Lesson 1 - Nouns NOUNS 1. Kinds of Nouns 2. Singular and Plural Nouns 3.

Countable and Uncountable Nouns Nouns are naming words for people, animals, places, things, and qualities. They can be recognised by the articles - the, a, an - that we place in front of them.

Nouns can be divided into proper nouns and common nouns. The names of particular people, animals, places and things are called proper nouns. We begin a proper noun with a capital letter. Nouns that do not refer to particular persons, animals, places and things are called common nouns. The first letter of a common noun is not capitalized unless it is the first word in a sentence.

There are other kinds of nouns. A word that stands for a group of things is called a collective noun. Nouns can be singular or plural. When you refer to one person, animal, place, or thing, you use a singular noun. When you talk about two or more people, animals, places, or things, you want to use plural nouns.

There are countable and uncountable nouns. Countable nouns are things that can be counted like book, car and house. Uncountable nouns cannot be counted such as milk, water, and flour.

Other nouns are names we use to refer to quality, idea, condition, etc. that are not concrete objects, and they are known as abstract noun. 1. Kinds of Nouns There are four kinds of nouns:

Common Nouns Proper Nouns Abstract Nouns Collective Noun

Common Nouns Common nouns are names of people (man, aunt); things (book, car); animals (monkey, armadillo); and places (church, beach).

Proper Nouns Proper nouns are names of people (George Bush, Obama); things (Financial Times, Eiffel Tower); animals (King Kong, Lassie); and places (London, Central Park). A proper noun begins with a capital letter. Proper nouns also refer to times or to dates in the calender: Saturday, April. We can use plurals for nouns in exceptional cases: There are three Johns in my class. We can also use 'the, an, a' for a proper noun in special circumstances: It is no longer the London I used to know.

Abstract Nouns An abstract noun is a quality or something that we can only think of rather than as something that we can see or touch, e.g. beauty, friendship. We can form abstract nouns from common nouns (child childhood); from verbs (know knowledge); and from adjectives (happy happiness). (LIST 15 contains abstract nouns formed from common nouns, verbs and adjectives.)

Collective Nouns A collective noun is a name we use for a number of people, animals or things which we group together and speak of as a whole. For example: a bunch of bananas, a litter of puppies. A list of collective nouns can be found on LIST 5. 2. Singular and Plural Nouns A noun that represents one person, animal, thing or place is called a singular noun. A noun that represents more than one person, animal, thing or place is called a plural noun.
EXAMPLE:

girl girls; goat goats; glass glasses; garden gardens

Singular and Plural Nouns Most nouns are either singular or plural. Plural nouns are easily recognised by their ending with an '-s'. But many plural nouns do not follow this same ending. The lists below show what different endings or suffixes are added to the words to make them plural nouns.

The following nouns are always plural and take a plural verb. Police People Football team Police are charging him with the murder of the princess. People in general are not very approachable. Liverpool are a very successful football team. (BUT: Liverpool is a great city.)

Jeans*, knickers*, panties*, pants*, pyjamas*, shorts*, tights*, trousers*, and underpants* E.g. These trousers are not mine. Clogs*, sandals*, slippers*, and sneakers*. Glasses* (= spectacles), binoculars* My glasses are used only for reading. Pincers*, pliers*, scissors*, shears*, tongs* Pliers are a handy tool. My garden shears trim the hedge very well. Clothes Earnings Cattle My clothes need to be washed but I don't have the time. Earnings in the agricultural sector have increased by 5% in the fourth quarter. Cattle are reared for their meat or milk.

* "a pair of" can be used with these plural nouns. + Peoples when used in the plural (i.e. with 's') refers to peoples from more than one race or nation.

EXAMPLE:

the peoples of Asia.

Nouns which are plural in form but take a singular verb The following plural nouns are used with singular verbs as they are treated as singular:

Athletics, economics, gymnastics, linguistics, mathematics, mechanics, numismatics, physics, politics and pyrotechnics Economics was my favourite subject at school. News The good news is that we've all been invited. Mumps, measles An infectious illness, mumps was common among children. Measurements and amounts that are considered as a single unit:

One hundred years is a century. Ten kilometres is a long distance. Twenty dollars is not enough to buy a good shirt. Seven days in prison is all he got for shoplifting.

A noun can be used as singular or plural The following collective nouns can be singular or plural. It depends on how they are regarded. Viewed as a single unit, it takes a singular verb; viewed as a group of separate members or parts, it is treated as a plural noun and used with a plural verb. Our team competes in a local tournament. Our team have just won the quarterfinal. My family is a large one. My family are always arguing about how to share the bills. The new government has gained more support since taking office. The Government are determined to keep inflation in check. The explorers stumble across a species of plant unknown to science. The coastal waters of the island are rich in different fish species. Data indicates that most of the offenders come from broken home. We will not draw any conclusion until we have looked at all the data. Statistics is included in this year's Mathematics syllabus. The statistics tell us the current trend is towards more consumers' spending. The full orchestra includes a fair number of female instrumentalists. The orchestra do not agree to the venue for their next performance. The enemy is calling for a ceasefire. Security is very tight as the enemy are everywhere.

Two subjects expressed as a single unit and take a singular verb. Time and tide waits for no man. Bread and jam is what he eats most in the morning.

LIST 16 shows how plural nouns are formed.

These trousers are not mine.

3. Countable and Uncountable Nouns Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted (e.g. oranges). Uncountable nouns are those that cannot be counted (e.g. smoke). So how do we know whether or not a noun is countable or uncountable?

The noun is countable:

if we can use a/an before it.. Example: I own a car. / I play with an ostrich. if we can use the word 'many' (and not 'much') to describe it. Example: She has many friends. (It's wrong to say: She has much friends.) if we can express its quantity by using a number before it. Example: I have five apples. if it takes on singular as well as plural forms

The noun is uncountable:

if a/an is not normally used in front of it. Example: He is eating some rice. (NOT: He is eating a rice.) Rice is treated as not countable, so 'some' (which can be used for both countable and uncountable nouns) is used with it. if the word 'much' can be correctly used with it. Example: How much rice have you eaten? (NOT: How many rice have you eaten?) if it is not possible to be counted. However, we can make it countable by having a quantity for it. Example: I have just bought two cartons or litres/liters of milk. (NOT: I have just bought two milk.) if it takes only a singular form.

Some nouns can be countable or uncountable. It depends on how they are used. EXAMPLE: I boil an egg. (Countable noun) / I like egg. (Uncountable noun, as it refers to egg in general.)

Countable and Uncountable Nouns are used with the following: Countable Noun a, an, a few, several, many, some, plenty of, a lot of, a large number of Uncountable Noun a little, much, some, plenty of, a lot of, a large amount of, a great deal of