Classes of Nouns

Common and Proper Nouns Common nouns refer to general people, places, things, and ideas. These are not capitalized unless they are they first word in a sentence. Example: coffee shop Proper nouns refer to specific people, places, things, and ideas. These are always capitalized. Example: Starbucks

Possessives versus Contractions A possessive noun shows ownership. An apostrophe (‘) is needed to show possession. Example: The school newspaper published Mike’s short story. Contractions, on the other hand, are made by combining words into one. An apostrophe (‘) is needed. Mike’s going to present his story to a local publishing company.

Concrete and Abstract Nouns Concrete nouns are nouns that can be seen and/or touched. Example: student, pencil, desk… Abstract nouns, on the other hand, are nouns that name ideas, qualities, or feelings that cannot be seen or touched. Example: intelligence, bravery, time, culture…

Appositives An appositive is a noun placed next to another noun to identify or add information to it. Example: The insect, a cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table. Similarly, an appositive phrase, is a group of words that contains an appositive and serves the same purpose as an appositive. Example: During the dinner conversation, Clifford, the messiest eater at the table, spewed mashed potatoes like an erupting volcano.

Collective Nouns Collective nouns name a group of individuals. Example: class, team, jury… Collective nouns can be either singular or plural; therefore, you have make sure the collective noun and verb show agreement (singular/singular, plural/plural).

Collective Nouns continued… A singular collective noun refers to the group of individuals as a whole, a SINGLE unit. Example: The baseball team plays its first game of the season tonight. A plural collective noun refers to the individual members of the group. Example: After the intermission, the audience straggle to their seats. (They all have individual seats as shown by the plural pronoun their.)

Show What You Know! Instructions: Read the following sentences and identify the noun that fits the given class. Mrs. Baker, my neighbor, makes the best pound cake. (appositive) The jury made its decision quickly. (collective, abstract) What is on today’s menu? (possessive, concrete) We are taking a trip to Montana this summer. (Proper) The boy’s going to be disappointed when he realizes that his basketball rolled into the street. (contraction)

Answers! Mrs. Baker, my neighbor, makes the best pound cake. (appositive) The jury made its decision quickly. (collective, abstract) What is on today’s menu? (possessive, concrete) We are taking a trip to Montana this summer. (Proper) The boy’s going to be disappointed when he realizes that his basketball rolled into the street. (contraction)