What is a noun?

1. What is a noun? • A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing or idea • Person: archaeologist, doctor, Theresa, Bob • Place: school, home, Georgia • Thing: pail, shovel, football • Idea: exploration, excitement, happiness

2. What is a noun? • Common noun vs. Proper noun • Common Noun: a general name for a person, place, thing, or idea and is not capitalized (Ex. school, lake, store) • Proper noun: the name of a particular person, place, thing, or idea and is always capitalized (Ex. Lanier Middle School, Lake Lanier, Publix)

3. What is a noun? • Singular Noun vs. Plural Noun • Singular noun: names one person, place, thing, or idea (Ex. A tourist walked down the street.) • Plural noun: names more than one person, place, thing, or idea (Ex. Tourists walked down the street.)

4. What is a noun? • Plural noun rules: - add –s to most nouns: ruin=ruins - add –es to a noun that ends in s, sh, ch, x, or z: dish=dishes, couch=couches, fox=foxes - add –s to most nouns that end in o: volcano=volcanos - for most nouns ending in y, change the y to I and add –es: city=cities - when the vowel comes before the y, just add –s: stairway=stairways - for most nouns that end in f or fe, change the f to v and add –esor just –s: knife=knives, shelf=shelves

5. What is a noun? • The plurals of some nouns are found in unusual ways: • Child= children • Woman= women • Man= men • Foot= feet

6. What is a noun? • Possessive nouns: • The possessive form of a noun shows ownership • The divers waited outside the archaeologist’s tent. • The archaeologist’s family had come to visit. • Singular nouns- add ‘s to make it possessive (Mars=Mars’s) • Plural nouns ending in –s- add an apostrophe to make it possessive (travelers=travelers’) • Plural nouns not ending in –s- add an ‘s to make it possessive (people=people’s)