Excerpts from Elements of Writing, Pupil's Edition, Second Course. Copyright 1998 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

NOUN

A word used to name a person, place, thing, or idea

Compound Noun =

Two or more words that are used to make one noun

seafood grandmother daydream compact disc grand piano police office self-esteem great-grandparents

Collective Noun =

Names one thing that has many parts or members

faculty family herd team band jury

Common / Proper Nouns =

Common—names any one of a group of persons, places, or things– Examples—poem, day, city, street

Common / Proper Nouns =

Proper—name a specific or particular person, place, or things– Examples—“The Raven”, Friday, Booneville,

Martin Luther King Drive

Concrete Noun =

Names a person, place, or thing that can be perceived or experienced with one of the five senses– Examples—hummingbird, music, popcorn, N-

Sync, ocean, star, heat, hamburger

Abstract Noun =

Names a feeling, quality, idea, characteristic, or emotion that is experienced in your mind– Examples = love, joy, freedom, peace,

knowledge, pride, faith

Tell whether each word names a person, place, thing, or idea.Note: some are not nouns

student marbles satisfaction enter entrance ugly often singer

person thing idea not noun place not noun not noun person

England and under liberty roadside forgiveness file clerk sunflower

place not noun not noun idea place idea person thing

Tell whether each word names a person, place, thing, or idea.Note: some are not nouns

Tell whether each noun is concrete or abstract.

Philadelphia wisdom eagle First

Continental Congress

freedom

concrete abstract concrete concrete

abstract

Thomas Jefferson

Declaration of Independence

Potomac River law happiness

concrete

concrete

concrete abstract abstract

Tell whether each noun is concrete or abstract.

My sister-in-law and her family live on a houseboat on Lake Ontario.

sister-in-law

houseboat

Lake Ontario

family

Identify any collective or compound nouns.

The cast felt great self-respect when the audience cheered on and on.

Identify any collective orcompound nouns.

self-respect

audience

cast

Noun Review

Identify the underlined noun using the choices given. 1. The very idea of monsters can inspire fear in children.

(concrete, abstract) 2. A werewolf is a human who can turn into a wolf. (common,

proper) 3. Werewolves have been part of mythology since ancient

Rome. (common, proper) 4. Folktales from Germany have added a modern twist to the

lore of the werewolf. (common, proper) 5. Perhaps the savagery of real wolves inspired storytellers to

create the myth of the werewolf. (concrete, abstract) 6. According to some tales, humans change themselves into

werewolves by drinking water from a werewolf’s footprint. (concrete, abstract)

Noun Review

Underline the noun or nouns described in parentheses after each sentence.

1. The Black Death of medieval times created a time of fear and superstition. (proper noun)

2. According to legend, humans changed into werewolves when they put on wolf skins. (common noun)

3. Storytellers’ tales of werewolves chilled their nervous listeners. (possessive noun)

4. Some stories tell of witches who could become wolves. (plural noun)

5. The full moon is linked to the appearance of werewolves. (singular noun)

6. Just imagine an entire pack of werewolves! (collective noun)7. Strories of monsters have always created suspense.

(abstract noun)

Noun Review

Replace each noun on the list with the type of nouns specified in parentheses. Your noun should reflect the same idea or subject as the noun given.

1. occupation (common) 2. animal group (collective) 3. athlete (proper) 4. feeling (abstract) 5. tool (concrete) 6. fruit (compound) 7. Governmental organization (collective) 8. reading material (common) 9. type of government (abstract) 10. weather phenomena (compound)

Noun Review

Complete the paragraph by supplying nouns as indicated in parentheses.

For sheer (1.abstract noun) nothing can beat a story about a sea monster. According to legend, sea monsters can be found in all bodies of water, especially the (2. proper noun). The whale’s size, the (3. possessive noun) teeth, and the squid’s shape were combined to create legendary sea serpents. Despite their huge size, sea creatures are said to move with (4. abstract noun). Even so, a (5. collective noun) of ships could be destroyed by the movements of a few whales. Early sailors thought the sounds of the dolphin were voices of lost (6. plural noun). Their (7.concrete noun) sounded sad and lonely.