Writing in Nouns and VerbsNoun - A contentword that can be usedto refer to a person, place, thing, quality, or action.George! Jupiter! Ice cream! Courage! Books! Bottles! Godzilla! All of these words are nouns, words

that identify the whos, wheres, and whats in language. Nouns name people, places, and things. Read the

sentence that follows:

George and Godzilla walked to Papa John's to order a large pepperoni pizza.

George is a person. Papa John's is a place. Pizza is a thing. Godzilla likes to think he's a person, is as

big as a place, but qualifies as another thing.

Persons: John

hunter

audience

Places:

theater

Minnesota park

Things:

car

television hat

Ideas:

inspiration joy

freedom a) Common and Proper NounAcommon nounis a noun referring to a person, place, or thing in a general sense -- usually, you should write it with a capital letter only when it begins a sentence. A common noun is the opposite of a proper noun.

In each of the following sentences, the common nouns arehighlighted:

According to thesign, the nearesttownis 60milesaway.

All thegardensin theneighbourhoodwere invaded bybeetlesthissummer.

I don't understand why somepeopleinsist on having six differentkindsofmustardin theircupboards.

The roadcrewwas startled by thesightof three largemoosecrossing theroad.

Many child-careworkersare underpaid.

Sometimes you will make proper nouns out of common nouns, as in the following examples:

The tenants in theGarnetApartmentsare appealing the large and sudden increase in their rent.

The meals in the BouncingBeanRestaurantare less expensive than meals in ordinary restaurants.

Many witches refer to the Renaissance as the BurningTimes.

TheDiary of Anne Frankis often a child's first introduction to the history of theHolocaust.A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, thing, or idea. They are capitalized.You always write aproper nounwith a capital letter, since the noun represents the name of a specific person, place, or thing. The names of days of the week, months, historical documents, institutions, organisations, religions, their holy texts and their adherents are proper nouns. A proper noun is the opposite of a common noun

In each of the following sentences, the proper nouns arehighlighted:

TheMarroonswere transported fromJamaicaand forced to build the fortifications inHalifax.

Many people dreadMondaymornings.

Beltaneis celebrated on the first ofMay.

Abrahamappears in theTalmudand in theKoran.

Last year, I had aBaptist, aBuddhist, and aGardnerian Witchas roommates.

b) Concrete or Abstract NounsAconcrete nounis a noun which names anything (or anyone) that you can perceive through your physical senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing, or smell. A concrete noun is the opposite of a abstract noun.

Thehighlightedwords in the following sentences are all concrete nouns:

Thejudgehanded thefilesto theclerk.

Whenever they take thedogto thebeach, it spends hours chasingwaves.

The real estateagenturged thecoupleto buy the secondhousebecause it had newshingles.

As thecardrove past thepark, thethumpof a discotuneoverwhelmed the stringquartet'srenditionof aminuet.

Thebook binderreplaced the flimsy papercoverwith a sturdy, cloth-coveredboard.

Anabstract nounis a noun which names anything which you cannotperceive through your five physical senses, and is the opposite of a concrete noun. Thehighlightedwords in the following sentences are all abstract nouns:

Buying the fire extinguisher was anafterthought.

Tillie is amused by people who are nostalgic aboutchildhood.

Justiceoften seems to slip out of our grasp.

Some scientists believe thatschizophreniais transmitted genetically.

c) Singular or Plural NounsSingular NounsOf all the different types of nouns, learning to recognize singular nouns and understanding when to use them is hands down the easiest. There are no particular rules to followyou dont have to add letters to the end or change the spelling as you do with plural nouns and irregular plural nouns.Quite simply, a singular noun is a noun that refers to only one person, one place, one thing, or one idea.

For example there is one lamp on my bookcase and one chair at my desk. In these examples the nounslamp, bookcase, chair, and deskare all singular because they indicate only one.Plural NounsCreating the plural forms of nouns can be a little tricky. The good news is once you learn the rules, changing singular nouns to plural nouns gets much easier. Here are the guidelines you need and a few examples to set you on your way.The word plural is defined as referring to or concerning more than one. So plural nouns are words that mean more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

1) Most nouns can be changed to the plural form by adding s or es to the end of the word.

2) Another example is words that end in y change the y to i and add es.

Examples of Plural Nouns

Since the rules can be confusing when changing singular nouns to plurals, here are a few more examples of the different forms plural nouns can take.

Forming plurals by simply adding an s to the end of the word.

More than one dog = dogs More than one rake=rakes More than one book=books More than one mitten = mittens More than one wall = walls More than one house = houses More than one truth = truthsNouns that end ins, ch,orxare made plural by adding an es to the end of the word.

More than one switch = switches More than one ax = axes More than one mass = masses More than one church = churches More than one tax = taxes More than one bus = busesWords that end in y become plural by changing the y to i and adding es.

More than one baby = babies More than one kitty = kitties More than one city = cities More than one lady = ladiesIrregular Plural Nouns

Irregular plural nouns are a little tricky because they dont follow the rules! In order to change irregular singular nouns to the plural form you have to change the spelling. Adding an s or es wont do the trick.

One example is the singularfootand the plural form of the word,feet. Find out more aboutirregular plural nouns.

Plural Possessive Nouns

In order to make a plural noun possessive that doesnt end in the letter s all you have to do is add an apostrophe and an s.

Women = womens Mice = micesIf the plural noun ends in an s it becomes possessive by adding an apostrophe at the end.

Cars = cars Rivers = riversd) Countable and Non-countable NounsAcountable noun(orcount noun) is a noun with both a singular and a plural form, and it names anything (or anyone) that you cancount. You can make a countable noun plural and attach it to a plural verb in a sentence. Countable nouns are the opposite of non-countable nouns and collective nouns.

In each of the following sentences, thehighlightedwords are countable nouns:

We painted thetablered and thechairsblue.

Since he inherited hisaunt'slibrary, Jerome spends everyweekendindexing hisbooks.

Miriam found six silverdollarsin thetoeof asock.

The oaktreelost threebranchesin thehurricane.

Over thecourseof twenty-sevenyears, Martha Ballad delivered just over eight hundredbabies.

Anon-countable noun(ormass noun) is a noun which does not have a plural form, and which refers to something that you could (or would) not usually count. A non-countable noun always takes a singular verb in a sentence. Non-countable nouns are similar to collective nouns, and are the opposite of countable nouns.

Thehighlightedwords in the following sentences are non-countable nouns:

Joseph Priestly discoveredoxygen.

The word "oxygen" cannot normally be made plural.

Oxygenis essential to human life.

Since "oxygen" is a non-countable noun, it takes the singular verb "is" rather than the plural verb "are."

We decided to sell thefurniturerather than take it with us when we moved.

You cannot make the noun "furniture" plural.

Thefurnitureis heaped in the middle of the room.

Since "furniture" is a non-countable noun, it takes a singular verb, "is heaped."

The crew spread thegravelover the roadbed.

You cannot make the non-countable noun "gravel" plural.

Gravelis more expensive than I thought.

Since "gravel" is a non-countable noun, it takes the singular verb form "is."

e) Collective Nouns

Acollective nounis a noun naming a group of things, animals, or persons. You could count the individual members of the group, but you usually think of the group as a whole is generally as one unit. You need to be able to recognise collective nouns in order to maintain subject-verb agreement. A collective noun is similar to a non-countable noun, and is roughly the opposite of a countable noun.

In each of the following sentences, thehighlightedword is a collective noun:

Theflockof geese spends most of its time in the pasture.

The collective noun "flock" takes the singular verb "spends."

Thejuryis dining on take-out chicken tonight.

In this example the collective noun "jury" is the subject of the singularcompound verb"is dining."

The steeringcommitteemeets every Wednesday afternoon.

Here the collective noun "committee" takes a singular verb, "meets."

Theclasswas startled by the bursting light bulb.

In this sentence the word "class" is a collective noun and takes the singular compound verb "was startled."

f) Compound NounsWords can be combined to formcompound nouns.These are very common, and new combinations are invented almost daily. They normally have two parts. Thesecond part identifies the object or person in question (man, friend, tank, table, room). Thefirst part tells us what kind of object or person it is, or what its purposeis (police, boy, water, dining, bed)What type / what purposeWhat or who

Policeman

Boyfriend

Watertank

Diningtable

Bedroom

The two parts may be written in a number of ways :1. as one word.Example:policeman,boyfriend2. as two words joined with a hyphen.Example:dining-table3. as two separate words.Example:fish tank.

There are no clear rules about this - so write the common compounds that you know well as one word, and the others as two words.

The two parts may be:Examples:

noun + nounbedroomwater tankmotorcycleprinter cartridge

noun + verbrainfallhaircuttrain-spotting

noun + adverbhanger-onpasser-by

verb + nounwashing machinedriving licenceswimming pool

verb + adverb*lookouttake-offdrawback

adjective + noungreenhousesoftwareredhead

adjective + verbdry-cleaningpublic speaking

adverb + nounonlookerbystander

adverb + verb*outputoverthrowupturninput

Compound nouns often have a meaning that is different from the two separate words.

Stressis important in pronunciation, as it distinguishes between a compound noun (e.g.greenhouse) and an adjective with a noun (e.g.green house).

In compound nouns, the stress usually falls on the first syllable:

a 'greenhouse= place where we grow plants (compound noun)agreen 'house= house painted green (adjective and noun)a 'bluebird= type of bird (compound noun)ablue 'bird= any bird with blue feathers (adjective and noun)g) Possessive NounsThe possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. 'Belonging to' or 'ownership' isoneof the relationships it expresses :

John owns a car. ('John' is thepossessororowner) It isJohn'scar. America has some gold reserves. ('America' is theowner)

They areAmerica'sgold reserves.

It can also express other relationships, for example:

where someone works or studies or spends time: John goes to this school. This isJohn'sschool.

John sleeps in this room. This isJohn'sroom.

a family relationship: John'smother

The Queen'sdaughter

qualities: John'spatience.

The politician'shypocrisy.

Form

To form the possessive, add's('apostrophe -s') to the noun.If the noun is plural, or already ends in-s, just add:'(an apostrophe).

For names ending in -s:In speaking we add the sound /z/ to the name, but in writing it is possible to use either'sor just'.The'sform is more common. e.g.Thomas'sbook,James'sshop.

Examples

The car of John =John'scar.

The room of the girls =The girls'room.

Clothes for men =Men'sclothes.

The sister of Charles =Charles'sister.

The boat of the sailors =The sailors'boat.

There are also some fixed expressions where the possessive form is used:

Time expressionsOther expressions

aday'sworkForGod'ssake!

afortnight'sholidayapound'sworth of apples.

amonth'spaythewater'sedge

today'snewspaperastone'sthrow away (= very near)

in ayear'stimeatdeath'sdoor (= very ill)

in mymind'seye (= in my imagination)

The possessive is also used to refer to shops, restaurants, churches and colleges, using the name or job title of the owner.

Examples:

the grocer'sthe doctor'sthe vet's

the newsagent'sthe chemist'sSmith's

the dentist'sTommy Tucker'sLuigi's

Saint Mary'sSaint James's

1. Shall we go toLuigi'sfor lunch?

2. I've got an appointment atthe dentist'sat eleven o'clock.

3. IsSaint Mary'san all-girls school?

A) Verb - The wordclass that serves as the predicate of a sentenceReferences:

Wordweb

http://www.writingcentre.uottawa.ca/hypergrammar/nouns.html http://www.k12reader.com/plural-nouns/ http://www.k12reader.com/singular-nouns/ http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/nouns4.php http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/possesive1.php