This document provides an overview of parts of speech, specifically nouns. It discusses the different types of nouns including common and proper nouns, compound and collective nouns. It also covers articles/determiners and how to form plurals of nouns, noting there are rules for nouns ending in y, o, f, fe and exceptions for nouns referring to music or identical singular and plural forms. The document includes examples for each part of speech or grammar concept discussed.

1. Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics
Grammar
Usage &
Mechanics

2. The 8 Parts of Speech
Nouns
Simply put, a noun is the
name of a person, place,
thing, or idea.
people: Bart Simpson, doctor, singer
Tarzan
places: Transylvania, city, Bedrock,
school
things: nostril, tuba dentures, uvula,
monkey
ideas or qualities: peace, love honor,
anger

3. Common and Proper Nouns
Nouns are usually divided into two main classes: common and proper.
A common noun is just a general person, place, or thing; but a proper noun
refers to a particular person, place, or thing. Unlike common nouns, proper
nouns are capitalized.
frog
team
city
artist
band
ape
Kermit
Mighty Ducks
Whoville
Salvador Dali
The Convulsing Turnips
King Kong

4. Compound and Collective Nouns
Some nouns are called compound because they’re made up of two or more
words. Sometimes the two words are written as one, sometimes they’re
written separately, and sometimes they’re hyphenated.
Compound nouns: armpit, tapeworm, jack-in-the- box, toenail, earlobe, slime
ball
A collective noun refers to a group made up of several elements or members.
Collective nouns: committee, flock, jury, family, herd
Just for fun, here’s a list of other collective nouns
that might come in handy sometime. Some of
these sound like I made them up, but I couldn’t be
so creative!
a murder of crows
a charm of hummingbirds
a quiver of cobras
a scurry of squirrels
a bloat of hippos
a rabble of butterflies
a parliament of owls
a crash of rhinos

5. Articles or Determiners
a.k.a. noun markers
Three little words – a, an, and the – are called articles. When you see one of
these words, you know that a noun is about to pop up before your very eyes.
For grins and giggles, number your paper
from 1 – 20, then make a list of twenty
nouns. Fill in the blanks of the following
story to correspond with your numbered
noun list. See what kind of bizarre tale you
can create!

6. What would you title this?Exercise 1

8. Forming Plurals of Nouns
It’s pretty simple to form the plural of most nouns; you just add s or es.
However, the English language is full of oddballs, and many nouns don’t follow
this simple rule! Here are some rules to help you spell the plural of those
ornery nouns that don’t fit the mold:
The plural of a noun ending in y preceded by a
consonant is formed by changing the y to i and
adding es.

9. The plural of a noun ending in o
preceded by a vowel is formed by
adding s.
radio – radios
rodeo - rodeos
The plural of a noun ending in y
preceded by a vowel is formed by
adding s.
guy – guys
ray - rays
The plurals of some nouns ending in f or fe
are formed by changing the f to v and
adding s or es.
leaf – leaves calf – calves
wife – wives knife – knives
roof – roofsscarf – scarfs OR
scarves (both are correct)
The plural of a noun ending in o
preceded by a consonant is formed
by adding es.
hero – heroes torpedo – torpedoes
tomato – tomatoes potato - potatoes

10. This rule has a weird exception! In many cases, if a noun ends in o
preceded by a consonant and refers to music, you form the plural by adding
just s.
solo – solos piano – pianos alto – altos
soprano – sopranos piccolo – piccolos cello - cellos
Some nouns are the same in the
singular and plural.
deer sheep
fish (but you can use fishes)
trout Japanese

11. Occasionally a noun is just plain strange; its
plural is formed in an irregular way.
mouse – mice ox – oxen
die – dice foot – feet
tooth – teeth louse – lice
octopus – octopi
If a compound word is written as one
word, add s or es to form the plural.
footballs spoonfuls
grandmothers classrooms
passerby – An exception!! - passersby
Add ‘s to form the plural of capital letters, numbers,
and symbols. It’s also acceptable in these cases to
just add s (without the apostrophe) if doing so
presents no confusion.
Zzuzzuzzanna’s last name has seven Z’s (or Zs) in it.
My zip code has five 9s (or 9’s) in it.
For some strange reason, most people don’t use an
apostrophe to form the plural of centuries and
decades.
In the 1960s, many vegetarians snacked on corn
chips and catnip.
Form the plural of a compound noun that
is written as a hyphenated word by making
plural the most important word, which is
usually the noun.
brothers –in-law sergeants-at-arms
runners-up
FYI If it’s difficult to tell which
is the most important word,
add s to the last word.
merry-go-rounds drive-ins
Exercise 2 - 4