Nouns
There are four types of nouns:
- Common Nouns
- Proper Nouns
- Collective Nouns
- Abstract Nouns
Common Nouns
|
Common nouns are non-specific people,animals places or things People: teacher, baby, clown, man. Animals: lion,elephant, cat, dog,zebra Places: park, mountain, market, farm Things: table, book, camera, bed |
Proper Nouns
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Proper nouns are opposite to common nouns. They refer to specific people, places or things. Proper nouns begin with a capital letter. People: Mr Jones, Kate, Helen, Places: Taj Mahal, Mount Kilimanjaro, Scotland Things: Ford (car), Prism View (website) |
Collective Nouns
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A collective noun is a collection of people, animals or things: crowd, group ,flock, school, team, committee, department, class |
Abstract Nouns
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An abstract noun refers to a concept, state or an emotion. It is the opposite to a concrete noun. A noun you cannot see, touch, smell, hear or taste: happiness, thought, pride, laughter, trust, relaxation. An example of a concrete noun would be a cake. You can see, touch, smell and taste the cake. |
COUNTABLE AND NON COUNTABLE NOUNS
COUNTABLE NOUNS
Nouns that can be counted are called countable nouns; they can be singular or plural. We use the articles a and an to indicate a singular noun.
- There are six teachers working in the school.
- She has a pen to write a letter.
- I have four kittens.
- He has eaten an apple.
- I need to buy twenty two pens.
NON COUNTABLE NOUNS
Non countable nouns are nouns that can not be counted or divided into separate parts such as milk, water, sugar, coffee.
| Non Countable Nouns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| water | milk | information | money |
| sugar | gossip | furniture | fun |
| coffee | rice | weather | peace |
Non countable nouns are neither plural nor singular. We cannot say a water, a rice, a coffee, a chocolate. However, we can say the following:
- A glass of water.
- Four glasses of water.
- A bag of rice
- Three bags of rice
- A cup of coffee.
- Two cups of coffee.
- A bar of chocolate.
- Six bars of chocolate.
For non-countable nouns we can use the words some or any.
- I will eat some rice.
- Is there any sugar left in the pot?
- I need some chocolate.
RULES FOR SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS
SINGULAR NOUNS
The following rules will help you understand when to use the articles a and an with a singular noun.
Rule A: A noun that begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) has the article an before the noun.
Rule B: A noun that begins with a consonant has the article a before the noun.
Rule C: A noun that begins with a slient h e.g. hour has the article an before the noun.
Rule D: A noun that begins with the vowel u and is pronounced with a y e.g. uniform has the article a before the noun.
| A | An |
|---|---|
| Rule B: a book | Rule A: an apple |
| Rule B: a cat | Rule A: an egg |
| Rule B: a flower | Rule A: an iguana |
| Rule B: a lemon | Rule A: an orange |
| Rule B: a toy | Rule A: an umbrella | Rule D: a uniform | Rule C: an hour | Rule D: a university | Rule C: an honour |
PLURAL NOUNS
Most nouns are made plural by adding s at the end e.g. books. The tables below will help you understand the rules of changing a single noun to plural (more than one).
| Add s to most nouns | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural - add s |
| biscuit | biscuits |
| pencil | pencils |
| month | months |
| title | titles |
| name | names |
| book | books |
| Ending in: ch, sh, s, ss, x or z | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural - add es |
| watch,teach | watches, teaches |
| brush, dish | brushes, dishes |
| bus, circus | buses, circuses |
| glass, dress | glasses,dresses |
| box, fox | boxes, foxes |
| quiz, buzz | quizzes, buzzes |
| Nouns ending in y and has a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) before the y | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural - add s |
| toy | toys |
| boy | boys |
| monkey | monkeys |
| day | days |
| Nouns ending in y and has a consonant before the y | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural - remove y and add ies |
| lily | lilies |
| cherry | cherries |
| body | bodies |
| story | stories |
| Nouns ending in f or fe | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural - change f/fe to ves |
| knife | knives |
| leaf | leaves |
| life | lives |
| wolf | wolves |
| Some exceptions to nouns ending in f or fe | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural - add s |
| cafe | cafes |
| chief | chiefs |
| roof | roofs |
| cliff | cliffs |
| Nouns ending in o and has a consonant before the o | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural - add es |
| potato | potatoes |
| tomato | tomatoes |
| mango | mangoes |
| echo | echoes |
| hero | heroes |
| Nouns ending in o and has a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) before the o | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural - add s |
| zoo | zoos |
| tattoo | tattoos |
| Kangaroo | kangaroos |
| cameo | cameos |
| studio | studios |
| Exceptions! Nouns ending in o and has a consonant before the o | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural - add s |
| piano, demo, solo, kilo, rhino | pianos, demos, solos, kilos, rhinos |
| Irregular Plurals | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural |
| mouse | mice |
| man | men |
| woman | women |
| child | children |
| tooth | teeth |
| foot | feet |
| goose | geese |
| ox | oxen |
| Nouns that do not change | |
|---|---|
| Singular | Plural |
| fish | fish or fishes |
| deer | deer |
| sheep | sheep |
| trout | trout |
| salmon | salmon |
| cod | cod |
| moose | moose |
| species | species |
| Nouns that have no singular |
|---|
| Plural |
| scissors, tweezers, jeans, binoculars |