8 TYPES OF NOUNS Quick Review

COMMON AND PROPER NOUNS A common noun names any person, place, thing or idea. Examples: My book is on the table. Elliotte went to school early this morning. A proper noun names a specific person, place, thing or idea. Examples: My book, Long Walk to Freedom, is on the table. Elliotte goes to Spring Park Elementary.

SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS A singular noun names one person, place, thing or idea. Examples: My pencil is broken. May I borrow a piece of paper? A plural noun names more than one person, place, thing or idea. Examples: My pencils are broken. My papers are scattered around the floor.

POSSESSIVE NOUNS A possessive noun shows ownership or possession. It uses an apostrophe (‘) or an apostrophe plus an –s on the end. Examples: (Plural Possessive) The boys’ basketball team is walking down the hall. (Team has more than one on it, so it is plural) There were a lot of frogs’ croaking in the pond last night The students’ grades all reflect understanding (Singular Possessive) I borrowed my sister’s shirt. (The sister owns the shirt) Santa’s red suit got dirty from coming down all the chimney's.

CONCRETE NOUNS A concrete noun names a material thing, person, or place. It is something that can be physically experienced, they are tangible. They can be seen, touched, heard, smelled, and tasted. Examples: A parade began at 7 o’clock to celebrate the 1st of July. Kyle and Nina ordered pizza for supper Lori nestled the grey kitten in her arm.

ABSTRACT NOUNS An abstract noun names ideas, feelings, or qualities. They cannot be physically experienced, they are intangible. They cannot be tasted, touched, smelled, seen, or heard Examples: Lynn wept in sorrow over the loss of her dog. My birthday is in October. When David dove into the swimming pool to save the drowning child, his bravery amazed the people sitting poolside.  Bravery is an abstract noun. You can see the other nouns “David”, “swimming pool”, “people”. You cannot see the quality “bravery”. It has no flavor, texture, size, shape or color. Elliotte’s childhood was fantastic. Childhood is an example of an abstract noun. You can see the other nouns “Elliotte”, but you cannot see Elliotte’s childhood.

EXAMPLES OF CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT Concrete Nouns Examples People: Tom, Betty, woman, man, policeman, fireman Objects: carrot, chips, wind, bed, chair, tree, basket, ball Animals: puppy, kitten, lion, lizard Places: Canada, country, island, mountain, lake Abstract Noun Qualities: intelligence, beauty, ugliness, kindness, strength, trust Ideas: freedom, energy, force, luck, misfortune, ideas, math States of Mind: love, hate, fear, courage, loneliness, embarrassment, joy, confidence, dream Actions and Events: walk, sleep, jump, childhood, year, day, week, month, Tuesday, March, 2014

COLLECTIVE NOUNS Collective nouns name a group or collection of people, places, things or ideas. They are considered one unit and so they are singular. Examples: The crowd sounds like a herd of elephants. The staff includes professionals and nonprofessionals. The group of students is standing in line.