Nouns

Overview of Nouns

Overview of Nouns

A noun can name:

 a person - I'd like to speak to Mr. Nakamura, please.

 a job title - You should see a doctor about your sore throat.
 a place - Mexico is south of the United States.
 a thing - I left the report on your desk.
 a quality - Many countries have had to fight for independence.
 an activity - Swimming is good exercise.

Form of Nouns

Form of Nouns

Nouns may be:

 a single word without a suffix.

The door was open, and the office was empty.
 a word formed with an ending such as -er or -ment added to a verb.
She's a computer programmer.
After a year of talks, the two countries finally reached an agreement.
 a compound formed from two or more words.
Can I pay with a credit card?

Compound nouns occur when two or more words are used together in a fixed expression. They
can be written as one word or with a space or hyphen between the words. Compound nouns can
be formed from:

 noun + noun - There's a bookshelf in the corner.

 adjective + noun - He is a middle manager in a large company.
 gerund + noun - Does the hotel have a swimming pool?
 noun + gerund - Ice-skating is a winter sport.
 verb + preposition/particle - Employees have been unhappy with recent changes in the
company, and staff turnover has been high.

Noun + Noun Combinations

Noun + Noun Combinations

It is very common to use a noun as a modifier. Use noun + noun combinations to show:

 possession - Is the car door open?

 location - I left the umbrella in the hall closet.
 streets - Her house is on Oak Street.
 materials - He bought an expensive wool suit for the interview.
 types - I've been invited to a dinner party at their house.
 containers - There was an empty soda bottle on the table.

Proper Nouns and Common Nouns

Proper Nouns and Common Nouns

Proper nouns are the names of unique things and begin with a capital letter. A/an or the
usually used before them. Proper nouns refer to particular:

 people, places, organizations - Anton works for Martek in Brussels.

 holidays, months, days of the week (but not seasons) - Next Tuesday is New Year's
Day.
 languages, nationalities - She grew up speaking Arabic and French.
 newspapers, magazines, and other unique things - Have you seen today's Wall Street
Journal?

Any noun that is not the name of a single particular person, place, or thing is a common noun.
Common nouns can be used with a/an, the, or no article. There are two kinds of common nouns:

 Countable nouns refer to things that can be counted (a book, an envelope, three stamps
They can be used in the plural.
We have to go to a meeting in about ten minutes.
 Uncountable nouns refer to things like materials (gold, plastic), liquids (blood, water
qualities (courage, silence), feelings (anger, happiness), activities (reading, shopping
conditions or processes (weather, education), and fields of study (economics, history
cannot be counted. They do not have a plural form.
I'd like some information about shipping costs.

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

 Countable nouns (also called count nouns) have both a singular and plural form. They can
be used with a/an or with numbers.
Can we fit a table and two chairs in this corner?
 How many…? can be asked about countable nouns. (For more information about quantity
words used with countable nouns, see Overview of Quantifiers.)

How many people work in your office?

 Uncountable nouns (also called non-count) have only one form, with no plural. They are
not generally used with a/an or numbers.
We mixed flour and water together to make paste.
 Use a singular verb after uncountable nouns. Pronouns referring to uncountable nouns are
singular, too.
The music is very loud. Can you turn it down?
 How much…? can be asked about uncountable nouns. (For more information about
quantity words used with uncountable nouns, see Overview of Quantifiers.)

How much rain did we get yesterday?

 Some nouns are countable in other languages, but not in English. For example:
furniture, hair, information, luggage, machinery, money, news.
New machinery is being installed in the factory.
 Some nouns are uncountable in one meaning and countable in another.
Do you think he has enough experience (= skill that comes from practice) to do the job?
I had a couple of bad experiences (= something that happens to you) with that airline,
and I won't fly with them again.
 Some nouns are uncountable when talking about the thing in general and countable when
indicating different types or individual units.
There's more cake in the kitchen. I baked a chocolate cake for dessert.
Use words that mean a piece with uncountable nouns, words that mean a group with countable
nouns, and words that mean a container or a measure with either countable and uncountable
nouns. All of these words are followed by of + the noun. The words can refer to:

 a single unit of an uncountable substance

The cat played with a ball of string.
 a piece of an uncountable substance - He ate two slices of bread and a piece
 a collection of people, animals, or things
I put the bunch of flowers in a vase.
 a container filled with something - I bought a box of cereal and a container
juice.
 a particular amount of something
This recipe for onion soup calls for three pounds of onions and two quarts of beef
broth.

Plural Nouns

Plural Nouns

Form the regular plural by adding:

 -s to most nouns: call--calls, bird--birds, monkey--monkeys, prize--prizes, store--stores,

tree-trees.
They could hear the calls of birds and monkeys in the trees.
 -es to most nouns ending in -s/-x/-sh/-ch/-z: box--boxes, bush--bushes, class--classes,
watch--watches, quiz--quizzes (notice that z at the end of a word may be doubled).
I have quizzes today in my biology and English classes.
 -es and changing y to i for most nouns ending in consonant + y: city--cities, country--
countries, university-universities.
Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the world.
 -es to some nouns that end in -o: hero--heroes, potato--potatoes, tomato--tomatoes
s to some: kilo--kilos, photo--photos, piano--pianos, video--videos; and either -es
some: mosquito--mosquitoes or mosquitos, volcano--volcanoes or volcanos.
The book showed dramatic photos of active volcanoes.

Some nouns have irregular plural forms:

 A few nouns have special plurals: child--children, foot--feet, man--men, mouse--mice,

person--people, tooth--teeth, woman--women.
Thousands of men, women, and children were forced to leave their homes after the
earthquake.
 Some nouns ending in -f or -fe have a plural ending in -ves: half--halves, knife--knives,
leaf--leaves, life--lives, loaf--loaves, shelf--shelves, wife--wives.
I keep history books on the two lower shelves of the bookcase.
 Some nouns have the same singular and plural form: aircraft, deer, fish, headquarters,
moose, series, sheep.
We caught six fish yesterday.
 Some nouns borrowed from other languages have irregular plurals: analysis--analyses,
memorandum--memoranda, phenomenon--phenomena, stimulus--stimuli.
The discovery helps explain several natural phenomena.

Gender (Masculine or Feminine)

Gender (Masculine or Feminine)

There is no grammatical gender for English nouns.

 Most nouns referring to people do not indicate whether the person is male or female. Only
the pronoun (he or she) indicates this.
My accountant says that he is moving his office.
My neighbor said that she sold her house.
  A few nouns exist in contrasting masculine and feminine forms; for
example: man/woman, boy/girl, hero/heroine, bull/cow.
Women, on average, live longer than men.
 A few feminine -ess endings are still used (for example, actor/actress, waiter/waitress
but adding -ess to most words, like author, is now old-fashioned.
The actor and actress who played the couple in the movie are married in real life.
 Many people prefer to use nouns ending in -person or other gender-neutral nouns rather
than words ending in -man or -woman; for example: chair/chairperson (rather
than chairman or chairwoman), firefighter (rather than fireman), police officer
than policeman or policewoman), spokesperson (rather
than spokesman or spokeswoman).
Dr. Atkins is the new spokesperson for the hospital.

Form of the Possessive

Form of the Possessive

Add apostrophe s ('s) or just an apostrophe (') to nouns to show possession:

 Add 's to most singular nouns.

The company's main office is in Caracas.
 Add 's or just an apostrophe (') to singular nouns ending in -s.
My boss's/boss' assistant is out sick today.
 Add 's or just an apostrophe (') to most names ending in -s.
James's/James' father is from Iran.
 Add an apostrophe (') to plural nouns ending in -s.
They checked all the passengers' tickets carefully.
 Add 's to irregular plural forms that do not end in -s.
The men's football team won last night.
 Add 's to the last part of a compound or a phrase used as a unit.
My sister-in-law's father is a pilot.
We stayed at Miguel and Lena's house.

Use of the Possessive

Use of the Possessive

Use the 's (or s') form for possession by people, animals, and groups, but not for possession by
things. The possessive can be used for:

 things belonging or connected to someone

My sister's car is a Toyota.
 relationships
Have you met Gerhard's sister?
 parts of the body
The man's hair was very long.
 actions performed by someone
The government's decision to lower taxes surprised many people.
 the intended users of a thing
Women's clothes are on the first floor, and men's clothes are on the second.

A possessive can be used without a following noun to refer to a person's home or place of
business.
We're having dinner at Molly's tonight.
I'm leaving work early to go to the doctor's.

Use a possessive with 's after a noun + of to refer to one of a number of things or people that
belong to or are connected with someone.
I'd like you to meet a friend of my brother's.
It reminded me of a story of Hemingway's that I once read.
Possession by Things
Use of the Possessive

Use the 's (or s') form for possession by people, animals, and groups, but not for possession by
things. The possessive can be used for:

 things belonging or connected to someone

My sister's car is a Toyota.
 relationships
Have you met Gerhard's sister?
 parts of the body
The man's hair was very long.
 actions performed by someone
The government's decision to lower taxes surprised many people.
 the intended users of a thing
Women's clothes are on the first floor, and men's clothes are on the second.

A possessive can be used without a following noun to refer to a person's home or place of
business.
We're having dinner at Molly's tonight.
I'm leaving work early to go to the doctor's.

Use a possessive with 's after a noun + of to refer to one of a number of things or people that
belong to or are connected with someone.
I'd like you to meet a friend of my brother's.
It reminded me of a story of Hemingway's that I once read.

Articles
Indefinite Article: a/an
Form and Basic Uses of Indefinite Articles
Specific Uses of Indefinite Articles
Definite Article: the
Form and Basic Uses of Definite Articles
Specific Uses of Definite Articles
The Zero Article
Pronouns
Overview of Pronouns
Subject Pronouns
Object Pronouns
One and Ones
It
Possessive Adjectives
Possessive Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
Demonstrative Adjectives
Demonstrative Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns

Quantity
Adjectives
Adverbs
Comparatives and Superlatives
Prepositions and Adverb Particles
Verbs
Phrasal Verbs
Be, Have, Do
Modals and Related Verbs
The Passive and The Causative
Questions, Answers, and Negatives
Conditional Sentences
Direct and Indirect Speech
The Infinitive and the -ing Form
The Sentence
Conjunctions and Other Connecting Words
Appendix
This section is about adjectives, questions, and verbs. Choose a topic from
the outline to learn more. Click on the plus sign next to "Appendix."