Nouns
What are nouns?
Nouns are people, places, things, or
ideas
 Nouns can be common or proper

– Proper nouns MUST be capitalized.

Examples:
– Common: girl, boy, school, town
– Proper: Sally, Tom, MCMS, Tomkinsville
Concrete and Abstract Nouns

Concrete nouns names something you
can see or touch.
– Ex. book, house, person

Abstract nouns names ideas, qualities,
or characteristics.
– Ex. love, idea, time, culture
Compound Nouns

Nouns made up of two or more words.
These can be combined (as in
compound word), hyphenated, or more
than one word side-by-side.
– Ex: birdhouse (compound word), sister-in-law
(hyphenated), or dining room (more than one)
– Use the rules for making words plural
– Hint: compound words, or two words side-byside, add an ‘s’ to the last word, three words:
add an ‘s’ to the first word.
Possessive Nouns
A possessive noun shows ownership.
 They can be singular or plural.
 For most singular nouns

– Make them possessive by adding an
apostrophe and –s (‘s).
• Example: Karen’s new skis are purple.
• Sarah’s coat is too small.
Possessive Nouns

Singular nouns that end in –s: you must
add an ‘s
– Example: Chris’s shoes are untied.
– Thomas’s shoes are tied.

Plural nouns ending in –s: Just add an
apostrophe (‘)
– Example: The skiers’ goggles are sturdy.
– The students’ books are at home today.
Singular & Plural Nouns

Singular nouns- names one person,
place, thing, or idea
– Examples: girl, boy, school, Tompkinsville,
Lexington

Plural nouns-two or more people,
places, things, or ideas
– Examples: cars, buildings, shoes, clothes,
shirts, books
Singular & Plural Nouns

For most plural nouns, you simply add
an –s.
– Examples: stores, cats, dogs, folders,
pens, pencils

Other ways to form plural nouns:
– Words that end in s, ss, zz, ch, sh, or x
• Add an –es at the end of the word.
– Examples: buzz=buzzes, box=boxes, or
bus=buses
Singular & Plural Nouns

If the word ends in –o and has a vowel before
it you add an –s.
– Examples: studio = studios, stereo=stereos

If the word ends in –o and has a consonant
before it, you add –es, usually.
– Examples: hero = heroes, potato = potatoes, echo
= echoes

Sometimes you only add an –s.
– Examples: zero = zeros, photo = photos, piano
=pianos.
Singular & Plural Nouns

Words that end in –y and have a vowel
before it, add –s.
– Examples: day = days, turkey = turkeys

Words that end in –y and have a
consonant before it, change the –y to –i,
and add –es, usually.
– Examples: family = families, city = cities,
penny = pennies
Singular & Plural Nouns

When a word ends in f or –fe, change
the f or –fe to v, and add –es, usually.
– Examples: leaf = leaves, wife = wives, life
= lives, wolf = wolves

Sometimes you only add an –s.
– Examples: roof=roofs, chief=chiefs,
belief=beliefs.
Singular & Plural Nouns

Collective nouns: Names a group of
people, places, things
– Examples: team, family, class, group,
school
Possessive Nouns

Plural nouns not ending in –s: add ‘s
– The women’s restroom is out of order.
– The men’s sweaters are warm
Collective Nouns

Names a group of that is made up of
individuals.
– Ex: team
• class
• crowd
• swarm
Appositives

A noun placed next to another noun to
identify or clarify it or to add information
about it.
– Ex: My dog, Spot, is a golden retriever.

An appositive phrase is a group of words
that includes an appositive and other
words that describe the appositive.
– Ex: An expert on food, John worried about
food spoilage.
Pronouns
Personal Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or
nouns.
 Those words that refer to people or things are called
personal pronouns.
 Examples: her, he, she, we, they, it, his, hers
 -they refer to the person speaking (1st person), the
one spoken to (2nd person) OR the one spoken about
(3rd person)
 -these pronouns can be either singular or plural
Personal Pronouns
Person
Singular
Plural
First Person
I, me, my,
mine
we, us, our,
ours
Second
Person
you, your,
yours
you, your,
yours
he, him, his,
she, her, hers,
it, its
they, them,
their, theirs
Third Person
Subject and Object Pronouns
A subject pronoun is in the nominative
case.
 It is the subject of the sentence.

– Example: I went to the store.
– We will go to town.
An object pronoun is in the objective
case, meaning it is the direct or indirect
object of the verb.
 It will come after the verb.

– Example: Sarah read me the story.
Pronouns and Antecedents





The word or group of words a pronoun refers to is known as the
antecedent.
The antecedent may or may not be in the same sentence as the
pronoun.
It may refer to any clause, phrase, or noun.
The antecedent may not always refer to the pronoun.
A sentence can have more than one pronoun and more than one
antecedent
– Example: Tom said his mom had a new car.
*his=pronoun & Tom=antecedent
Kara and Mike will go to their aunts’ house today.
*their=pronoun & Kara, Mike=antecedent
Bobby is a middle school student. Next year he will be in high
school.
*he=pronoun & Bobby=antecedent
Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

Must agree with its antecedent in number, person
and gender.
– The number indicates whether it is singular or
plural
– The person refers to a pronoun’s ability indicate
either the person speaking (1st person), the
person spoken to (2nd person), or the person,
place, or thing spoken about (3rd person.)
– The gender is the characteristic of nouns and
pronouns that indicates whether the word is
masculine(referring to boys) or feminine
(referring to girls) or neutral (neither male nor
female.
Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement
(Cont.)
Possessive Pronouns

Same as a possessive nouns, a possessive pronoun
shows ownership.
– Example: The book is hers.


However, possessive pronouns do NOT have an
apostrophe. (it’s is not a pronoun)
Sometimes pronouns are before the noun and
sometimes they are used alone.
– Ex: A fable is a tale. Its characters are often animals.
– Aesop’s Fables are a favorite of mine.
Possessive Pronouns

This table shows the possessive
pronouns that are used alone and before
nouns.
Singular
Used Before my, your, her,
Nouns
his its
Used Alone
mine, yours,
hers, his, its
Plural
our, your,
their
ours, yours
theirs
Indefinite Pronouns






An indefinite pronoun does not refer to a particular
person, place, thing, or idea.
They too can be used alone or with nouns.
They can be singular or plural.
Indefinite pronouns that change their number are all,
any, most, none, & some.
Possessive pronouns sometimes have indefinite
pronouns as their antecedents.
In that case, the pronouns must agree in number.
Indefinite Pronouns
Always SINGULAR
Another
Anybody
Anyone
Anything
Each
either
Everybody
Everyone
Everything
Much
Neither
Nobody
No one
Nothing
One
Somebody
Someone
something
Always PLURAL
Both
Few
Many
Others
several
**Pronouns are not capitalized unless they are
the beginning word in a sentence.**