ran wild as she pictured the accident. The kitten’s toy is a stuffed catnip mouse. Think of the apostrophe mark as a hook or hand reaching out to take ownership of the object. Without the little hook or hand grabbing onto the ‘s’ or the next word, the noun is simply plural.

GRAMMAR RULES FOR POSSESSIVE NOUNS Rule #1: Making singular nouns possessive Add an apostrophe + s to most singular nouns and to plural nouns that do not end in s. You’ll use this rule the most, so pay particular attention to it. English has some words that are plural but do not add an ‘s’. Words like children, sheep, women and men are such words. These plural words are treated as if they were singular words when making noun possessives.

RULE #2: MAKING PLURAL NOUNS POSSESSIVE Add an apostrophe only to plural nouns that already end in s. You don’t need to add an extra ‘s’ to plural nouns that already end with the letter ‘s’. Simply tuck the apostrophe onto the end to indicate that the plural noun is now a plural possessive noun. Examples: Companies’ workers Horses’ stalls Countries’ armies

RULE #3: MAKING HYPHENATED NOUNS AND COMPOUND NOUNS PLURAL Compound and hyphenated words can be tricky. Add the apostrophe + s to the end of the compound words or the last word in a hyphenated noun.hyphenated Examples: My mother-in-law’s recipe for meatloaf is my husband’s favorite. The United States Post Office’s stamps are available in rolls or in packets.

RULE #4: INDICATING POSSESSION WHEN TWO NOUNS ARE JOINED TOGETHER You may be writing about two people or two places or things that share possession of an object. If two nouns share ownership, indicate possession only once, and on the second noun. Add the apostrophe + s to the second noun only. Examples: Jack and Jill’s pail of water features prominently in the nursery rhyme.prominently Abbot and Costello’s comedy skit “Who’s On First” is a classic act.

RULE #5: INDICATING POSSESSION WHEN TWO NOUNS ARE JOINED, AND OWNERSHIP IS SEPARATE This is the trickiest of all, but thankfully you’ll probably need this rule infrequently. When two nouns indicate ownership, but the ownership is separate, each noun gets the apostrophe + s. The examples below may help you understand exactly what this means. Example: Lucy’s and Ricky’s dressing rooms were painted pink and blue. (Each owns his or her own dressing room, and they are different rooms). Senator Obama’s and Senator Clinton’s educations are outstanding. (Each senator owns his or her education, but they attained separate educations).