Definition: a Noun Is a Word That Names a Person, Place, Thing, Or Idea

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

DIRECTIONS: Circle the nouns in the following sentences.

ALL of the sentences have more than one noun in them. Keep in mind that you’re circling BOTH common nouns (e.g. restaurant, student) and proper nouns (Culver’s, John).

EXAMPLE: Ms. Lee told the girls that she had always wanted to be a doctor.

1.  The tornado ripped off many of the rooftops in town.

2.  My older brother goes to school in California.

3.  The rock group drew a huge crowd.

4.  Sarah scored two points for her soccer team.

5.  There are nine known planets in our solar system.

6.  The mice ate the peanut butter in the trap.

7.  Adam is an outstanding athlete.

8.  Many people are involved in efforts to save dolphins and whales.

9.  The new principal of Stuart High School comes from Chicago.

10.  Have you ever been on a trip to the Bermuda Triangle?

11.  Is Atlantis really a lost continent?

12.  When Thomas Jefferson was a young boy, he enjoyed a game of marbles.

13.  There is a haunted house at the end of my street.

14.  I had my first skiing lesson last week at Bear Mountain.

15.  The pandas in the zoo come from China.

16.  Puffy is the name of my pet hamster.

17.  Tim won the award for the best essay on patriotism.

18.  Curiosity almost killed my cat.

19.  Henry said that his time machine can go into the future and into the past.

20.  A strange sound was apparently coming from the bottom of the canyon.

Name

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Nouns are divided into two main classes: proper nouns and common nouns.

Definitions:

§  A proper noun names a particular or specific person, place, thing, or idea. It always begins with a capital letter.

§  A common noun names one of a class of persons, places, things, or ideas (it’s general—not specific). It does not begin with a capital letter.

DIRECTIONS: Circle the nouns in the following sentences.

Write a P above each proper noun and a C above each common noun.

EXAMPLE: Nathan felt his heart pound as he looked for the boat.

1.  Where is Asher, his orderly?

2.  He should never have volunteered for a mission behind the British lines.

3.  But General Washington couldn’t find another volunteer.

4.  Nathan told the general that he would do the job.

5.  Asher Wright had then rowed him to a remote section of Long Island, New York.

6.  Nathan was dressed as a Dutch schoolmaster in brown homespun clothing.

7.  As he wandered into the enemy camp, no one realized that he was a captain in the army of George Washington.

8.  He told everyone that he was looking for a job and that he favored British rule over the colonies.

9.  He visited the places where the soldiers gathered.

10.  At night he made drawings of the places where the cannons were set up.

11.  He then hid his sketches in his boots.

12.  On the fourth night he had a shock.

13.  He glanced across the room and saw Sam.

14.  Sam was his Tory cousin who was on the British side.

15.  Nathan realized it was time for him to leave.

16.  Early the next morning he stole out of the inn to meet Asher.

17.  As he waited in the morning mist, a boat came toward him.

18.  He was captured by British soldiers and hanged a few days later.

19.  How did the British know that Nathan was a rebel?

20.  Did his cousin Sam turn him in?

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Definitions:

§  A verb is a word that expresses action or otherwise helps to make a statement.

§  An action verb is a verb that expresses mental or physical action. It’s what you do.

DIRECTIONS: Circle the action verbs in the following sentences. Sentences in bold have more than one action verb.

EXAMPLE: Molly enjoys reading Greek myths.

1.  A very long time ago King Midas ruled the land of Phrygia.

2.  Midas considered wealth more important than anything else in the world.

3.  One day the god Bacchus granted King Midas one wish.

4.  Midas said, “I wish that what I touch will change to gold.”

5.  As he was returning to his castle, the king experimented with his new power.

6.  He plucked a twig from the branch of an oak tree.

7.  To his delight and amazement, the twig changed to gold.

8.  Then he picked up a stone from the ground.

9.  The stone gleamed like gold in his hand.

10.  He raced home and ordered a magnificent celebration banquet.

11.  To his horror the bread broke his teeth!

12.  The wine stuck in his throat!

13.  He hated his new powder.

14.  He begged for Bacchus’ help.

15.  Bacchus showed mercy on him.

16.  Bacchus said, “Dive into the water at the source of the river Pactolus.”

17.  Midas left right away for that place.

18.  As soon as he plunged into the river, the “golden touch” left him.

19.  From that day on Midas detested wealth and splendor.

READ this page to learn about linking verbs.

Linking Verbs

Many verbs do not express action. Instead they help to make a statement by acting as links between a subject, which normally comes before the verb, and a word in the predicate, which usually follows the verb. Such verbs are called linking verbs because they link their subjects with nouns or adjectives in the predicate.

EXAMPLES:

§  The star’s name is Ruby Dee.

§  Marie Curie became a famous scientist.

§  Wild animals remain free on the great animal reserves in Africa.

§  The watermelon looks ripe.

The verb most commonly used as a linking verb is the verb be. You should memorize its various forms.

am – is – are – was – were – be – being – been

Any verb ending in be or been is a form of be: shall be, will be, can be, might be, has been, have been, had been, would have been, might have been, etc.

In addition to be, there are several other verbs that are often used as linking verbs:

Most linking verbs may also be used as action verbs. Whether a verb is used to express action or to link words depends on its meaning in a given sentence. Typically, if you can substitute am, is, or are for the verb in question and the sentence still sounds right, it is a linking verb.

LINKING: The tiger looked tame.

ACTION: The tiger looked for something to eat.

LINKING: The soup tasted good.

ACTION: I tasted the soup.

LINKING: She grew tired of playing.

ACTION: She grew into a fine woman.

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Definitions:

§  An action verb is a verb that expresses mental or physical action. It’s what you do.

§  A linking verb is a verb that links the subject of the sentence to additional information about the subject. **If you can substitute am, is, or are for the verb and the sentence still sounds right, you have a linking verb on your hands.

DIRECTIONS: Circle the verbs in the following sentences.

Write L on the line if it’s a linking verb or A on the line if it’s an action verb.

EXAMPLE: Our dog Wowser found a hidden hole in our yard. A

1.  To Wowser’s amazement, four baby raccoons suddenly appeared

at the bottom of the hole.

2.  The soft, furry creatures looked incredibly tiny.

3.  At that moment their mother’s calls sounded through the woods.

4.  Three baby raccoons ran in the direction of the sounds.

5.  Only one remained.

6.  He seemed very hungry.

7.  We took the baby raccoon into the house.

8.  The baby raccoon tasted some warm milk.

9.  The milk tasted sweet and good to him.

10.  The raccoon grew quickly during his stay with us.

11.  My pet raccoon Rascal appeared quite happy in a hole in the big oak

tree at the back of the garden.

12.  One day his little black mask and two shining eyes appeared in the hole of the tree.

13.  Rascal looked around.

14.  Wowser felt quite disturbed about this development.

15.  Rascal smelled the interesting odors in our yard.

16.  He even tasted the minnows in our shallow bait pond.

17.  They evidently tasted excellent to him.

18.  Sometimes Rascal stayed asleep in my bed all night.

19.  My pet raccoon stayed with us for several months.

20.  Now he lives in the park down the street.