WHAT IS A NOUN?

• A noun is a word that names a person, a place, or a thing. • How many nouns are in the following sentence?

The birds rested in their nests in the trees by my house.

PRACTICE

• The birds rested in their nests in the trees by my house. • There were 4 nouns in that sentence.

EXAMPLES

• Persons: girl, student, Ms. Knapp, policeman • Places: school, park, Dearborn, Alaska • Things: flag, book, pencil

COMMON VS. PROPER

• A common noun is used when you are talking about persons, places, or things in general. • A proper noun is used when you are talking about specific persons, places, or things.

COMMON VS. PROPER

• • • • • • Are the following words common or proper? school october monday frog los angelos beach

SINGULAR VS. PLURAL

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

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RULES FOR CHANGING SINGULAR TO PLURAL

For most nouns, you just need to add an “s” to the end of the word. • • • kid  kids park  parks car  cars

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RULES FOR CHANGING SINGULAR TO PLURAL

For nouns ending in s, x, ch, or sh, you need to add an “-es” to the end of the word. • • • • cross  crosses tax  taxes bunch  bunches hush  hushes

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RULES FOR CHANGING SINGULAR TO PLURAL

For nouns ending in a vowel and a y, add “–s”. • • • key  keys toy  toys pray  prays

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RULES FOR CHANGING SINGULAR TO PLURAL

For nouns ending in a consonant and a y, change the y to an i and add “–es”. • • • sky  skies try  tries imply  implies

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RULES FOR CHANGING SINGULAR TO PLURAL

For nouns ending in f or fe, change the f to a v and add “es”; for other nouns, just add “s”. • • • life  lives half  halves sniff  sniffs

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RULES FOR CHANGING SINGULAR TO PLURAL

For nouns ending in a vowel and o, add “s”. • • rodeo  rodeos radio  radios

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RULES FOR CHANGING SINGULAR TO PLURAL

For nouns ending in a consonant and o, add “s” or “-es”. • • • • solo  solos tomato  tomatoes potato  potatoes piano  pianos

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RULES FOR CHANGING SINGULAR TO PLURAL

Some nouns have unique changes from singular to plural. • • • • mouse  mice goose  geese octopus  octopi foot  feet

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RULES FOR CHANGING SINGULAR TO PLURAL

Some nouns stay the same from singular to plural. • • • deer  deer moose  moose fish  fish

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WHAT IS A SINGULAR POSSESSIVE NOUN?

It shows that one person, place, or thing has or owns something. • To show ownership, add an apostrophe and an s (‘s)

EXAMPLES

• • The fur of the dog  The dog’s fur • • The tail of the fox  The fox’s tail

EXAMPLES

• • The name of the dog  The dog’s name • • The class of Ms. Knapp  Ms. Knapp’s class

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WHAT IS A PLURAL POSSESSIVE NOUN?

It shows ownership of a plural noun. If it ends in an “s” already, just add an apostrophe. If it doesn’t end in an “s”, add an apostrophe and an s.

EXAMPLES

• • The yards of the neighbors  The people’s names • • The cars of the teachers  The teachers’ cars

EXAMPLES

• • The names of the people  The neighbor’s yards • • The crayons of the children  The children’s crayons