Nouns

Name_____________________________________Date____________Block________

Practice 1: People, places, and things. A noun is the name of a person, place, or thing.
Some of the things named by nouns can be seen; some cannot.

People Places Things

mother classroom honesty
teacher home animal
Mrs. Brown theater skateboard
sister Lake Erie patience
leader store notebook
doctor beach heart

Exercise 1: Identifying Nouns. Underline the two nouns in each sentence.

1. In the summer we go to the lake.

2. Last month was my birthday.
3. Many birds fly south in the winter.
4. My brother gave the best speech.
5. Her dog had four puppies.
6. At the park there were many ducks.
7. A light was shining in the window.
8. The teacher entered the classroom.
9. A large cat slept in front of the fireplace.
10. The man was known for his honesty.

Exercise 2: Using Nouns in Sentences. Fill in each blank with a noun.

1. The _______________________________________has grown a foot since last year.

2. The trip to ______________________________will take two __________________.

3. My teacher, ____________________________, has redecorated her ____________________.

4. Bob rode to school on a ___________________________________________.

5. I gave my ____________________________ a ________________________for her birthday.

6. Many __________________________are grown in our __________________________________.

7. Tonight we are going to the _____________________________________.

8. This homework assignment requires plenty of_________________________________.

9. We’ll see ____________________________ at the _____________________________.

10. I think the _________________________will improve next ______________________.

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Exercise 3: Classifying Nouns. Write five common nouns for each of the categories below. An example
is shown for you.

People Places Things

ex. neighbor ex. boardwalk ex. suitcase

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Writing Application: Writing sentences with Nouns. Use the following instructions to write five
sentences of your own. Highlight the nouns you use.

1. Write a sentence using two nouns that name family members.

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2. Write a sentence using a noun that names a living thing that you can see.
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3. Write a sentence using a noun that names an idea you cannot usually see.
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4. Write a sentence using a noun that names a nonliving thing that you can see.
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5. Write a sentence using nouns that name two or more cities or states you would like to visit.
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6. Write a sentence using nouns that name animals in the zoo.

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 Collective and Compound Nouns
Collective Nouns: A collective noun names a group of individual people or things.
Collective Nouns
class navy crowd
flock team club
family crew band

Compound Nouns: A compound noun is made up of two or more words. The chart shows the
three ways that compound nouns can be written.

Compound Nouns
separate words hyphenated words combined words

high school mother-in-law baseball

post office rock-climbing typewriter
double play left-hander doghouse

Exercise 1: Identifying Collective Nouns. Write the collective noun in each sentence in the blank.
1. A large crowd stood on the platform._____________________________________
2. On Thursday the army marched six miles. _________________________________
3. The club held a meeting at my house._____________________________________
4. Our family owns a house in the country.___________________________________
5. A herd of sheep grazed on the hillside. ____________________________________
6. The orchestra tuned up before the concert. _________________________________
7. Mr. Ferguson spoke to our class. _________________________________________
8. Gretchen is the president of our committee._________________________________
9. The navy sailed three ships into the harbor. _________________________________
10. A large group went swimming at the lake. _________________________________

Exercise 2: Identifying Compound Nouns. Underline the compound noun in each sentence.
1. Large tomatoes are growing in our backyard.
2. My great-grandfather is living with us.
3. A new high school was built last year.
4. Suddenly the doorknob began to turn slowly.
5. The racehorse ran like the wind.
6. I left angry, but I exercised self-control
7. There are three lifeguards at the beach this summer.
8. The stars lie many light-years away.
9. Two astronauts were flying in the landing-craft.
10. My bedroom is located at the end of the hall.

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Exercise 3: Recognizing Collective Nouns. Each of the following groups of words contains one
collective noun. Write each collective noun in the space provided.

Example: noise crowd flower crowd

1. vegetable radio family ______________________________

2. jury sailboat happiness ____________________________
3. freedom squad plant ________________________________
4. crew skyscraper elephant _____________________________
5. finger assembly newspaper ___________________________

Exercise 4: Identifying Compound Nouns. Each of the following sentences has one or more
compound nouns. Underline each compound noun.

Example: The scouts hoised their pennant up the flagpole.

1. In a desert, both people and animals search for water holes.

2. The dining room in our hotel is quite near the swimming pool.
3. This old typewriter belongs to my grandfather.
4. She has pictures of a wolf spider, a horned beetle, and a praying mantis.
5. Our teams excel in football and basketball.

Exercise 5: Finding the Correct Form of Compound Nouns. Use a dictionary or a computer to find the
correct spelling of each of the following compound nouns. Write the correct form in the
space provided.

Example: fire-drill fire drill firedrill fire drill

1. postmaster post-master post master __________________________________

2. side-line side line sideline _____________________________________
3. son in law soninlaw son-in-law __________________________________
4. base ball baseball base-ball ____________________________________
5. fire place fire-place fireplace ____________________________________
6. werewolf were-wolf were wolf ___________________________________
7. icecube ice-cube ice cube _____________________________________
8. newspaper news-paper news paper __________________________________
9. book mark bookmark book-mark___________________________________
10. dogpound dog-pound dog pound ___________________________________

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 Common and Proper Nouns
Common and Proper Nouns. A common noun names one of a class of people, places, or things.
A proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing and is always CAPITALIZED.
Common Nouns Proper nouns
leader George Washington
city Los Angeles
river Missouri River
state Florida
author Mark Twain

Exercise 1: Identifying Common and Proper Nouns. Underline the common nouns in the sentences

below; circle the proper nouns.

Example: Dave hit a single.

1. I’ve just read a play by Shakespeare.
2. The Drama Club elected a new president.
3. Soon our family plans to visit Miami.
4. A new house is being built on Elm Street.
5. My father has been transferred to Colorado.
6. She named her new dog Max.
7. Has your brother ever seen the Statue of Liberty?
8. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.
9. My sister went climbing in the Rocky Mountains.
10. I have pictures of Niagara Falls.
Exercise 2: Using Proper Nouns in Sentences. Fill in each blank with a proper noun. Remember
to capitalize each proper noun.

Example: There is no coastline in Kansas.

1. Her best friend in school was ___________________________________.
2. I enjoy _________________________________more than any other singer.
3. Bill has an autograph from _______________________________________.
4. Her family was moving to ______________________________________.
5. ________________________________ is the most beautiful street in our community.
6. Have you ever visited ______________________________________?
7. The capital of our state is ________________________________.
8. In my opinion, _____________________________was a very courageous leader.
9. Let’s do some shopping at ______________________________________.
10. I think we should select ______________________________as our captain.

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Exercise 3: Identifying Common and Proper Nouns. If the noun listed below is a common noun, write
an appropriate proper noun. If the noun listed is proper, write its common noun.

Example: city Manhattan

1. street ______________________________________
2. Corvette ___________________________________
3. Boston ____________________________________
4. general ____________________________________
5. Beyonce ___________________________________
6. Lassie _____________________________________
7. song ______________________________________
8. president __________________________________
9. Derek Jeter ________________________________
10. river _____________________________________
11. clothing store ______________________________
12. cereal ____________________________________
13. restaurant _________________________________
14. soda _____________________________________
15. Converse _________________________________
Writing Application: Writing Sentences with Different Types of Nouns. Write five sentences on your
own, each using the kind of noun that fits the description given in the following list. Highlight the
nouns you use.

Example: collective noun A flock of noisy geese flew overhead making sounds similar to barking.
1. collective noun
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2. compound noun that is hyphenated
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3. two common nouns and two proper nouns
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4. compound noun that is two separate words
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5. compound noun that is a combined word
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