Exercise.

Use each of the following verbs in a sentence with one of the adjectives or adverbs from the accompanying

XIX. THE NOUN. - COMMON AND PROPER.

The name man may be applied to any man; the name horse to any horse; the name ocean to any ocean.

A name that may be applied to any one of a class of objects is called a common noun.

Thursday is the name of one of the days of the week, by which we distinguish this day from the other days of the week. George Washington, Arthur, Mary, Mrs. Brown, Peter the Great, are names by which certain

persons are distinguished from other persons.

Atlantic is the name of an ocean. Regulus is the name of a star.

A name by which some particular one of a class is known from others of the same class is called a proper noun.

A common noun is a general name.

is a particular name.

A proper noun

A common noun has a meaning and may be defined, a proper noun is only a name.

A common noun becomes a proper noun when it is used as the name of a particular object; as:

Boston boys like to play on the Common.

Exercises.

I. Write ten common nouns, and after each write two proper nouns belonging to the class which the common noun denotes; as:

II. Select the nouns in the following lines, and tell what kind of noun each is:

Shoulder to shoulder they march along,
To the rollicking air of an old camp-song.
Jasper is captain, eager and grand,

As he pompously issues his words of command;
First in the ranks comes curly-haired Ray,
With bright-eyed Bennie and sweet little Fay;
And following close, with martial tread,
Are blue-eyed Bertie and Baby Fred.
Forward! March! and away they go,
Shoulder to shoulder, to meet the foe.

EMMA C. DOWD.

XX. NUMBER.

We use the word boy to refer to one boy, and the word boys to refer to more than one.

The change from boy to boys is a change in the form of the word, and shows a change in the number of persons which it denotes.

This change in form we call a change in number.

Almost all nouns have one form to show that they refer to a single object, and another to show that they refer to more than one object. These forms are called

numbers.

The form which shows that the word refers to a single object is called the singular form, or the singular number.

The form which shows that the word refers to more than one object is called the plural form, or the plural number.

GENERAL RULES FOR PLURAL FORMS.

I. The plural of nouns is usually formed by adding s to the singular, as:

gate

gates

form

forms

II. When the singular ends in a sound that will not unite with the sound of s, the plural is formed by adding es; as:

tax

taxes

church churches

SPECIAL RULES FOR PLURAL FORMS.

I. The plural of some nouns ending in for fe is formed by changing f or fe to ves; as:

Write as many plural nouns as you can that end

in ves.

II. The plural of most nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel is formed by adding s to the singular; the plural of nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant is formed by changing y to ies; as:

Write as many plural nouns as you can that end in ies.

III. The plural of the following nouns is formed irregularly:

brother

cloth

IV. Some nouns have two plurals; as:

die

dice [for gaming]

fishes [separately]

fish

fish [collectively]

V. Some nouns have but one form for both singular and plural numbers; as:

VI. Some nouns are generally used in the plural

VII. The following nouns are plural in form, but are

used in the singular number only :

VIII. Many nouns derived from foreign languages

retain their original plurals; as:

alumnus alumni datum data

larva larvæ

Use each of these plural nouns in a sentence.

IX. When a noun is used as an adjective it takes the singular form only; as :

a foot rule.