Introduction to Nouns

Parts of Speech:

The parts of speech are the categories into which every word in the language fits. There are 8 parts of speech:

1. Noun
2. Pronoun
3. Verb
4. Adjective (and Articles)
5. Adverb
6. Preposition
7. Conjunction
8. Interjection

Today, we will focus on Nouns!

What is a Noun?

Nouns are often described as a Person, Place, Or Thing, however, nouns can also be Ideas, or Emotions.

Examples:

girl, dog, sadness, California, doctor, book, rain, family, religion, Susie, seashore

Activity:

Underline the noun within each sentence. Don’t forget that nouns can be a Person, Place, Thing, Idea, or Feeling!

1. He babysat the child.
2. The dog ran away.
3. They moved to Florida.
4. She read the book.
5. My family moved.

Try it!

Please underline all nouns within the following story:

Ms. Ano forgot to bring her coffee to school. She wished that she had not left it on her kitchen counter. All-day, Ms. Ano was grouchy and moody because she did not have her coffee. Ms. Ano’s students wondered why Ms. Ano was so stubborn that day. All because Ms. Ano forgot her coffee.

Please Watch this Video about different types of Nouns.

Let’s Recap:

Nouns are organized into 5 different types of nouns.

5 Types of Nouns:

1. Common nouns: regular nouns that do not start with capital letters 
   • Ex: happiness, boy, desk, and city 
2. Proper nouns: nouns that start with capital letters. These are specific people, places, things, or ideas
   • Ex: Florida, Buddhism, Joe, and Thanksgiving
3. Concrete nouns: nouns that represent things that you can see, hear, smell, taste, or feel. Concrete nouns are either common or proper nouns too.
   •  Ex: grass, paper, perfume, air, Susie, and Golden Gate Bridge
4. Abstract Nouns: Nouns that represent ideas or emotions that cannot be perceived with your senses (see, hear, smell, taste, or feel).
   • Ex: Religion, happiness, anger, Buddhism** (religions can be both abstract and proper nouns because they begin with a capital letter and cannot be perceived with senses)
5. Collective nouns: are nouns that represent a group of things or people without being plural(although they can also be plural as well).
   •  Ex: Family, group, orchestra, audience, flock, bunch, and herd

On a separate sheet of paper, identify whether the following nouns are Common, Proper, Concrete, Abstract, or Collective:

Ex. Cat- common

1. sadness
2. group
3. Halloween
4. audience
5. chair

Let’s Talk!- Please answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper and discuss with a partner.

1. What are the characteristics of Common Nouns?
2. What are the characteristics of Proper Nouns?
3. What are the characteristics of Concrete Nouns?
4. What are the characteristics of Abstract Nouns?
5. What are the characteristics of Collective Nouns?