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- 110
- à 3.2 Common Nouns & Possessive Nouns as Adjectives
- ä:èIn the sentence in the Example, underline the common
- noun that acts as an adjective.
- â:
-
-
- #êêë ╕Summer╗ school will start soon.
- éS When two nouns are side by side, very often the first one gives
- identifying information about the second one.ïIn this situation, the
- first noun functions as an adjective.ïFor example, in the sentence
- #╖I left on the porch light, porch╗ is a common noun that describes the
- #╖light╗, another noun.ïTherefore, ╖porch╗ is used as an adjective in
- this sentence.ïIt is important to note that a word can function as
- more than one part of speech, depending on how it is used in different
- sentences.
- 1.èWhich one of the following sentences contains a common noun
- used as an adjective?
-
- A)ïDid you see the usher close the curtain?
- B)ïI constructed a dog house for my aunt.
- C)ïThey visited the vice-president of the firm.
- D)ïå
- #ü Because the common noun ╢dog╗ directly precedes the noun╖ house╗,
- #╢dog╗ is used as an adjective identifying whose house it is.ï╖Usher
- #╖╕╗is an incorrect choice because it consists of one noun only (note
- #that this word strangely consists of two pronouns (╕us╗ and ╕her╗) that
- #have nothing to do with each other when combined). ╖Vice-pre╖sident╗ is
- not a common noun used as an adjective because a hyphenated noun not
- in front of another noun functions only as a noun.ïIn this
- #case ╖vice-president╗ is the direct object of visited.ïNote that whe-
- ther two nouns are separated as two words or joined as one word or
- hyphenated can be best determined by consulting a dictionary.
- Ç B
- 2.èWhich one of the following sentences contains a common
- noun used as an adjective?
-
- A)ïCould it be true that the baseball card was overpriced?
- B)ïOften I lose marbles.
- C)ïFootball is too violent for me.
- D)ïå
- ü
- #ëThe common noun ╢baseball╗ functions as an adjective telling what
- kind of card is being used.ïAs in this case, a noun consisting of two
- #nouns (╢base╗ and ╢ball╗) can function as an adjective.ï╖Football╗, the
- #subject of one sentence, is used as a noun.ï╖Marbles╗ is a noun used
- #as the direct object of ╖lose╗ in the remaining sentence.
- Ç A
- ä:èIn the sentences in the Example, underline the
- possessive noun that acts as an adjective.
- âS:
-
- #êêêï╕Paul's╗ decision was final.
-
- #êêêï╕╗The decision was ╕Paul's╗.
- éS
- ëPossessive nouns are formed from nouns but always function as
- adjectives.ïSometimes the possessive noun may directly precede the
- #noun, as in ╖║Steve's╗╖ stove╗,ïor it may be the last word in the sen-
- #tence, as in ╖The block was╗ ║Tony's╗.
- 3.èWhich one of the following sentences contains a possessive
- noun that acts as an adjective?
-
- A)ïAre you familiar with Joanne's pony?
- B)ïI want to see the Reagans.
- C)ïMelissa enjoys swatting flies.
- D)ïå
- ü
-
- #ë╢Joanne's╗ is a possessive noun used as an adjective because it
- #tells or identifies whose pony it is.ï╖Reagans ╗is a plural noun, and
- #╖Melissa╗ is a proper singular noun.
- Ç A
- 4.è Which one of the following sentences contains a possessive
- noun that acts as an adjective?
-
- A)ïIsaiah is still hobbling along.
- B)ïThe magazines are Mike's.
- C)ïSomeone once said that "truth is stranger than fiction."
- D)ïå
- ü
- #ë╢Mike's╗ is a possessive noun used as an adjective.ïå of the
- other sentences contain any possessive nouns.ïOne sentence has the pro-
- #per noun ╖Isaiah╗.ïThe other sentence has the indefinite pronoun ╖some-
- #╖one╗ and the common nouns ╖truth╗ and ╖fiction╗.
- Ç B
- 5.èWhich one of the following sentences contains a possessive
- noun that acts as an adjective?
-
- A)ïThe serviceman has relocated to Bulgaria.
- B)ïHave we exhausted every way to find the rat catcher?
- C.ïHis son-in-law could not get a loan.
- D)ïå
- ü
-
- ëThere are no possessive nouns in ç sentences.
- Ç D
- 6.èWhich one of the following sentences contains a common
- noun used as an adjective and a possessive noun used as an adjective?
-
- A)ïJane's mother made pumpkin pie.
- B)ïAre you sure that Bill's parakeet spoke to you about Elvis?
- C)ïThe railway station was attacked by herds of buffalo.
- D)ïå
- #ü ╢Pumpkin╗ is a common noun used as an adjective telling what kind
- #of pie was made.ïIn that same sentence, ╢Jane's╗ is a possessive noun
- used as an adjective identifying whose mother is making the pie.ïIn
- #another sentence, the possessive noun ╖Bill's╗ acts as an adjective re-
- #ferring to the noun ╖parakeet╗.ïIn the remaining sentence, the common
- #noun ╖railway╗ describes what kind of station was attacked.
- Ç A
-