1. parts of speech
1.1. the noun
The Noun
OBJECTIVES
■ To identify nouns in sentences ■ To identify compound nouns in sentences
■ To identify common, proper, concrete, abstract, and collective nouns in sentences
a- A noun is a word or word group that is used to name a person, a place, a thing, or an idea.
NOUNS
In elementary school you probably learned that a noun refers to a person, place, or thing. In addition, nouns name qualities, feelings, concepts, activities, and measures.
Persons: Stephanie, Dr. Edelstein, teacher, accountant
Places: Chicago, island, Italy, college
Things: novel, surfboard, bicycle, horse
Qualities: patience, honesty, initiative, enthusiasm
Feelings: happiness, anger, confusion, sadness
Concepts: knowledge, freedom, friendship, travel
Activities: snowboarding, dancing, management, eating
Measures: day, week, inch, kilometer, million
Nouns are important words in our language. Sentences revolve around nouns because these words function both as subjects, and as objects of verbs. To determine whether a word is really a noun, try using it with the verb is or are. Notice that all the nouns listed here would make sense if used in this way: Stephanie is young, Chicago is in Illinois, horses are beautiful, dancing is fun, and so on.
Nouns can be common or proper; proper nouns require a capital letter.
Common: book, apple, crayon
Proper: Houston, Mr. Brown, the Bible
Nouns can be singular or plural.
Singular: bird, road, wish, army, crisis, Mrs. Brown
Making a noun plural usually involves adding an “s” or “es” to the singular noun, but there are many exceptions.
Plural: birds, roads, wishes, armies, crises, the Browns.
Add -s to the end of most nouns. For example: cat/cats, umbrella/umbrellas.
1- Add -es to the end of a noun ending in ch, s, sh, x, or z. For example: church/churches, loss/losses.
2- Drop the -y and add -ies to to a noun ending in a consonant followed by -y. For example: penny/pennies, candy/candies.
3- Change f to v and add -es to many nouns ending in f or fe. For example: knife/knives, thief/thieves.
4- Some nouns change in unpredictable ways when they become plural. For example, child/children, foot/feet.
5- Some nouns do not change when they become plural. For example, deer/deer, sheep/sheep.
Some nouns are made up of two or more words put together. These are called compound nouns or compound words. Examples include:
thunderstorm teardrop bumblebee
sunshine dishwasher daydream
firefighter baseball sunset
b- Compound Nouns
A compound noun is made up of two or more words sed together as a single noun.
The parts of a compound noun may be written as one word,as separate words,o r as a hyphenated word :
|
One Word |
basketball, filmmaker, drugstore, doghouse, grasshopper, grandson, Passover, Greenland, Iceland |
|
Separate Words |
fire drill, chain reaction, The Call of the Wild, Thomas A. Edison, House of Representatives, North Americans |
|
Hyphenated Word |
self-control, cross-references, fun-draiser, mother-inlaw, out-of-doors, president-elect |
c- Common Nouns and Proper Nouns
A common noun names any one of a group of persons, places, things, or ideas.
A common noun generally does not begin with a capital letter.
A proper noun names a particular person, place, thing, or idea.
A proper noun begins with a capital letter.
A proper noun names a particular person, place, thing, or idea and begins with a capital letter. A common noun names any one of a group of persons, places, things, or ideas. It is usually not capitalized.
Common Nouns Proper Nouns
poem “The Raven,” I Am Joaquín
country Spain, Ivory Coast
athlete Lance Armstrong, Venus Williams
ship Mayflower, U.S.S. Constitution
newspaper The New York Times, USA Today
river Rio de la Plata, Ohio River
street Market Street, University Avenue
day Friday, Independence Day
city Los Angeles, New Delhi, Houston
organization National Forensic League, Girl Scouts of America
d- Concrete Nouns and Abstract Nouns
A concrete noun names a person, place, or thing that can be perceived by one or more of the senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell).
An abstract noun names an idea, a feeling, a quality, or a characteristic.
Concrete Nouns hummingbird, telephone, teacher, popcorn, ocean, Golden Gate Bridge, Jesse Jackson
Abstract Nouns knowledge, patriotism, love, humor, self-confidence, beauty, competition, Zen Buddhism
e- Collective Nouns
A collective noun is a word that names a group.
People Animals Things
audience brood batch
chorus flock bundle
committee herd cluster
crew litter collection
faculty pack fleet
family pride set