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 310, 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, secretary-general

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 heroes’ ship the lawyers’ club the teachers’ lounge the students’ textbooks the referees’ schedules

Possessive Nouns, cont’d. To form the possessive of plural nouns not ending in s, add ‘s: The children’s toys The men’s washroom The women’s washroom The sheep’s wool The 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!