Unit III Nouns

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE TUCUMAN Introducción a la Gramática
Inglesa FACULTAD DE FILOSOFIA Y LETRAS NOUNS
UNIT III:
NOUNS
Cuadernillo Anual – Año 2014 Página 35

UNIT Nº 3: NOUNS
Theory Section
A noun indicates what someone or something is called. A noun can be the name of a person
(Monica), a job title (dentist), the name of a thing (book), the name of a place (Tucumán), the
name of a quality (pride) or the name of an activity (laughter). Nouns can combine with other
words to make up Noun Phrases. E.g.
~ A beautiful dress
~ The very intelligent student
~ The woman next-door
~ The man in blue suit
Characteristic Noun Endings:
 -er as in player  -ity as in activity

 -ant as in consultant  -ar as in burglar
 -eer as in engineer  -ent as in president
 -ian as in musician  -or as in actor
 -ese as in Chinese  -age as in courage
 -al as in arrival  -ence as in dependence
 -ance as in importance  -ery as in discovery
 -ion as in companion  -ment as in arrangement
 -sion as in television  -tion as in condition
 -ety as in anxiety  -ness as in happiness
 -cy as in primacy  -dom as in boredom
 -ful as in spoonful  -hood as in childhood
 -ism as in dynamism  -ette as in usherette
 -en as in kitten  -let as in booklet
Some words can be either nouns or verbs. Their difference lies in the way they are stressed and
pronounced. E.g.
 Nouns and verbs distinguished by stress

For example: discount, entrance, export, object, etc.
When the stress is on the first syllable, the word is a noun; when the stress is on the second
syllable, it is a verb. The meanings are generally related.
 Nouns distinguished by pronunciation

When the ending is pronounced with no voice, it is a noun; when it is pronounced hard it is a
verb. E.g.:
/s/ /z/
~ abuse / abuse
~ house / house
~ use / use

 Nouns distinguished by spelling and pronunciation

The following words belong to the noun class when they are spelled with a “c” and the ending is
pronounced /s/ and to the verb class when they are spelled with an “s” and pronounced /z/:
/s/ /z/
~ practice / practise
~ advice / advise
 Nouns and verbs with the same spelling and pronunciation
E.g. answer, change, dream, hope, etc.
Compound Nouns
Many nouns in English are formed with two or more parts. Sometimes they are spelled with a
hyphen or they are spelled as two separate words. E.g.
~ typewriter ( single word compound)

~ greenhouse ( adjective + noun)
~ frying pan ( -ing form + noun)
~ horse riding (noun + -ing form)
~ make-up ( noun + adverb particle)
~ car keys ( noun + noun)
TYPES OF NOUNS
Proper
concrete
Noun countable
abstract
Common
concrete
uncountable
abstract
All nouns fall into two classes. They may be either proper nouns or common nouns. A proper
noun is the name of a particular person, place, thing or idea which is, or is considered to be,
unique. For example: Buenos Aires, Monica, etc. It is generally spelt with a capital letter. Articles
are not normally used in front of Proper nouns. Proper nouns include:
 Personal names (with or without titles): Peter, Mr. Peter Smith, President Kirchner, etc.
 Forms of address: Sister Mary, Uncle Tom, etc.
 Geographical Names: Africa, Canada, London, etc.
 Months, days of the week, festivals and seasons: April, Saturday, Easter, Christmas,
Summer, etc.
 Languages: French, English, etc.

Any noun that is not the name of a particular person, place, thing or idea is a common noun.
We can use the different articles in front of these nouns. All common nouns fall into two sub-
classes: they may be either countable nouns or uncountable nouns (also known as mass or
non-count nouns).
If a noun is countable:
 We can use “a/an” in front of it: a teacher - an architect.

 It has a plural form and can be used in the question how many?
 We can use numbers before it: one car- nine cars.
If a noun is uncountable:
 We do not normally use a/an in front of it: Coffee is bad for your health.
 It does not normally have a plural and it can be used in the question how much?
 We cannot normally use a number before it. E.g. * one oil- two oils.
Many countable nouns are concrete (having an individual physical existence). The following
are the different types of nouns that fall within the concrete label:
 Persons, animals, plants: a boy, a dog, a rose.

 Objects: a house, a table.
 Groups: an army, a herd.
 Units of measurement: a kilo, a metre.
 Parts of a mass: a piece, a slice.
Concrete uncountable nouns (sometimes having physical but not individual existence) include
words like:
 Materials, liquids, gases: cotton, milk, air.

 Grains and powder: rice, flour.
 Activities: eating, reading.
Some countable nouns are abstract. E.g. a hope, an idea, etc. A number of abstract nouns
can be used only as countables. E.g. a denial, a proposal, etc. Many uncountable nouns are
abstract. E.g. love, hatred, justice, disappointment, etc.
NOUNS WHICH CAN BE EITHER COUNTABLE OR UNCOUNTABLE
There are some nouns which can be either count or non-count depending on their use.
 Nouns we can think of as “single items” or “substances”.
When we refer to these nouns as single items, they are countable. E.g.:
~ He’s bought a coke for lunch.
When we refer to them as substances, they are uncountable. E.g.:
~ Do you like coke?
Other examples of this type of nouns are an egg/egg, a ribbon/ribbon, a chicken/chicken.

 Nouns which refer to “objects or material”.
When we use such nouns as countable, we refer to a thing which is made of the material or
which we think of as being made of the material. When we use them as uncountable, we refer
only to the material. Compare:
~ Would you like an ice? / Ice floats.

~ I broke a glass this morning. / Glass is made from sand.
 Normally uncountable nouns used as countables.
Many nouns which are normally uncountable can be used as countable if we refer to particular
varieties. When this occurs, the noun is usually preceded by an adjective or there is some kind
of specification. E.g.:
~ This region produces an excellent wine - some good wines / I like white wine.
 Nouns which can refer to something specific or general.
~ A good education is expensive. / Education should be free.

~ Try not to make a noise. / Noise is a kind of pollution.
 Nouns ending in "-ing"
-ing forms are generally uncountable but a few can refer to a specific thing or event. E.g.:
~ Are these drawings by Picasso? / I'm no good at drawing.
 Selected uncountable nouns and their countable equivalents.
Some uncountable nouns cannot be used as countable to refer to a single item. Another word
must be used.
Uncountable Countable equivalent
bread ______ a loaf

clothing ______ a garment
laughter ______ a laugh
luggage ______ a case, a bag
poetry ______ a poem
money ______ a coin, a note
work ______ a job
Nouns for animals are countable; nouns for meat are uncountable.
PARTITIVE EXPRESSIONS
Both countable and uncountable nouns can enter constructions denoting part of a whole. Such
partitive expressions can refer to either:
 Quantity
 Quality

1. Quantity partition
a. Of uncountable nouns:
~ a piece of cake- an item of clothing- a blade of grass- a speck of dust
b. Of plural count nouns:
~ a flock of sheep- a series of concerts
c. Of singular count nouns:
~ a page of a book- two pieces of a broken cup- three acts of a play
2. Quality partition, expressed most commonly with kind and sort:
~ A new kind of computer.

~ An interesting sort of wrapping paper.
NUMBER
Number is a grammatical category that requires that a noun be understood grammatically as

either singular or plural. Singular relates to the quantity "one" for count nouns, to the unique
referent for most proper nouns and to undifferentiated mass for uncountable nouns. Plural
relates to the quantity "two or more" for count nouns, to the unique referent for some proper
nouns (e.g.: the Bahamas) and to individual units that are seen as reflecting plural composition
(e.g. binoculars- goods).
Singular and Plural Forms of Nouns
Regular spelling
Singular Plural
 -s after most nouns: cat cats
 -es after nouns ending in:
-o potato potatoes
-s class classes
-x box boxes
-ch church churches
-sh bush bushes
 consonant + -y becomes -ies country countries
 note that vowel + -y adds -s
-ay day days
-ey key keys
-oy boy boys
-uy guy Guys
 Proper nouns ending in -y add Fry the Frys
-s in the plural
Irregular spelling
 Some endings in –f/ -fe take –ves wife wives

 Internal vowel change man men
 Nouns with plurals in –en child children
 No change sheep sheep
 Foreign plurals index indices

IRREGULAR PLURAL FORMATION
 Voicing
Several singular nouns ending in /f/ and /O/ undergo voicing, the former reflected in spelling, the
latter not:
knife- knives ______________________ /naif/- /naivz/

bath- baths _____________________ /b /- /b δz/
Like knife are calf, half, leaf, loaf, self, shelf, thief, wife, wolf, etc. With some nouns such as
handkerchief, hoof and scarf, the plural may involve voicing or be regular. With belief, cliff,
proof, the plural is always regular.
Like bath are mouth, oath, path, truth, youth, etc. With cloth, death, faith, moth only the regular
plural is found. Where there is a consonant preceding the last sound as in birth, length, etc we
also have the regular plural.
 Vowel Change
With a small number of nouns there is a change of vowel sound and spelling without an ending.
This group of nouns is also called mutation plurals.
foot feet
louse lice
mouse mice
woman women
goose geese
man men
tooth teeth
The plural of child involves both “vowel change” and an “irregular ending”, children. Other
examples are brother- brethren (used in religious contexts), ox-oxen.
 Zero Plural
Some nouns have the same form in both singular and plural. They do not change in form. These
include:
a. Names of certain animals, birds and fish: deer, grouse, salmon, sheep, trout, etc.
~ This sheep is from Australia/ These sheep are from Australia.
b. Certain nouns describing nationalities: a Chinese, a Swiss, a Vietnamese, etc.
~ He is a Chinese / The Chinese are very hard working.
* Fish is the normal plural of fish (singular), but fishes can also be used to refer to species of
fish.

c. Nouns of quantity: Units of number, length, value and weight tend to have zero plural
when premodified by another quantitative word. E.g.
~ Two dozen eggs, four hundred soldiers, ten thousand dollars, etc.
Note that these words have normal plural forms when they are not preceded by numerals. E.g.
~ There were hundreds of people begging for better working conditions.

~ I have no precise idea how many people attended the course: thousands, certainly.
d. Nouns with equivocal number: these nouns can be treated as singular or plural. E.g. dice,
gallows, headquarters, means, mews, oats, offspring, series, species, etc.
~ The craft was sunk. All the craft were sunk (craft in the sense of “ship”).
~ This is a busy crossroads. There are several crossroads here.
 Foreign Plurals
Several nouns adopted from foreign languages, especially Latin and Greek, retain the foreign
inflection for plural. In some cases there are two plurals, an English regular form used in non-
technical discourse. Therefore some native English speakers avoid foreign plurals in everyday
speech and use them only in scientific and technical contexts.
a. Nouns of foreign origin with anglicized plurals, e.g.
a. album / albums
b. genius / geniuses
c. apparatus / apparatuses
b. Nouns with both foreign and anglicized plurals, e.g.
 -us: cactus/ cacti or cactuses

 -ex: index/ indices or indexes
 -um: medium/ media or mediums
 -eu/-eau: adieu/ adieux or adieus; plateau/ plateaus or plateaux
 -a: antenna/ antennae or antennas
 -on: automaton/ automata or automatons
Alternative plurals can have different meanings: e.g. antennae is a biological term; antennas
can describe for example radio aerials.
c. Nouns with foreign plurals only, e.g.:
 -us: alumnus/ alumni

 -a: alumna/ alumnae
 -um: stratum/strata
 -is: analysis/ analyses
 -on: criterion/ criteria

NOUNS RESISTANT TO NUMBER CONTRAST
Ordinarily singular
 Proper nouns.
 Noncount nouns such as cheese or injustice can be plural only when used to indicate
partition.
 The noun news and certain other items ending in –s:
a. Nouns in –ics such as acoustics. *

b. Names of diseases such as mumps, shingles, etc.
c. Words for some games such as billiards, dominoes, etc.
* Note: The nouns athletics, gymnastics, linguistics, mathematics and physics always take
singular concord. However, some nouns ending in –ics such as acoustics, economics, ethics,
phonetics and statistics take a singular or a plural verb. When the reference is to an academic
subject (e.g. acoustics = the scientific study of sound), then the verb must be singular:
~ Acoustics is a branch of physics.
When the reference is specific (e.g. acoustics = sound quality), then the verb must be plural:
~ The acoustics in this theatre are extremely good.
 Collective nouns, such as committee, council, government, audience, class, company, crew,
crowd, firm, family, gang, jury, etc. They can be used with both singular and plural verbs. They
are singular and they can combine with the relative pronouns which/that and be replaced by it
when we think of them as a whole group. E.g.
~ The present government, which has been in power long, is trying to control inflation.
But it isn’t having much success.
They are plural and they can combine with who and be replaced by they/them when we think of
them as individuals that make up the group. E.g.
~ The government, who are looking for a quick victory, are calling for a general election
soon. They expect to be re-elected since a lot of people are giving them their support.
Note that these collective nouns can also have regular plural forms:
~ Governments in all countries are working against inflation.
The following collectives usually occur in the singular only with the definite article: the
aristocracy, the clergy, the bourgeoisie, the elite, the church, the gentry, the intelligentsia, the
public, the laity, the press, the youth.
The clergy rejects the government’s proposal.
Collective proper nouns include: the Commons, Parliament, the United Nations, the United
States, the Vatican, (the) Congress (US). E.g.
The Commons are assembling this afternoon.

The United Nations condemns the actions taken by terrorist groups.
 Ordinarily plural
 Binary nouns or Summation Plurals which refer to entities that comprise two parts. E.g.:
tools and instruments such as binoculars, scissors; articles of dress such as jeans, pants,

trousers, etc. Number contrast is usually achieved through quantity partition with a pair of. With
binary nouns where the two pairs are more obviously separate, the unit is divisible into two
singulars. E.g.:
~ He is wearing a brown glove and a red glove.
 Aggregate nouns or Pluralia Tantum, which usually end in-s, refer to entities which
comprise an indefinite number of parts. These may be plural in form, as for instance arms,
communications, goods, troops, ashes, bowels, spirits (mood), earnings, etc. Data and media
are singular in form.
The following aggregate nouns must be followed by a plural verb. E.g.: cattle, clergy, people,
the police, the military, swine, vermin. They are unmarked plural nouns. E.g.
~ The police have surrounded the building.
 Some Proper Nouns: The East/West Indies, the Hebrides, the Highlands, the Midlands, the
Netherlands.
GENDER
In the English Language, Gender relates directly to the meanings of nouns, with particular
reference to biological sex.
GENDER EXAMPLE PRONOUNS

Male boy who, he
Female girl who, she
Dual doctor who, he/she
PERSONAL (male or female)
Common baby { who, he/she/it
(personal or nonpersonal) which/it
Collective family { which/it
who/they
ANIMATE FAMILIAR ANIMAL:
Male bull { which, he/it
(who),he
NONPERSONAL Female cow { which, she/it
(who), she
Dual cat { which, he/she/it
(male or female) who, he/she
LESS FAMILIAR ANIMAL weasel which, it/he/(she)
INANIMATE window which, it
Nouns with personal gender
Nouns morphologically unmarked for gender have no inflection or mark that suggests
morphological correspondence between masculine and feminine. This type commonly occurs in
male and female pairs. E.g.:
~ father-mother ~ sir-madam
~ brother-sister ~ nephew-niece
~ son-daughter ~ husband-wife
~ grandfather-grandmother ~ king-queen
~ boy-girl ~ monk-nun
~ wizard-witch ~ man-woman
~ tutor-governess ~ uncle-aunt
~ gentleman-lady ~ bachelor-spinster
~ grandson-granddaughter

Sometimes the grammatical distinction between masculine and feminine gender is

morphologically realized by the presence of an inflection (a particle added to a noun). In nouns
morphologically marked for gender, the two gender forms have a derivational relationship. E.g.:
~ actor- actress ~ author- authoress

~ beau- belle ~ conductor- conductress
~ bridegroom- bride ~ giant- giantess
~ czar/tsar- czarina/tsarina ~ heir- heiress
~ duke- duchess ~ hero- heroine
~ earl/count- countess ~ host- hostess
~ emperor- empress ~ Jew- Jewess
~ executor- executrix ~ Joseph- Josephine
~ god- goddess ~ leopard- leopardess
~ lad- lass(ie) ~ lion- lioness
~ male- female ~ manager- manageress
~ marquis- marquise/marchioness ~ master- mistress
~ masseur- masseuse ~ mayor- mayoress
~ Mr.- Mrs. ~ murderer- murderess
~ priest- priestess ~ negro- negress
~ prince- princess ~ patron- patroness
~ prosecutor- prosecutrix ~ Paul- Pauline
~ testator- testatrix ~ poet- poetess
~ usher- usherette ~ proprietor- proprietress
~ viscount- viscountess ~ schoolmaster- schoolmistress
~ waiter- waitress ~ shepherd- shepherdess
~ widower- widow ~ steward- stewardess
~ sultan- sultana ~ warder- wardress
~ tiger- tigress
Dual nouns
Many nouns have dual gender since they can be male or female in reference as required. E.g.:
~ artist ~ friend ~ person ~ adult

~ enemy ~ guest ~ professor ~ comrade
~ fool ~ inhabitant ~ servant ~ cousin
~ foreigner ~ librarian ~ speaker ~ darling
~ passenger ~ musician ~ student ~ orphan
~ scientist ~ neighbour ~ teacher ~ owner
~ stranger ~ novelist ~ writer ~ parent
~ dear ~ pupil ~ relation ~ relative
~ minister ~ singer ~ speaker ~ spouse
~ cook ~ tourist ~ traveller ~ visitor
~ criminal ~ journalist ~ lawyer ~ assistant
~ doctor ~ aristocrat ~ bourgeois ~ teenager
Common gender
There are some other nouns which have common gender. They undoubtedly refer to male or
female human beings, but they make gender so irrelevant that we can use the neuter pronoun
it. This is so because the noun in question is felt to be intermediate between personal and non-
personal. Common Gender occurs in the following cases:
 Someone who is emotionally unrelated to a child or who is ignorant of the child’s sex
may say:
~ The baby lost its parents when it was 1 year-old.
 In scientific contexts. So somebody who wishes to generalize across sex distinctions

would say:
~ A child learns to speak the language of its environment.

Traditional social roles often meant that man was used even for roles performed by women.
Now many people prefer a neutral form for both sexes, if there is one available.
There are compound nouns with gender-markers:
~ man servant – woman servant ~ male graduate - female graduate

~ judge - woman judge ~ male model - model
~ doctor - woman doctor ~ male nurse – nurse
~ boy cousin - girl cousin ~ landlord – landlady
~ man friend - woman friend ~ clergyman – clergywoman
~ boy friend - girl friend ~ policeman – policewoman
~ male student - female student ~ salesman - saleswoman
~ male prisoner - female prisoner
Note that nouns morphologically marked for gender often tend to be avoided, especially when
the sex of the referent is irrelevant. In consequence, nouns with dual gender like poet, author,
supervisor, etc. are preferred to poetess, foreman, etc.
Nouns referring to animals and inanimates
Among animals, we may distinguish the familiar and the less familiar ones. The former
comprise the farming or domestic pets which are significant in familiar experience. These nouns
tend to occur in male and female pairs. E.g.:
~ stallion- mare ~ bull – cow

~ cock-sparrow – hen-sparrow ~ cock/rooster – hen
~ cock-pheasant – hen-pheasant ~ buck – doe
~ peacock – peahen ~ colt – filly
~ turkey cock - turkey hen ~ stag – hind
~ tomcat – tabbycat ~ boar – sow
~ dog-otter – bitch-otter ~ hog – sow
~ he-bear – she-bear ~ drake/male duck – duck
~ he-goat – she-goat ~ gander – goose
~ wolf – she-wolf ~ ram – ewe
~ male frog – female frog ~ fox – vixen
~ elephant – female elephant ~ bullock – heifer
~ spider – female spider
The less familiar animals such as squirrels, ants, drones, bees, moths, etc belong to the
animate world. Most of the time, they are treated grammatically as though they were inanimate
(with the pronoun it).

CASE
CASE is a grammatical category that marks the function of a noun or pronoun, for example as
subject (also known as nominative case: the boy, he, I, who), object (also known as accusative
case: him, me, whom) or genitive (also known as possessive: the boy’s, his, mine, whose).
English nouns have only two cases, the unmarked COMMON CASE (e.g.: boy in the singular
and boys in the plural) and the marked GENITIVE CASE (e.g.: boy’s in the singular and boys’ in
the plural). The latter is usually marked by means of an apostrophe and the inflection “s” at the
end of the noun. The Genitive Case is sometimes called the Possessive Case due to one of the
main meanings it expresses, possession. E.g.:
If Peter owns a car, you can refer to it as:

~ Peter’s car The car Peter has
Rules of Genitive Formation
1. Add ‘s to singular nouns and to names not ending in –s: the student’s teacher; Peter’s new
car.
2. If two names are joined by “and”, add ‘s to the second: Peter and Monica’s dog.
3. Add an apostrophe or ‘s to names ending in –s: Mr. Jones’ car or Mr. Jones’s car.
No matter how we write the genitive in such cases, we normally pronounce it as /IZ/. This is so
in order to avoid repetitive or awkward combinations of sounds. With some famous names
ending in –s we normally add an apostrophe: Keats’ poetry. Initials can be followed by ‘s when
the reference is singular: A PhD’s thesis, or ’ when the reference is plural: PhDs’ theses.
4. Add ‘s to singular nouns ending in –s: the actress’s part.

5. Add ‘s to irregular plural nouns: women’s jobs.
6. Add only an apostrophe after regular plural nouns ending in –s: girls’ clothes. In being
phonologically identical with the plural, the regular genitive plural is called the “zero
genitive”.
7. Add ‘s after the last word of a compound noun. This genitive is called “the group genitive”:
my mother- in- law’s meanness.
Gender and the Genitive
The genitive is not used with all nouns equally but tends to be associated with those of animate
gender, especially those having personal reference. E.g.:
~ People’s incomes
~ Argentina’s inflation
~ The bird’s name
Geographical names take the genitive inflection, especially when they are used to imply human
collectivity. E.g.:
~ Argentina’s policy rather than Argentina’s mountains
With inanimate nouns the genitive is possible as long as it is used with relevance to human
activity or concern. E.g.:
~ The city’s inhabitants rather than the city’s landscape.

The Genitive in relation to Noun Classes
The –s genitive usually occurs with the following classes of nouns:
1. Proper nouns: Andrew’s graduation

2. Personal nouns: the child’s sad look
3. Animal nouns: the dog’s collar
4. Collective nouns: the nation’s resources
5. Geographical names.
a. Continents: America’s poverty
b. Countries: the USA’s recession
c. States: Maryland’s streets
d. Cities and Towns: Hollywood’s movies
e. Universities: Oxford’s Linguistics Department
6. Locative nouns denoting regions, institutions, etc: the hotel’s entrance
They can be very similar to geographical names.
7. Temporal nouns: a moment’s thought
8. Nouns of special relevance to human activity: science’s influence
The Genitive with Superlatives and Ordinals
The genitive is particularly common with locative nouns followed by superlatives or general
ordinals such as first, last, next, etc. E.g.:
~ The world’s best universities

~ Europe’s next security policy
Structure of the Genitive
1. The use of the “of-construction” to connect two nouns: Periphrastic Genitive
We normally use the of- construction when referring to:
a. Things: the script of the play

b. Parts of things: the inside of the box
c. Abstract reference: the price of fame
d. When the noun in the of-phrase is modified by a phrase or a clause:
~ Look at the watch of the man next to you.

~ Look at the watch of the man who is standing next to you.
2. The Independent Genitive
It is common to ellipt the noun following the genitive under the following circumstances:

1. When we refer to a noun that is implied:
~ We need a ladder. We can borrow our neighbour’s.
2. When we refer to where someone lives:
~ I’m staying at my grandma’s.
3. When we refer to shops and businesses:
~ I have to go to the butcher’s today.
4. When we refer to medical practitioners:
~ I’ve got an appointment at the dentist’s.
5. When we refer to well-known restaurants by the name of the owner or founder:
~ Scott’s is a great place to eat out.
6. When we refer to churches and colleges often named after saints:
~ They got married at St. Andrew’s.
3. The Post-Genitive or Double Genitive
The ‘s genitive can be used after the of genitive to produce a construction known as the Post-
Genitive or Double Genitive. In this case, the Independent Genitive acts as prepositional
complement of the preposition of. The Independent Genitive is not elliptical in this case. E.g.:
~ A friend of my brother’s one of my brother’s friends

~ Every move of John’s
This is a special construction which makes it possible for the same head noun to take a genitive
as determiner and another determiner. In the example above, the head noun is friend, which
takes the genitive as determiner after the preposition of and the Indefinite Article as determiner
in front of itself.
The head noun is most typically preceded by the indefinite article and sometimes a
demonstrative pronoun. E.g.:
~ This was a good idea of John’s. / - I like this good idea of John’s.
4. The Group Genitive
In this type, the genitive suffix is attached to the last word of the genitive phrase. This last word
is usually a postmodifier of the head noun. E.g.:
~ My mother-in-law’s meanness
~ The Secretary of State’s visit
The group genitive is mainly used with more or less fixed phrases. Other examples are found
with coordinate constructions. E.g.:
~ Lucy and Erika’s room

~ A week or two’s time

Genitive meanings
The meanings expressed by the genitive can conveniently be shown through paraphrase; at the
same time, we can compare the analogous use of the of-construction.
Meanings Example Paraphrase
Possessive Genitive Robert’s job The job that Robert has.
Genitive of Attribute My mother’s generosity My mother is generous. Or

My mother is a generous
person.
Genitive of Origin Susan’s letter The letter was written by Susan.
Partitive Genitive The human body’s parts The human body contains parts.
Subjective Genitive The President’s lie The President lied.
Objective Genitive The President’s kidnap Someone kidnapped the

President
Descriptive Genitive Women’s clothes Clothes especially designed for

women.
Temporal Genitive A two hours’ flight A flight that takes two hours.
Locative Genitive At the Chemist’s At the Chemist’s shop
One of a Group A relative of my father’s One of the relatives that my

father has.
Genitive of Measure A four thousand miles’ river A river which is four thousand
miles long.
Genitive of Value ten dollars worth of cheese/ The cheese/lemons cost ten
(Money’s worth) lemons
dollars.
Fixed expressions Within arm’s reach

At death’s door
For goodness’ sake
*******************
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
 Biber, D., Conrad, S., Leech, G. (2003). Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
English. ( Student’s Book and Workbook) . Longman. Essex: England.
 Collins Cobuild English Grammar (2005). Thompson Learning Publishers. USA.
 Eastwood, J. (2005). Oxford Learner’s Grammar- Grammar Finder (Reference). OUP.
 Eastwood, J. (2005) Oxford Learner’s Grammar- Grammar Builder (Practice). OUP.
 Eastwood, J. (2005). Oxford Practice Grammar Intermediate. OUP.
 Alexander, L.G. (1990). Longman English Grammar. Longman. Chapter 2.
 Greenbaum S. and R. Quirk (1990). A Student’s Grammar of the English Language.
Longman. Chapter 5.

UNIT Nº 2: NOUNS
Practice Section
Task Nº 1. Write more examples of the different types of nouns.
1. Proper: ________________________________________________________________
2. Countable concrete: _____________________________________________________
3. Countable abstract: _____________________________________________________
4. Uncountable concrete: ___________________________________________________
5. Uncountable abstract: ___________________________________________________
Task Nº 2. Complete the chart.
Animal names Nouns for meat
1. cow ______________
2. calf ______________
3. pig ______________
4. sheep ______________
5. deer ______________
6. lamb ______________
7. chicken ______________
Task N°3. Some non-count nouns cannot be used as count to refer to a single item.
Give the singular equivalent of the following non-count nouns.
1. bread ______________
2. luggage /baggage ______________
3. money ______________
4. work ______________
5. travel ______________
6. clothing ______________
7. permission ______________
8. laughter ______________
9. poetry ______________
10. machinery ______________
11. accommodation ______________
12. arms ______________
13. pay ______________

Task N° 4. Fill in the blanks with an appropriate partitive construction.
1. a ____________ chocolate 14. a ___________ Salt

2. a ____________ matches 15. a ___________ smoke
3. a ____________ soap 16. a ___________ anger
4. a ____________ dust 17. a ___________ ice
5. an ___________ news 18. a ___________ clothing
6. a ____________ water 19. an __________ information
7. a ____________ earth 20. an __________ furniture
8. a ____________ paper 21. a ___________ sand
9. a ____________ cigarettes 22. a ___________ metal
10. a ____________ grass 23. a ___________ cloth
11. a ____________ air 24. a ___________ abuse
12. a_____________ bread 25. a ___________ applause
13. a_____________ hair 26. a ___________ fever
Task N° 5. Insert the appropriate collective noun in each blank.
1. a ____________ soldiers 14. a ___________ Children

2. a ____________ flowers 15. a ___________ people
3. a ____________ grapes 16. a ___________ experts
4. a ____________ friends 17. a ___________ visitors
5. a ____________ trees 18. a ___________ dolphins
6. a ____________ coins 19. a ___________ teeth
7. a ____________ ants 20. a ___________ shops
8. a ____________ sailors 21. a ___________ celebrities
9. a ____________ cards 22. a ___________ directors
10. a ____________ cattle 23. a ___________ puppies
11. a ____________ ships 24. a ___________ dogs
12. a ____________ thieves 25. a ___________ houses
13. a ____________ bees 26. a ___________ Hooligans
Task Nº 6. Classify the following nouns according to the different types of regular
spelling.
dish – volcano – tomato – match – beach – address – ray – strawberry – family – guy ash –
fox - scratch – play – prey – video – hero – January – bottle – bus – pet – friend eye – bag –
sky – soliloquy - oath – worker - tape – lesson – orange – youth
1. -s after most nouns:

__________________________________________________________________
2. -es after nouns ending in -o, -s, -x, -ch, -sh:
__________________________________________________________________
3. consonant + -y becomes –ies:
__________________________________________________________________
4. vowel + -y adds -s :
__________________________________________________________________
5. Proper nouns ending in -y add -s in the plural:

__________________________________________________________________

Task N° 7. Classify the nouns from the box into the categories given below.
Vietnamese - grouse - The East Indies - means - fives - knife - gang - August – bowels -
tempo- customs - Lebanese - test - louse - loaf - funguses - ox - phonetics - binoculars -
salmon - series - hero - postman - glasses - species - sheep - The Hebrides - bacterium -
months - codex - Easter - audience - music - news - shingles - size - adieu silver - dominoes-
earnings - tactics - water - Greece - tights - firm – rickets
1) Nouns with regular plural
a. Voicing:
2) Nouns with irregular plural
b. Mutation Plural/Vowel Change:
c. Foreign Plural:
d. Zero Plural d.1.Animal names:
d.2. Nationality names in –ese:
d.3. Nouns of quantity:
d.4. Nouns with equivocal number:
a. Proper Nouns:
3) Nouns ordinarily singular
(Singular invariable nouns)
b. Non-count nouns:
c. Nouns ending in –s:
d. Collective nouns:
a. Binary nouns/Summation plurals:

4) Nouns ordinarily plural
(Plural invariable nouns)
b. Aggregate nouns/Pluralia Tantum
b-1. in –s
b-2. not plural in form
c. Proper nouns:

Task N° 8. Write the plural form(s) of the following nouns. If the noun has no
plural form, put a cross.
1. soprano ______________ 21. vertebra ______________

2. briefcase ______________ 22. shelf ______________
3. glass ______________ 23. mud ______________
4. baggage ______________ 24. belief ______________
5. series ______________ 25. automaton ______________
6. bamboo ______________ 26. boss ______________
7. calf ______________ 27. tomato ______________
8. path ______________ 28. alms ______________
9. brother-in-law ______________ 29. syllabus ______________
10. parenthesis ______________ 30. nose ______________
11. medium ______________ 31. woman doctor ______________
12. bureau ______________ 32. wife ______________
13. dwarf ______________ 33. symposium ______________
14. hoof ______________ 34. homework ______________
15. louse ______________ 35. assignment ______________
16. appendix ______________ 36. equipment ______________
17. grown-up ______________ 37. deer ______________
18. concerto ______________ 38. stimulus ______________
19. rickets ______________ 39. study ______________
20. notary public ______________ 40. scenery ______________
Task N° 9. Choose the correct option.
1. The police work/works hard in this city.

2. Billiards are/is becoming more popular among young people.
3. This/These surroundings is/are very dangerous.
4. I saw some/an oxen grazing in the fields.
5. The little children found larvas/larvae while they were playing in the garden.
6. I’m going shopping because I need some/a new clothing.
7. The public agrees/agree with this TV presenter’s opinion.
8. Gymnastics is/are preferred to volleyball by female adolescents.
Task N° 10. Supply appropriate forms of the verbs in brackets (present tense only).
1. A teacher’s earnings __________ (not be) enough for him/her to have a good lifestyle.
2. There __________ (be) egg on your t-shirt. You should clean it immediately.
3. ________ (be) her clothes dirty?
4. Our government ____________ (not fulfil) people’s expectations.
5. The police ________ (be) coming. I have already called them.
6. A lot of works _______ (have) gone bankrupt since the government changed its politics.
7. The crossroads near your house _________ (be) really dangerous. A lot of accidents
________ (happen) there every year.
8. Green lettuce _________ (be) rich in vitamin C.
9. Economics ________ (be) my brother’s favourite subject.
10. The statistics in that report on oil production _______ (be) incorrect.
11. Statistics _______ (be) a branch of mathematics.
12. The news on the front pages of both daily newspapers __________ (concern) the progress
of the peace conference.

Task Nº 11. Complete the chart with neutral forms.
Neutral Traditional Male Traditional Female

chair (person) chairman chairwoman
____________ spokesman spokeswoman
____________ policeman policewoman
____________ fisherman _______________
____________ barman barmaid
____________ businessman businesswoman
____________ fireman _______________
____________ steward stewardess/airhostess
____________ foreman _______________
____________ congressman _______________
Nouns and gender
Task N° 12. Study the following list of nouns. Classify them according to gender, and
indicate the corresponding masculine or feminine noun related to each of them. Write
down the dual gender related to each pair whenever possible.
1. father 22. sultan

2. thief 23. mayor
3. daughter 24. usher
4. singer 25. shepherd
5. brother 26. boyfriend
6. artist 27. wife
7. uncle 28. boy
8. aristocrat 29. god
9. man 30. lad
10. nephew 31. marquis
11. fiancé 32. girl friend
12. patron 33. schoolmaster
13. farmer 34. viscount
14. neighbour 35. female graduate
15. male student 36. inhabitant
16. clerk 37. nurse
17. wardress 38. judge
18. baron 39. prince
19. doctor 40. comedian
20. masseur 41. empress
21. hero 42. manager

43. heir 69. idolater

44. landlord 70. countess
45. scientist 71. comrade
46. teacher 72. tutor
47. gangster 73. leopard
48. lady 74. lioness
49. widow 75. cow
50. seamstress 76. filly
51. bride 77. dog
52. wizard 78. goose
53. playwright 79. mare
54. policeman 80. drake
55. host 81. ewe
56. czar 82. cock
57. spinster 83. doe
58. waiter 84. boar
59. testator 85. vixen
60. actor 86. he-goat
61. mistress 87. wolf
62. proprietor 88. male frog
63. trickster 89. turkey cock
64. king 90. elephant
65. monk 91. cock-pheasant
66. duke 92. peacock
67. protégé 93. tabby cat
68. male prisoner 94. she-bear
Task Nº 13. Relate the following pairs of nouns by means of the Genitive making use of
the rules of Genitive formation.
1. The CD- tracks ________________________________________________________

2. Police Station- address _________________________________________________
3. My children- toys ______________________________________________________
4. Erika- boyfriend _______________________________________________________
5. Borges- books ________________________________________________________
6. Boys- games _________________________________________________________
7. Liz- career ___________________________________________________________
8. Rachel and Tom- dog ___________________________________________________
9. Stewardess- uniform ____________________________________________________
10. CDs- business ________________________________________________________

Task Nº 14. Given the following genitive constructions, state the type of noun the
genitive is related to in each case.
1. The book’s true importance __________________________________________

2. A country’s population ______________________________________________
3. Madrid’s beaches __________________________________________________
4. The jury’s decision _________________________________________________
5. The bird’s wings ___________________________________________________
6. The young girl’s self-esteem __________________________________________
7. Veronica’s intelligence ______________________________________________
Task Nº 15. Given the following Genitive Constructions, identify their structure.
1. That’s the ticket of your flight to New York.

Structure: ____________________________________________________________
2. Patricia hasn’t been to the doctor’s since she was operated on.
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
3. The frame of the picture is quite original.

Structure: ____________________________________________________________
4. The cost of living increases day by day.

Structure: ____________________________________________________________
5. My son is getting baptized at St. George’s.

Structure: ____________________________________________________________
6. I need a good calculator for this exercise. Why don’t you use my sister’s?
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
Task Nº 16. Classify the Genitives according to their structure and meanings. Then
explain the meanings by means of a paraphrase.
1. Argentina’s sheep
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
Meaning: _________________________ Paraphrase: ________________________

2. The teachers’ effort
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
3. To one’s heart’s content
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
4. The student’s stubbornness
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
5. The pages of the book
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
6. A five centimetres’ cut
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
7. The country’s consolidation
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
Meaning: _________________________ Paraphrase _________________________
8. Mother’s affection
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
9. A winter’s day
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
10. The Legislator’s assassination
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
11. A friend of my family’s
Structure: ____________________________________________________________

12. A year’s inflation
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
13. Mrs. Smith’s three husbands
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
14. Shakespeare’s plays
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
15. At the grocer’s
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
16. Two dollars’ worth of candies
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
17. Her mistake is just like anybody’s
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
18. England’s invasion
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
19. The child of the woman in black dress
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
20. The President’s incredible speech
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
21. For the sake of God!
Structure: ____________________________________________________________

Task Nº 17. Discuss the difference between the sentences in each pair below.
Paraphrase and refer to theory.
1. a) Is there apple in this salad?.

.
b) Is there an apple for this salad? .
2. a) I enjoy running a small business.
b) I enjoy doing business.
3. a) The food department sells a cheese made from goat’s milk.
b) The food department sells cheese.
4. a) The public has a right to know the truth.
b) The public have a right to know the truth.
5. a) The party’s opposition implies a strong challenge to our business.
b) The party’s opposition implies a strong challenge to our business.
6. a) A young child’s behaviour can’t be disregarded.
b) The young child’s behaviour can’t be disregarded.

Unit III Nouns

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UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE TUCUMAN Introducción a la Gramática

Inglesa FACULTAD DE FILOSOFIA Y LETRAS NOUNS

Cuadernillo Anual – Año 2014 Página 35

Characteristic Noun Endings:

 -er as in player  -ity as in activity

 Nouns and verbs distinguished by stress

 Nouns distinguished by pronunciation

Cuadernillo Anual – Año 2014 Página 36

 Nouns distinguished by spelling and pronunciation

 Nouns and verbs with the same spelling and pronunciation

E.g. answer, change, dream, hope, etc.

~ typewriter ( single word compound)

 Forms of address: Sister Mary, Uncle Tom, etc.

 Geographical Names: Africa, Canada, London, etc.

 Languages: French, English, etc.

Cuadernillo Anual – Año 2014 Página 37

 We can use “a/an” in front of it: a teacher - an architect.

 Persons, animals, plants: a boy, a dog, a rose.

 Materials, liquids, gases: cotton, milk, air.

NOUNS WHICH CAN BE EITHER COUNTABLE OR UNCOUNTABLE

 Nouns we can think of as “single items” or “substances”.

~ He’s bought a coke for lunch.

When we refer to them as substances, they are uncountable. E.g.:

~ Do you like coke?

Other examples of this type of nouns are an egg/egg, a ribbon/ribbon, a chicken/chicken.

Cuadernillo Anual – Año 2014 Página 38

 Nouns which refer to “objects or material”.

~ Would you like an ice? / Ice floats.

 Normally uncountable nouns used as countables.

 Nouns which can refer to something specific or general.

~ A good education is expensive. / Education should be free.

 Nouns ending in "-ing"

~ Are these drawings by Picasso? / I'm no good at drawing.

 Selected uncountable nouns and their countable equivalents.

Uncountable Countable equivalent

bread ______ a loaf

Cuadernillo Anual – Año 2014 Página 39

2. Quality partition, expressed most commonly with kind and sort:

~ A new kind of computer.

Number is a grammatical category that requires that a noun be understood grammatically as

Singular and Plural Forms of Nouns

 Some endings in –f/ -fe take –ves wife wives

Cuadernillo Anual – Año 2014 Página 40

IRREGULAR PLURAL FORMATION

knife- knives ______________________ /naif/- /naivz/

~ This sheep is from Australia/ These sheep are from Australia.

b. Certain nouns describing nationalities: a Chinese, a Swiss, a Vietnamese, etc.

~ He is a Chinese / The Chinese are very hard working.

Cuadernillo Anual – Año 2014 Página 41

~ There were hundreds of people begging for better working conditions.

a. Nouns of foreign origin with anglicized plurals, e.g.

b. Nouns with both foreign and anglicized plurals, e.g.

 -us: cactus/ cacti or cactuses

c. Nouns with foreign plurals only, e.g.:

 -us: alumnus/ alumni

Cuadernillo Anual – Año 2014 Página 42

NOUNS RESISTANT TO NUMBER CONTRAST

 The noun news and certain other items ending in –s:

a. Nouns in –ics such as acoustics. *

~ Acoustics is a branch of physics.

~ The acoustics in this theatre are extremely good.

~ Governments in all countries are working against inflation.

The clergy rejects the government’s proposal.

1. a __ chocolate 14. a _ Salt