Point out in the following sentences (1) the nouns that name special persons or things, (2) the nouns that apply to every one of a class of persons or things: 1. In the early twilight of Thanksgiving Eve came Laurence, and Clara, and Charley, and little Alice, hand in hand, and stood in a semicircle round Grandfather's chair. - HAWTHORNE. 2. There groups of merry children played. 3. The robin and the wren are flown. - BRYANT. A name that belongs to an individual person or thing is called a proper noun; as, Clarence, New York, Thursday, Lake George. Proper nouns and words derived from them should begin with capital letters. When a proper noun is made up of two or more words, each word should generally begin with a capital letter. A name that applies to every one of a class of persons or things is called a common noun; as, boy, city, day, lake. EXERCISE I. Write sentences containing I. The name of a class of animals. 2. The name of a class of flowers. 7. The name of an individual soldier. 8. The name of an individual poet. 9. The name of a special battle. 10. The name of a special book. Collective Nouns. Point out the nouns in the following sentences that name collections of persons or things, and tell of what each collection is composed: 1. The speaker was afraid to face the audience. 2. The Assembly adjourned at twelve o'clock. 3. The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea. - GRAY. 4. There is no flock, however watched and tended, But one dead lamb is there. - LONGFELLOW. 5. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? - PATRICK HENRY. A noun which in the singular names a collection of persons or things is called a collective noun; as, family, jury, swarm. Mention each word in the following examples that names the quality or condition of a person or thing; as, The length of a river. The bravery of the soldier. The growth of the plant. A noun that names a quality, action, or condition of a person or thing, apart from the person or thing itself, is called an abstract noun; as, goodness, happiness. An abstract noun that names an action is sometimes called a verbal noun; as, walking, singing. Abstract nouns are formed 1. From adjectives; as, brightness from bright; honesty from honest; patience from patient. 2. From verbs; as, belief from believe; singing from sing. 3. From nouns; as, childhood from child; knavery from knave. Mention each noun in the following sentences, and state the class to which it belongs: 1. The child's illness is of an alarming nature. 2. Wisdom is better than strength. 3. He has repented of his folly. 4. The time of the singing of birds is come. 5. His writing was illegible. 6. Charity covereth a multitude of sins. 7. How poor are they that have not patience! 8. How little they knew of the depth, and the strength, and the intenseness of that feeling of resistance to illegal acts of power, which possessed the whole American people! EXERCISE III. Write the following words in a column, and opposite each place the corresponding abstract noun. 1. Tell how many forms each noun in the following examples has, and whether each form denotes one or more : The form of a word used in speaking of one thing is called singular; the form used in speaking of more than one thing is called plural. When a noun denotes one thing, it is said to be in the singular number. When a noun denotes more than one thing it is said to be in the plural number. Most nouns form the plural by adding s to the singular; as, bird, birds; river, rivers. When the singular ends in a sound that does not unite easily with the sound of s, some nouns add es to the singular, to form the plural; as, loss, losses; match, matches; thrush, thrushes; tax, taxes. Most nouns ending in o add s to the singular, to form the plural; as,— Some nouns ending in o take es in the plural; as, 2. Mention the ending of the singular nouns in the following examples, and tell how their plurals are formed: |