Revision: Identifying Types of Nouns – JSS1 English Lesson Note (Second Term)

Nouns, pronouns and verbs are three parts of speech, and this revision lesson gives practice in picking them out of sentences. Students identify the nouns in three sentences about whales, the pronouns in five sentences about the skunk, and the verbs in three sentences about a Hispanic theatre group. For pronouns and verbs, they also state the type of each.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. identify the nouns in a sentence and state their types;
2. identify the pronouns in a sentence and state their types;
3. identify the verbs in a sentence and state their types;
4. explain simple tests for finding each part of speech.

What is a noun?

A noun is a word that names a person, place, animal, thing or idea.

There are five main types of noun: proper, common, collective, abstract and material.

• Proper noun: names a particular person, place or thing and starts with a capital letter, as in Ngozi, Lagos and Project Jonah.
• Common noun: names any person, place, animal or thing of a kind, as in girl, market, whale and pontoon.
• Collective noun: names a group taken as one, as in group, team, class and crowd.
• Abstract noun: names a feeling, quality or idea that you cannot touch, as in honesty, love and reputation.
• Material noun: names a substance that things are made from, as in water, gold, wood and liquid.

How can you spot a noun?

• Naming test: ask whether the word names a person, place, animal, thing or idea.
• Article test: a noun can usually follow words like a, an, the or this.
• Plural test: many nouns change form to show more than one, as in whale and whales.

How do you identify nouns in a sentence?

To identify nouns, read the sentence and pick out every word that names a person, place, animal, thing or idea.

Identify the nouns in the following sentences.

1. No one understands why whales sometimes strand themselves.
2. Since 1989, people in a group called Project Jonah have used an inflatable pontoon to rescue stranded whales and other marine mammals.
3. More than two thousand marine mammals have been helped in recent times.

Answers

• Note 1: “No one” in sentence 1 and “themselves” are pronouns, so they are not listed as nouns.
• Note 2: “marine”, “stranded” and “inflatable” describe nouns, so they are adjectives.
• Note 3: “1989” and “two thousand” are numbers.

What is a pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or noun phrase.

The table shows the types of pronoun met in this revision.

How do you identify types of pronouns?

To identify a pronoun, find the word that stands in for a noun, then match it to its type.

Identify the pronouns in the sentences below and state their types.

1. Which of the animals do you think has the worst reputation?
2. I believe the skunk is the animal that most people want to avoid.
3. The skunk can easily protect itself from others.
4. It can spread those nearby with a bad-smelling liquid.
5. This is a repellent that drives away predators.

Answers

What is a verb?

A verb is a word that shows an action, a state or a happening in a sentence.

There are three types of verb in this revision: action (main) verbs, linking verbs and auxiliary verbs.

• Action verb: tells what someone or something does, as in perform, enjoy, rescue and spread.
• Linking verb: joins the subject to a word that describes it, as in is, am, are, was and become.
• Auxiliary verb: helps the main verb to show tense or possibility, as in has, have, can and will.

How can you spot a verb?

• Action test: ask what the subject is doing.
• Tense test: a verb can change its time, as in enjoy, enjoyed and will enjoy.
• Verb group: an auxiliary and a main verb often stand together, as in has grown.

How do you identify types of verbs?

To identify a verb, find the word that tells what the subject does or is, then state whether it is an action, linking or auxiliary verb.

Identify the verbs in the sentences below and state their types.

1. The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre performs plays about Hispanic life in the United States.
2. Over the past twenty years, this group has grown into a famous Hispanic theatre group.
3. In a way, speakers of both languages enjoy the play.

Answers

Evaluation

1. List the nouns in this sentence: “No one understands why whales sometimes strand themselves.”
2. Identify the pronouns in this sentence and state their types: “The skunk can easily protect itself from others.”
3. Identify the pronouns in this sentence and state their types: “This is a repellent that drives away predators.”
4. Identify the verbs in this sentence and state their types: “In a way, speakers of both languages enjoy the play.”
5. State the type of each noun: Lagos, honesty, team, water.

Assignment

Write five sentences about an animal you know. Underline the nouns, circle the pronouns and state the type of each pronoun and verb you used.