7

Module 1, Nouns, Lesson 1:

What Is a Noun?
Definition: A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.

Concrete nouns name people, places, or things that you can touch, see, hear, smell,
or taste.

Person Place Thing

man river dog

Mrs. Paris book

Jones

doctor mountain sports

s car

Maddie home Ferrari

Abstract nouns name ideas, concepts, or emotions. These nouns are intangible,
which means you cannot touch, see, hear, smell, or taste them using your five
senses.
 Idea Emotion

love happiness

intelligenc anger
e

justice excitemen
t

religion fear

time surprise
Hint:
Remember, pronouns are not nouns.

Practice What You've Learned

Part 1
Directions:
Click on the nouns in each sentence.
Module 1, Nouns, Lesson 2:

Common and Proper Nouns

Definition: Common nouns name any person, place, thing, or idea. They are not
capitalized unless they come at the beginning of a sentence. Proper nouns are the
names of specific people, places, things, or ideas. Proper nouns should always be
capitalized.
 Common Proper

boy James

river Mississippi Rive

r

car Ford

doctor Doctor Jefferson

town Rockledge

candy Baby Ruth

bar
Hint:
Don't forget to capitalize all parts of proper nouns. Many people forget to
capitalize words like river and county in proper nouns
like Yellow River and Orange County.

Practice What You've Learned

Directions:
In each group of words, click on the proper noun(s) that need to be
capitalized. If a proper noun contains more than one word, be sure to click
each word that needs to be capitalized.
?1.

car ... toyota ... truck ... station wagon ... corolla ... motorcycle
Module 1, Nouns, Lesson 3:

Singular and Plural Nouns 1

Definition: Singular means only one. Plural means more than one.
In order to make a noun plural, it is usually only necessary to add s. However, there
are many irregular nouns that add es. The rules for spelling plural nouns are based
on the letters at the end of the word. The chart below breaks up the rules into
categories so that they are easier to remember.

Rule Examples

Add s to form the plural. cat cats

Most nouns truck trucks
bug bugs

Nouns that end bus buses

Add es to form the plural. For
in s, sh, x, ch, or z brush brushes
words that end in z, add an
fox foxes
extra z before the es.
beach beaches
Hint:
quiz quizzes
It is too hard to
pronounce the words
without the e. Try it
buss, brushs, foxs...
 Rule Examples

You sound like a

snake!

Nouns ending in f or fe roof roofs

Some nouns ending
safe safes
in f or fejust add s.
shelf shelves
Sometimes it is necessary to
wife wives
change the f to a v. In that
case, always end the word
with es.
Hint:
Check a dictionary if
you are unsure which
rule a noun follows.

Practice What You've Learned

Directions:
Choose the correct plural spelling of each word.
?1.
Module 1, Nouns, Lesson 4:

Singular and Plural Nouns 2

In this lesson you will learn the rest of the rules for spelling plural nouns.

Rule Examples

Add s to form the plural. donkey donkeys

Nouns that end in vowel + y highway highways

Nouns that end in vowel + o Add s to form the plural. oreo oreos
scenario scenarios

Nouns that end Change the y to i and add esto family families
in consonant + y form the plural. trophy trophies

Nouns that end Easy rule: Regular examples:

in consonant + o Usually add es except for potato potatoes
musical terms. dingo dingoes
piano pianos
Complicated rule: soprano sopranos
 Rule Examples

Some nouns that end in

consonant + o add es. Many
can be spelled either way. Look
in the dictionary if you want to
be sure.

These nouns always add es:

potato, tomato, hero, echo,
banjo, embargo, veto, torpedo.

Here are the preferred

spellings of some plural nouns:
buffaloes, dominoes,
mosquitoes, volcanoes,
tornadoes, ghettos, mangos,
mottos, cargos, halos,
mementos.

The chart below explains some exceptions to the rules.

Exceptions Examples

Simply add s. taco tacos

Words from foreign kimono kimonos
languages, including aria arias
musical terms

Words that are proper Simply add s. Eskimo Eskimos

nouns Picasso Picassos

Words that are short forms Simply add s. photo (photograph) photos
of longer words kilo (kilogram) kilos
memo (memorandum)
memos
 Exceptions Examples

Hint: If a musical term or proper noun ends in s still add es. chorus choruses
Jones Joneses

Hint:
Are you confused yet? The easiest way to handle the plural nouns in this
lesson is to remember a few shortcuts:

Memorize the short list of words that must end in es.

Add es to words that end in consonant + o.

For words that end in consonant + y, change y to i and add es.

Remember that foreign words usually end in s, not es.

Practice What You've Learned

Directions:
Choose the correct plural spelling of each word.
Module 1, Nouns, Lesson 5:

Irregular Plural Nouns

Irregular nouns form plurals in unusual ways. Dictionaries will give you the plural
spelling if it is irregular.

one child two

children
 one foot two feet

one tooth two teeth

one man two men

Some nouns are spelled the same way whether they are singular or plural.

one fish two fish

one sheep two

sheep

one deer two deer

Nouns with Latin and Greek origins form plurals in strange ways. Because Latin and
Greek plural endings are so unusual, many people try to follow the English rules by
adding s or es. Applying the English rules is acceptable for some nouns, but using
the original spelling is usually better. You will notice in the chart below that nouns
with the same endings form plurals in the same way every time. Impress your
friends and family by knowing the correct forms.
-a -ae -us -i -is -es -on -a and -ie -ce

amoeba alumnus analysis criterion

amoebae alumni analyses criteria

antenna cactus axis axes phenomenon

antennae cacti phenomena

alumna fungus diagnosis die dice

alumnae fungi diagnoses

nucleus hypothesis
nuclei hypotheses

octopus parenthesis
octopi parentheses
Note:
Amoebas, cactuses, and funguses are now acceptable spellings even though
the Latin spellings are still preferred. Also, octopuses is now the preferred
plural spelling of octopus, but the Latin octopiis acceptable as well.
Some nouns exist only in the plural form.

binoculars pants
 clothes pajamas

glasses scissors

goggles shorts

jitters tweezers

Note: This is not a complete list.

Depending on the style manual you use, there are different rules for making letters,
numbers, and abbreviations plural. The information in this lesson is based on
the Chicago Manual of Style. Use the shortcuts in this lesson to help you remember
the rules.

In order to make capital letters plural, add a lowercase s. Sometimes it is

necessary to use an apostrophe if the plural form could be confused with a word
(such as the word As versus the plural A's or the word Is versus the plural I's), but
the apostrophe is only necessary if the letter is at the beginning of the sentence.
Shortcut: Capital letter + s
I earned straight As on my report card, but my sister received all Bs.

To make lowercase letters plural, italicize the letter and add an apostrophe
+ s. It is important to add the apostrophe because otherwise the letter might be
mistaken for a word (for example, a's versus as). Remember that even though the
letter itself is italicized, the s is never italicized.
Shortcut: Lowercase italicized letter + apostrophe + s
Why does algebra use so many x's and y's?

To make an abbreviation plural, simply add a lowercase s. It is not necessary

to add an apostrophe before the s.
Shortcut: Abbreviation + s
I used to have a lot of CDs, but now I just listen to my mp3 player.
I've heard that M.D.s go to school for at least 7 years!

One last area that we haven't covered is how to make numbers plural. You can
do so by adding a lowercase s without an apostrophe.
Shortcut: Number + s
 2s, 3s, and 4s
Hint:
Many people think that you have to use an apostrophe + s when making
years plural, but most style guides actually suggest that you leave out the
apostrophe.
The Industrial Revolution took place between the late 1700s and
early 1800s.
I was born in the '90s.
(Notice how the apostrophe in '90s comes before the number. That's
because the apostrophe is being used to replace the 19 in 1990s. It has
nothing to do with whether the number is plural or not.)
Note:
Remember that the Chicago Manual of Style isn't the only guide out there,
and different manuals follow different guidelines. For example, some
manuals prefer to use an apostrophe + swhen making all letters and numbers
plural. When writing, consult your manual if you have one. Whether you
have a manual or not, make sure to follow the same rule throughout your
essay, article, or story.
Also remember that people use specific guides for certain types of writing.
Some popular guides are the Associated Press Stylebook (also called the AP
Stylebook), APA style (from the American Psychological Association), and
the MLA style (from the Modern Language Association). When you write
essays or research papers, you use MLA or APA style, but when writing a
news article, you use the AP Stylebook. If you're not sure which guide to use,
just ask your teacher.

Practice What You've Learned

Directions:
Click the word that represents the correct plural form of the noun in bold.
Module 1, Nouns, Lesson 7:

Collective Nouns
Definition: Collective comes from the same root as collection. A collective
noun names a group, which is like a collection of people or things.
famil tea choi jur committe her po
y m r y e d d
Hint:
Put the word in this test sentence to see if it works: One ______ is a group.

One team is a
group.

One jury is a group.

One herd is a group.

Beware of plurals! Students can be a group, but that doesn't make the word
collective. It is plural. Remember to use the test sentence One ____ is a group.
One student is not a
group.
Hint:
 It is important to be able to identify collective nouns because of the way
they agree with verbs. We will cover this topic in Verbs, Lesson 15.

Practice What You've Learned

Directions:
Click on the collective noun or nouns in each group. Phrases have been
added to some words to clarify their uses. Click only the collective noun, not
the phrase.
Module 1, Nouns, Lesson 9:

Classifying Nouns
You have now learned about abstract vs. concrete, common vs. proper, and singular
vs. plural nouns, as well as compound, collective, and possessive nouns. Most nouns
fit into more than one category. This lesson is a review of everything you have
learned.
Practice What You've Learned

Directions:
Click the boxes to indicate which categories describe each word.