Honors English 9
The Noun Phrase
(2.1) Introduction; (2.2) Nouns
Name ____________________________________________________
Date _____________________________________
THE NOUN PHRASE: Introduction
The noun phrase consists of a noun, or pronoun, together with any modifiers and determiners (e.g. a, the,
this, etc.). All of the following are noun phrases:
(2.1a)
DETERMINER
MODIFIER
the
the
the
the
huge
huge
huge, hairy
HEAD
it
Rover
dog
dog
dog
dog
MODIFIER
in the yard
that bit Zeke
In English, noun modifiers (i.e. adjectivals) may be either PREPOSED (huge, hairy) or POSTPOSED (in the yard,
that bit Zeke). Some languages have only one sort of adjectival: Irish has only postposed adjectivals, Turkish has
only preposed adjectivals.
Noun phrases serve a number of grammatical functions, including subject, direct object, indirect object,
object of a preposition, and predicate nominal. Here are a few examples for review:
SENTENCE
(2.1b) Irving belched.
(2.1c) Phil observed Irving.
(2.1d) Phil told Irving his opinion of him
(2.1e) Phil relied on Irving
(2.1f) He’s not Irving
(2.1g) Classification of nouns
FUNCTION OF NOUN PHRASE
Subject
Direct object
Indirect object
Object of preposition
Predicate nominal
NOUNS
Proper
Common
Mass
Concrete
Count
Abstract
Count
THE NOUN PHRASE: Nouns
Nouns are heads of noun phrases and noun phrases in turn are fundamentally arguments of predicators.
As arguments, they are the means of referring to things as opposed to the means of relating things, which is what
* An asterisk ‘*’ before a sentence means that the sentence is ungrammatical or unacceptable
Honors English 9
The Noun Phrase
(2.1) Introduction; (2.2) Nouns
Name ____________________________________________________
Date _____________________________________
predicators are. The word fire refers to an event involving burning, while the word burn relates arguments in an
event:
(2.2a) Adolf burned the book.
So fire is a noun, a label for, or way of, referring to something, and burn is a verb, a means of relating things to
each other and to our knowledge of the world. Given that nouns can occur by themselves in noun phrases, it
seems the best characterization of nouns is as (potential) one-word arguments. The class of nouns includes labels
for people, places, things, classes of things, activities, events, states, and abstract qualities or concepts.
One characteristic of nouns that sets them apart from other word classes is that they can be inflected for
number:
 cat (singular)
 cats (plural)
As heads of noun phrases, they can also be associated with determiners:
 a cat
 the cat
However, not all nouns can be inflected for plurality:
*howeworks
*musics *doughs
And not all nouns occur freely with determiners:
*the tennis
*a Sigmond
*the Africa
As a preliminary step in the description of these odd factors of English, we can begin to distinguish a few classes
of nouns.
The most basic division among nouns is that between PROPER and COMMON nouns. Proper nouns are
ways of referring to unique entities. There certainly is more than one “Floyd” in the world, but when we use the
word Floyd we normally intend it to name a unique individual. Similarly, there is more than one “Springfield” in
the United States, but in using the word we conventionally refer to one specific place: perhaps Springfield,
Missouri or Springfield, Illinois.
We can contrast such nouns with common nouns, which are used to name classes of entities. The words
man and country are both labels of classes, denoting kinds of entities even when we use them to refer to a unique
entity (e.g. my country). In referring to a thing, we can thus choose to refer to it by either a common noun,
indicating its class, or a proper noun, giving its unique name. Interestingly, certain proper nouns which were
meant to name a specific product have become the generic name for a class of entities:
(2.2b)
Proper noun
Changed to common noun
Kleenex
kleenex (used to describe any type of facial tissue)
Jacuzzi
jacuzzi (used to describe a whirlpool or hot tub)
Q-tips
q-tips (used to describe any type of cotton swab)
Coke
coke (in the Southeastern U.S., this word is used to refer to any type of cola)
The nouns in (2.2b) illustrate an important point: nouns are not inherently proper or common, rather it is the
way we use them that determines their proper/common status.
The distribution of articles with common nouns depends on a further classification into COUNT and
MASS nouns. A count noun indicates something as a single entity and hence, countable. However, with mass
nouns, we view something as a whole, undifferentiated mass, and therefore not countable. Mass nouns
prototypically refer to substances, whether liquid or solid, and abstract qualities. In the case of mass nouns like
water, trash, and goodness, there are no natural, countable units. Of course, we can divide substances like water
into countable units (a gallon of water) but in nature, they are not divided into countable units. Count nouns
such as car, book, tree, warthog, etc. are differentiated into units that we use and relate to individually.
* An asterisk ‘*’ before a sentence means that the sentence is ungrammatical or unacceptable
Honors English 9
The Noun Phrase
(2.1) Introduction; (2.2) Nouns
Name ____________________________________________________
Date _____________________________________
Count nous can be pluralized and can occur with the article a or an and numbers such as one, two, etc.
Mass nouns cannot be pluralized, nor do they occur with the article a or an or numbers, but they do occur in the
singular with the word some and the quantifier enough. Some examples follow:
(2.2c)
COUNT NOUNS
MASS NOUNS
a book
*a beef
two books
*two beefs
*some book
some beef
*enough book
enough beef
Some nouns can be used either in a count or mass sense, though such differences in class membership
may be accompanied by differences in meaning. In some cases, the count noun refers to a kind, instantiation
(representation of a concrete instance) unit of the entity indicated by the corresponding mass noun. For example,
bread is ordinarily a mass noun, but it can function as a count noun when it means “kind of bread” as in
(2.2d) This bakery is known for the many breads it bakes.
Some other examples include:
(2.2e)
A kind/type of
An instantiation of
A serving unit of
MASS NOUN SENSE
cheese
soap
wheat
sauce
experience
belief
philosophy
beauty
war
coffee
pastry
aspirin
chocolate
COUNT NOUN SENSE
a cheese
a soap
a wheat
a sauce
an experience
a belief
a philosophy
a beauty
a war
a coffee
a pastry
an aspirin
a chocolate
The historic relationship between the mass and count nouns need no longer hold: as words take on new
meanings, as in changing from mass to count nouns, the new meanings take on a life of their own.
(2.2f)
MASS NOUN SENSE
COUNT NOUN SENSE
iron
an iron (for pressing clothes)
an iron (for playing golf)
glass
a glass (a container for holding liquids)
paper
a paper (an essay or report)
film
a film (a screen play)
Notice that when a mass noun is pluralized, it automatically takes on a count noun sense:
(2.2g)
five experiences
five instances of experience
five coffees
five serving units/kinds of coffee
* An asterisk ‘*’ before a sentence means that the sentence is ungrammatical or unacceptable
Honors English 9
The Noun Phrase
(2.1) Introduction; (2.2) Nouns
Name ____________________________________________________
Date _____________________________________
The classification of a noun as count or mass is often difficult for learners of English as a second language. While
the assignment of nouns to one or the other class is usually predictable on general semantic grounds, the
classification or particular nouns sometimes seems to have no particular reasoning. For example, bean is a count
noun (one bean, two beans, etc.), but rice and corn are mass nouns (*one rice, *two rices, etc.): one eats a
“serving of beans” (plural), but a “serving of rice” or a “serving of corn” – not *rices or *corns. Similarly,
assignment is count (“I had three assignments yesterday”), but homework is mass (*”I had three homeworks
yesterday”). In such cases, rules are of little use, and the student must simply memorize the class to which such
nouns belong.
Note also that one language’s count noun may be another’s mass noun: the English noun grape is a count
noun, but its German counterpart traube and its Russian counterpart vinograd are mass nouns.
One further classification of nouns, one that cuts across the count/mass distinction, is that between
CONCRETE and ABSTRACT nouns. Concrete nouns indicate material objects and abstract nouns denote nonmaterial qualities and concepts. The chart below summarizes the noun classes discussed in this section:
(2.2h)
ALL NOUNS
PROPER
COMMON
COUNT
MASS
Irving
CONCRETE
ABSTRACT
CONCRETE
ABSTRACT
Las Vegas
clock
worry
arsenic
physics
Jupiter
kangaroo
assignment
water
homework
peach
election
wheat
honesty
2.1-2.2 Practice
Directions: Identify whether the given noun can be considered “COMMON”, “PROPER”, OR “BOTH”.
1. Band-aids ________________________________
2. Speaker __________________________________
3. Computer ________________________________
4. Hedgehog ________________________________
5. Lamp ____________________________________
6. Post-it notes _______________________________
7. Rollerblades _______________________________
8. Cadillac __________________________________
9. Coat rack _________________________________
10. The Washington Monument ___________________
11. Frisbee ____________________________________
12. Mattress ___________________________________
13. Cemetery __________________________________
14. Stratosphere ________________________________
* An asterisk ‘*’ before a sentence means that the sentence is ungrammatical or unacceptable
Honors English 9
The Noun Phrase
(2.1) Introduction; (2.2) Nouns
Name ____________________________________________________
Date _____________________________________
15. Stocking ___________________________________
Directions: Identify whether the given noun can be considered as “COUNT”, “MASS”, or “BOTH”.
1.
Octopus ____________________________________
2. Oxygen ____________________________________
3. Balloon ____________________________________
4. Smoke _____________________________________
5. Evil _______________________________________
6. Sugar ______________________________________
7. Work ______________________________________
8. Swimming __________________________________
9. Experience __________________________________
10. Horse ______________________________________
11. Talk _______________________________________
12. Plan _______________________________________
13. Adolescence _________________________________
14. Furniture ____________________________________
15. French ______________________________________
Directions: Identify whether the given noun can be considered as “CONCRETE” or “ABSTRACT”.
1.
Music _______________________________________
2. Desk ________________________________________
3. Happiness ____________________________________
4. Bravery ______________________________________
5. Puppy _______________________________________
6. Curiosity _____________________________________
7. Bath _________________________________________
8. Airplane ______________________________________
9. Trust _________________________________________
10. Relaxation____________________________________
* An asterisk ‘*’ before a sentence means that the sentence is ungrammatical or unacceptable