A Noun is a word used as the name
of a person, place or thing.
Sallahudeen was a wise king.
The noun Sallahudeen refers to a
particular king, but the noun king
can be applied to any other king
as well as to Sallahudeen.
We call Sallahudeen a Proper
Noun, and a king a Common
Noun.
Mona is a Proper Noun, while girl
is a Common Noun.
Ali is a Proper Noun, While boy is
a Common Noun.
Cairo is a Proper Noun, While
town is a Common Noun.
Egypt is a Proper Noun,
While country is a Common
Noun.
The word girl is a Common
Noun because it is a name
common to all girls, while
Mona is a Proper Noun
because it is the name of a
particular girl
Def._ A common Noun is a
name given in common to
every person or thing of the
same class or kind.
(Common here means
shared by all).
Def._ A Proper Noun is the
name of some Particular
person or place. (Proper
means one’s own. Hence a
Proper Name is a person’s
own name)
Note 1_ Proper Nouns are always
written with a capital letter at the
beginning.
Note 2_ Proper Nouns are
sometimes used as Common
Nouns; as in:
He is the Shakespeare (= the
greatest dramatist) of his time.
Common Nouns include what are called
Collective Nouns and Abstract Nouns.
A collective Noun is the name of a number
(or collection) of persons or things taken
together and spoken as one whole; as,
Crowd, mob, team, flock, herd, army,
fleet, jury, family, nation, parliament,
committee.
A fleet = a collection of ships or vessels.
An army = a collection of soldiers.
A crowd = a collection of people.
The police dispersed the crowd.
The French army was defeated in Waterloo.
The herd of cattle is passing.
An Abstract Noun is usually
the name of a quality,
action, or state considered
a part from the object
which belongs to; as,
Quality_ Goodness, kindness, whiteness,
darkness, hardness, brightness,
honesty, wisdom, bravery.
Action_ Laughter, theft, movement,
judgment, hatred.
State_ Childhood, boyhood, youth, slavery,
sleep, sickness, death, poverty.
The names of Arts and Science (e.g.,
grammar, music, chemistry etc.) are also
Abstract Nouns.
Abstract Nouns are formed_
(1)From adjectives; as, kindness from
kind; honesty from honest.
(2)From Verbs; as, Obedience from
obey; growth from grow.
(3)From Common Nouns; as,
Childhood from child; slavery from
slave.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Point out the nouns in the following
sentences, and say whether they are
Common, Proper, Collective or Abstract:
The crowd was very big.
Always say the truth.
We all love honesty.
Our class consists of twenty pupils.
The elephant has great srtrength.
6. Solomon was famous for his wisdom.
7. Cleanliness is wonderful.
8. We saw a fleet of ships in the harbor.
9. The class is studying grammar.
10.The Nile overflows its banks every year.
crowd: Collective
2. truth: Abstract
3. honesty: Abstract
4. class: Collective/ pupils: Common
5. elephant: Common/ strength: Abstract
6. Solomon: Proper/ wisdom: Abstract
7. Cleanliness: Abstract.
8. fleet: collective/ harbor: Common
9. class: collective/ grammar: Abstract
10. Nile: Proper/ bank, year: Common
1.
song—songs
The plural of most nouns is
formed by adding final –s
box—boxes
Final -es is added to nouns that
end in -sh, -ch, -s, -z, and - x
baby—babies
The plural of words that
end in a consonant + -y is
spelled -ie s
man - men
ox - oxen
woman - women foot – feet
child- children
goose - geese
tooth – teeth
mouse – mice
louse – lice
The above nouns have irregular
plural forms that don’t end in –s.
echo – echoes
hero - heroes
potato – potatoes
tomato - tomatoes
Some nouns that end in -o add -es to
form the plural.
auto—autos
ghetto—ghettos
kangaroo—
kangaroos
kilo—kilos
memo—memos
photo—photos
piano—pianos
radio— radios
solo—solos
soprano—
sopranos
studio—studios
tatoo— tatoos
video— videos
zoo—zoos
Some nouns that end in -o add only -s
to form the plural.
note : When in doubt, use your
dictionary or spellcheck.
memento— mementoes/mementos
mosquito— mosquitoes /mosquitos
tornado— tornadoes/tornados
volcano— volcanoes/volcanos
zero—zeroes/zeros
Some nouns that end in -o add either
-es or -s to form the plural (with -es
being the more usual plural form).
calf—calves
half— halves
knife—knives
leaf—leaves
life—lives
loaf—loaves
self—selves
shelf—shelves
thief— thieves
wolf—wolves
scarf— scarves /scarfs
Some nouns that end in -f or –fe are
changed to -ves to form the plural
belief— beliefs cliff—cliffs
chief— chiefs
roof—roofs
Some nouns that end in - f
simply add -s to form the
plural.
one deer—
two deer
one fish— two fish
one means—
two means
one offspring—
two offspring
one series—
two series
one sheep—
two sheep
one shrimp—
two shrimp
one species—
two species
Some nouns have the same
singular and plural form:
e.g.,
One deer is ___
Two deer are ___
phenomenon—
phenomena
bacterium—bacteria
analysis—analyses
curriculum—curricula
basis—bases
datum— data
crisis—crises
medium—media
hypothesis—hypotheses
memorandum—
parenthesis—parentheses
memoranda
thesis— theses
Some nouns that English has borrowed from other
languages have foreign plurals.
criterion—criteria
Write the plural form of each word in the correct
column. Some forms have two possible spellings.
Belief
box
chief
class
cloud
deer
fish
hero
kilo
knife
leaf
life
loaf
match
memo
photo
potato
scarf
sheep
shelf
tomato
video
wolf
zoo
_s
beliefs
chiefs
clouds
kilos
-es
heroes
boxes
classes
matches
potatoes
tomatoes
Fishes
(rare)
-ves
knives
leaves
lives
loaves
scarves
shelves
wolves
no change
deer
fish
sheep
Exercise 5,
p.103
Homework
3. men
4. attorneys
5. discoveries . . . laboratories
6. boxes . . . oxen
7. beaches . . . cliffs
8. pianos
9. phenomena
10. media
Change the nouns to plural as necessary.
Do not change any other words.
(1) Bacterium are the smallest
living thing. They are simple
organism that consist of
one cell.
(1) Bacteria are the
smallest living things. They
are simple organisms that
consist of one cell.
(2) Bacterium exist almost
everywhere. They are in the
air, water, and soil as well
as in the body of all living
creature.
(2) Bacteria exist almost
everywhere. They are in
the air, water, and soil, as
well as in the bodies of all
living creatures.
(3) There are thousand of
kind of bacterium. Most of
them are harmless to
human being, but some
cause diseases such as
tuberculosis and
pneumonia.
(3) There are thousands of
kinds of bacteria. Most of
them are harmless to human
beings, but some cause
diseases such as tuberculosis
and pneumonia.
(4) Virus are also microscopic
organism, but virus live in the cell of
other living thing. By themselves,
they are lifeless particle that
cannot reproduce, but inside a
living cell they become active and
can multiply hundred of time.
(4) Viruses are also microscopic
organisms, but viruses live in the
cells of other living things. By
themselves, they are lifeless
particles that cannot reproduce,
but inside a living cell they
become active and can multiply
hundreds of times.
(5) Virus cause many disease.
They infect human being
with such illness as influenza,
the common cold, measles,
and AIDS (Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome).
(5) Viruses cause many diseases.
They infect human beings with
such illnesses as influenza, the
common cold, measles, and
AIDS (Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome).
(6) Virus are tiny. The virus
that causes AIDS is 230
million times smaller than
the period at the end of this
sentence. Some viral
infection are difficult or
impossible to treat.
(6) Viruses are tiny. The virus
that causes AIDS is 230 million
times smaller than the period
at the end of this sentence.
Some viral infections are
difficult or impossible to treat.
Singular Nouns
the girl
Tom
my wife
a lady
Thomas
Possessive Form
the girl’s
Tom’s
my wife’s
a lady’s
Thomas’s /Thomas’
To show possession, add an apostrophe (’)
and -s to a singular noun: The girl’s book is
on the table. If a singular noun ends in -s,
there are two possible forms:
1. Add an apostrophe and -s: Thomas’s
book.
2. Add only an apostrophe: Thomas’ book.
Plural Noun
the girls
the wives
the ladies
the men
the children
Possessive
Form
the girls’
the wives’
the ladies’
the men’s
the children’s
Add only an apostrophe to a
plural noun that ends in -s: The
girls’ books are on the table.
Add an apostrophe and –s to
plural nouns that do not end in
-s: The men’s books are on the
table.
Alan and Lisa's apartment is on
the third floor.
When two (or more) names
are connected by and, only
the final name shows
possession.
Complete the sentences. Use the possessive
form of the nouns in parentheses.
2. The
(boy)____ hat is red.
3. The (boys) ____ hats are red.
4. The (children) ____ toys are all
over the floor.
5. I fixed the (child) ____ bicycle.
6. (Sally)_____ last name is White.
7. (Bess) _____last name is Young.
8. There are many problems in (today)
_____world.
9. It would cost me a (month) _____salary
to buy that refrigerator.
10. We went to (Jack and Larry) __________
house for dinner.
2. boy’s
7. Bess’s/Bess’
3. boys’
8. today’s
4. children’s 9. month’s
5. child’s 10. Jack and Larry’s
6. Sally’s
Correct the errors. Use the possessive
nouns by adding apostrophes and
final -s/-es as necessary.
3. My uncle is my father brother.
4. I have four aunts. All of my aunt
homes are within walking distance of
my mother apartment.
5. Esteban’s aunt oldest son is a
violinist.
3. My uncle is my father’s brother.
4. I have four aunts. All of my aunts’
homes are within walking
distance of my mother’s
apartment.
5. Esteban’s aunt’s oldest son is a
violinist.
6. Bill wife is a factory worker.
7. I walked into my boss office.
8. I borrowed the secretary pen to fill out
the application form.
9. Five astronauts were aboard the space
shuttle. The astronaut safe return to earth
was a welcome sight to millions of
television viewers.
6. Bill’s wife is a factory worker.
7. I walked into my boss’s/boss’ office.
8. I borrowed the secretary’s pen to fill out
the application form.
9. Five astronauts were aboard the space
shuttle. The astronauts’ safe return to
earth was a welcome sight to millions of
television viewers.
10. It is the people right to know what the
city is going to do about the housing
problem.
11. Quite a few diplomats are assigned to
our city. Almost all of the diplomat
children attend a special school.
12. A diplomat work invariably involves
numerous meetings.
10. It is the people’s right to know what
the city is going to do about the
housing problem.
11. Quite a few diplomats are assigned
to our city. Almost all of the diplomats’
children attend a special school.
12. A diplomat’s work invariably involves
numerous meetings.
Correct the errors in the use of possessive
nouns by adding apostrophes as necessary.
2. Psychologists have developed
many different kinds of tests. A
“personality test” is used to
evaluate an individuals personal
characteristics, such as
friendliness or trustworthiness.
2. Psychologists have developed
many different kinds of tests. A
“personality test” is used to
evaluate an individual’s personal
characteristics, such as
friendliness or trustworthiness.
3. Many mythological stories tell
of heroes encounters with
giants or dangerous animals. In
one story, the heros encounter
with a dragon saves a village
from destruction.
3. Many mythological stories tell of
heroes’ encounters with giants or
dangerous animals. In one story,
the hero’s encounter with a
dragon saves a village from
destruction.
The soup has vegetables in it.
(a) It is vegetable soup.
The building has offices in it.
(b) It is an office building.
When a noun is used as an adjective, it is
in its singular form.
incorrect : vegetables soup
The test lasted two hours.
(c) It was a two-hour test.
Her son is five years old.
(d) She has a five-year-old son.
When a noun used as a modifier is
combined with a number expression, the
noun is singular and a hyphen (-) is used.
incorrect : She has a five years old son.
Complete the sentences with the words in italics. Use the singular or plural
form as appropriate. Include hyphens (-) as necessary.
2. flower
My garden has ____________________in it. It is a ____________
____________garden
3. bean
This soup is made from black____________________. It is black
______________________soup.
4. baby
People can buy special food in small jars for _______________
It is called ______________________ food.
5. child
Dr. Adams is trained as a psychologist for __________________
She is a ________________________ psychologist.
6. salad
At a formal dinner, there are usually two forks on the table.
The smaller fork is for ______________. It is a _____________ fork.
7. mosquito
In tropical climates, sometimes it is necessary to hang a net
over a bed to protect the sleeper from __________________. It
is called a _______________________ net.
8. two + hour
The plane was late. We a ______________________ wait.
We had to wait for _______________________________.
9. Ten + year + old My brother is ____________________________________. I
have a ______________________________brother.
10. Three + letter
Arm and dog are _______________________________
words. Each word has ________________________________.
2. flowers . . . flower
3. beans . . . bean
4. babies . . . baby
5. children . . . child
6. salads . . . salad
7. mosquitoes/mosquitos . . . mosquito
8. two-hour . . . two hours
9. ten years old . . . ten-year-old
10. three-letter . . . three letters
(a)I
bought a chair . Sam bought three
chairs .
(b) We bought some furniture .
incorrect : We bought some furnitures.
incorrect : We bought a furniture.
Count Noun
Singular
a chair
one chair
Plural
two chairs
some chairs
a lot of chairs
many chairs
chairs
count noun:
(1) may be preceded by a/an or one in the
singular.
(2) takes a final -s/-es in the plural
Singular
Plural
Noncount
some furniture
Nouns
a lot of
furniture
much furniture
furniture
A noncount noun:
(1) is not immediately preceded by a/an or
one.
(2) has no plural form, so does not add a final s/-es.
Look at the italicized nouns. Write “C” above the count
nouns and “NC” above the noncount nouns.
2. Michiko likes to wear jewelry. Today she
is wearing four rings, six bracelets, and a
necklace.
3. We saw beautiful mountains, fields, and
lakes on our trip. We saw beautiful
scenery.
4. Gold and iron are metals.
2. Michiko likes to wear jewelry(NC).
Today she is wearing four rings(C), six
bracelets(C), and a necklace(C).
3. We saw beautiful mountains(C),
fields(C), and lakes(C) on our trip. We
saw beautiful scenery(NC).
4. Gold(NC) and iron(NC) are metals(C).
2. jewelry (NC)
rings (C)
bracelets (C)
necklace (C)
3.mountains (C)
fields (C)
lakes (C)
scenery (NC)
4. Gold (NC)
iron (NC)
metals (C)
5. iron (C)
6 car (C)
engine (C)
furniture (NC)
refrigerator (C)
junk (NC)
I bought some chairs, tables, and desks. In
other words, I bought some furniture.
Many noncount nouns refer to a
“whole” that is made up of
different parts.
Furniture represents a whole
group of things that is made up of
similar but separate items.
I put some sugar in my
coffee.
Sugar and coffee
represent whole masses
made up of individual
particles or elements.
To express a particular quantity, some
noncount nouns may be preceded by
unit expressions: a spoonful of sugar, a
glass of water, a cup of coffee, a
quart of milk, a loaf of bread, a grain
of rice, a bowl of soup, a bag of flour,
a pound of meat, a piece of furniture,
a piece of paper, a piece of jewelry.
I wish you luck.
Many noncount nouns are
abstractions.
Luck is an abstract concept, an
abstract “whole.”
It has no physical form; you can’t
touch it; you can't count it.
Sunshine is warm and cheerful.
A phenomenon of nature,
such as sunshine, is frequently
used as a noncount noun.
noncount: Ann has brown hair.
count: Tom has a hair on his
jacket.
noncount: I opened the curtains
to let in some light.
count: Don’t forget to turn off
the light before you go to bed.
Many nouns can be used as
either noncount or count nouns,
but the meaning is different.
(Dictionaries written especially for
learners of English as a second
language are a good source of
information on count /noncount
usage of nouns.)
This list is a sample of nouns that are commonly used
as noncount nouns. Many other nouns can also be
used as noncount nouns.
(a ) whole groups made up of similar items: baggage ,
clothing, equipment, food, fruit, furniture, garbage ,
ha rdware, jewelry, junk, luggage, machinery, mail,
makeup, money/cash/change, postage, scenery,
stuff, traffic, etc .
(b) fluids : water, coffee, tea, milk, oil, soup,
gasoline, blood, etc.
(c) solids : ice, bread, butter, cheese,
meat, gold, iron, silver, glass, paper,
wood, cotton, wool, etc.
(d) gases : steam, air, oxygen, nitrogen,
smoke, smog, pollution, etc.
(e) particle s : rice, chalk, corn, dirt, dust,
flour, grass, hair, pepper, salt, sand,
sugar, wheat, etc.
( f) abstractions :
— beauty, confidence, courage, education,
enjoyment, fun, happiness, health, help, honesty,
hospitality, importance, intelligence, justice,
knowledge, laughter, luck, music, patience,
peace, pride, progress, recreation, significance,
sleep, truth, violence, wealth, etc.
— advice, information, news, evidence, proof, etc.
— time, space, energy, etc.
— homework, work, etc.
— grammar, slang, vocabulary, etc.
(g) languages : Arabic, Chinese,
English, Spanish, etc.
(h) fields of study : chemistry,
engineering, history, literature,
mathematics, psychology, etc.
( i) recreation : baseball, soccer,
tennis, chess, bridge, poker, etc.
( j) activities : driving, studying,
swimming, traveling, walking (and
other gerunds)
(k) natural phenomena : weather, dew,
fog, hail, heat, humidity, lightning, rain,
sleet, snow, thunder, wind, darkness,
light, sunshine, electricity, fire, gravity,
etc.
Add final -s l-e s to the nouns in italics if necessary.
Do not add or change any other words.
3. Outside my window, I can see a lot of tree,
bush, grass, dirt, and flower.
4. Abdullah gave me some good advice.
Nadia also gave me some good
suggestion.
5. Yoko learned several new word today. She
increased her vocabulary today.
3. Outside my window, I can see a lot of
trees, bushes, grass, dirt, and flowers.
4. Abdullah gave me some good
advice. Nadia also gave me some
good suggestions.
5. Yoko learned several new words. She
increased her vocabulary today.
6. I drank two glass of water.
7. Window are made of glass.
8. Mr. Chu wears glass because he has poor
eyesight.
9. It took me a lot of time to finish my homework. I
had a lot of assignment.
10. I have been in Mexico three time. I’ve spent a lot
of time there.
11. The air is full of smoke, dust, carbon monoxide,
and many other harmful substance. We must
try to reduce air pollution.
6. I drank two glasses of water.
7. Windows are made of glass.
8. Mr. Chu wears glasses because he has poor
eyesight.
9. It took me a lot of time to finish my homework. I
had a lot of assignments.
10. I have been in Mexico three times. I’ve spent
a lot of time there.
11. The air is full of smoke, dust, carbon monoxide,
and many other harmful substances. We must
try to reduce air pollution.
Complete exercise 17, p.111, at home.
Answers
12. literature, novels, poetry, essays, poets,
poems
13. seasons, weather
14. happiness, patience, rewards
15. stars, grains, sand
16. (no change)
Answers
2. rivers
3. symphonies, music
4. trucks, traffic
5. computers, equipment
6. problems, homework
7. vocabulary, definitions
8. this information
9. advice
10. progress