1. PAIN-FREE GRAMMAR Parts of Speech

2. Nouns

3.  Person  Place  Thing  Idea

4. Common vs. Proper  Determines capitalization  Proper nouns name specific…  persons Mom  places England  things that have formal names Dead Poets’ Society  events New Year’s Eve  (Proper nouns are always capitalized.)

5. Note:  Capitalize adjectives that are forms of proper nouns: French bread, Texan beauty queen.

6. Common vs. Proper  Common nouns refer to informal, generically named…  Persons poet  Places country  Things film  Events Holiday  (Common nouns are not capitalized.)

7. Concrete vs. Abstract  Concrete nouns occupy space or can be detected by the senses:  My dog, Buster, wagged his tail as he sniffed the wind.

8. Concrete vs. Abstract  Abstract nouns name an idea, a quality, or a characteristic.  Love is the center of all great friendships.  Attraction and devotion are key elements of a good marriage.

9. Collective Nouns  the collective noun, looks like a singular word, but it names a group.  It can be considered singular or plural, depending on the meaning. the family that couple the audience the board (of directors)

10. Why does this matter?  You will need to decide from context whether the collective noun is singular or plural, and make sure all associated verbs and pronouns match in number.

11.  I asked the board for its approval. (not “their approval”)  (Here, “board” is singular, because the board is acting as a unit.)

12.  I asked the board to raise their hands if they approved. (not “its hands…it approved”)  (Here, “board” is plural, because the individual members raise their hands individually.)

13.  The family decided to take its vacation in the mountains this year.  (Family acting as one unit, taking its vacation.)

14.  The family may write their signatures in the special guestbook in the lobby.  (Family members are writing their names as individuals.)

15. Collective Nouns Review  The council spent allits/their time debating the new budget.  The class raised its/their hand/hands to show Mrs. Rennieit/they understood collective nouns.