Nouns

ENGLISH

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So, what about it?

Nouns
Well, it’s all about
‘NOUNS’ first!
Noun can be defined as a name of a person,
place or thing. The word “thing” here can be
described as -

a) something that we can feel with our five

senses

b) something that we can think of but can’t feel.

Examples:
1) Anger is not a productive response to criticism.

2) The roses transformed the ambience of the banquet hall.

3) Ravi’s magnanimity is the reason behind his popularity.

In the above sentences anger, roses, magnanimity are nouns. Anger and magnanimity
is something which can be felt, it is intangible so it’s a kind of abstract noun. Rose is
also a noun and has physical significance. We can see touch and feel it.

Types of Nouns

Common vs. Proper Noun

Common Noun Proper Noun

Used to name SPECIFIC people, place or

Used to name people, place or thing in
thing. It refers to individual or single entity.
general. It refers to the class or type.
Starts with a 'BLOCK' letter.

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Countable vs. Uncountable Noun

Countable Noun Uncountable Noun

Has a singular or a plural form. Can be used

before a number or an article (a, an, the). Can Cannot be counted. Only measured.
be counted.

Concrete vs. Abstract Noun

Common Noun Abstract Noun

Refer to physicality. Something or someone Refer to no physical existence. Can be felt.

that can be sensed. Feelings, Emotions, Reactions, Actions.

Compound vs. Collective Noun

Compound Noun Collective Noun

Two or more words that can create a noun.

Refers to a collection, bunch of a similar kind.
They can be written as one word, or written
Pack, bunch, group, crowd.
with a hyphen in between.

Cases of Nouns

Possessive Case
It denotes possession of a thing and used in a limited manner for living beings or
personified objects, stereotyped phrases and nouns of space or time denoting an
amount of something.

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Example:
1) For goodness's sake take this wet towel out of the room.
2) This is my friend, Rahul’s car.

Rule #1: Use of Apostrophe to express Possessiveness

Use apostrophe twice, once with each possessive noun, when individual possession is
to be shown and once with latter when joint possession is to be shown.
Example: Shyam’s bat and Ram’s ball is needed to start the game; Karan and Arjun’s
brotherhood will be remembered till eternity.

Number Case (Singular /Plural)

Nouns are categorized on the basis of number. Singular and Plural refers to number of
nouns. Singular refers to one entity. Plural refers to more than one. (Two or two
onwards is plural). There are certain words whose meaning changes when “s” or “es”
is added to them.

Singular and Plural Distinct Singular and Plural not Distinct

Different Words Same Words Only Singular Only Plural

News, Mathematics,
Apple—Apples Politics, Innings,
Story—Stories A Sheep—Many Sheep Riches, Alms, Advice, Trousers, Scissors,
Man—Men A Deer—Many Deer Air, Wood, Spectacles, Measles,
Accommodation Assets, Poultry,
Wolf—Wolves A Fish—Many Fish
Quarter—Quarters Etc. (collective nouns and People, Cattle, Police,
Etc.
Etc. uncountable nouns)
Etc.

Exception and Special Cases

 Foreign words—Erratum-Errata,  Some collective nouns—Team,

Hypothesis-Hypotheses Committee, Jury, etc. These are Singular /
 Compound Words— Son-in-Law Plural according to context

 >1 form of plural— Brothers/Brethren  Different meaning in plural—

(member of the same society); Many fish/ ‘Kindnesses’ is plural but is not plural of
Fishes (different variety of fish) kindness; rather plural of act of kindness;
‘woods’ is plural but means forest
 >1 meaning for same plural—Quarters
may be plural of quarter i.e. fourth parts, or  Letter, nos., symbols are made plural
it may mean living place. by apostrophe. Example: I hit two 6’s.

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Common Mistake
From the previous table, following common mistakes that generally occur, can be
prevented.
Example: The scenery of Kashmir are enchanting. —WRONG
The scenery of Kashmir is enchanting. —CORRECT

Example: Advices are given to those who ask. —WRONG

Advice is given to those who ask. —CORRECT

Example: The mischiefs committed by him are unpardonable. —WRONG

The mischief committed by him is unpardonable. —CORRECT

Example: The cattle is grazing in the ground. —WRONG

The cattle are grazing in the ground. —CORRECT

Example: Where is my trousers? —WRONG

Where are my trousers? —CORRECT

Example: The police has the situation under control. —WRONG

The police have the situation under control. —CORRECT

Example: Spectacles is a costly item. —WRONG

Spectacles are costly items. —CORRECT

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Countablility Case
 Countable nouns are for things we can count using numbers.

 They have a singular and a plural form.

 The singular form can use the determiner "a" or "an".

Testbook Trick
If you want to ask about the quantity of a countable noun, you ask "How many?"
combined with the plural countable noun.

Countable Noun Uncountable Noun

dog, horse, man, idea, shop, watch, boy, etc. tea, sugar, rice, wood, knowledge, fear, etc.

Example:
1) I would like to give you some advice.
2) How much bread should I bring?
3) I didn't make much progress today.
4) This looks like a lot of trouble to me.
5) We did an hour of work yesterday.

Collection Case
 Words like group, herd, and array are collective noun examples.

 Usually collective noun is used as singular.

 They can be used as plural if there is a division among the members of the
collective noun or the members are being talked about.

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Points to Remember
Frequently Asked Collective Nouns:
 A band of musicians.
 A board of directors, etc.
 A bevy of girls, women, officers etc.
 A bunch of grapes, keys, etc.
 A bundle of sticks and hay.
 A caravan of Merchants, pilgrims, travelers.
 A chain/range of mountains or hills.
 A choir of singers.
 A class of students.
 A retinue of servants/ attendants.
 A fleet of ships or motorcars.
 A flock of geese, sheep and birds.
 A gang of robbers, laborers.
 A garland/bunch/bouquet of flowers.
 A heap of ruins, sand, stones.
 A herd of cattle.
 A litter of puppies.
 A pack of hounds, cards.
 A pair of shoes, scissors, compasses, trousers.
 A series of events.
 A sheaf of corn, arrows.
 A swarm of ants, bees or flies.
 A train of carriages, followers etc.
 A troop of horses (cavalry) scouts; etc.
 A volley of shots, bullets
 A forum of people (discussing issues)
 A congregation of people (discussing religious issues)

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Example:
1) The jury were divided on the verdict.
2) The jury unanimously gave the verdict there was no division.
3) The flock of geese spends most of its time in the pasture.
4) Our class took a field trip to the natural history museum.
5) The herd of bison ran across the prairie, leaving a massive dust cloud in its
wake.
6) We waited anxiously for the jury to come to a verdict.
7) This year’s basketball team includes three players who are over six feet tall.

Exception
Example: The jury was divided in their opinion.—WRONG
The jury were divided in their opinion.—CORRECT
‘Were’ is used because individual members of the jury all have a different opinion
which is why they are divided in their opinions. Since every one in the group is being
considered as an individual, we can’t take the group as a single unit. So the noun
will take the plural form of the verb with it.

Example: The team have not arrived yet.—WRONG

The team has not arrived yet.—CORRECT
Here the team is all arriving together as a single unit. There is no individual being
considered here. So it will take the singular form of the verb with it.

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Article for Abstract Noun

 Normally no article is used before an Abstract Noun.

Example: The history is a difficult subject. —WRONG
History is a difficult subject. —CORRECT

Exception
Example: The history of S.K. Pandey is good.—WRONG
The history of S.K. Pandey are good.—CORRECT
Here we are referring to the history of S.K. Pandey, i.e. the past events. Past events
(events that happened in the past) are plural, so we will use plural helping verb with
it.

Nouns and Prepositions

Noun + Preposition + Noun - Will be followed by Singular verb.

Example:
1) Town after town was devastated.
2) Row upon row of marble looks beautiful.
3) He enquired from door to door.
4) Ship after ship is arriving.

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Noun Phrases
 A noun and any words in the sentence that modify it.

 Words that can modify nouns include articles (a, an, the), adjectives, participles,
and possessive pronouns

Example:
1) The yellow house is for sale. - as a Subject
2) I want Nike’s new skateboard - as a direct Object

Noun Clauses
 A noun clause is a dependent clause that acts as a noun.

 Noun clauses can act as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, predicate
nominatives, or objects of a preposition.

 Noun clauses begin with words such as:

how whom who whether whatever

when that why whoever whichever

which where what whomever

Example:
1) The focus of our work is how we can satisfy customers most effectively.
2) Choose a gift for whomever you want.

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