Singular, Plural, and Possessive Nouns

The word noun means a person, place, or thing.

A common noun is a general word.
A proper noun is a name.
Person Place Thing
Common
Noun
woman city car
manager supermarket soup
Proper
Noun
Diane Avondale Porsche
Mr. Smith Food ity Campbells Soup
Common nouns can !e singular or plural.
To make most nouns plural, an "s# is added. These are regular plural $orms.
Some common nouns have irregular plural $orms. These do not end in "s#.
Singular Plural Irregular Plural
car cars
manager managers
city cities%
kni$e knives%%
dish dishes%%%
woman women
child children
person people
mouse mice
&ou sometimes need to change the spelling when you add "s#.
%'$ a word ends in a consonant and "y#, change the "y# to "ie#, then add "s#
%%'$ a word ends in "$# or "$e#, change the "$# to "v#.
%%%'$ a word ends in "sh#, "ch#, "(#, or "s#, add "es#
Note: Some common nouns are considered uncountable, and they are rarely used in the
plural form. This group includes words such as water, sugar, and air.
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A possessive noun shows possession, or ownership.
Diane has a gray car. OR Diane owns a gray car.
Dianes car is gray. ) The car of Diane is gray.
Her car is gray. (Her is a possessie pronoun. !t substitutes for
the possessie noun".
*oe has !rown eyes.
Joes eyes are !rown. ) The eyes of Joe are !rown.
His eyes are brown. (His is a possessie pronoun. !t substitutes for
the possessie noun".
Remember these 3 rules:
1 To change a singular noun into a singular possessive noun, add +s ,apostrophe s-.
't doesn+t matter i$ the singular noun ends in s already.
The name of my son is hris. ) My son s name is hris.
The hair of Chris is !rown. ) Chris s hair is !rown.
! To change an irregular plural noun into a possessive, add +s ,apostrophe s-.
The boo"s of the men are on the ta!le. ) #he men s boo"s are on the ta!le.
The mother of the children is nice. ) #he children s mother is nice.
3 To change a regular plural noun into a possessive, add only + ,apostrophe-.
Dont add another s$
The brother of the girls is short. ) The girls brother is short.
The problems of the students are sad. ) #he students problems are sad.
A. Directions. /ewrite the words in bold !y using a possessive noun phrase.
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0. #he name of my %riend is Tim.
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2. #he wi%e of #im is $riendly.
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3. #he daughters of my neighbors walk to school.
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4. #he dog of my %riends !arks a lot.
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5. #he bicycles of the children are in their garage.
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
6. #he car of that woman looks new.
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7. #he wives of the men are $riendly.
1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
8. #he tire of the bus is $lat.
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9. #he name of that restaurant is :illage 'nn.
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0;. #he name of one waitress is Susy.
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<. Directions. The person who wrote these sentences $orgot to make some o$ the words
possessive. &nderline the words that need possessive $orms , =s or s+ -. Then, rewrite
the sentences so that they are correct
For e(ample.
' have two sons. My older son name is Tim. My younger child name is Tom.
My older sons name is Tim. My younger childs name is Tom.
Tom eyes are green. Tim has !rown eyes. <oth my sons hair is !lack.
Toms eyes are green. Both my sons hair is black.
0. ' have two neigh!ors. The woman name is Anna.
2. >er hus!and name is Tom.
3. My neigh!ors have two children. Their children names are ?d and Fred.
4. My neigh!ors children are nice !oys.
5. Their sons go to elementary school. The school name is Avondale ?lementary School.
6. Their teachers names are Mrs. *ones and Miss @arcia.
7. Mrs. *ones $irst name is Mary.
8. Mary hus!and works at the school also.
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