Nouns

A noun names a person, place, thing or idea.

(dog, girl, desk, library, courage, books, moon)

Every noun can be classified as common or proper.

A common noun names general items. Common nouns do not tell specific people, places, things or ideas. Common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence or are part of a title.

(girl, mall, teenager, school , kitchen, plate, sink, monkey)

A proper noun tells a specific person, place or thing. Proper nouns are always capitalized.

(Mary, California, Turtle Creek Mall, Burger King, Starbucks)

girl common noun Sandra - proper noun

city common noun Jonesboro proper noun

Nouns can be abstract or concrete.

An abstract noun is a word which names something that you cannot see, hear, touch, smell or taste.

(courage, consideration, parenthood, belief, politeness, love, peace, honesty, bravery, knowledge, pleasure, anger, loyalty, trust, patriotism, truth, liberty, calm, childhood, compassion, friendship, kindness, freedom)

A concrete noun is a noun which can be identified through one of the five senses (taste, touch, sight, hearing, smell). noise- concrete because it can be heard. rainbow- concrete because it can be seen. Table- concrete because it can be touched.

If you can see, hear, smell, taste, or feel the item, it's a concrete noun.

Collective Nouns
A collective noun is the word used to represent a group of people or things.

Although the group is a single unit, it has more than one member.

(army, audience, board, cabinet, class, committee, company, corporation, council, department, faculty, family, firm, group, jury, majority, minority, navy, public, school, society, team, and troupe)

Some collective nouns are non-specific and can refer to any noun.

(bunch of books, group of chairs, committee of women, )

Some collective nouns can refer to only one thing and the noun may mean something entirely different when used as a common noun.

(murder of crows, pride of lions, school of fish, bed of snakes)

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable nouns are nouns which can be counted, even if the number might be
extraordinarily high (like counting all the people in the world).

Countable nouns can be used with a/an, the, some, any, a few, and many. Here is a cat. Here are a few cats. Here are some cats.

Uncountable nouns are nouns which come in a state or quantity which is impossible
to count; liquids are uncountable, as are things which act like liquids (sand, air) Theyre always considered to be singular, and can be used with a, some, any, a little, and much.

( water, soil, homework, weather, happiness, flour, information, blood, fiction, grass, hope, love, knowledge, luck, oxygen, rain, sadness, space, snow, sunshine, rudeness)

Singular and Plural Nouns

When a noun means one only, it is said to be singular.

(boy, chair, lamp, flower, door, cup, box, church )

When a noun means more than one, it is said to be plural.

Plural Rule #1
The plural of nouns is usually formed by adding - s to a singular noun. lamp- lamps cat cats flower flowers

chair chairs

farm farms

door doors

Plural Rule #2 Nouns ending in s, z, x, sh, and ch form the plural by adding - es.

buzz buzzes church churches

box boxes brush brushes

dish dishes fox foxes

Plural Rule #3 Nouns ending in - y preceded by a consonant is formed into a plural by changing y to - ies.

lady ladies cherry cherries

baby babies pony ponies

city cities army armies

(Note: If the noun ending with a y represents a person or a country, add only s in any case.--- i.e. Kennedy Kennedys)

Plural Rule #4 Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel form their plurals by adding - s. day days alley alleys toy toys play plays boy boys

Plural Rule #5 Most nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant is formed into a plural by adding es. hero heroes potato potatoes cargo cargoes

Note: Exceptions to the rule: cameo cameos; studio studios; portfolio portfolios

Plural Rule #6 Some nouns ending in f or fe are made plural by changing f or fe to - ves. wife wives knife knives calf calves leaf leaves self selves life lives

NOTE: Exceptions to the rule: chief chiefs roof roofs

hoof hoofs

safesafes

Plural Rule #7 If the singular noun ends in us, the plural ending is frequently i. cactus > cacti octopus > octopi

Plural Rule #8 If the singular noun ends in is, the plural ending is es.

analysis > analyses

ellipsis >ellipses

Plural Rule #9 If the singular noun ends in on, the plural ending is a. phenomenon > phenomena criterion criteria

Plural Rule #10- Irregular plural nouns Some words have no specific rules. Check the dictionary when in doubt. man men foot feet child children woman women goose geese person people tooth teeth oxoxen mouse mice

Plural Rule #11 Some nouns dont change at all when theyre pluralized. Sheep deer moose fish

Possessive Nouns

Possessive nouns are nouns which possess something.

You can identify a possessive noun by the apostrophe; most nouns show the possessive with an apostrophe and an s.

cats toy

Brandons book

dogs bone

If the noun ends in an s, we generally use only an apostrophe after the noun.

Boss house

James game

Add an apostrophe only to plural nouns that already end in s.

horses stalls

companies workers

Add and apostrophe and s to plural nouns that do not end in s.

sheeps food

mens shoes childrens toys

If two nouns share ownership, indicate possession only once, and on the second noun. Add the apostrophe + s to the second noun only.

John and Marys story was funny.

Note: Personal pronouns never use the apostrophe to show ownership. Personal pronouns are words like my, your, her, his, our, their and its. They already imply ownership within the word itself.