Parts of Speech: Nouns

Why are nouns important?

A noun is a person, place, thing, or intangible idea/concept/feeling.

Read the passage from The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and underline the nouns.

The things they carried were largely determined by necessity. Among the necessities or near necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wrist watches, dog tags, mosquito repellent, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment Certificates, C rations, and two or three canteens of water. Together, these items weighed between fifteen and twenty pounds, depending upon a man’s habits or rate of metabolism. Henry Dobbins, who was a big man, carried extra rations; he was especially fond of canned peaches in heavy syrup over pound cake. Dave Jensen, who practiced field hygiene, carried a toothbrush, dental floss, and several hotel-size bars of soap he’d stolen on R&R in Sydney, Australia.

1. What are the characteristics of nouns? How can we identify them? What makes them unique from other parts of speech?

2. There are different types of nouns. Write examples from above.

Proper Nouns (names of people, places, or things that get capitalized):	General tangible nouns (can touch, see, taste, smell):
Intangible nouns (abstract, cannot be touched; an idea, concept, feeling, etc.):	New and unique nouns (nouns that stand out to you, that cannot be categorized easily, can change/transform into other parts of speech:

3. Read your independent reading book. Create this chart in your notebook and complete it with nouns from your book.

4. Reflection: Why are nouns important? How do they function in sentences?

Notable Nouns: search for compelling nouns in a text you are reading and list them on this chart; include illustrations if you want to. Include at least 4 in each box.

Title and author: ______________________________________________________

Proper Nouns (names of people, places, or things that get capitalized):	General tangible nouns (can touch, see, taste, smell):
Intangible nouns (abstract, cannot be touched; an idea, concept, feeling, etc.):	New and unique nouns (nouns that stand out to you, that cannot be categorized easily, can change/transform into other parts of speech: