Handout on Nouns

Nouns
A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. 1. A singular noun is a word that names one person, place, thing, or idea. A plural noun names more than one person, place, thing, or idea. Plural nouns are usually formed by adding -s or -es to the singular noun. SINGULAR: PLURAL: student students bench benches hotel hotels truth truths

Some nouns that end with y form their plural forms by changing y to i and add -es SINGULAR: sky country city baby PLURAL: skies countries cities babies Some nouns that end with f form their plural forms by changing f to v and add s or -es SINGULAR: PLURAL: leaf leaves life lives knife knives wife wives loaf loaves

Some nouns however form their plural forms by changing their spelling SINGULAR: child man goose mouse louse PLURAL: children men geese mice lice

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2. A common noun names a general class of people, places, things, or ideas. sailor city holiday music A proper noun specifies a particular person, place, thing, event, or idea. Proper nouns are always capitalized. Captain Ahab Rome Memorial Day Treasure Island 4. A concrete noun names an object that occupies space or that can be recognized by any of the senses. leaf melody desk aroma An abstract noun names an idea, a quality, or a characteristic. These peace health strength contentment 5. A count noun names an object that can be counted Chair table ballpen 5. A mass noun names an object that cannot be counted water hair rice sugar 7. A collective noun names a group. When the collective noun refers to the group as a whole, it is singular. When it refers to the individual group members, the collective noun is plural. The family eats dinner together every night. (singular) The council vote as they wish on the pay increase. (plural) 8. A possessive noun shows possession, ownership, or the relationship between two nouns. Monicas book the rabbits ears the hamsters cage

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Exercises
Singular and Plural Nouns
Exercise 1. Write sing. in the blank if the italicized word is a singular noun. Write pl. if it is plural. pl. Juanita suggested that my boys visit the circus. ____1. Circus Royale was the name of the circus that came to town last week. ____2. The opening parade was a great introduction to the event. ____3. The nine elephants were trained by a man named Zingarelli. ____4. One of the best acts was a family of acrobats from Paris. ____5. A juggler managed to juggle eight saucers at once. Exercise 2. Complete the table below by providing the singular or plural forms of the given words. Singular uniform family 8. 9. chief 6. 7. loaves people 10. Plural 11. woman campus 14. 15. Singular classes 12. 13. mice volcanoes Plural

Common and Proper Nouns

Exercise 3. Draw one line under each common noun and two lines under each proper noun. Example: Jonathan loves to play the guitar in the plaza. 1. He was born in Natubo, Jasaan, as Juan dela Cruz. 2. In 2001, Juan began to study in Jasaan National High School as a first year student. 3. Maria Santos and Edward Reyes were among his classmates. 4. Maria Santos probably was the most intelligent student. 5. Edward on the other hand was the greatest basketball player of his batch. Exercise 4. Complete the pair by supplying the common or proper forms of the nouns given. Example: shampoo Palmolive 6. school ____________ 9. _______________ Jasaan National High School 7. shoes ____________ 10._______________ Mrs. Juliet Virtudazo 8. teacher ____________ 11._______________ Independence Day

Concrete and Abstract Nouns

Write in the blank concrete or abstract to identify the type of noun in italics. abstract The boys had great sympathy for Juans situation. _______1. Why did Sharon begin playing the tuba? _______6. The spectators saw the entire production on a _______2. The entire house was decorated with excellent huge monitor. taste. _______7. Cleanliness is important to my mother. _______3. Barrys adoration for his grandmother brought _______8. If anyone has a better idea, Ill support it. her much joy. _______9. Dad enjoyed listening to music on his new car _______4. The hissing of the radiator distracted him. CD player. _______5. The barbershop quartet rehearsed in the _______10. My friend brought some oranges back from cafeteria. Florida.

Count, Mass, and Collective Nouns

Write in the blank count, mass, or collective to identify the type of noun in italics. 1. A new committee has been formed to plan the field trip. 2. My grandfather is having an excessive hair loss. 3. The Audubon Society promotes the conservation of wild birds. 4. The audience is aware that they were lucky to get tickets. 5. Because it is fed only once daily, the flock eats very fast. 6. The trio (performs, perform) at many local festivities. 7. My family (begin, begins) the holiday at six oclock. 8. The jury (is, are) all members of the community. 9. The team (has, have) an awards banquet at the end of the regular season. 10. A panel of judges (presides, preside) over the Supreme Court.