Nouns : Common Nouns & Proper Nouns



Nouns : Common Nouns & Proper Nouns

A noun is a kind of word that gives a name to  a person, a place, an object, an animal, a substance, a quantity, a period of time, a distance; the list goes on.

Everything around us is represented by a word that gives it its name and that word is called a noun.

The first major distinction to draw is between common nouns and supermarket.


Common Nouns

The common noun, is by far the largest group of nouns. The job of the common noun is to give a name to the everyday things all around us. Take a look around your surroundings and make a list of objects which you can see, the list will most likely be made up entirely of common nouns : chair, table, floor, pen, ceiling, ruler, paper, floor, tree, grass – the list is virtually endless…

Common nouns do NOT get capital letters.

P:roper Nouns

A proper noun is the name given to a specific person, place, object, animal, etc : Susan, London, Blackpool Tower, Rex).

Proper nouns ALWAYS get capital letters.

 Common Noun Proper  Noun
car Jaguar, Land Rover, Fiesta
forest Forest of Dean
cat, dog, budgie Tiddles, Fido, Joey
sea, ocean North Sea, Atlantic Ocean
pub The Blacksmith’s Arms
monarch Queen Elizabeth II
supermarket Tesco, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s
tea PG Tips, Yorkshire Tea
cola Pepsie, Coke

Common nouns may be further subdivided into a number of categories; all common nouns will fall into at least one of these categories, For the purposes of the primary school classroom (in addition to common nouns and proper nouns) if a student can identify compound, collective and abstract nouns this is probably sufficient. The others have been included for the sake of completeness and interest:

  • compound nouns
  • collective nouns
  • abstract nouns
  • concrete nouns
  • countable nouns
  • non-countable nouns
  • gender specific nouns
  • verbal nouns
  • gerunds

Parts of a Flowering Plant



Parts of a Flowering Plant

As a whole class activity for the interactive whiteboard it is an excellent Resource.

In the first part of the activity you are required to drag the various parts of a flower to the appropriate box on the screen. Once you have done this you can click on the magnifying icon in each box which gives details of the precise form and function of the different flow parts : petal, sepals, carpel, nectaries stamens and receptacle.

On the next screen, a more detailed diagram requires that the names of the various flower parts be dragged into the correct place to label the parts.

There is a help screen available to explain the activity. Each dragged item springs back into place when placed wrongly. As the default for pupils would be simply to drag everything until it fits, thus learning very little, this activity would be best paced by the teacher and used for dis cushion with a view to getting each element placed correctly the first time.

There is also Text and a  Quiz to accompany this activity. This activity is a Flash based animation and, as such, will not play on some tablets.

Parts of a Flowering Plant by BBC

 

Broken Calculator



Broken Calculator by Transum.org

A fun activity with some thinking necessary…

Children are asked to click the available keys on the ‘broken’ calculator above to make the numbers 1 – 20. As  each total is achieved the calculation used to achieve a given number will appear in the table on the right.Those who manage to make all twenty totals earn a ‘Transum Trophy’ – a certificate sent to their email (or their teacher’s email if they wish!).

Unlike a normal calculator, for this activity, you cannot use one total you have found to help make another. Each calculation starts from scratch (zero). I also noted that any multiplications are treated as though they are in brackets… they’ll figure it out! Try to make each total using the fewest number of calculator key presses.

Other broken calculators are available from the links within the activity: 1 & 5,  2 & 3,  3 & 4,  4 & 5, 5 $ 2

The activity is tablet friendly and plays well on my elderly iPad mini.

Broken Calculator by Transum.org

Nouns : Gender



Nouns : Gender

Generally speaking, there is no distinction between masculine and  feminine when it comes to nouns in English.

However, gender is sometimes shown by different forms or different words when referring to some people or animals people or animals.

Masculine Feminine Gender neutral
man woman person
father mother parent
boy girl child
uncle aunt
husband wife spouse
actor actress  actor
prince princess
king queen monarch
waiter waitress server
cockerel hen chicken
stallion mare horse
bull cow cow
buck doe rabbit or deer

Many nouns that refer to people’s roles and jobs can be used for either a masculine or a feminine subject, like for example cousin, teenager, teacher, doctor, student, friend, colleague

  • Helen is my colleague. She is a teacher.
  • Phillip is doctor. He is my friend.
  • Darren is my cousin. He is a student.
  • Jenny is my cousin. She is a student.

Sometimes as a term of endearment non gender specific nouns are given gendered pronouns.

  • Dad loves his old sport scar . He takes her (the car) for a spin every Saturday;
  • Britain is popular with her (Britains’s) neighbours since the Brexit referendum.
  • Cruised across the Atlantic in the QEII ; she (the QEII ) is a fabulous ship.

Pronouns : Relative Pronouns



Relative Pronouns

 A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces an adjective clause.

In English, the relative pronouns are that. which, where, who, whom, whose.

  • Who and whom refer to people.
  • Which refers to things.
  • That and whose refer to people or things.

A relative pronoun is used to start an adjectival clause which describes a noun (also called a relative clause.).

The description comes after the noun to either identify it or give more information about it…

Identifying the noun
  • The man who invented zips became very rich.
  • I recognised  the car which was involved in the accident.
  • We did not see the dog that attacked our rabbit.

Be aware that a fair proportion of your readers will not like you using that for people. It is good advice to avoid using that for people, especially in formal writing.

Note : colloquially, that is often used to represent a person or people and who is used to represent an animal or animals; though neither is technically correct they seem to be commonly accepted… one for the Grammar Nazis, eh?

 Providing more information
  • My friend, whose birthday it is, will meet us at the cinema.
  • My dad’s car, which was covered in mud, was parked outside the house.
  • The elephant that was the biggest led the parade.
Who or whom?

The use who or whom depends upon whether the noun that is being replaces is the subject or the object of the verb. If the replaced noun is the subject of the sentence then we use who…

  • The child who came first won a trophy.
  • The girl who was the teacher’s favourite was allowed out to play early.

if the replaced noun is the object of the sentence we use whom…

  • The panel selected a winner, to whom they awarded the £5000 prize.
  • Phillip was the boy whom my mum really disliked.

Pronouns : Reciprocal Pronouns



Reciprocal Pronouns

A reciprocal pronoun expresses a mutual action or relationship. The reciprocal pronouns are: each other and one another:

Here are some examples of reciprocal pronouns:

  • The cat and dog hate each other.
  • After they lost the players started fighting with one another.
  • The bride and groom made vows to each other.
  • The boys had exactly the same answers but swore they had not seen each other’s papers.
Each other or one another?

Here’s the quick answer: If the total number of those involved is two animals, people, things or any combination then use each other.

If the total number of those involved is more than two, then useuse one another.

(The ‘posh’ word for those involved is antecedents – i.e. those that have gone before)

  • The cat and dog hate each other.
  • Red wine and cheese complement each other.

In the above examples, the antecedent is two things so we use each other as the reciprocal pronoun.

When the antecedent is three or more things, use one another:

  • There must have been at least a dozen dogs howling at one another.
  • As the clock struck midnight the crowd wished one another Happy New Year.
Each other’s and one another’s NEVER Each others’ and one anothers’

The pronouns each other and one another are treated as singular entities – weird I know,  but there it is. So, to show possession, the apostrophe always comes before the final s.

This is not negotiable it is an absolute rule.

  • Dad and uncle Joe were jealous of each other’s cars.
  • All the monkeys at the zoo were picking insects from one another’s hairy backs.

If one of the children ever picks you up for using the wrong reciprocal pronoun, high five your TA, break out the brandy and cigars, your work is done… 😀

aaa
%d bloggers like this: