NOUNS / UNCOUNTABLE AND PLURAL NOUNS

PROPER NOUNS: always in capital letters (no plural)

People: Mary, Susan, Roger,

Cities / Countries: Madrid, London, Caceres,
Nationalities / Languages: Spanish, Greek, English, American, Moroccan,
Rivers / Lakes / Oceans: The Thames, The Lake Eire, The Mediterranean Ocean,
Mountains / Mounts / Range Mountains: Mount Everest, The Alps; The
Pyrenees,
Monuments: The Statue of Liberty, The Eiffel Tower, The British Museum,
Schools / Universities: Trinity College, Harvard University,
Subjects: Physics, Mathematics, English, Science,
Months of the year: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August,
September, October, November, December.

*Days of the week: (plural) Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,

Saturday, Sunday.

COMMON NOUNS: objects, animals, things, (singular and plural)

PLURAL FORMATION

- Adding –s: stamp – stamps / table – tables

- Adding –es: when the noun ends in: s, ss, x, sh, z, ch: bus – buses / church –
churches
- Adding -ies: when the noun ends in consonant + y: country – countries /
party – parties
- Adding –s: when the noun ends in vowel + y: boy – boys / day – days
- Adding –ves: when the noun ends in f / fe: wolf – wolves / knife – knives /
wife – wives
- Adding –es: when the noun ends in o: tomato – tomatoes / potato – potatoes
IRREGULAR PLURAL NOUNS: two different words

SINGULAR PLURAL
man men
woman women
mouse mice
child children
person people
tooth teeth
foot feet
goose geese
ox oxen
louse lice

Nouns with the same singular and plural: fish, cattle, deer, sheep, species,

UNCOUNTABLE AND PLURAL NOUNS

Uncountable nouns
- The following nouns are always uncountable: behaviour, traffic, weather,
accommodation, health, progress, scenery, rubbish, garbage, work,
politics (and other words ending in –ics, athletics, economics).
- They always need a singular verb, they don’t have plurals, and they can’t be
used with a/an.
- These nouns are also uncountable; furniture, information, advice,
homework, housework, research, news, luck, bread, toast, luggage,
baggage, food, equipment. Use a piece of to talk about an individual item.
- Some nouns can be either countable or uncountable, but the meaning changes,
e.g.; iron=the metal; an iron=the thing used to press clothes. Other examples
are: glass, business, paper, light, time, space.

Plural and collective nouns

- Arms (=guns), belongings, clothes, manners, outskirts, scissors, trousers,
shorts, parents, glasses, tights are plural nouns with no singular. They need
a plural verb and can’t be used with a/an.
- If they consist of two parts, e.g.: scissors, trousers, shorts, they can be used
with a pair of or some.

Crew, police, staff are collective nouns and refer to a group of people. They need a
plural verb.