NOUNS

 The simplest definition of a noun is a thing and nouns are the basic building blocks of

sentences. These things can represent a person, animal, place, idea, emotion – almost any

thing that you can think of. The more nouns you know in a language, the better you will

be able to communicate your ideas.

To make most nouns plural, add –s

Examples: one bird two birds

one rose two roses

Add –es to nouns ending in –sh, -ch, -ss, and –x

Examples: one dish two dishes

one match two matches

one class two classes

one box two boxes

If a noun ends in a consonant + -y, change the –y to –i and add –es.

Examples: one baby two babies

one city two cities

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 If a noun ends in –fe or –f, change the ending to –ves.

Examples: one knife two knives

one shelf two selves

(exceptions: beliefs, chiefs, roofs, ceffs)

The plural form of nouns that end in –o is sometimes –oes and sometimes –os.

-oes : tomatoes, potatoes, heroes, echoes, mosquitoes

-os : zoos, radios, studios, pianos, solos, sopranos, photos, autos.

-oes or –os : zeroes/zeros, volcanoes/volcanos, tornadoes/tornados.

Some nouns have irregular plural forms.

(note: the singular form of people can be person, woman, man, child. For example: one

man and one child = two people). two women, two men, two children

The plural form of some nouns is the same as the singular form.

Examples: one deer two deer

one fish two fish

one species two species

Some nouns that English has borrowed from other languages have foreign plurals.

Examples: one bacterium two bacteria

One cactus two cacti

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 One crisis two crises

One phenomenon two phenomena

One datum two data

Possessive noun. An apostrophe (‘) and an –s are used with nouns to show possession.

Notice the pattern:

 singular possessive noun


noun+apostrophe (‘) + -s

The student’s name

My baby’s name

 Plural possessive noun

noun + -s + apostrophe

the students’ names

my babies’ names

 irregular plural + possessive noun

noun+apostrophe (‘) + -s

men’s names

the children’s names

Some nouns are called count nouns:

(1). In the singular, they can be preceded by a/an or one.

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 (2). They have a plural form: -s or –es

Examples: one chair / a chair two chairs

Some chairs

A lot of chairs

Many chairs

A few chairs

Several chairs

Some nouns are called noncount noun:

(1). They are not immediately preceded by a/an or one.

(2). They do not have a plural form (no final –s is added).

Examples: sugar

Some sugar

A lot of sugar

Much sugar

A little sugar

 Non count nouns usually refer to a whole group of things that is made up of many

individual parts, a whole category made up of different varieties.

For example some common noncount nouns are furniture, mail, money, fruit,and

jewelry.

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 INDIVIDUAL PARTS THE WHOLE
(COUNT NOUNS) (A NONCOUNT NOUN)

Chair
Table
Furniture
Beds
etc.

Letters
Postcards mail
Bills
etc.

pennies
nickles money
dollars

apples
bananas fruit
oranges

rings
bracelets Jewelry
necklaces
etc.

A language is not always logical. For instance:

I had some corn for dinner. (non count)

I had some peas for dinner. (count)

Both corn and peas express a larger whole made up of smaller parts, but corn is a

noncount noun and pea is a count noun.

Vegetables are good for you (count noun)

fruit is good for you (noncount noun)

both vegetables and fruit describe whole categories of food, but one is count and the

other noncount.

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 Logically, you can count furniture. But in grammar, you cannot count furniture.

For example:

I see a table and a bed

I see some furniture (correct)

I see some furnitures (incorrect)

SOME COMMON NONCOUNT NOUNS; WHOLE GROUPS MADE UP

OF INDIVIDUAL PARTS.

A. Clothing B. homework F. grammar

Equipment housework slang

Fruit work vocabulary

Furniture C. advice G.Corn

Garbage Information dust

Hardware news flour

Machinery D. History sand

Jewelry literature sugar

Make up music wheat

Money Poetry grass

Postage E. English, Arabic, Chinese salt

Stuff (names of languages) dirt

Traffic rice

Scenery pepper

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EXERCISES

Choose the right sentence!

1. a. there are a lot of vegetables

b. there is a lot of vegetables

c. there are a lot of vegetable

2. a. I’m learning a lot of vocabularies

b. I’m learning a lot of vocabulary

c. I’m learning vocabularies

3. a. there is a lot of informations in encyclopedia.

b. there are a lot of informations in encyclopedia.

c. there is a lot of information in encyclopedia.

d. there are a lot of information in encyclopedia.

4. a. Mary wears some jewelries

b. Mary wears some jewelry

c. Mary wears the jewelries

5. a. I enjoy listening to some music

b. I enjoy listening to some musics

c. I enjoy listening to the musics

6. a. did you get mails today?

b. did you get mail today?

c. did you get any mails today?

7. a. I sent two postcards to my friends

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 b. I sent two postcard to my friends

8. a. those necklaces are shining

b. those necklace are shining

c. those necklace is shining

d. that necklace are shining

9. a. can you give me some advice?

b. can you give me some advices?

c. can you give me an advice?

10. a. I need a lot of equipments to do this job

b. I need a lot of equipment to do this job

c. I need an equipment to do this job

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