Grade by Grade
B. Foundations of Language · Printing, Spelling and Sentences

Nouns: Proper, Collective and Abstract

B3.2 B3.3About 35 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can tell common nouns from proper nouns, and give proper nouns a capital letter.
  • I can use collective nouns that name a group, like a flock of geese.
  • I can find abstract nouns that name ideas and feelings, like kindness and courage.

Words to know

noun
A word that names a person, place, thing or idea.
common noun
A noun for any person, place or thing: girl, city, dog.
proper noun
The special name of one person, place or thing. It starts with a capital letter: Aisha, Winnipeg, Rover.
collective noun
A noun that names a group: a herd of cows, a team of players.
abstract noun
A noun for something you can't see or touch, like a feeling or an idea: love, courage, fun.

Remember from Grade 1

A noun names a person, place or thing. You learned about singular nouns (one cat) and plural nouns (two cats).

In Grade 2, you'll meet three new kinds of nouns!

Common and proper nouns

A common noun names any person, place or thing: girl, city, river, holiday, dog.

A proper noun is the special name of one person, place or thing. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter:

  • People and pets: Aisha, Mr. Singh, Rover
  • Places: Canada, Ontario, Ottawa, Lake Huron
  • Days and months: Monday, January
  • Holidays: Canada Day, Thanksgiving, Diwali
Common nounProper noun
girlAisha
cityToronto
countryCanada
daySaturday
riverOttawa River
holidayCanada Day
schoolMaple Grove Public School
Proper nouns get capital letters

Careful with seasons

Seasons are not proper nouns: spring, summer, fall, winter start with a small letter (unless they start a sentence).

Collective nouns: names for groups

Some nouns name a whole group as one thing. These are collective nouns.

  • a flock of geese 🪿
  • a herd of cows 🐄
  • a pod of whales 🐋
  • a school of fish 🐟
  • a team of players 🏒
  • a class of students
  • a bunch of grapes 🍇
  • a litter of puppies 🐶
  • a family
Many black-and-white cows grazing together in a green field in front of a red barn.
A group of cows is called a herd. Herd is a collective noun: one word that names the whole group. AI-generated image
🪿🪿🪿🪿🪿🪿🪿
7 geese flying together make one flock.

Abstract nouns: names for ideas and feelings

You can see, touch or hear most nouns: a mitten, a dog, a drum.

But some nouns name things you can't touch, like feelings and ideas. These are abstract nouns:

love, kindness, courage, fun, friendship, fear, joy, honesty, sadness, help

Example: Courage helped her try the big hill. You can't hold courage in your hand, but it's still a thing we can name!

Common nounany person, place or thinggirl · city · riverProper nouna special name: Capital!Aisha · TorontoCollective nouna name for a groupflock · herd · teamAbstract nounan idea or feeling you can't touchcourage · joy · fun
Four kinds of nouns from this lesson. Ask: Is it any thing or a special name? Is it a group? Can I touch it?

Look for -ness

Many abstract nouns end in -ness (kindness, sadness) or -ship (friendship). You learned -ness in the word parts lesson!

Just for fun

Funny but true: a group of flamingos can be called a flamboyance. 🦩 That's a very fancy collective noun for a very fancy bird!

Worked example

Let's sort nouns

Sort these nouns: Lily, kindness, herd, park, Halifax, fun, team.

  1. Proper nouns (special names, with capitals): Lily, Halifax.
  2. Collective nouns (groups): herd, team.
  3. Abstract nouns (can't touch them): kindness, fun.
  4. Common noun left over: park.

Proper: Lily, Halifax. Collective: herd, team. Abstract: kindness, fun. Common: park.

Worked example

Let's fix the capitals

Fix: on monday, ella and i went to london, ontario.

  1. The first word of a sentence gets a capital: On.
  2. Monday is a day of the week, a proper noun.
  3. Ella is a name. I is always a capital.
  4. London and Ontario are place names.

On Monday, Ella and I went to London, Ontario.

Hands-on activity

Noun detective

You need: paper, a pencil, a favourite book or a cereal box.

  1. Fold a paper into 4 boxes. Label them Common, Proper, Collective, Abstract.
  2. Hunt for nouns in your book, on food boxes, or around your home. Write each one in the right box. Remember capitals for proper nouns!
  3. Try to find at least 2 for each box. (Abstract nouns are tricky. Think about feelings: love, fun, fear.)
  4. Make a "collective noun" drawing: draw a pod of whales or a flock of birds and label it.

Your turn

1

Is Calgary a common or a proper noun?

2

Write a proper noun for dog.

3

What do we call a group of fish?

4

Find the collective noun: A herd of cows ate grass.

5

Is happiness something you can touch?

6

Fix the capitals: we visited aunt maya in july.

7

Name 2 abstract nouns.

More practice: warm-up

1

Does canada need a capital?

2

Is teacher common or proper?

3

A group of players is a ___.

4

Does winter need a capital in the middle of a sentence?

5

Is love a thing you can see or an abstract noun?

More practice: on your own

1

Sort: Friday, flock, joy, apple.

2

Fix the capitals: my friend sam lives in nova scotia.

3

Finish with a collective noun: A ___ of puppies slept in the basket.

4

Which word is the abstract noun? The firefighter showed great courage.

5

Write a sentence with a proper noun for a holiday.

Challenge

1

Write a sentence with one proper noun, one collective noun and one abstract noun.

2

Why does Ottawa need a capital but city doesn't?

3

Turn these adjectives into abstract nouns: kind, sad, dark.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is a proper noun?

2.

Which sentence uses capitals correctly?

3.

Which is a collective noun?

4.

Which is an abstract noun?

5.

A group of whales is a...

6.

Which word should NOT have a capital in the middle of a sentence?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 2 students learn the functions of new kinds of nouns, including collective (group) and abstract (idea/feeling) nouns (B3.2), and use capital letters for proper nouns (B3.3).

How to help at home:

  • Point out proper nouns on signs, maps and packages: street names, store names, cities.
  • Make up silly collective nouns together after learning real ones (a flock of geese, a herd of cows).
  • Talk about feelings with abstract nouns: "That took a lot of courage." "Thanks for your kindness."

Common difficulties:

  • Capitalizing every noun, or random words. Ask: "Is it the special name of one person, place or thing?"
  • Capitalizing seasons. Days and months get capitals; seasons don't.
  • Not recognizing abstract nouns as nouns. Try the test: "Can you put the or some in front of it?" (the courage, some fun).
  • The goal is understanding how words work in sentences, not memorizing labels.