Nouns and Their Jobs

Nouns and Their Jobs Common and Proper, Singular and Plural, Possessive Nouns, Subjects, Predicate Nouns, Direct Objects, and Indirect Objects

What Is a Noun? • A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. • John • excitement • Rachel • glory • peanut • girl • satisfaction

Common and Proper Nouns • A common noun is a general name for a person, place, thing, or idea. • Common nouns are NEVER capitalized. • Ex. people, home, state • A proper noun is the specific name for a person, place, thing, or idea. It is ALWAYS capitalized. • Ex. Larsen ,Louisiana, TajMahal

Singular and Plural Nouns • http://www.firstschoolyears.com/literacy/word/other/plurals/resources/rules.htm

Possessive Nouns • The possessive form of a noun shows ownership or relationship. • The divers waited outside the archaeologist's tent. • The tent belongs to the archaeologist.

Nouns as the Subject • The subject tells whom or what the sentence is about. • The little puppy ran through the pet store. • The Aztec Empire was located in the area now known as Mexico. • Mrs. Hopkins teaches sixth grade.

Nouns as Complements • A complement is a word that completes the meaning of a verb. • There are three types of complements: • Predicate nouns • Direct objects • Indirect objects

Predicate Nouns • Renames or defines the subject after a linking verb • Remember! A linking verb is a verb that links the subject to a word in the predicate. Many times, linking verbs are forms of the verb “be”. (Am, is, are, was, were, etc.) • The Aztecs were fierce warriors. • What were the Aztecs? They were warriors. • The animal trainer is a patient person. • A bareback rider is a skilled performer. *Note – Remember that you are looking for the NOUN, not the ADJECTIVE.

Nouns as Direct Objects • Names the receiver of the action of the verb. • We took pictures of the clown. • What did we take? We took pictures. • She baked delicious biscuits in the morning. • What did she bake? She baked biscuits. • A famous composer wrote the music for the ballet. • What did the composer write? The composer wrote music.

Nouns as Indirect Objects • Tells to whom or what or for whom or what an action is being done. • The Aztecs gave the Spanish gold and other precious goods. • The Aztecs gave gold to whom? They gave it to the Spanish. • Dad gave Matthew his camera. • Dad gave the camera to whom? He gave it to Matthew. • The trainer offered his animals treats in exchange for good behavior. • The trainer offered treats to what? The trainer gave treats to animals.

How to Find the PN, DO, and IO • Step one: Find the verb. • Step two: Is the verb action or linking? • Step three: If the verb is linking, the following noun is the predicate noun. If the verb is action, continue following the steps. • Step four: If the verb is action, the “what” is the direct object. The receiver of the direct object is the indirect object. • Now, that’s confusing! Let’s practice!

How to Find the PN, DO, and IO Carolyne is a very sweet girl. First, find the verb. ~is Next, is it action or linking? linking Girl must be the PN. John drove the car around the block. Find the verb. ~drove Action or linking? ~action John drove what? ~car (remember, the "what" is the DO) Car is the DO. Mrs. Miller gave the students a test on Friday afternoon. Find the verb. ~gave Action or linking? ~ action Mrs. Miller gave what? ~test (DO) To whom? ~students (students received the DO) Students is the IO. Note** The indirect object will always be between the action verb and the direct object. If the noun comes after the direct object, it isn't the indirect object. It is the object of the preposition.

More Practice • For more practice, complete the exercises on page 44 in the Language Network book. Below are some helpful links. • http://www.lessontutor.com/eesprednouns.html • http://www.grammaruntied.com/nouns/IDobject.html • http://www.kwiznet.com/p/takeQuiz.php?ChapterID=2287&CurriculumID=58&Num=1.2

Nouns and Their Jobs