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

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)

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.)

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 –es or just –s: knife=knives, shelf=shelves

The plurals of some nouns are found in unusual ways:◦ Child= children◦ Woman= women◦ Man= men◦ Foot= feet

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)