NOUNS
NOUNS
• Lexical meaning = Nouns denote person,
place, thing, quality, or an action.
• Inflectional morphemes = e.g. teachers
(plural), teacher’s (possessive ‘s’)
Derivational morphemes:
• Verbs + Suffix → NOUN
• Suffixes: -er (strain+ er= strainer); -ist
(cycle + ist = cyclist); -ion (regulate + ion);
-ment (appoint+ment = appointment); ance/ence (perform+ ance= preformance)
• Adjective+ Suffix → NOUN
• Suffixes: -ness (good+ness =
goodness); -ty/ity (safe+ty=safety)
Derivational morphemes:
• Nouns+Suffix→ NOUN
• -ship (friend+ ship= friendship); -ist
(column+ist=columnist); -er
(geography+er= geographer); -ism
(cynic+ism=cynicism)
• Prefix+Noun→ NOUN
• Prefixes: co- (co+author=coauthor); ex(ex+wife=ex-wife); non(non+resident=nonresident); mini(mini+break=mini-break)
CLASSIFICATION OF NOUNS:
1. Common nouns
– Countable
• 1.1.1. Concrete (man, book, chair)
• 1.1.2. Abstract (idea, wish)
– Uncountable Nouns
• 1.2.1. Concrete (gold, butter, coal)
• 1.2.2. Abstract (advice, love, knowledge)
2. Proper nouns (John, Marry)
Nouns
• NOTES:
• *Singular countable nouns cannot
normally occur without a determiner. E.g.
Tree is green.
• E.g. A/One/This/That three is green. √
• * Words ‘man’ and ‘woman’ are
exceptions. E.g. Man is mortal. √
Main characteristics of Nouns
•
•
•
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Simple (glass, house, book)
Coumpound (armchair, bluebell, lawsuit)
Derived (reader, discovery)
Compounding+ Derivation (narrow│mind
│ed│ness; hous│ keep│er)
Regular Plural
• Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -x, -z, -sh, -ch
add –ES. E.g. boxes, churches. * busses,
quizzes, fezzes
• Nouns ending in consonant + y add -IES.
E.g. flies, babies
• Nouns ending in vowel + y add -S. E.g.
keys, toys
• *Exceptions: lay-bys, stand-bys.
Regular Plural
• Nouns ending in -o add -S (studios,
photos, pianos, casinos, cellos) or –ES
(echoes, heroes, potatoes, negroes).
• Sometimes both suffixes are possible. E.g.
frescoes/frescos; zoroes/ziros;
volcanoes/vulcanos
Irregular Plural (1)
• f→v+ es
• knife → knives; calf→calves; half→halves;
thief→thieves; leaf→leaves; self→selves;
wolf→wolves; wife→wives
• f+s (beliefs, cliffs, proofs, roofs, griefs)
• f→v+ es & f+s
• hankerchieves/ hankerchiefs;
hooves/hoofs; scarves/ scarfs; dwarves/
dwarfs; sheath
Unchanged Plural/Zero Plural
(Singular=Plural)
• e.g. sheep, deer, cod, carp, mackerel,
grouse, throut, salmon, swine (or swines),
antelope, bass, pike, perch, pickerel, quail
• E.g. a sheep / two sheep / several sheep
• * It can be fishes or throats to denote
different kinds. E.g. There were many fishes in the net.
Irregular plural (2)
• child/children, ox/oxen, man/men,
woman/women, louse/lice, mouse/mice,
foot/feet, tooth/teeth, goose/geese
• Irregular plural – Compounds with MAN
&WOMAN
• man & woman in initial position: man
driver → men drivers, woman journalist →
women journalists
• man & woman at the end: postman →
postmen, Englishwoman → Englishwomen
Quantity Nouns
• E.g. There are three dozen / several
hundred / more than five thousand /
almost four million PEOPLE.
• E.g. Three pound of cheese, please.
• **If there is no modifies we use plural:
• E.g. Dozens of people crowded into the
room. ; Hundreds of people came to
welcome us.
Foreign plural
• us → i = /ai/ or /i/ (stimulus/stimuli;
alumnus/alumni; bacillus/baccilli)
• us → a (corpus/corpora/corpuses)
• um → a (agendum/agenda/agendums;
curriculum/curricula; erratum/errata)
• a → ae = /ai/ or /i/ (antenna/antennae;
formula/formulae; nebula/nebulae)
Foreign plural
• ex/ix → ices /isi:z/
(appendix/appendices;
index/indexes*/indices; matrix/matrices)
• is → es /i:z/ (analysis/analyses;
basis/bases; crisis/crises;
hypothesis/hypotheses; thesis/theses)
• on → a (criterion/criteria;
phenomenon/phenomena)
• o → i (libretto/libretti;
tempo/tempi/tempos*)
Foreign plural
• ex/ix → ices /isi:z/
(appendix/appendices;
index/indexes*/indices; matrix/matrices)
• is → es /i:z/ (analysis/analyses;
basis/bases; crisis/crises;
hypothesis/hypotheses; thesis/theses)
• on → a (criterion/criteria;
phenomenon/phenomena)
• o → i (libretto/libretti;
tempo/tempi/tempos*)
Nouns ordinary singular
• Proper nouns (London)
• Uncountable nouns (cheese, sugar)
• Nouns ending in –s
Sciences: acustics, physics
Diseases: measles (ospice), mumps
(zauške)
Games: billiards, dominoes
• Collective nouns: council, committee,
government, team, family, tribe, faculty,
choir, staff, band (+ singular or plural
Nouns ordinary plural
• Binary nouns (binoculars, socks, gloves,
scissors, jeans, shorts, trousers, pliers,
pincers, )
• Plural: A pair of…, Several pairs of …; *
Plural - socks/gloves → Singular sock/glove
Nouns ordinary plural
• Aggregate nouns
• In plural form (arms, communications,
data, goods, barracks, series, crossroads,
works, gallows, headquarters, earnings,
savings, tropics, stairs, premises,
lodgings)
• In singular form (cattle, clergy, people*, off
spring, police, poultry)
• *Plural verb or Singular verb: The
data/barracks/series IS/ARE …
Some of the uncountable pluralia tantum can also
be countable with a different meaning:
• customs: carina
• arms: oružje
• minutes: zapisnik sa
sjednice
• glasses: naočari
• spectacles: naočari
• spirits: alkoholna pića
• scales: vaga
• clothes: odjeća
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•
•
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custom(s): običaj(i)
arm(s): ruka (ruke)
minute(s): minut(i)
glass(es): čaša/e
spectacle(s): prizor(i)
spirit(s): duh(ovi)
scale(s): krljušt(i)
cloth(s): čaršav(i),
krpa/e
Plural of Compound Nouns
• ~+S: babysitterS, boy-friendS, fellowpassangerS, tooth-brushES, handfulS,
marry-go-roundS, forget-me-notS, breakdownS
• Headword+S: editorS-in-chief, pointS-ofview, mEn-of-war, lookerS-on, motherS-tobe
• Verb+adverb+S: lay-buyS, stand-byS,
grown-upS
Uncountables in the plural
• I love coffee. / Could I have a coffee? /
Two coffees, please.
• She is known for her beauty. / She is a
beauty. / Her daughters are beauties.
Uncountables in the plural
• Different meanings in singular and plural:
• Experience comes with age, they say.
(iskustvo)
They had several exciting experiences.
(doživljaji)
He studies law. (pravo)
The laws are very strict. (zakoni)
The Gender
• People: bachelor – spinster; duke –
duchess; gentleman – lady; lad – lass;
monk – nun; nephew – niece; ser/lord –
lady; uncle – aunt; tutor – governess;
wizard – witch; tsar – tsarina, groom –
bride,
The Gender
• Animals: he bear – she bear; he elephant
– she elephant
• Animals: bull – caw; stallion – mare; hen–
cock; gander – goose
• Dual gender: doctor, friend, guest,
neighbor, painter, student, pupil, servant,
novelist, parent (** man teacher – woman
teacher; man servant – woman/mail
servant)
The Gender
• -ess (suffix for female gender) : lion –
lioness; tiger – tigress; count – countess;
god – goddess; heir – heiress; waiter –
waitress; master – mistress; murderer –
murderess; patron – patroness; prince –
princess; author – author/authoress;
manager – manager/manageress; **
widower – widow!
•
Other suffixes:
• -e: fiancé / fiancée, -enne: comedian
/comedienne, Henry / Henrietta, -ette:
farmer / farmerette, -euse: masseur /
masseuse, -ina: George /Georgina, -ine:
hero / heroine, -ster: spinner / spinster, stress: seamster / seamstress (= -ster + ess)
Other suffixes:
• **-enne & -euse occur only in words
borrowed fromFrench. The -ster is no
longer a feminizing suffix, but now
indicates any person, usually male:
gangster, oldster, prankster.