1

Study guide: Nouns.

1) What is a noun? Provide a complete definition considering examples, the use of determiners, and
functions.
A noun is a part of speech that identifies a person, place, thing, or idea.
For example:
The chair is over there.
Brazil is a great place to live.

Determiners: is a word, phrase, or affix that occurs together with a noun or noun phrase and serves to express
the reference of that noun or noun phrase in the context; a determiner may indicate whether the noun is
referring to a definite or indefinite element of a class, to a closer or more distant element, to an element
belonging to a specified person or thing, to a particular number or quantity, etc.

Functions:
A determiner can take on a number of different meanings and roles in a sentence. The determiner is used in
every case to clarify the noun. They may be used to demonstrate or define something or someone.

Quantifiers state how many of a thing, in number or expression. A determiner is used to show that the noun
indicated is a specific one (that one), not an unspecific one (any).

2) How can nouns and verbs with the same spelling be distinguished? (Refer to stress and
pronunciation).

Usually (although there are some exceptions), the stress of a verb is on the last syllable, and that of a noun is on
the first syllable.

3) What are compound nouns? Exemplify the different types of compounds:

They normally have two parts. The first part tells us what kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is.
The second part identifies the object or person in question. Compound nouns often have a meaning that is
different, or more specific, than the two separate words.

COMPOUNDS NOUNS

EXAMPLES

adjective + noun

Software hardware - full moon - blackboard

gerund + noun

Dining- table Washing machine -

noun + gerund

Horse Riding Air conditioning Bird Watching

nouns + adverb particles

Hanger on Passer by Time up

noun + noun

Bedroom Bathroom toothpaste -

4) Whats the classification of nouns? (Common, proper, concrete, abstract, countable and uncountable).

MEANING

EXAMPLE

COMMON

Are words used to name general items rather than

specific ones.

Teacher - police officer

boyfriend

PROPPER

Is a noun that is used to denote a particular person,

place, or thing

Lincoln Washington - Max

CONCRETE

Are words used for actual things you can touch, see,
taste, feel, and hear

Orange Apple Chair

ABSTRACT

In essence, an abstract noun is a quality, a concept, an

idea, or maybe even an event.

Love Fear - Courage -

COUNTABLE
UNCOUNTABLE

Refers to things we can count using numbers. They have An apple An umbrella
a singular and a plural form. The singular form can use
six pencils four dogs
the determiner "a" or "an".
Refers to things that we cannot count with numbers. Tea Rice Sugar Water
They may be the names for abstract ideas or qualities or
for physical objects that are too small to be counted

(liquids, powders, gases, etc.).

5) Which nouns can be used either as countables or uncountables? (single items or substances, objects or
materials, drinks, specific or general reference, nouns ending in ing, )
Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on their use:
NOUNS WE CAN THINK OF AS 'SINGLE ITEMS' OR 'SUBSTANCES'
NOUNS

EXAMPLES
RIBBON

EGG

CHICKEN

COUNTABLES
(We refer to them as
single items).
UNCOUNTABLES
(We refer to them as
substances).

I tied it up with a ribbon

I bought a metre of
ribbon

I had a boiled egg for breakfast. He ate a whole chicken!

There's egg on your face

Would you like some

chicken?

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NOUNS WHICH REFER TO OBJECTS OR MATERIALS:

NOUNS

EXAMPLES
GLASS

ICE

IRON

PAPER

I've got a new

iron.

What do the
papers say?

Steel is an alloy of

Paper is made

COUNTABLES
(We refer to a thing which is
made of the material or
which we think of as being
made of the material)

I broke a glass this

morning.

UNCOUNTABLES

Glass is made from

Would you like an

ice?

Ice floats

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(We refer only to the

material).

sand.

iron

from wood

DRINKS
NOUNS

EXAMPLES
WINE

OIL

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COUNTABLES
(Normally are countables )
UNCOUNTABLES
(When they refers to a particular variety).

This is a nice wine

This region produces an
excellent wine.

Kalamata produces some of the

best olive oil in the world.
It's an oil of very high quality

NOUNS WHICH CAN REFER TO SOMETHING SPECIFIC OR GENERAL REFERENCES

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NOUNS
COUNTABLES
(These nouns refer to something specific)
UNCOUNTABLES
(The reference is general).

EXAMPLES
EDUCATION

NOISE

A good education is expensive.

Try not to make a noise.

Education should be free.

Noise is a kind of pollution.

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NOUNS ENDING IN '- ING'NOUNS

COUNTABLES
(Refer to a specific
thing or event)
UNCOUNTABLES
(Generally, most of

EXAMPLES
DRAWING

PAINTING

Are these drawings by

Goya?

He has a painting by Hockney

I'm no good at drawing

Painting is my hobby.

READING
She gave a reading of her
poems.
Reading is taught early.

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them).

6) Which nouns typically countable in other languages are uncountables in English?

A number of nouns which are countable in other languages (and are therefore used in the singular and plural in
those languages) are usually uncountable in English (and therefore not normally used with a/an or in the plural).

For Example:
Baggage.

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Furniture.
Information.
Macaroni.

7) What are partitives? Mention a few examples.

Is a word or phrase (such as some of or any of) that indicates a part or quantity of something as distinct from a
whole, also called partitive noun or partitive noun phrase. Partitives can appear before noncount nouns as well
as count nouns.

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For Example:
A glass of water - A bottle of whisky - A can of coke - A carton of milk

8) Describe the spelling rules for the plural form of nouns.

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EXAMPLE
NOUNS ENDINGS IN
SINGULAR

MOST CASES
Add an S
two vowels + -F -

PLURALS

CAR

CARS

BOOK

BOOKS

PET
CHIEF

PETS
CHIEFS

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-S-

BUS

BUSES

SS

KISS

KISSES

-X

BOX

BOXES

CH-

Add ES

CHURCH

CHURCHES

-SH-

FISH

FISHES

-Z-

PRIZE

PRISES

-O-

POTATO

POTATOES

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-Y-

-FE -

Change from Y- to IES-

STUDY

STUDIES

Change from FE- to VE-

KNIFE

KNIVES

9) Describe the pronunciation of nouns with regular plurals.

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The rules for pronunciation are the same as those for the 3rd person.

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EXAMPLES

/ s / after simple present of

regular verbs

/z/ after simple present of

regular verbs

/f/

Chiefs Coughs - Proofs.

/k/

Cakes - Forks - Knocks.

/p/

Drops - Taps - Tapes

/t/

Pets Pockets - Skirts

//

Depths - Months - Myths

/b/

Tubs Tubes - Verbs

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/d/

Friends Hands - Roads

/g/

Bags Dogs - Legs

/l/

Bells - Tables - Walls

/m/

Arms - Dreams - Names

/n/

Lessons Pens - Spoons

//

Songs Stings - Tongues

vowel + / R /

Chairs - Doors - Workers

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vowel sounds:

Nouns ending in the following take an extra syllable pronounced /iz /:

/z/

Mazes Noises - Noses

/d/ Bridges Oranges - Pages

/s/

Buses - Classes - Masses

/ / Bushes Crashes - Dishes

Eyes Ways - Windows

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/ / Matches - Patches - Speeches

/ks/

Axes Boxes - Taxes

10) Describe the pronunciation of nouns with regular spelling but irregular pronunciation.
The ending of the following nouns is pronounced /z / in the plural: baths - mouths - oaths paths - truths
wreaths - youths.
The plural of house (houses) is pronounced /hauziz/

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11) Describe the pronunciation of nouns irregular pronunciation and spelling.

The following thirteen nouns with spellings ending in -for fe - (pronounced /f /) in the singular, are all spelt
with -ves - in the plural (pronounced /vz/).

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For Example:

SINGULAR

PLURAL

CALF

CALVES

ELF

ELVES

HALF

HALVES

KNIFE

KNIVES

LEAF

LEAVES

LIFE

LIVES

LOAF

LOAVES

SELF

SELVES

SHEAF

SHEAVES

SHELF

SHELVES

THIEF

THIEVES

WIFE

WIVES

WOLF

WOLVES

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12) Describe nouns with plurals ending ins.

Most nouns make their plurals by simply adding s - to the end. Some do change their endings, though.
For example:
SINGULAR PLURAL
BOOK

BOOKS

CAR

CARS

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13) Describe nouns with plurals ending in o.

Most nouns ending with the letter o- preceded by a consonant add the letter s- to form the plural
For example:
SINGULAR

PLURAL

TOBACCO

TOBACCOS

PIANO

PIANOS

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Some nouns ending in the letter - o- preceded by a consonant add - es- to form the plural:
For example:
SINGULAR

PLURAL

POTATO

POTATOES

TOMATO

TOMATOES

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14) List the nouns with irregular spelling with internal vowel change.
The following nouns form their plurals by changing the internal vowel(s) (this is a survival from old
English)

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For Example:
Foot - Feet
Goose Geese
Louse - Lice
Man - Men
Mouse - Mice
Tooth Teeth

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Woman Women

Compound nouns formed with man or woman as a suffix form their plurals with -men or -women:
For Example:
Policeman - Policemen
Policewoman - Policewomen
Both man and men in such compounds (but not -woman/women) are often pronounced /man/

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Other survivals from the past are a few nouns which form their plurals with -en
For Example:
Brother brethren (Brethren is used in religious contexts, otherwise brothers is the normal
plural of brother)
Child - children
Ox - oxen
Penny can have regular plural pennies when we are referring to separate coins (ten pennies) or a collective
plural, pence, when we are referring to a total amount (ten pence)

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15) Describe nouns with the same singular and plural form.

Some nouns do not change in form. These include:

names of certain animals (deer - sheep)

birds (grouse)

fish (mackerel)

certain nouns describing nationalities (a Chinese - a Swiss - a Vietnamese)

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16) Describe collective nouns with singular or plural verbs.

Collective nouns are words for single things that are made up of more than one person, animal, place, thing, or
idea. You cant have a team without individual members; even so, we discuss a team as a single entity.

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A collective noun has a singular form but it denotes more than one person or thing: should it therefore be
accompanied by a singular verb, a plural verb, or is it an anything goes situation, and either verb form is
acceptable.
The verb form used can depend on the emphasis of the sentence, and accepted regional usage, so no wonder
many people are confused. In British English its absolutely fine to treat most collective nouns as either
singular or plural you can say my husbands family is very religious or my husbands family is very religious.

17) Describe collective nouns + plural verb

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Some collective nouns can take a singular or plural verb, depending on whether they are considered as
a single unit or as a collection of individuals:
For example :
The audience were all cheering wildly.
Manchester United is looking forward to meeting Valencia in the final next week.

18) Nouns with a plural form + singular verb.

The following nouns, though plural in form, are always followed by a verb in the singular:

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The noun news, as in: The news on TV is always depressing.

Games, such as: billiards, bowls, darts and dominoes. Billiards is becoming more and more popular

Names of cities such as: Athens, Brussels and Naples. Athens has grown rapidly in the past decade

19) Nouns with a plural form + singular or plural verb.

The following nouns ending in -ics take a singular verb: athletics gymnastics, linguistics mathematics
and physics: Mathematics is a compulsory subject at school However, some words ending in -ics,
such as:

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Acoustics.

Economics.

Ethics.

Phonetics.

Statistics.

Take a singular or plural verb.

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When the reference is to an academic subject (acoustics => the scientific study of sound) then the verb must be
singular: Acoustics is a branch of physics.
When the reference is specific, (acoustics => sound quality) then the verb must be plural: The acoustics in the
Festival Hall are extremely good

Plural form of nouns describing illnesses have a singular verb: German measles is a dangerous
disease for pregnant women
However, a plural verb is sometimes possible:

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Mumps are (or is) fairly rare in adults

Some plural form of nouns can be regarded as a single unit (+ verb in the singular) or collective (+
verb in the plural).
Examples are:

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Barracks, bellows, crossroads, gallows gasworks headquarters kennels, series, species and
works (= factory).
- single unit: This species of rose is very rare
- more than one: There are thousands of species of butterflies
The word means (= a way to an end) is followed by a singular or plural verb, depending on the word used
before it: All means have been used to get him to change his mind One means is still to be tried.

20) Nouns with a plural form + plural verb.

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Nouns with a plural form only (+ plural verb) are:

NOUNS WHICH CAN COMBINE WITH A PAIR OF:
My trousers are torn.
Used with a pair of, these words must have a singular verb:
A pair of glasses costs quite a lot these days
We cannot normally use numbers in front of these words, but we can say two, etc. pairs of:
Two pairs of your trousers are still at the cleaner s

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Some of these nouns can have a singular form when used in compounds: (pyjama top, trouser leg)
Where did I put my pyjama top?

A FEW WORDS WHICH OCCUR ONLY IN THE PLURAL AND ARE FOLLOWED BY A
PLURAL VERB.
Some of these are:
Antipodes belongings, brains (= intellect),
Clothes, congratulations, earnings, goods, greens (= green vegetables),

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Lodgings, looks (= good looks),

Means (= money or material possessions),
Oats odds (in betting),
Outskirts particulars quarters (= accommodation), remains, riches, stairs suds
surroundings thanks, tropics.
21) Nouns with different singular and plural meanings.
Some nouns have different meanings in the singular and plural.
For Examples:

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air/airs,

fund/funds

scale/scales

ash/ashes

glass/glasses

saving/savings

content/contents

look/looks

spectacle/spectacles

custom/customs

manner/manners

step/steps

damage/damages

minute/minutes,

work/works

drawer/drawers

pain/pains

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Sometimes the meanings are far apart (air/airs), sometimes they are quite close (fund - funds). One small step
for man, one giant leap for mankind You can only reach that cupboard with a pair of steps Of course, the
countable nouns in the above list have their own plurals: dirty looks five minutes sharp pains, two steps, etc.

22) Nouns with foreign plurals.

There is a natural tendency to make all nouns conform to the regular rules for the pronunciation and spelling of
English plurals. The more commonly a noun is used, the more likely this is to happen. Some native English
speakers avoid foreign plurals in everyday speech and use them only in scientific and technical contexts.

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EXAMPLES

Nouns of
foreign origin
with
anglicized
plurals
Nouns with
both foreign
and anglicized

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Album

Albums

Apparatus

Apparatuses

Genius

Geniuses

-us

Cactus - Cacti

Cactuses

-a

Antenna

Antennae - Antennas

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plurals

Alternative plurals can have different meanings: e.g.

antennae is a biological term.
Antennas can describe e.g. radio aerials

-ex

Index

Indices - Indexes

-ix

Appendix

Appendices - Appendixes

-um

Medium Media

Mediums

-on

Automaton -

Automat

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Automata

Nouns with
foreign
plurals only

-eu

Adieu

-eau

Plateau

Adieux - Adieus
Plateaus - Plateaux (/z /)

-us

Alumnus - Alumni

-a

Alumna - Alumnae

-um
-is

Stratum - Strata
Analysis - Analyses

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-on:

Criterion - Criteria

Media + singular or plural verb is used to refer to the press, TV, etc. , data is used with a singular
or plural verb; agenda is a foreign plural used in the singular in English with a regular plural,
agendas

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23) Compound nouns and their plurals.

Tendency
Plural
mainly in
the last
element

Examples

Put a plural ending (-s -es) On the second

noun in noun + noun combinations, and in
gerund + noun combinations

Boyfriends - Flower shops - Matchboxes.

Put a plural ending on the noun:

Onlookers - Lookers-On - Passers

Put a plural ending on the last word when

no noun is present

Breakdowns - Forget-Me-Nots - Grown-Ups

frying pans

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Attorney general - Attorneys general,

Plural in
the first
element in
some
compounds
Plural in
the first
and last

Court-martial - Courts-martial
Man-of-war - Men-of-war
Mother-in-law - Mothers-in-law
When the first element is man or woman,
then both elements change

man student - men students

woman student - women students

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element

Other compounds with man and woman

form their plurals only in the second word:

man-eaters - manholes,
woman-haters, etc

24) What is gender? Is gender a characteristic proper to English nouns? How can we identify gender in
some English nouns?
Gender is a category of noun. A noun's gender determines how it behaves with other words. In English, nouns
are categorized as masculine, feminine, or neuter depending on their meaning. Most nouns are neuter, unless
they obviously refer to something male or female.

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Examples
People

Man. Actor.

He

Woman, Actress

She

Guest, Student, Teacher

Things
Animals

Pronouns

He or She

Bull, Cow

It

Chair, Table.

It

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In many European languages the names of things, such as book chair, radio, table have gender: that is they are
classified grammatically as masculine, feminine or neuter, although very often gender doesn't relate to sex.
Grammatical gender barely concerns nouns in English. It mainly concerns personal pronouns, where a
distinction is drawn between e.g. he she and It; possessive adjectives, his, her and its; and relative pronouns,
where a distinction is drawn between who and which. The determiners we use do not vary according to gender
in front of nouns. We can refer to a man a woman a box, the man, the woman, and the box many men, many
women, and many boxes.
a) IDENTIFYING MASCULINE AND FEMININE THROUGH NOUNS
A few nouns are automatically replaced by masculine or feminine pronouns, or by it:

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Contrasting nouns describing people (replaceable by e.g. 'he/she') bachelor/spinster, boy/girl,

brother/sister, father/mother gentleman/lady, grandfather 'grandmother, grandson/granddaughter
husband - wife, king/queen, man/woman monk/nun, Mr./Mrs., nephew/niece sir/madam,
son/daughter, uncle/aunt.
Contrasting nouns describing animals (normally replaceable by 'it') bull/cow, cock (or
rooster) /hen, dog/bitch gander/goose pig - sow ram/ewe stallion mare

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'-ess' endings and other forms indicating sex/gender: A common way of indicating sex or gender
is to change the ending of the masculine noun with the suffix -ess- actor/actress god/goddess
heir/heiress host/hostess, prince/princess steward/stewardess, waiter/waitress.
This distinction is becoming rarer so that words like author instructor and manager are now commonly used for
both sexes. Some words, such as poetess, are falling into disuse because they are considered disparaging by
both sexes.
In a few cases, -ess endings are used for female animals, e.g. leopard/leopardess, lion/lioness, tiger/tigress or
he-'she- (stressed) is used as a prefix in e.g. he-goat/she-goat, or wolf/she-wolf.
Similar references can be made with other endings, etc. as well: bridegroom/bride hero/heroine, lad/lass,
landlord/landlady male -female, masseur/masseuse usher/usherette widower/widow.

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b) IDENTIFYING MASCULINE AND FEMININE BY 'MAN', 'WOMAN', ETC.

Certain nouns ending in -man refers to males: e.g. dustman, policeman postman, salesman
Others, ending in -woman, refer to women: e.g. policewoman, postwoman, saleswoman A few, such as
chairman: can be used for men and women.
We tend to assume that words like model and nurse refer to women and words like judge and wrestler refer to
men. If this is not the case and we wish to make a point of it, we can refer to a male model or a male nurse, or
to a woman judge or a woman wrestler.

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c) IDENTIFYING MASCULINE OR FEMININE THROUGH PRONOUNS

With many nouns we don't know whether the person referred to is male or female until we hear the pronoun:
For Example:
My accountant says he is moving his office.
My doctor says she is pleased with my progress
This applies to nouns such as:

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Adult - artist comrade cook - cousin darling - dear - doctor enemy- foreigner - friend guest- journalist
lawyer - librarian- musician- neighbour orphan owner parent passenger person pupil - relation
relative- scientist singer - speaker spouse - stranger - student teacher - tourist - traveller - visitor - writer.
Sometimes we can emphasize this choice by using both pronouns: If a student wants more information he or
she should apply in writing.
However, this is becoming less acceptable. The tendency is to avoid this kind of construction by using plurals.

25) What is the genitive case? How do we form the genitive case in English? How do we use the genitive
case in English? What is the double genitive?

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The genitive case, (also called the possessive case), is when we add apostrophe S (s) to show possession, that
something belongs to another or a type of relationship between things.
For example:
Woodwards house.
How to form the genitive case:

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In the case of people, animals, it can also be used with places, organizations and companies (which suggest a
group of people). We normally use the s
In the case of singular nouns:
We add 's (apostrophe S)
For example:
My mothers house is next to the beach. (= the house of my mother).
In the case of Plural nouns ending in s:

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We only add the apostrophe ' (without the S)

For example:
The two sisters house is next to mine. (= the house of the two sisters).
In the case of Plural nouns not ending in s:
We add 's
For example:
Be careful not to trip over the childrens toys. (= the toys of the children).

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In the case of Singular nouns ending in s:

It depends
a) Most names: add 's (apostrophe S)

For example:
They had a really good time at Jamess barbecue last Friday.
We spent the day admiring Francess new car.
b) Classical or religious names: add ' (only the apostrophe)

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For example:
Jesus disciples carried out the teachings of Jesus.
Sophocles plays are still performed today.
In the case of Possessive nouns as part of a phrase:
Sometimes more than one word / noun is a possessive. The same rules as above are still valid:
For example:
The King of Spartas wife was called Helen.

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The President of Chiles speech was very long.

If there are two owners of something, we add 's to the final name:

For example:

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Rick and Steves car is quite old.

But, if each person owns a car, then add 's to both names:

For example:
Ricks and Steves cars are quite old.
In the case of No noun:
If the meaning is clear, we can use the possessive without a noun after it.
For example:

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Her hair is longer than Jills. (= Jills hair)

We ate at Billys last night. (= Billys Diner or Billys house)