Lesson 1: Parts Of Speech
Nouns and Pronouns
In this section we will discuss nouns and pronouns since they go together. There are proper, common, concrete, abstract, collective nouns, and compound nouns. We will first talk about proper nouns. Proper Nouns Proper Nouns name a specific person, place, or thing. For example: John, Carol, Kansas, California, Canada, etc. These are all proper nouns because they name a specific person or place. Let's look at these examples: 1. Bob 2. Fourth of July 3. Friday 4. Mount Everest 5. Black Beauty Proper nouns are always capitalized. Now let's look at common nouns. Common Nouns Common Nouns name a general person, place or thing. Here are some examples of common nouns. 1. toy 2. bus 3. car 4. baseball 5. basketball All of these names are not capitalized because they are not specific names of something. Now, let's look at concrete nouns. Concrete Nouns Marvin Terban states in his book, "Scholastic Guide Checking Your Grammar, that "A concrete noun names a person, animal, place, or thing that you can actually see, touch, taste, hear, or smell." (32) Here are some examples of concrete nouns. 1. radio 2. spaghetti 3. fire 4. muffins 5. cloud There are also abstract nouns. Abstract Nouns Terban states that "An abstract noun names an idea, feeling, emotion, or quality." (32) Here are some examples of abstract nouns. 1. beauty 2. anger 3. nature 4. love 5. ability Collective Nouns Nouns can also be collective. That means that a noun would name a group of people, animals, or things. Let's look at these examples. 1. crowd 2. audience 3. group 4. family 5. staff The last group of nouns is called Compound Nouns. Compound Nouns A compound noun is made up of two or three words that are used together. Let's look at these examples. 1. shoelace 2. flashlight 3. high school 4. baby-sitter 5. word processor How To Identify Nouns Nouns are easy to identify because of the words that precede them. Words such as: a, an, or the always precede a noun. You usually use the word "a" before a noun that begins with a consonant. For example, a ball, a hat, etc. You usually use the word "an" before a noun that begins with a vowel. For example, an apple, an egg, etc. However, this is not always the case. The decision regarding which article to use has to do with how the noun is pronounced. If the first sound of the noun is that of a vowel, "an" is used. If the noun is pronounced with a consonant sound, then "a" is used. For example you'd say "an honour," but "a unicorn."
Exercise See if you can identify the nouns in the following sentences: 1. The boy threw the ball, and it went into the street. 2. Tom and Mary decided to go to the store to buy a few groceries. 3. Sadey likes to play with the plastic ball I gave her. 4. The computer didn't work the other day. When I took it in, I found out the hard drive wasn't any good. 5. The store clerk sold me a used computer which works better than the computer I had. Part Two - Pronouns Pronouns refer to a specific person, place or thing. There are first person, second person, and third person pronouns. These pronouns can either be singular or plural Personal Pronouns - Singular First personal pronouns are I, me, my, and mine. Second personal pronouns are you, your, and yours. Third personal pronouns are he, she, him, her, his, hers, her, it, and its. Exercises See if you can find the pronouns in the following sentences: 1. Tom went to the ballgame after he finished supper. 2. Mary, Carol, and I went shopping last weekend. 3. Sara went to the store after she got off work. 4. Christy likes to solve cases as well as read books. She also write in her journal before she goes to bed. 5. Can I go to the toy store today, Mom? Personal Pronouns - Plural First personal pronouns are we, us, our, and ours. Second personal pronouns are you, your, and yours. Third personal pronouns are they, them, their, and theirs. Exercises See if you can find the personal pronouns that are plural in the following sentences: 1. We are going shopping this weekend. 2. Today you are going to clean up your room after you eat. 3. They will be going to a movie tonight. 4. Christy and Megan like to read their mystery books before they go to bed. 5. The substitute teacher suggested they have an extra recess since they were good that day. All of the exercises above are for your own use.
