CHAPTER 2: NOUNS

Miss Fry8th Grade English

LESSON 1: KINDS OF NOUNS

DEFINING NOUNS

What is a noun?

A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea

Persons Miss Fry, student, principal, teacher

Places Dunlap Middle School, classroom

Things Notebook, paper, pencils, brain

Ideas Honesty, intelligence, achievement

COMMON NOUNS VS. PROPER NOUNS

A common noun is a general name for a person, place, thing or idea. Common nouns are usually not capitalized.

A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, thing, or idea. Proper nouns are always capitalized.

Proper nouns: Miss Fry, Washington D.C., Dunlap Panthers

Common nouns: Teacher, capitol, mascot, students

CONCRETE NOUNS VS. ABSTRACT NOUNS

A concrete noun names a thing that can be seen, heard, smelled, touched or tasted.

An abstract noun names an idea, feeling, quality, or characteristic.

Concrete nouns: Pencil, pizza, Mount Everest, football

Abstract nouns: Honesty, bravery, achievement, excitement

COLLECTIVE NOUNS

A collective noun is a word that names a group of people or things.

Examples: community, audience, panel, crowd, class, government, staff, pack, herd, colony

LESSON 2: SINGULAR AND PLURAL

NOUNS

SINGULAR VS. PLURAL NOUNS A singular noun names one person, place,

thing, or idea.

A plural noun names more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

**WATCH YOUR SPELLING!! THERE ARE SOME UNUSUAL FORMS OUT THERE!

Singular:

Miss Fry saw a student at the football game on Friday.

Plural: Dunlap teachers saw many of their students at the Homecoming game on Friday.

Singular: Man child foot mouse goose deer

Plural: Men children feet mice geese deer

WARNING!

Do not confuse verbs ending in s with plural nouns!

He stars in a documentary about the stars.

Miss Fry stores students’ folders in the filing cabinet in the classroom.

Mrs. Zehr shops for books at used book shops.

LESSON 4: COMPOUND NOUNS

COMPOUND NOUNS

A compound noun is made of two or more words used together as a single noun.

The parts may be written as

a single word: notebook, workplace, software, airplane

two or more separate words: commander in chief

a hyphenated word: t-shirt, brother-in-law, sky-diving

LESSON 3: POSSESSIVE NOUNS

POSSESSIVE NOUNS The possessive form of a noun shows ownership or

relationship.

**Use possessive nouns in place of longer phrases.

Take good care of the colored pencils belonging to

Miss Fry.

Take good care of Miss Fry’s colored pencils.

Relationship:

Miss Fry’s students are all sweet little angels.

Ownership: Tristan Burke stole Omer’s blue chair.

TRICKY ITS

Possessive Its-

The beach was the otter’s favorite place.

The beach was its favorite place.

Contraction It’s-

It is a beautiful day outside.

It’s a beautiful day outside.

SINGULAR VS. PLURAL

Singular ending in –S

Dallas owns cows that eat a lot of grass.

Dallas’s cows eat a lot of grass.

Plurals not ending in –S

The children have many books.

The children’s books are from the library.

Plurals ending in –S We give the dogs bones as treats.

The dogs’ bones are treats for them.

NAMES

Singular Singular Possessive

Plural Plural Possessive

Fry

Miss Fry owns a car.

Fry’s

Miss Fry’s car rocks!

Frys

The Frys own horses.

Frys’

The Frys’ horses like to

eat.

Mr. Johnson Mr. Johnson’s cat

The Johnsons The Johnsons’ cat

LESSON 5: NOUNS AS SUBJECTS AND COMPLEMENTS

NOUNS AS SUBJECTS AND COMPLEMENTS

Nouns as subjects tell whom or what the sentence is about.

Nouns as complements complete the meaning of the verb

Predicate Noun

Renames or defines the subject after a linking verb

Miss Fry is a teacher.

Direct Object Names the receiver of the action of the verb

She has taught many students.

Indirect Object Tells to whom or what or for whom or what an action is done

One of her lessons gave students a thrill.

LESSON 6: NOUNS IN PHRASES

NOUNS AS OBJECTS OF PREPOSITIONS

An object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun that follows the preposition. Nouns often appear in sentences as objects of

prepositions; they add information.

o DMS is a middle school in Central Illinois.

o Miss Fry had the opportunity to teach at Dunlap Middle School.

NOUNS AS APPOSITIVES

An appositive is a noun or pronoun that identifies or renames another noun or pronoun.

An appositive phrase is made up of an appositive and it’s modifiers.

DMS, our school, is one of many in Central Illinois.

Miss Fry, a new teacher at DMS, went to a school for hicks.

**NOTE: You should use commas before and after the appositive phrase if the information is not essential for understanding the noun/pronoun it is describing.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

The first (1)telescopes were built about 1608 by lens makers in the (2)Netherlands.

2. A. predicate noun

B. proper noun

C. collective noun

D. possessive noun

1. A. proper noun

B. common noun

C. collective noun

D. compound noun

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

An Italian scientist, (3)Galileo Galilei, used this new (4)invention to observe heavenly (5)bodies. Galileo’s telescope had little power by today’s standards.

3. A. noun as direct objectB. noun as indirect objectC. Noun as appositiveD. Noun as object of a preposition

4. A. noun as subjectB. noun as direct objectC. noun as indirect objectD. noun as object of a preposition

5. A. Concrete nounB. Abstract nounC. Proper nounD. Compound noun

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

However, this remarkable (6)instrument allowed Galileo to make important discoveries about the (7)solar system.

6. A. noun as object of prepositionB. noun as subjectC. noun as direct objectD. noun as indirect object

7. A. proper nounB. collective nounC. compound nounD. abstract noun

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

Over the (8)centuries, our knowledge of the universe has been greatly expanded by (9)astronomers’ observations through telescopes.

We now know that the stars, planets, and galaxies we see as (10)pinpoints of light may be many light-years away.

8. A. noun as indirect objectB. noun as direct objectC. noun as subjectD. noun as object of preposition

9. A. collective nounB. singular nounC. compound nounD. possessive noun

10. A. possessive nounB. collective nounC. singular nounD. compound noun

THAT’S ALL, FOLKS!