Question

remember: nouns can be identified by asking the following questions:
a. is it a person, place, thing, or idea?
b. does it make sense to say \the ________\?
c. can it belong to someone?
identify which of the underlined words in these sentences are nouns. then tell which of the above questions best helps you decide (a, b, or c.)

1. the rain started at nightfall, just after we arrived at our home. it had taken us twelve hours to drive the beat - up minivan back from los angeles, and we were all ready for bed.

remember: only verbs can change tenses (past, present, future).
identify which of the underlined words in these sentences are verbs. then change the verb to a different tense to check your answer (write down both the original and tense - changed verb.)

1. lightning crackled in the distance. at about midnight, a power line up the road exploded, struck by lightning, and our lights all went out. although exhausted as we were, we reluctantly hunted for flashlights and candles before going to bed.

wordplay - just for fun!

catalogue creator: the suffix \-ism\ means \doctrine or system of belief\ and sounds like \iz - um.\ how many words can you list that contain this suffix?

Explanation:

1. For the noun - identification task:

• "train" is a thing, so question A helps identify it as a noun. "home" is a place, identified by question A. "minivan" is a thing, identified by question A. "bed" is a thing, identified by question A.

1. For the verb - identification and tense - changing task:

• "crackled" (past tense, can be changed to "crackles" present tense). "exploded" (past tense, can be changed to "explodes" present tense). "struck" (past tense, can be changed to "strikes" present tense). "went" (past tense, can be changed to "goes" present tense). "hunted" (past tense, can be changed to "hunts" present tense). "going" (present - participle, related to the verb "go", can be changed to "went" past tense).

1. For the word - list task with the suffix "-ism": Words like "capitalism", "socialism", "communism", "idealism", "realism" contain the suffix "-ism".

Answer:

1. Nouns: train (A), home (A), minivan (A), bed (A)
2. Verbs and tense - changes:

• "crackled" (present tense: crackles)
• "exploded" (present tense: explodes)
• "struck" (present tense: strikes)
• "went" (present tense: goes)
• "hunted" (present tense: hunts)
• "going" (past tense: went)

1. Words with the suffix "-ism": capitalism, socialism, communism, idealism, realism