Nouns

What is a Noun?

Every person, place, and thing has a name. Explorer, sea, and boat are names. An idea- something that cannot be seen, heard, or touched, such as courage– also has a name. All these names are nouns. A noun such as Santa Maria is more than one word.

Most nouns have a singular and a plural form. A word, such as voyage, that refers to one is singular. A word, such as voyages, that refers to more than one is plural.

Effective writing is specific and informative, not general or vague.

Nouns in English

Nouns may be classified in three ways: proper or common; abstract or concrete; collective or compound.

Proper Nouns

A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are capitalized: Kay, Miami, White House.

Common Nouns

A common noun is a noun that does not name a particular person, place, or thing. Common nouns are not capitalized: woman, city, building.

Abstract Nouns

An abstract noun names a quality, a characteristic, an idea: beauty, strength, love, courage.

Concrete Nouns

A concrete noun names an object that can be perceived by the senses: hat, desk, book, box.

Collective Nouns

A collective noun names a group: crowd, team, class.

Compound Nouns

A compound noun is a noun of more than one word: Chase Manhattan Bank, Ringling Brothers Circus, and high school.

Summary

A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. Use exact nouns that provide details to make your writing informative and interesting to the reader.

Practice

A. Name the nouns in each sentence.

1. Europeans brought gold, gems, and spices from the Orient. ______________________________________________________________________________
2. Columbus searched for shorter routes to such riches. ______________________________________________________________________________
3. Americans are reminded of his bravery on Columbus Day. ______________________________________________________________________________
4. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a very popular poet in the nineteenth century. ______________________________________________________________________________
5. His work has been translated into many languages. ______________________________________________________________________________
6. Longfellow taught languages at Harvard University. ______________________________________________________________________________
7. People gathered at his home in Massachusetts. ______________________________________________________________________________
8. Events from history inspired this writer. ______________________________________________________________________________
9. “Paul Revere’s Ride” is one well-known example. ______________________________________________________________________________
10. If Longfellow had not written this poem, Revere might be only a footnote in history books. ______________________________________________________________________________

B. Write the nouns in each sentence. Write none if the sentence has no highlighted noun.

1. Across the ages, sailors have made great discoveries. ______________________________________________________________________________
2. Commerce encouraged many sailors to explore. ______________________________________________________________________________
3. In the process, they discovered new lands and oceans. ______________________________________________________________________________
4. Magellan, for example, found a water passage around South America and also discovered an ocean that he called the Pacific Ocean. ______________________________________________________________________________
5. Thus many explorers brought home glory as well as great riches. ______________________________________________________________________________

C. In this article about the poet Emily Dickinson, multiple words are highlighted. Write the nouns in each sentence, and write none if the sentence has no underlined noun.

1. Emily Dickinson was born in 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts. ______________________________________________________________________________
2. She lived her entire life in the same house. ______________________________________________________________________________
3. As an adult, she rarely travelled farther than her own garden. ______________________________________________________________________________
4. Few people knew she was a poet. ______________________________________________________________________________
5. After she died, Emily’s sister found bundles of poetry in her room. ______________________________________________________________________________
6. This poetry is some of the greatest ever produced in America. ______________________________________________________________________________
7. Emily Dickinson lacked experience in a world larger than her own village. ______________________________________________________________________________
8. However, she had an intense inner life. ______________________________________________________________________________
9. In her imagination, an ordinary object became a sign of something great. ______________________________________________________________________________
10. For example, a tiny flower held the secrets of the universe. ______________________________________________________________________________

D. In each sentence, identify whether each noun names a person, place, thing, or idea.

1. A successful journey needs more than luck. ______________________________________________________________________________
2. Travellers benefited from the work of scientists. ______________________________________________________________________________
3. Copernicus studied the movement of the planets. ______________________________________________________________________________
4. Galileo built a telescope that was used at sea. ______________________________________________________________________________
5. Navigators also used maps made by mapmakers. ______________________________________________________________________________
6. The potential for success is in every child. ______________________________________________________________________________
7. Graduates today face stiff competition in every field. ______________________________________________________________________________
8. A winner seizes every opportunity. ______________________________________________________________________________
9. That counsellor advised May to talk about her talents and accomplishments in an interview. ______________________________________________________________________________

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