COMPOSITION 9Parts of Speech: Nouns

Nouns in General

Follow along on Text page 342. A noun is a person, place, thing,

or idea. Generally, nouns are easiest to

think about as what, colloquially, could be referred to as STUFF.

We will work on Exercise 1 together.

Collective Nouns Follow along on Textbook page 342. Collective nouns refer to a group of nouns. The nouns can be either singular or plural

depending on the action being taken by the persons, places, things, or ideas referred to. For example, one collective noun is class.

As one unit, the class can be dismissed as singular if the members are let go at one time.

As many units, the members of the class can be dismissed separately, in which case the noun class would become plural.

We will brainstorm some collective noun sentences together.

Noun Number Follow along on text pages 781-782. Number refers to the amount of the

stuff referred to by a particular noun. When a single person, place, thing, or

idea is referred to, the noun is singular. When more than one person, place, thing,

or idea is referred to, the noun is plural. Thus, the number of a noun answers

the question, “How many?”

Forming Plurals of Nouns Most nouns require the letter “s” to be added at the ends

of the words in order to form the plurals. Example: Pencil Pencils

If a noun ends in s, x, z, ch, or sh, add “es.” Example: Porch Porches

If a noun ends in a consonant followed by “y,” change the “y” to “i” and add “es.” Example: Story Stories

In some cases, nouns ending in “f” form the plural by changing the “f” to “v” and adding either “s” or “es.” You can tell when to do this by checking the pronunciation of the plural form of the word. If it sounds like a “v,” it is probably a “v!” Example: Belief Beliefs, but Thief Thieves

Forming Plurals of Nouns (con’d)

If a noun ends in a consonant followed by “o,” add “es.” The exception to this is any noun that refers to something

musical. Some other nouns have two plural forms, either adding “s”

or “es.” Example: Veto Vetoes, but Banjo Banjos

Some nouns form their plurals in irregular (weird) ways. They simply have to be memorized. Example: Man Men

Some other nouns are the same in the plural form as they are in the singular. These must also be memorized. Example: Deer Deer

Forming Plurals of Nouns (con’d)

Latin and Greek loan words are words incorporated into the English language in their archaic forms, and the plurals are formed in the same ways as they are in the original languages. Like irregular nouns, they simply must be memorized. Example: Analysis Analyses

Numerals, letters, symbols, and words objectively referred to as nouns form the plurals by adding an apostrophe and an “s.” Example: 7 7’s

We will work together on Exercise 18.

Compound Nouns Follow along on textbook page 343. Compound nouns consist of two or

more words used together as single nouns. Some are formed with hyphens, while others are not. Examples: Mother-in-law; prime

minister We will work together on Exercise 2

in your textbook.

Forming Plurals of Compound Nouns

A compound noun is a combination of two or more nouns made to form one noun (e.g., icebox). If the compound noun is formed in one word, the

plural is formed by adding either “s” or “es,” based on the rules described earlier. Example: Mouthful Mouthfuls

If the compound noun is formed with more than one hyphenated word, the plural is formed by making the main, or first noun, plural. Example: Brother-in-law Brothers-in-law

We will brainstorm some examples together.

Proper and Common Nouns

Follow along on Textbook page 344. A proper noun names a particular person,

place, thing, or idea. It is always capitalized. Example: Francisco Lameiro

A common noun names any one of many persons, places, things, or ideas. It is not capitalized. Example: Teacher

We will work together on Exercise 3 in the textbook.

Concrete and Abstract Nouns

A concrete noun is a noun that describes something that can be perceived by the senses. In other words, it can be seen, smelled, heard, felt, or tasted. Example: Ice

An abstract noun names an idea, feeling, quality, or characteristic. It is stuff that cannot be physically perceived. Example: Clarity

We will brainstorm a few examples of each kind of noun together.

Possessive Nouns Follow along on Textbook pages 713-715. The possessive case of a noun clarifies ownership or relationship. The possessive case of a singular noun is formed by adding an

apostrophe and the letter “s.” Example: The table’s legs

The possessive case of a proper noun that ends in “s” and has two or more syllables is formed by merely adding an apostrophe, as is the possessive case of a monosyllabic proper noun ending in “s” if adding an apostrophe and “s” would make the pronunciation awkward. Examples: Jesus’, James’

The possessive case of a plural noun ending in “s” is formed by adding only an apostrophe. The possessive case of a plural noun not ending in “s” calls for both an apostrophe and an “s.” Examples: The tables’ legs; The alumni’s wives

Possessive Nouns (con’d) For compound nouns, names of organizations or

businesses, and nouns indicating that two or more people possess something together (nouns of joint possession), the last word is possessive in case. Example: The vice-president’s hat

When two or more nouns possess things individually, each noun is possessive in form. Example: The president’s and vice-president’s offices

(they have separate offices) Example: The president and vice-president’s office (they

share an office) We will work together on Exercise 54 in the textbook.

Analogies Follow along on Textbook pages 358-359. An analogy is a comparison of two nouns that works

in such a way that if two things are alike in some way, one can infer (hypothesize) that two other things have the same similarity or difference between them. Example: Car is to road as plane is to air.

To solve an analogy, form a sentence which states the similarity between the first two items. Then, fill in the blank in the second sentence to try to find that same relationship.

We will work together on Practice section 1.

That’s it for nouns!

Nouns done.Test soon.Let’s review.