What is a Noun?
A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns fall into one of two categories: proper or common. There are a few other sub-categories of nouns, and we'll take a look at them all!
Hagrid (person)
Hogwarts Express (thing)
Hogwarts (place)
See if you can identify all the nouns in this sentence: Harry Potter used his wand to summon his broomstick.
Harry Potter used his wand to summon his broomstick.
- Proper Nouns:
- Proper nouns name a specific person, place, or thing.
- In our example sentence, Harry Potter is a proper noun.
- We can identify proper nouns because they are always capitalized.
- Common Nouns:
- Common nouns are words used to name general items rather than specific ones.
- In our example sentence, wand and broomstick are both common nouns.
- Notice how common nouns aren't capitalized.
Subcategories of Common Nouns:
- Collective Nouns:
- A collective noun is a word that refers to a group.
- It can be either singular or plural, but is usually used in the singular.
- Example: The Gryffindor quidditch team celebrates in their common room after a victory.
- Abstract Nouns:
- Abstract nouns are words that name things that are not concrete.
- So, abstract nouns are used to identify a quality, concept, or idea.
- Example: To be in Gryffindor house, you must be brave, courageous, and strong.
- Compound Nouns:
- Compound nouns are words for people, animals, places, things, or ideas, made up of two or more words.
- Most compound nouns are made with nouns that have been modified by adjectives or other nouns.
- Close compound nouns appear as one word: toothpaste, haircut
- Open compound nouns appear as two words: christmas tree, full moon
- Hyphenated compound nouns use a hyphen: dry-cleaning, son-in-law
Practice: list as many nouns as you can that are either literally in this picture or represented by this picture of the Gryffindor common room!
Answers:
Gryffindor Common Room
couch
rug
chair
window
desk
wallpaper
fireplace
headquarters
Gryffindor team
familiarity
cozy
warmth
relaxation
Pronouns:
Pronouns are words that are substituted for nouns.
Commonly used pronouns: he, she, it, we, they, who, which, what
So why do we use pronouns? Without them our writing would be choppy and repetitive. Consider the differences between these examples:
Without pronouns:
Harry, Ron, and Hermione led a war against Lord Voldemort. In order to defeat Lord Voldemort, Harry, Ron and Hermione had to go on a journey to search for objects known as horcruxes. The horcruxes are objects Lord Voldemort used to keep Lord Voldemort's soul alive throughout the years.
With pronouns:
Harry, Ron, and Hermione led a war against Lord Voldemort. In order to defeat him, they have to go on a journey to search for objects known as horcruxes, which is what Lord Voldemort used to keep his soul alive throughout the years.
Using pronouns means we don't need to continually repeat names or things, which makes our writing flow better. There are three main uses for pronouns:
Harry is the seeker on the Gryffindor quidditch team, so his (possessive) job is to catch the golden snitch. It (object) is a golden ball with wings that flies around the quidditch pitch. Its (subject) wings are translucent making the snitch very hard to see.
Harry chose to be in Gryffindor when Harry was sorted. The sorting hat told Harry that Harry could do great things if he was sorted into Slytherin but Harry refused. Harry chose the path he wanted at Hogwarts.
Using pronouns means we don't need to continually repeat names or things, which makes our writing flow better. There are three main uses for pronouns:
- Subject: used to rename the subject or start a sentence
- Possessive: used to show ownership
- Object: used to replace the word for the object of the sentence
Harry is the seeker on the Gryffindor quidditch team, so his (possessive) job is to catch the golden snitch. It (object) is a golden ball with wings that flies around the quidditch pitch. Its (subject) wings are translucent making the snitch very hard to see.
Practice: Using this handy chart, switch the nouns in the following sentences to pronouns:
Harry chose to be in Gryffindor when Harry was sorted. The sorting hat told Harry that Harry could do great things if he was sorted into Slytherin but Harry refused. Harry chose the path he wanted at Hogwarts.
Answer:
Harry chose to be in Gryffindor when he (subject) was sorted. The sorting hat told him (object) he could do great things if he was sorted into Slytherin but Harry refused. Harry chose his (possessive) own path at Hogwarts.Noun-Verb Agreement:
Did you know that nouns can either be singular or plural? When crafting sentences, singular nouns need a singular verb and plural nouns need a plural verb.
This is another common grammar rule that you probably already know in practice! Let's check your knowledge of this concept by choosing which verb fits each sentence:
Dumbledore (was/were) the leader of the Order of the Phoenix during both wizarding wars.
All wizards and witches (was/were) fearful of Lord Voldemort's return to power.
The Battle of Hogwarts (was/were) the conflict that ended the Second Wizarding War in 1998.
The Weasley family (was/were) devastated during the battle when Fred was found dead.
Answer Key:
Dumbledore (was/were) the leader of the Order of the Phoenix during both wizarding wars.
All wizards and witches (was/were) fearful of Lord Voldemort's return to power.
The Battle of Hogwarts (was/were) the conflict that ended the Second Wizarding War in 1998.
The Weasley family (was/were) devastated during the battle when Fred was found dead.
Assess Your Understanding:
That wraps up the end of week 1 of our grammar unit! We covered a lot of information on nouns so to check you understanding let's do a quick assessment.
Identify all the nouns in this paragraph:
"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense." - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Identify all the nouns in this paragraph:
"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense." - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense." - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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