Grammar

Unit 2

Common and Proper Nouns

A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing.

Common noun names any person, place, or thing.

Proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing. Each important word in a proper noun begins with a capital letter.

Abstract noun is a noun that you can’t see or touch, such as fear and greed.

Singular and Plural Nouns

Singular noun names one person, place, or thing.

Plural noun names more than one person, place, or thing.

                Rules:    add –s to most singular nouns

                                add –es when a singular noun ends in s, ss, ch, sh, or x

                                when a singular noun ends in a vowel and y, add –s

                                when a singular noun ends in a consonant and y, change the y to i, and add –es

Irregular Nouns

Some nouns have irregular plurals. In most cases, the spelling of the singular noun changes to form the plural.

                Example: singular – man; plural – men

In a few cases, the plural noun and the singular noun are the same.

                Example: singular – sheep; plural – sheep

Possessive Nouns

A possessive noun is a noun that shows who or what has something.

Both singular and plural nouns can be made possessive.

                Rules:    to make a singular noun possessive, add an apostrophe and –s

                                to make a plural noun that ends in –s possessive, add only an apostrophe

                                to make a plural noun that does not end in –s possessive, add an apostrophe and -s