Lesson video

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Hello everyone.

I'm Miss Corbert, and I'm so excited to do some grammar learning with you.

Thank you so much for choosing to learn with me today.

Let's get started.

By the end of this lesson, you'll have been able to identify, which means find, the difference between singular and plural nouns.

For this lesson, you will need your looking eyes, those listening ears, and your thinking brain.

It would also be great if you had somebody to talk to and think about your learning with.

Let's get started.

Here are keywords which will help us learn all about our lesson today.

Don't worry if you don't quite know the meaning of these words yet, 'cause by the end of the lesson you will.

Are you ready? My turn, your turn.

Singular.

Plural.

Common noun.

Well done.

And common noun came up in our learning last time.

Let's go a little bit quicker.

Singular.

Plural.

Common noun.

Fantastic, and I can't wait to see where those keywords come up and how they help us with our learning.

The first part of our learning today is exploring singular nouns.

We know that common nouns name people, places, and things.

We also know that because they're common nouns, they do not need a capital letter unless they're at the start of a sentence.

Let's look at some examples.

Man.

Now a man is a common noun because it's not naming anything specific.

The man walked along the road.

School.

School is a place that we can go, but it doesn't show here its specific name, which makes it a common noun.

I love teaching at school.

Table.

I'm working at a table right now.

Now, my table doesn't have a specific name, which means it's a common noun.

Can you think of one more common noun? I'm going to count down from five and I want you to tell me more.

Wow, I heard so many different common nouns.

Well done.

We also know now that proper nouns name specific people, places, and things.

A different type of noun.

That means that they always need a capital letter wherever they are in the sentence to show that they have a specific name.

Let's look at some examples.

Aisha.

The name Aisha has a capital letter because it is a proper noun, a specific name of a person.

Aisha loves going to school.

Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace is a specific name of the palace where King Charles lives.

Friday.

Friday is a specific name of the week, of a day of the week, and so that is why they all need a capital letter, because they are proper nouns.

Can you think of one more proper noun? Thinking of something that has a specific name.

Maybe it's somebody in your family and their name, or a special place that you like to visit.

I'm going to give you five seconds.

Well done.

I heard lots of your special people who you know and places where you like to go.

Now is time for a true or false.

Can you get your thumbs up for true or your thumbs down for false? The word frog is a common noun.

Remember, a common noun is a naming word for a person, place or thing, but not a specific person, place, or thing.

The word frog is a common noun.

Is that true or is that false? Can you show me your thumbs up or thumbs down? Well done.

That is true because the word frog is a noun.

It is the name of a thing.

It is a common noun because it does not need a capital letter because it is not the specific name of something.

The frog might be named Freddie.

Freddie would need a capital letter, but the word frog does not.

Well done.

Now, here is onto our new learning today, because common nouns can be singular or plural.

There are our keywords.

My turn, your turn.

Singular.

Plural.

Well done.

I told you they'd come up.

The word singular sounds a bit like single.

Hmm.

Have you ever heard of that word before, and do you know what it means? I'd like you to pause the video now and talk about whether you've heard the word single before.

Pause the video, and off you go.

I heard some great thinking there.

Well done if you thought of something.

Don't worry if you didn't.

Here are some examples of how the word single might be used.

A single digit.

That might be a number from zero to nine, where there is only one digit in the number.

Hmm.

A single bed, which is a bed where there is only really room for one person to sleep in.

A single bed.

A single parent, which means one parent.

And single file.

When we line up in single file, we line up one behind the other.

Hmm.

That means that single and singular mean only one.

Single means only one.

Singular means only one.

Well done.

Now we know what singular means.

Let's see how it links to our nouns.

If a noun is singular, that means there is only one.

So there is only one of them.

For example, one car, a singular car.

That means this common noun is singular.

Compared to cars, to show there is more than one.

The car is singular, meaning only one.

Now, I would like you to try and point to the singular common nouns.

Remember, singular means only one.

I can see one apple.

I can see lots of cupcakes.

And I can see one house.

Can you point to the singular common nouns? Get your pointing finger ready, and off you go.

Well done if you are pointing to the singular apple and the singular house.

The cupcakes are not singular because there are so many of them.

There is more than one which means they are not singular.

Now we are ready for our first task.

I'm going to read you a list of singular nouns.

Are you ready? Football.

Priya.

Priya is somebody's name.

Leeds.

Leeds is a city in England.

Shop.

France.

Chair.

I know they are all singular nouns because there is only one of them.

There is one football.

I play football with my friend Priya.

I went to Leeds for an adventure.

They are singular because there is only one of them.

Your task is to sort these singular nouns into deciding whether they are common nouns or proper nouns.

Remember, proper nouns have a specific name, which means they need a capital letter.

I would like you to pause the video and sort the singular nouns into either common noun or proper noun.

Off you go.

Fantastic sorting everybody.

Let's see how you got on.

Football.

Football is a common noun because it hasn't got a specific name.

It's just a thing.

Priya is a proper noun.

Well done.

I know that because it is the specific name of somebody and it has a capital letter.

Leeds, hmm.

Leads is also a proper noun because it is the specific name of a place, a city in England, and it has a capital letter.

Shop.

Shop is a common noun because there are lots and lots of different shops.

It's not specific.

France, hmm.

France is the name of a country, a specific country, which means it needs a capital letter.

And chair, hmm.

Chair is a common noun.

It's not a specific chair with a specific name, so it is a common noun, and remember, they are all singular because there is only one.

Fantastic sorting everybody.

Well done.

Now we are going to move on to the next part of our lesson, exploring plural nouns.

Let's get started.

Common nouns can be singular or plural.

There's our other key word, plural.

Well done.

If a noun is plural, this means there is more than one, so it is the opposite of singular.

Singular means only one, and plural means more than one.

Okay, let's see.

Hmm.

I can see more than one car.

I can see three cars, which means this is a plural.

I can see two dogs, which means it is plural.

And I can see lots of spoons, which means it is a plural common noun.

Let's have a look at some more pictures of nouns.

Tree.

Strawberries.

Hmm.

By counting, we can see there is one tree.

How many trees can you see? One.

This means the tree is singular.

Well done.

And by counting I can also see there is more than one strawberry, which means the word strawberries is plural.

Strawberries is plural.

Well done.

Single means only one, and singular means only one, and plural means more than one.

Well done.

Now it's your turn to decide if this noun is singular or plural.

Hmm.

By counting, you are going to decide this noun is, mm, singular or plural.

I know this because when I count the party hats, I can see one or more than one.

Pause the video, and off you go.

This noun is, mm.

Well done.

This noun is plural.

I know this because when I count the party hats I can see more than one.

Well done.

We also know that all of these then are plural nouns.

But are they common nouns or proper nouns? Hmm.

They are all common nouns.

Even though I'm sure that the dogs will have their own names, when they are together as dogs, it is a common noun.

Let's have a think.

Is this going to be true or false? Plural means only one.

Hmm.

Is that what we've been saying? Plural means only one.

Can I have a thumbs up for true and a thumbs down for false? I'll give you five seconds.

Well done if you said false.

Plural means more than one.

Singular means only one.

Let's practise that together.

Singular means only one.

Plural means more than one.

Well done.

Now we have learned about common and proper nouns as well as plural and singular, we can start to notice some patterns and rules.

We know that common nouns are often plural.

For example, strawberries, and this is because common nouns aren't something specific, which means there can be lots of them.

Proper nouns are rarely plural, which means hardly ever, and this is because proper nouns are something specific.

Specific people, places, or things such as Buckingham Palace.

Whilst there are lots of palaces in the world, plural, there is only one Buckingham Palace, which means common nouns are often plural, proper nouns are rarely plural.

Let's see what you've remembered.

Can you complete this sentence? Proper nouns are mm.

Proper nouns are always plural.

Proper nouns are often plural.

Proper nouns are rarely plural.

Can you point to which one it is, please? I'll give you five seconds.

Well done if you said rarely plural.

We know that proper nouns are rarely plural because they are specific names of people, places, and things.

Now, because we know all about singular and plural now, we need to know that the spelling of a noun changes if it is plural to show that it has gone from singular, one, to plural, more than one.

Sometimes we can add the letter S at the end so it can become a plural noun.

Let's look at some examples.

I have one pot of flowers.

Now it is summer, I have lots of pots of flowers.

There's that letter "S" at the end, pot to pots.

Tree.

I sat under one apple tree at the park.

Compared to, I walked past so many trees in the forest.

Star.

There was one bright star in the sky.

Or you can change it to plural.

I saw so many twinkling stars in the sky last night.

And finally, house.

I live in a house.

Compared to, there are so many houses on my street.

So you can see that when we add the letter "S" to some of our nouns, we change them from singular, only one, to plural, more than one.

These are all regular common nouns because we know that common nouns can be plural.

I wonder if you can match the label to the picture, thinking carefully about singular and plural and the change in spelling.

I'm going to read the words for you, then you are going to point to the picture that it matches to.

Are you ready? Get your pointing finger ready.

Can you point to the can? Well done if you are pointing to the singular can.

Are you ready for the next one? Get your pointing finger ready.

Can you point to the bees? Well done.

I hope you are not pointing to the singular bee because there are more than one.

There are three bees.

Can you now point to the bee? Well done.

There is one singular bee.

And finally, can you point to the cans? Well done.

So now we know that when you change the spelling of a noun by adding an S, you can show whether it is singular or plural.

We know that some nouns end in the letter S because they are plural.

Let's look at some examples.

Can you repeat them after me? Pens.

Clocks.

Ducks.

Well done.

Let's listen to those in a sentence.

Put the pens in the pot.

The clocks all showed 12 o'clock.

There were lots of ducks in the pond.

You can see that by adding the letter S, we are showing that they are plural, more than one.

However, some nouns try to trick us because they just end with an S as their final letter anyway.

Let's look at the examples.

Bus.

Dress.

Class.

They're not plural, but they just happen to end in a letter S.

The bus stopped at the stop.

I wore a dress.

The class sat smartly.

To make these nouns plural, we need to do something different because there's already an "S" at the end.

So we need to add "es", "es".

But when we do this, it doesn't make an "S" sound, it makes and "is" sound.

Let me show you.

The buses were all full.

Could you say that sentence for me? The buses were all full.

Those dirty dresses need to be washed.

All the classes were in the playground.

So you can see that if a noun ends in "S" anyway, we might add "es" to make an "is" sound to show there is more than one, to show that it is plural.

Well done.

I don't think those nouns will trick us.

Hmm.

Let's see how you are getting on.

I want you to think of the correct plural spelling for the word book.

Book.

Hmm.

To make it plural, I need to show more than one.

Normally to make it plural, I can add an S.

If my noun ends in "S", I add "es".

Hmm.

I'm going to give you some thinking time.

Can you pause the video and point to the correct plural spelling for book? Off you go.

Well done, if you pointed to books.

All you need to do is add the "S".

We can't have book on its own, that shows that it is singular.

We don't add "es" because the word book doesn't end in an "S" already.

So I would change it from book to books.

I love reading lots of books.

Now it is time for your next task.

I'm going to show you a list of nouns and you are going to put a circle around the plural nouns.

Remember, plural means more than one.

I'm going to read the words to you now.

Pond, shells, keys.

Trains, brother, school.

Friend, flowers, burgers.

Your first job is to put a circle around the plural nouns.

Your next job is to use common or proper to fill in the gap in this sentence.

You could just say the sentence if you'd like.

Once you've circled your nouns, you need to decide the circled nouns are all, mm, nouns, are they common or proper? Pause the video now.

Off you go.

Well done everybody.

I could see how hard you were working there.

I hoped you managed to circle all of the plural nouns.

Pond, shells, and keys.

You should have circled shells and keys because the "S" shows there is more than one.

Trains, brother, school.

You should have only circled trains to show there is more than one because of the "S".

Friend, flowers, burgers.

You should have circled flowers and burgers.

Again, we know now that if we add "S" to a noun, then it makes it a plural.

I wonder whether you decided whether those nouns are common or proper nouns.

The circled nouns are all mm nouns.

The circled nouns are all common nouns because they don't have a specific name, and we know that proper nouns are rarely plural.

Well done everybody.

What amazing thinking and learning.

Thank you so much for spending a lesson with me today, and we have learned so much.

We have learned that singular means only one.

We've learned that plural means more than one.

We also know that common nouns are often plural because they're not specific.

We have also learned that proper nouns are rarely plural, which means hardly ever, because they are a specific name of something.

As well as that, we looked at some spelling rules, and we know that the spelling of a noun changes when it becomes a plural by either adding "S" or "es" if the noun already ends in an "S".

What an amazing lesson.

Thank you so much for learning with me today.

I'll see you next time.

Bye.

I've finished the video