NOUNS

By: Selamat H. Napitupulu

Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris

Fakultas Bahasa dan Seni
UNIVERSITAS INDRAPRASTA PGRI JAKARTA

BASIC ENGLISH STRUCTURE

 What is NOUN?
1. A noun is a name of anything. It may be the name of a person, an
object, a quality or condition, a weight or quantity of something, a
measure , etc.
2. A noun can be recognized by the articles such as ‘ the, a, an ‘ that we
place in front of them.
Examples:
a. Person : Joseph, boy, teacher , etc.
b. Object : box, toy , etc.
c. Quality or condition : purity, goodness, poverty, etc.
d. Weight or quantity of something : pound, ounce, pint, bushel ,
etc.
e. Measures : yard, rod , etc.
f. Actions : movement, performance , etc.
 Proper Noun

Proper Nouns are names of :

1. People : Poltak, Bonar, Brown, Johannes, George Bush, Obama , etc.
2. Things : Financial Times, Eiffel Tower, Toyota, Kijang, Eiffel Tower , etc.
3. Animals : King Kong, Lassie, monkey, pig, dog, etc.
4. Places : Parapat, Pematangsiantar, Medan, Depok, Banten, Jakarta,
Surabaya, Central Park , London, etc.
 Common Noun

Common Noun name any person, place, or thing. It always begins with a capital

letter.

Examples of Common Noun : car, table, book, pen, house, teacher, bag, glass,

people, etc.

Common nouns are of two types: concrete and abstract nouns.

 Concrete Noun
Concrete Nouns name a person or an object that can actually be seen, touched, tasted,
heard or smelled.
Examples of Concrete Nouns : car, spoon, fork, pen, TV, lamp, table, house, etc.
The highlighted words in the following sentences are all concrete nouns:
1. The judge handed the files to the clerk.
2. Whenever they take the dog to the beach, it spends hours chasing waves.
3. The real estate agent urged the couple to buy the second house because it had new
shingles.
4. As the car drove past the park, the thump of a disco tune overwhelmed the string
quartet's rendition of a minuet.
5. The book binder replaced the flimsy paper cover with a sturdy, cloth-covered board.
 Abstract Noun
Abstract Nouns name qualities, conditions, action, and ideas that cannot be
perceived through the sense. We can form abstract nouns from (i) common
nouns; (ii) from verbs (iii) and from adjectives.

NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE

Common Abstract Verb Noun Abstract Adjective Abstract
Noun → Nouns → Nouns Noun → Nouns
child childhood know knowledge happy happiness
friend friendship beautify beauty sad sadness
boy boyhood obey obedience kind kindness
slave slavery grow growth lazy laziness
king kingdom move movement. free freedom
 Abstract Noun

The highlighted words in the following sentences are all abstract nouns:
1. Tillie is amused by people who are nostalgic about childhood.
2. Justice often seems to slip out of our grasp.
3. Many people know your kindness.
4. Every body must have sadness.
 Collective Noun
Collective Nouns name a group of people or things.
Examples of Collective Nouns : audience, committee, family, team, club, a bunch of
bananas, a litter of puppies, a family, a gang, a choir, an orchestra, a crew, a band, a
class, etc.
Examples:
1. The flock of geese spends most of its time in the pasture. (singular verb )
2. The jury is dining on take-out chicken tonight. (singular verb )
3. The steering committee meets every Wednesday afternoon.(singular verb )
4. The class was startled by the bursting light bulb. (singular verb )
 Collective Noun
Here are more collective nouns that are used for groups of people, animals or things:
a band of musicians:
• a flight of steps - a school of fish
• a team of players - a bunch of keys
• a class of people - a collective of books
• a deck of cards - a fleet of ships
• a flock of sheep - a gaggle of geese
• a gang of robbers - a herd of cattle
• a litter of cubs - a pack of wolves
• a pod of whales - a swarm of bees
• a set of stamps - a brood of chickens
• a pride of lions
 Masculine & Feminine Noun
• Masculine nouns are words for men and boys, and male animals.
• Feminine nouns are words for women and girls, and female animals. Here
are some masculine and feminine nouns for people.

Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine

grandson granddaughter actor actress
boy girl brother sister
man woman emperor empress
prince princess father mother
steward stewardess master mistress
waiter waitress nephew niece
bridegroom bride son daughter
headmaster headmistress gentlemen lady
King queen uncle aunt
 Masculine & Feminine Noun
Masculine nouns belong to the masculine gender. Feminine nouns belong to the feminine
gender. Here are some masculine and feminine nouns for male and female animals.
Animal Masculine Feminine
chicken rooster hen
cattle bull cow
deer buck doe
donkey jack jenny
duck drake duck
Fox fox vixen
goose gander goose
horse stallion mare
Lion lion lioness
sheep ram ewe
tiger tiger tigress
 Masculine & Feminine Noun
Many nouns are used for both males and females. We call these
nouns common-gender nouns.

dancers doctors
hairdressers scientists
accountants parents
artists managers
designers pupils
engineers singers
lawyers teachers
 COUNTABLE
&
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
 ‘ Countable & Uncountable Nouns ‘
Countable Nouns are individual objects, people, places and
things that can be counted.
Example: books, houses, Americans, cats, dogs, cars, etc.
A countable noun can be singular (a book) or plural (two books).

SINGULAR PLURAL
The apple is red. The apples are red.
There is a book on the table. There are three books on the table.
 ‘ Countable & Uncountable Nouns ‘
The noun is countable:

1. if we can use a/an before it, for examples:

• I own a car.
• She plays with an ostrich.
2. if we can use the word 'many' (and not 'much') to describe it, for examples:
✓ She has many friends. (It's wrong to say: She has much friends.)
✓ He has many books.
3. if we can express its quantity by using a number before it, for examples:
➢ You have five apples.
➢ They have ten houses.
 ‘ Countable Nouns ‘
The noun is countable:

4. if it takes on singular as well as plural forms, for examples:

Singular Plural
I have a hotel. I have two hotels.
She has an apple. She has some apples.
It is cat. They are cats.
Jakarta has a tourist area. Jakarta has many tourist areas.
That is a dog. Those are dogs.
 ‘Uncountable Nouns ‘
Uncountable or mass nouns are:
1. used with no indefinite article (a/an) :
a. Drink water if you are thirsty. (not: a water)
b. Water is a necessity.
2. to take a singular verb. :
a. Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen.
b. Oxygen is essential to human life.
c. The furniture is heaped in the middle of the room.
d. Water is safe to drink in this area.
e. Here is the latest news.
f. Gravel is more expensive than I thought.
 ‘ Countable & Uncountable Nouns ‘
Uncountable or mass nouns are:
3. taken only a singular form. To talk about a certain quantity, we use: some/ a
piece of/ a drop of/ a glass of/ a slice of, etc.
• some milk / a drop of milk
• a piece of cheese/cake/pizza
• a slice of bread
• a glass of water
• a piece of advice/information/news/luggage
• a news item
Examples:
a. Could I have a slice of bread please?
b. Have some cream with your strawberries.
c. That's an interesting piece of information.
 ‘ Countable & Uncountable Nouns ‘
The followings are the modifiers used for countable Noun and
uncountable noun:
Countable Noun Uncountable Noun
a a little
an much
a few some
several plenty of
many a lot of
some a large amount of
plenty of a great deal of
a lot of
a large number of
COMPOUND NOUN
 COMPOUND NOUN

Compound Nouns are two nouns that are used together to make one
word or idea. The first noun acts as an adjective to the second noun
and usually does not take s. The second noun can be plural, such as:
• brain cell
• brain wave
• computer scientists
 COMPOUND NOUN
Since a compound noun can be written as one word,
hyphenated, or written as two or more words, it is always best to
check the dictionary for the correct form, such as:

One word peacemaker, falsehood, etc.

Hyphenated sister-in-law, bird-watcher, etc.
Two words life jacket, city hall, city link, brain cell, brain
wave, computer scientist, etc.
 COMPOUND NOUN
Compound nouns may also be used with number expressions.
Examples:
1. The brain uses as much as power as a ten-watt light bulb.
( noun used an adjective)
2. The brain uses as much power as a light bulb of ten watts.
( noun used as noun)
3. He recited a 16,000-page book from memory.
( noun used as an adjective)
4. He recited a book of 16,000 pages from memory.
(noun used as a noun)
 COMPOUND NOUN

Thus, numbers such as hundred, thousand, million, and

trillion are plural when there are no number before them, for

examples:

1. The brain receives 100 million messages a second.

2. The brain stores trillions of messages.

THE NUMBER OF NOUNS
 The Number of Nouns
Singular Nouns
When we speak about one person and one thing, we use the noun in singular form. Single means
one.
man → a man
1. group → a group
2. church → a church
3. chair → a chair

Examples in the sentences:

1. A man is smoking within the premises.
2. A group of cows is called Herd.
3. Church is the worshipping-place of Christians.
4. This chair is made of plastic.
5. That car is still new.
In these sentences, the nouns man, group, church, chair, and car are in singular forms.
 The Number of Nouns
Plural Nouns
Plural nouns are words used to indicate that there is more than one person, animal,
place, thing, or idea. The Plural of nouns are usually made by adding -s to the singular,
for examples:
Singular Plural
day days
dog dogs
house houses
book books
pen pens
car cars
ruler rulers
 The Number of Nouns
Plural Nouns
Examples in the sentences:
1. I spent three days in Bali
2. We have some dogs at home.
3. These houses are still being renovated.
4. There are many books in my campus library.
5. My English teacher needs two red pens.
6. Those cars belong to my uncle.
7. Mr. Bonar, as a designer uses a few rulers to design his work.

In the above sentences the nouns: days, dogs, houses, books, pens,
cars, and rulers are the plural nouns.
FORMATION SINGULAR TO
PLURAL NOUNS
 Formation Singular to Plural Nouns

Singular to Plural
1. A singular noun ending in ‘ o, s, x, z, ch, sh, ss, x ‘ form makes the
plural by adding-es.
Singular Plural
tomato tomatoes
bus buses
wish wishes
pitch pitches
box boxes
brush brushes
kiss kisses
 Formation Singular to Plural Nouns
Singular to Plural
2. A singular noun ending in a consonant and then y makes the plural by
dropping the y and adding-ies.
Singular Plural
penny pennies
spy spies
baby babies
city cities
daisy daisies
baby babies
country countries
 Formation Singular to Plural Nouns
Singular to Plural
3. If the noun ends in F or Fe, change F or FE to V, and add – ES!
Singular Plural
knife knives
wife wives
thief thieves
shelf shelves
life lives
elf elves
loaf loaves
half halves
leaf leaves
 Formation Singular to Plural Nouns
Singular to Plural

3. If the noun ends in F or Fe, change F or FE to V, and add – ES!

Exceptions:
Singular Plural
chief chiefs
roof roofs
gulf gulfs
safe safes
proof proofs
hoof hoofs
 Formation Singular to Plural Nouns
Irregular Nouns
4. There are some irregular noun plurals. The most common ones are
listed below
Singular Plural
woman women
man men
child children
tooth teeth
foot feet
person people
mouse mice
 Formation Singular to Plural Nouns
Irregular Nouns
4. There are some irregular noun plurals. The most common ones are
listed below
Singular Plural
goose geese
potato potatoes
tomato tomatoes
cactus cacti
focus foci
fungus fungi
nucleus nuclei
 Formation Singular to Plural Nouns
Irregular Nouns
4. There are some irregular noun plurals. The most common ones are
listed below
Singular Plural
syllabus syllabi/syllabuses
analysis analyses
diagnosis diagnoses
oasis oases
thesis theses
crisis crises
phenomenon phenomena
criterion criteria
datum data
 Formation Singular to Plural Nouns
Irregular Nouns
5. Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural.

Singular Plural
sheep sheep
fish fish
deer deer
species species
aircraft aircraft
 Formation Singular to Plural Nouns
Irregular Nouns
6. Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.
Plural nouns used with
Sentences
a singular verb
• News The news is at 6.30 p.m.
• Athletics Athletics is good for young people.
• Linguistics Linguistics is the study of language.
• Darts Darts is a popular game in England.
• Billiards Billiards is played all over the world.
 Formation Singular to Plural Nouns
Irregular Nouns
7. Some nouns have a fixed plural form and take a plural verb. They are
not used in the singular, or they have a different meaning in the
singular, for examples: trousers, jeans, glasses, savings, thanks, steps,
stairs, customs, congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts,
goods, wits.
Plural noun with
Sentences
plural verb
Trousers • My trousers are too tight.
Jeans • Her jeans are black.
Glasses • Those glasses are his.
The Functions of Nouns:
1. as Subject
2. as Object
3. as Compliment
4. as Appositive
5. as Object preposition
6. as Noun as possessive
 Nouns as Subjects !
There are three understandings of subject such as the
following:
1. As a doer/agent of an action , for examples:
• Sir. Sanggam Siahaan published his book last week.
• Miss. Dumaris opens the door.
• They went to book store.
2. As a topic of action , for examples:
• The store is very interesting.
• The key is blue.
 Nouns as Subjects !

3. As an instrument , for examples:

• The key opens it.
• The fan colds the room.
As general, position of subject in the beginning of sentence. The position
of subject can be in the middle of the sentence, for examples:
• There are two books on the table ( the books are on the table)
• Last year, I went to Medan
 Nouns as Direct Objects !
A verb on object as something to which and effect of an action
addressed.
Direct object. (the one denoting the thing) the thing which has close
connection with verb.
Examples:
1. Donal write a letter.
2. Firnando kills the snake.
3. The man explained tenses to them.
 Nouns as Indirect Objects !

Indirect object (the word denoting the person) the thing/element which
hasn’t closed connection with verb, for examples:
1. She gave the letter to me. (the letter- DO; to me – IO)
2. I taught English to him. (English - DO; to him – IO)
3. The man explained tenses to them. (tenses - DO; to them – IO)
Note: DO; direct object; IO; indirect object
 Nouns as Subject Compliment !

Noun as compliment for the Subject Complement of the verbs be.

It is a word that makes the subject or object complete , for
examples:
1. Brown is a banker.
2. He is a teacher.
3. She calls me a sister.
4. I make him a fool.
 Nouns as Objects preposition!

Noun as object preposition. It is preparing to the noun used after

preposition, for examples:
• He speaks to the doctor
• She give to Mr. Napit the book
Nouns as Modifiers !
 Nouns as Modifiers !

There are lots of common nouns which can be used as modifiers

(adjectives). They are called adjective if they are used to modify
nouns. These adjectives come before the nouns they describe. their
function as adjectives can be checked by answer they modify, such the
questions “What kind?” or Which one? About the nouns they modify,
such as in “university student? What student? Or Which student
students?, etc.
 Nouns as Modifiers !

There Look at the following underlined noun that functioned as

modifiers which modify all the bold nouns:
a. City boys found village facts nation realities.
b. Pematangsiantar people live happily.
c. Toba area is Batak land., etc.
 Nouns as Modifiers !
Compound Nouns are two nouns that are used together to make one word or idea. The first noun
acts as an adjective to the second noun and usually does not take “s”. The second noun can be
plural. Look at the following examples:
• brain cell
( “brain” is functioned as modifier (adjective) which modifies “cell")
brain wave
• computer scientists
( “computer” is functioned as modifier (adjective) which modifies “scientist")
Furthermore, when a noun is used as an adjective, it is in its singular form.
Examples:
1. The soup has vegetables in it. It is vegetable soup.
2. I have a note book.
 Nouns as Modifiers !
Appositive
An appositive is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies or explains another noun phrase (noun in the left)
or noun explains the other noun.
Examples:
1. Jokowi Widodo , the president of Indonesia , is very wise.
Appositive (Phrase)
2. Mr. Riyansah Kusuma, the best manager in his company ,
Appositive (Phrase)
likes reading politic books.

3. Mr. Tumpal , wise man , works as manager at PT. Sakit Hati.

Appositive (Phrase)
4. Basuki Cahaya Purnama , the governor of Jakarta , is smart.
Appositive (Phrase)
5. Sir Napit, the English lecturer at Unindra, teaches Basic English structure this semester.
Appositive (Phrase)
 Nouns as Modifiers !

Appositive
Examples:
1. That man, whoever is he, tried to steal some library books.
2. The problem, that the storm knocked out power, is affecting the entire
town.
3. Your question, whether you should wear the blue dress or pink one, is
frivolous in the situation.
Note: Underlined above are noun clauses function as appositives.
 Nouns as Modifiers !

As Possessive
It is used to indicate the possession of a thing of a person by using

apostrophe “s” , for examples:

1. Robert’s pen is blue.

2. Melisa’s car is brown.

3. Singers’ house is big.

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FINISH & Complete !!!

‘ THANKS ‘
= SHN =
 NOUN PHRASES
By: Selamat H. Napitupulu

Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris

Fakultas Bahasa dan Seni
UNIVERSITAS INDRAPRASTA PGRI JAKARTA

BASIC ENGLISH STRUCTURE

 What is Noun Phrase !
A phrase is a group of words that have a unified function in a sentence. They
can act like nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. A phrase functions as a noun, verb,
adverb, adjective or preposition in a sentence. Phrases can be very short or
quite long.
Examples:
1. After lunch
2. After slithering down the stairs and across the road to scare nearly to death
3. Mrs. Philpot busy pruning her rose bushes.
 What is Noun Phrase !
A noun phrase may optionally contain noun modifiers. If these modifiers are placed
before the noun they are called pre-modifiers. However, if they are placed after the
noun, they are called post-modifiers. Possible noun modifiers include the following:
1. Article : the, a, an, some, any.
2. Quantifier : no, few, a few, many, a lot of much, etc.
3. Possessive : my, your, whose, the man's, etc.
4. Demonstrative : this, that, these, those.
5. Numeral : one, two, three etc.
6. Question word : which, whose, how many, etc.
 Pre & Post Modifiers !
The examples of noun phrases: The examples of noun phrases:
Pre Modifier + Post Modifier Pre Modifier + Post Modifier
1. The man 6. That car
2. Some women 7. Whose money
3. A few dogs 8. How many bottles?
4. Your horse 9. Two cars
5. The man's horse 10. An apple

Note: All the red bold words above are modifiers that functioned to modify all the
underlined nouns (heads).
 Pre & Post Modifiers !
Modifier contains two types. They are pre-modifier and post-modifier.
1. Pre-modifier is a modifier that precedes the head of a noun phrase. Most
often, pre-modifiers are:
a. adjective : a beautiful day
b. participles : broken heart
c. or other nouns : time management
2. Post-modifier is a modifier that describes a noun phrase or restricts its
meaning in some way, and is placed after it in ‘ the house on the corner ’, ‘on
the corner’.
 Examples of Noun Phrase !
1. The key opens it.
2. The fan colds the room.
3. There are five reading books and a dictionaru in the drawer.
4. The pen, ruler and book are on the table
5. The store is very interesting.
6. The pen is blue.
7. My trousers are too tight.
8. Her jeans are black.
9. Those glasses are his.
10. The news is at 6.30 p.m.
 Examples of Noun Phrase !
1. City boys found village facts nation realities.
2. Pematangsiantar people live happily.
3. Toba area is Batak land., etc.
4. Brown is a banker.
5. He is a teacher.
6. She calls me a sister.
7. I make him a fool.
8. Donal write a letter.
9. Firnando kills the snake.
 Examples of Noun Phrase !
1. I spent three days in Bali
2. We have some dogs at home.
3. These houses are still being renovated.
4. There are many books in my campus library.
5. My English teacher needs two red pens.
6. Those cars belong to my uncle.
7. Mr. Bonar, as a designer uses a few rulers to design his work.
8. A man is smoking within the premises.
9. A group of cows is called Herd.
 Examples of Noun Phrase !
1. This chair is made of plastic.
2. That car is still new.
3. Could I have a slice of bread please?
4. Have some cream with your strawberries.
5. That's an interesting piece of information.
6. Jakarta has many tourist areas.
7. She has some apples.
8. I have two hotels.
9. I own a car.
10. She plays with an ostrich.
 Examples of Noun Phrase !
1. She has many friends.
2. He has many books.
3. You have five apples.
4. They have ten houses.
5. There are three books on the
6. The flock of geese spends most of its time in the pasture.
7. The steering committee meets every Wednesday afternoon
8. The class was startled by the bursting light bulb.
 Noun Clause as Noun Phrase Complement !

A noun phrase complement is a phrase or clause that completes the meaning of a noun
phrase.
Examples:
1. The claim that the earth is flat was once considered true.
2. My problem that you are never on time for work is the fact.
3. Our hope that peace will be achieved is possible.
4. The supposition that men are smarter than women is untrue.
Note: Underlined above are noun clauses function as noun phrase complements
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FINISH & Complete !!!

‘ THANKS ‘