Name Date

Lesson
1 Kinds of Nouns Teaching
A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. Examples include
actor, building, ticket, and delight.
A common noun is a general name for a person, place, thing, or idea. A proper
noun is the name of a particular one. For example, theater is a common noun;
Palace Theater is a proper noun. Only proper nouns need to be capitalized.
A concrete noun names a thing that can seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or touched.
An abstract noun names an idea, feeling, quality, or characteristic. For example,
script and villain are concrete nouns, while excitement and dishonesty are abstract
nouns.

CHAPTER 2
A collective noun is a word that names a group of people or things, such as crew.

A. Identifying Nouns
Underline all the nouns in the following sentences. Every sentence has more than
one noun.
1. Julie played the part of the rabbit in the play.
2. Carlos has created beautiful settings with wood and paint.
3. Mrs. Bernard guides the students who are sewing costumes.
4. Do you prefer musical productions or serious plays?
5. Appreciation for the theater begins at home.

B. Identifying Proper and Common Nouns

Underline all the nouns in the following sentences. Write P above the proper
nouns. Write C above the common nouns.
C P P
EXAMPLE A new play opens at the Varieties Theater on Thursday.

1. Our class wrote their own play based on the story of King Midas.

2. Children need to use their imaginations watching Peter Pan.

3. What a surprise when Peter was pulled up by wires!

Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.

4. The Sound of Music tells the story of the Trapps, a family of singers.

5. On Friday somebody in the audience created a disturbance.

6. The entire cast wore costumes on Monday.

C. Identifying Types of Nouns

Review the underlined nouns in the sentences in Exercise B. Write the noun
requested on the lines below.

1. An abstract noun in sentence 2____________________________________________________

2. A concrete noun in sentence 5 ____________________________________________________

3. A collective noun in sentence 6____________________________________________________

GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK 31

 Name Date

Lesson
1 Kinds of Nouns More Practice
A. Identifying Nouns
Underline all the nouns in each of the following sentences. On the lines below
each sentence, write one of the nouns that match the description in parentheses.
1. Gina, was your sister Angela in the play at school?

(proper) _______________________ (common) _______________________

2. The audience was amazed by the beauty of the set.

(concrete) _______________________ (abstract) _______________________

3. The cast presented a gift to their director, Mrs. Wells.
CHAPTER 2

(collective) _______________________ (proper) _______________________

4. Our class gave a special show that was a huge success.

(collective) _______________________ (abstract) _______________________

5. As the orchestra took their seats, there was silence.

(concrete) _______________________ (abstract) _______________________

B. Using Nouns
Rewrite the following sentences, replacing each boldfaced common noun with
a proper noun. Each new noun should reflect the same idea or subject as the
boldfaced noun. You may need to change some words, such as a, an, or the, or
delete adjectives.
EXAMPLE The girl at that table lives in a small town.
The girl at that table lives in Cherry Valley.
1. The department store closed on the holiday.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. That restaurant serves the best hamburgers.

Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Our city won an award for its flowers.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. The train doesnt stop at the next town.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. My two friends met at the shopping mall.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

32 GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK

 Name Date

Lesson
1 Kinds of Nouns Application
A. Using Nouns
Underline all the nouns in each sentence. On the line, write a new sentence using
the boldfaced noun.
1. Aunt Shirley suggests that we show more emotion in our voices.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. The committee gave an award to Mandy Emerson for her performance.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. We need a choreographer for our dance.

CHAPTER 2
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Most audiences show their enthusiasm with applause.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Can you hum any songs written by George Gershwin?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

B. Using Nouns
First write one noun of each type listed below. Then write a sentence using the
nouns. Underline all the nouns in your sentence.
EXAMPLE common and abstract children, care
People who care for children use creativity to keep them busy.

1. collective and proper______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

2. proper and abstract ________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.

3. common and concrete ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

4. proper and concrete ______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

5. common and abstract ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK 33

 Name Date

Lesson
2 Singular and Plural Nouns Teaching
A singular noun names one person, place, thing, or idea. A plural noun names
more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
One student had an interesting suggestion. (singular nouns)
Several students had interesting suggestions. (plural nouns)

This chart shows the usual ways to form the plurals of nouns.

Singular Rule Sample Plural

lamp, table Add -s to most nouns. lamps, tables
inch, fox Add -es to nouns ending in s, sh, ch, x, or z. inches, foxes
CHAPTER 2

radio, stereo Add -s to most nouns that end in o. radios, stereos

echo, hero Add -es to a few nouns that end in o. echoes, heroes
melody, fly Change the y to an i and add -es to most melodies, flies
nouns ending in y.
monkey, day If a vowel comes before the y, add -s. monkeys, days
thief, half Change the f to a v and add -es to most thieves, halves
nouns that end in f or fe.
roof, cuff Add -s to a few nouns that end in f or fe. roofs, cuffs
corn, tuna Some nouns keep the same spelling. corn, tuna
woman, foot The plural forms of some nouns are irregular. women, feet

A. Identifying Plural Forms of Nouns

In each sentence, underline only the plural nouns.
1. Most parks have several benches.
2. Students needed to sit to give their feet a rest.
3. The artists brought their sketch pads and pencils.
4. Ellen drew pictures of two deer near some trees.
5. Classes listened to their radios as they ate.
6. Flies buzzed around the bags filled with sandwiches.

B. Correcting Errors in Plural Nouns

Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.
In each sentence, the boldfaced plural has been formed incorrectly. Write the
correctly spelled plural on the line.

1. My brother and cousin are freshmans in high school. _______________________

2. Their classs begin at eight oclock. _______________________

3. Some dayes they stay late for band practice. _______________________

4. One day they went looking for mysterys at the library. _______________________

5. The high shelfs had books by their favorite author. _______________________

6. Brad reached them easily because he is six feets tall. _______________________

34 GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK

 Name Date

Lesson
2 Singular and Plural Nouns More Practice
A. Identifying Plural Forms of Nouns
In each sentence, underline only the plural nouns.
1. We help the women in the cafeteria on Mondays.
2. Terry and I use brushes to clean the vegetables.
3. Potatoes and carrots both need scrubbing.
4. Fresh loaves of bread are delivered on trays.
5. The sandwiches we make are called heroes.
6. French fries are one of the most popular foods in school cafeterias.

CHAPTER 2
B. Correcting Errors in Plural Nouns
In each sentence, find and underline the plural that has been formed incorrectly.
Write the correctly spelled plural on the line.

1. Some communitys have ethnic food-tasting events. _______________________

2. Its fun to taste dishs from countries around the world. _______________________

3. The womens in Moms club hold food fairs every year. _______________________

4. Tables and chaires are set up near the fieldhouse. _______________________

5. Our family donates boxs of paper goods. _______________________

6. Sharp knifes were needed to cut the pizzas. _______________________

7. They try to keep the childrens busy with games. _______________________

8. Eight mans entertained guests with country music. _______________________

9. The melodys were familiar to most of the guests. _______________________

10. A few senior citizens sat in the shade under tree branchs. _______________________
Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.

C. Using Plural Nouns

Form the plural of the given nouns. Then use all three plurals in a single sentence.
1. woman _________________ costume _________________ dance ______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. party ___________________ home ____________________ sandwich __________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK 35

 Name Date

Lesson
2 Singular and Plural Nouns Application
A. Identifying and Using Plural Nouns
In the following sentences, decide whether each noun is in the correct form,
singular or plural. If the noun should be plural, has the plural been formed
correctly? Rewrite every sentence with the correct noun forms.
1. One of my favorite activitys is being on the debating team.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. They meet two Monday a month, except for two summer month.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 2

3. I get tired when I stand on my feets for more than two houres.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Last week two classs debated: Should we stop trading with some countrys?

__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. A women from the mayors office gave two speechs at our school.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
6. She said we need to prepare to be good citizenes.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
7. One boys said there should be more heros in government service.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
8. We could send faxs to our state senatores.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

B. Using Nouns
You are setting up a poster display in a city park to teach about the animals and
plants of your area. Write a short paragraph telling which animals and plants you
Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.
want to write about and why. Underline at least five plural nouns in your paragraph.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

36 GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK

 Name Date

Lesson
3 Possessive Nouns Teaching
The possessive form of a noun shows ownership or relationship. Use an
apostrophe and -s to show possession. For example, wrens nest (ownership);
Moms friend (relationship).
You may use possessive nouns in place of longer phrases.
Everybody met at the front gate of the museum.
Everybody met at the museums front gate.

The following chart shows the usual ways to form the plurals of possessive nouns.

Noun Rule Possessive

CHAPTER 2
Singular: bird Add an apostrophe and -s birds family
Plural ending in -s: eggs Add an apostrophe eggs colors
Plurals not ending in -s: men Add an apostrophe and -s mens hats

A. Identifying Possessive Nouns

Underline each possessive noun. On the blank, write S if that noun is singular or
P if it is plural.

1. Mrs. Casss class took several field trips this year. ________

2. Their science units subject was animal homes. ________

3. Which trees branches seem to attract more birds? ________

4. Karls idea was to take pictures of some bird eggs. ________

5. Three students cameras already had film in them. ________

B. Using Possessive Nouns

Complete each sentence with the possessive form of the word shown in parentheses.

1. Two _______________________ backpacks were left in the picnic area. (children)

2. My _______________________ notebook got wet in the rain. (friend)

Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.

3. In one tree we saw evidence of a _______________________ home. (woodpecker)

4. _______________________ tape recorder came in handy. (Lisa)

5. We all kept quiet when she recorded some baby _______________________ chirps.
(robins)

C. Using Possessives in Phrases

Rewrite the sentences, changing the boldfaced phrases to possessives.
1. The reports of students will be due next Friday morning.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. David decided to compare the nests of two birds.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK 37

 Name Date

Lesson
3 Possessive Nouns More Practice
A. Identifying Possessive Nouns
Underline each possessive noun in these sentences. On the blank, write S for
singular and P for plural. There are two possessives in each sentence.

1. Pigeons roosts were on our buildings window ledge. ________

2. In a years time, I saw many pigeons eggs in our flowerpots. ________

3. It was the owners decision to remove my mothers pots. ________

4. Because of Moms love of birds, we borrowed the Smiths bird feeder. ________
CHAPTER 2

5. We cant see the pigeons roosts anymore, but we hope each birds
hunger is satisfied. ________

B. Correcting Errors in Possessive Nouns

In each sentence, find and underline the possessive that has been formed
incorrectly. Write the correctly spelled possessive on the line.

1. Cities skyscrapers are home to many birds. ___________________

2. In Baltimore, a peregrine falconss nest was found on a roof. ___________________

3. Many scientists studies stated that those birds were an

endangered species. ___________________

4. Through many peoples efforts, the falcon was able to breed. ___________________

5. In Argentina, several Quaker parakeets nests are in one tree. ___________________

6. Up to 12 birdss nests may be in the same tree! ___________________

7. Some burrowing owlss burrows are guarded just like castles. ___________________

8. An owl at the front of the burrow imitates a sentrys stance. ___________________

Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.
C. Using Possessives in Sentences
Form a possessive for each noun given. Then use it in a sentence.

1. scientists _______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

2. citizen _______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

38 GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK

 Name Date

Lesson
3 Possessive Nouns Application
A. Correcting Errors in Possessive Nouns
Check the boldfaced possessive nouns in these sentences. If the possessive is
formed incorrectly, write the correct form on the blank. If it is correct, write C.

1. Sams sketches are displayed near the school office. ___________________

2. It is a good way to compare several birds habitats. ___________________

3. Most cliff swallowss nests are made of mud pellets. ___________________

4. You can observe their nests on a cliff or under a buildings eaves. ___________________

CHAPTER 2
5. Some students reports are about the diets of various birds. ___________________

6. I read that a bald eagles favorite food is salmon. ___________________

7. Victor taped the sound made by a hummingbirds wings. ___________________

8. Some birdss migration journeys can cover thousands of miles. ___________________

9. The maps key can help you figure the distance in miles. ___________________

10. On Parents Night, we will present our bird projects. ___________________

B. Using Possessive Nouns in Sentences

Change each set of words in parentheses into a possessive phrase. Write
a sentence using that phrase.
birds wing
EXAMPLE (wings of the bird)
The birds wings had been clipped.

1. (interest of the children) __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.

2. (visiting hours at the hospital) ____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

3. (hobbies of my friend) ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

4. (speech of the museum guide) ____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK 39

 Name Date

Lesson
4 Compound Nouns Teaching
A compound noun is made up of two or more words used together as a
single noun.
You might see compound nouns written in one of three ways:
One single word: rooftop
Two or more separate words: window shade
A hyphenated word: brother-in-law

The following chart shows the usual ways to form the plurals of compound nouns.

Singular Rule Plural

CHAPTER 2

One word townhouse Add -s to most words townhouses

mailbox Add -es to words that mailboxes
end in ch, sh, s, or x.
Two or more wind chime Make the main noun wind chimes
words or plural.
hyphenated straw in the wind The main noun is the straws in the wind
words eight-year-old noun that is modified. eight-year-olds
lady-in-waiting ladies-in-waiting

A. Identifying Compound Nouns

Underline every compound noun in the following sentences.
1. The farmhouse of my great-uncle was being remodeled.
2. Summertime is my favorite season to spend weekends together.
3. I helped my uncle build a new henhouse and pigsty.
4. Dad let me use tools like the screwdriver and handsaw.
5. The mailbox and lawn mower needed fixing.

B. Using Plural Compound Nouns

Underline compound nouns that are incorrectly spelled. Rewrite the sentences,
using the correct plural form of those nouns.
1. The messiest job was cleaning the paintbrushs.

__________________________________________________________________________________________ Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.

2. When I finished nailing wallboardes, I went out to the back yard.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Morning glorys were climbing up the sides of the fence.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. My two greats-aunt, Lucy and Helen, carried kitchen utensils outdoors.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. They asked me to wash some breadboxs with a hose.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

40 GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK

 Name Date

Lesson
4 Compound Nouns More Practice
A. Identifying Compound Nouns
Underline every compound noun in these sentences. Above each compound noun,
write S for singular or P for plural. Notice that each sentence has two compound
nouns.

1. Our mail carrier brought me a letter that made me as excited as a bag of

jumping beans!

2. My great-grandmother sent me an airplane ticket.

3. Shes in a wheelchair because of her recent heart attack.

CHAPTER 2
4. The airport was near the Twin Cities in Minnesota.

5. I was welcomed with bear hugs, muffins, and a glass of root beer.

6. How surprised I was to see her two sisters-in-law in the dining room!

7. They were setting some teaspoons on beautiful placemats.

B. Using Compound Nouns

Write the plural forms for each set of compound words. Then use all three plural
compounds in a single sentence.

1. baked bean _______________________

hot dog _______________________

paper plate _______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

2. bluebird _______________________

sunflower _______________________
Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.

window box _______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

3. brother-in-law _______________________

snowman _______________________

wristwatch _______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK 41

 Name Date

Lesson
4 Compound Nouns Application
A. Identifying Compound Nouns
Underline two or more compound nouns in each sentence. Then rewrite the
sentences, changing the singular compounds to plurals. The words in parentheses
can be deleted.
EXAMPLE My grandparent had a reunion with (a) schoolmate.
My grandparents had a reunion with schoolmates.
1. The girlfriend acted as bridesmaid at their wedding.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 2

2. In those days it was common for (an) eighteen-year-old to be (a) newlywed.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Their brother-in-law, the groomsman, had the job of giving out (a) place card.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Lily-of-the-valley made (a) beautiful centerpiece on the tabletop.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. For brunch they ate (a) pancake, (a) ladyfinger, and (a) blueberry.

__________________________________________________________________________________________
6. The wedding gifts included (a) teapot, (an) ironing board, and (a) doormat.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

B. Using Compound Nouns in Writing

Write a compound noun for each phrase listed below. Then use these compounds in
a paragraph telling about an unusual or scary dream. Let your imagination take over.
EXAMPLE a fence with chain links a chain-link fence
bill worth twenty dollars ___________________

bowl for fish ___________________ Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.

paper with news ___________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

42 GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK

 Name Date

Lesson
5 Nouns and Their Jobs Teaching
In sentences, nouns have different jobs.
As the subject, a noun tells who or what the sentence is about.
Brian is getting ready for a baseball game. His team is in first place.

As the complement, a noun completes the meaning of the verb. This chart shows
how a noun may work as a predicate noun, a direct object, and an indirect object.

Predicate noun renames or defines the subject after a linking verb My sister is the captain.
Direct object names the receiver of the action of the action verb Hector kicked the football.

CHAPTER 2
Indirect object tells to whom or what or for whom or what an The coach gave the team
action is done their awards.

A noun or pronoun that follows a preposition is the object of the preposition.

My uncle ran in the marathon. He competed for the trophy.

Identifying Subjects, Complements, and Objects of Prepositions

In each sentence, identify the word in bold type. On the blank, write S for subject,
PN for predicate noun, O for object, DO for direct object, or OP for object of the
preposition.

1. Nancy was the goalie for Mondays soccer game. ________

2. She threw the ball across the field. ________

3. Mr. Rollins gave the student a message for his parents. ________

4. He is the teacher in charge of bus transportation. ________

5. Our class sent the senator an invitation. ________

6. Our boat was severely damaged by rocks. ________

Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.

7. Mrs. Chin made appetizers for the reception. ________

8. Her son Robert was president of our class this year. ________

9. In the winter, bowling is Gregs favorite activity. ________

10. To save time, Coach Elliott gave the team their uniforms. ________

11. New York City is a city known for its sports teams. ________

12. Our friends carried cushions to sit on. ________

13. How many laps did Sandy swim at your pool? ________

GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK 43

 Name Date

Lesson
5 Nouns and Their Jobs More Practice
A. Identifying Nouns as Complements
Underline the subject of each sentence. Then identify the complement in bold
type. Write PN for predicate noun, DO for direct object, or IO for indirect object.

1. Dan will show the visitor the location of the lockers. ________

2. Todays goalie was the newest person on the soccer team. ________

3. The accident taught the swimmers an important lesson. ________

4. Our wrestling coach told the players the rules and regulations. ________
CHAPTER 2

5. Vicky is a manager at Dads health club. ________

6. Marty leads the league in home runs. ________

7. Ms. Casali mailed the new students registration forms. ________

8. The principal found my brother a summer job. ________

9. My uncle bought our family season tickets for the baseball games. ________

10. For two years Ronnie has been treasurer of the league. ________

B. Using Nouns as Objects of Prepositions

Underline every prepositional phrase in the sentences. On the blanks that follow,
write each noun that is an object of the preposition.
EXAMPLE: There were several players chosen for the tournament. tournament
1. The bicycle in the garage has had a flat tire for two weeks.

___________________ ___________________
2. Before class Lindsay did 50 sit-ups on the gym mat.

___________________ ___________________
Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.
3. Outside the stadium, loyal fans lined up by the box office.

___________________ ___________________
4. We saw a picture of Babe Ruth in that magazine.

___________________ ___________________
5. Can we jog among the walkers at the park?

___________________ ___________________

44 GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK

 Name Date

Lesson
5 Nouns and Their Jobs Application
A. Identifying Nouns Used as Complements
Underline each subject in the following sentences. Then identify every boldfaced
word as a predicate noun (PN), a direct object (DO), or an indirect object (IO).

1. My cousin entered this years Special Olympics. ________

2. Some horses give trainers many problems. ________

3. Baxter Junior College offered Dana a scholarship. ________

4. Last summer Mom gave Phil a mitt for his birthday. ________

CHAPTER 2
5. Clarise wrote Sam a letter about her vacation. ________

6. The whole outdoors was our classroom for the day. ________

7. Juan was our guide for the annual Open House. ________

8. Parents brought the teachers a platter of cookies. ________

B. Using Nouns as Objects of Prepositions

For each phrase, write a noun as the object of the preposition. Then write a
sentence using the entire phrase.

1. under a _______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

2. into the _______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

3. beyond the _______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Copyright McDougal Littell Inc.

4. across the _______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

5. down the _______________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK 45