English grammar

Nouns
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Grammar rules with examples

Table of contents:

• Countable and uncoutable nouns 1

• Singular and plural nouns 3
• Compound nouns 6
• Group (collective) nouns 8
• Proper nouns 10

Countable and uncountable nouns

Countable nouns
Countable nouns are people, places, animals or things that we can count. We can use the indefinite
article a/an with countable nouns in singular forms: A bee is an insect.

a girl - two girls, a lion - two lions, a book - two books, a man - three men, a sheep - five sheep

Uncountable nouns
Uncountable nouns (or mass nouns) are substances, abstract ideas, qualities and other things that we
cannot count. We cannot usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns: I need money.

▪ Substances:
air, bread, butter, dust, fire, flour, fuel, gold, ice, jam, juice, milk, oil, oxygen, petrol, rice, salt, sand,
smoke, snow, soap, sugar, water, whea...

▪ Abstract nouns:
advice, aid, anger, art, beauty, cash, chaos, courage, damage, death, evidence, freedom, fun,
happiness, health, help, horror, information, kindness, knowledge, love, motivation, pity, relief, safety,
wealth, wisdom...

▪ Other things:
baggage, camping, cash, clothing, electricity, energy, food, furniture, literature, litter, luggage, money,
nature, news, parking, rubbish, shopping, sunshine, traffic, weather...

Nouns that are both countable and uncountable

Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable but they have a different meaning.

beer = kind of drink, beers = glasses of beer

chicken = kind of meat, chickens = animals
chocolate = kind of food, chocolates = small sweets in a box of chocolates

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coffee = kind of drink, coffees = cups of coffee
experience = kind of knowledge, experiences = things that happen to you
glass = material, glasses = cups
hair = hair on your head, hairs = animal hairs
light = brightness from the sun, lights = electric lamps or bulbs
paper = material, papers = newspapers
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people = human beings, peoples = nations or ethnic groups
room = space, rooms = living room, bedroom, etc.
wood = material, woods = forest
work = job, works = factory

Notes
Some abstract nouns can be used with a/an in special cases.

▪ help:
I need some help. - You are always a great help to me.

▪ knowledge, love, hatred, dread, horror, etc. + of:

The internet provides access to all universal knowledge. - A good knowledge of English is essential.
Is it love or hatred? - How to foster a love of music in children?

▪ pity, shame, wonder, etc.:

I don't want pity, I need support. - What a pity. It's a pity that you can't come.

Some abstract nouns can be used in plural with that-clauses introduced by there.

▪ fear, hope, suspicion, etc.:

There are fears that global warming will continue.

How to make uncountable nouns countable

We combine special words (piece words) with uncountable nouns to make them countable.

I have two pieces of information for you.

We'll need three sheets of paper.
How many slices of bread do you have for breakfast?
Add two spoonfuls of sugar.
I'd like three jars of jam.

a bit of fun, luck, time, work, paper, information, bread, money, news, gossip
a piece of paper, software, information, work, writing, furniture, wood, equipment, music, cloth, land
an item of clothing, equipment, furniture, food, information, interest, business, jewellery, news
a sheet of paper,ice, glass
a carton of milk, juice, yoghurt
a glass of milk, beer, wine
a cup of tea, coffee
a slice of bread, cheese, cake
a loaf of bread, cheese, meat
a bar of chocolate, soap
a spoonful of sugar, flour, salt
a pinch of salt, cinnamon, humour
a jar of jam, honey, beer, mayonnaise

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Singular and plural nouns
We normally make the plural by adding -s to the singular of a noun:
a pen - two pens, a window - three windows, a tree - a lot of trees, a boy - many boys
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There are, however, a lot of exceptions to this rule.

1. Nouns ending in -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -o.

▪ We add -es to the noun that ends in -ss, -sh, -ch, -x.
dress - dresses, dish - dishes, match - matches, box - boxes

▪ Nouns ending in -o can form their plural by adding -es, too.

hero - heroes, potato - potatoes, tomato - tomatoes, torpedo - torpedoes

▪ But we often add -s only to the words ending in -o which are of foreign origin or abbreviated.
avocado - avocados, kimono - kimonos, piano - pianos, zero - zeros, kilo - kilos, photo -photos

▪ Some nouns ending in -o can have both plural forms, -s or -es.

banjo - banjos/banjoes, flamingo - flamingos/flamingoes, ghetto - ghettos/ghettoes,
motto - mottos/mottoes, tornado - tornados/tornadoes

2. Nouns ending in -y.

▪ If the noun ends in a consonant and -y, we change -y into -i and add -es.
activity - activities, baby - babies, berry - berries, country - countries, fly - flies, lady - ladies

▪ But we add -s only to the nouns ending in a vowel plus -y.

boy - boys, day - days, guy - guys, key - keys, way - ways

3. Nouns ending in -f or -fe.

▪ Some nouns ending in -f or -fe make the plural in the following way.
calf - calves, half - halves, knife - knives, leaf - leaves, life - lives, loaf - loaves, sheaf - sheaves,
shelf - shelves, thief - thieves, wife - wives, wolf - wolves

▪ Other nouns make their plural in the normal way by adding -s.
chief - chiefs, cliff - cliffs, gulf - gulfs, proof - proofs, roof - roofs, safe - safes

▪ The following words can have two plural forms.

dwarf - dwarfs/dwarves, handkerchief - handkerchiefs/handkerchieves, hoof - hoofs/hooves,
scarf - scarfs/scarves, wharf - wharfs/wharves

4. Plural forms made by a vowel change.

▪ A few nouns make their plural forms by changing their vowels.
foot - feet, goose - geese, man - men, tooth - teeth, woman - women

5. Specific changes in plural forms.

▪ Some English nouns change in spelling substantially in their plural forms.
child - children, die - dice, louse - lice, mouse - mice, ox - oxen, person - people

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6. Nouns that do not change in the plural.
Some words have the same form in the singular and plural.

I can see one sheep on the hill. - How many sheep can you see?
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▪ Names of some fish and animals.
carp, cod, mackerel, pike, plaice, salmon, squid, trout, cattle, deer, moose, sheep, swine

▪ Other words that do not change.

barracks, craft (aircraft, spacecraft...), gallows, means, quid, series, species

7. Nouns that are always plural.

Some nouns always have a plural form, take a plural verb and cannot be used with numbers.

Your clothes are in the other room.

The goods have been delivered.

▪ Things which have two parts.

binoculars, glasses, headphones, jeans, knickers, pants, pyjamas, scales, scissors, tights, trousers

We use pair of if we want to count them.

I need two pairs of new tights and a pair of jeans.

▪ Some other nouns.

arms (weapons), belongings, clothes, congratulations, earnings, goods, grounds, likes/dislikes,
outskirts, savings, stairs, surroundings, thanks, valuables

8. Nouns that are always singular.

Some nouns have a plural form, but take a singular verb, such as news.

The good news is that we can go on holiday now.

▪ Names of sciences and activities.

acoustics, athletics, classics, economics, ethics, gymnastics, mathematics/maths, physics, politics

▪ Names of diseases.
measles, mumps, rabies, rickets, shingles

▪ Names of games.
billiards, bowls, checkers, darts, dominoes, draughts, hearts

9. Nouns of Latin and Greek origin.

Many Latin and Greek words used in English retain their original plural forms. Others follow English
grammar rules.

▪ Nouns with the Latin or Greek plural.

alumnus - alumni, fungus - fungi, nucleus - nuclei
axis - axes, analysis - analyses, crisis - crises, oasis - oases, thesis - theses
bacterium - bacteria, datum - data, erratum - errata, stratum - strata
criterion - criteria, phenomenon - phenomena

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Notes
▪ Different plural forms can sometimes have different meanings.
indexes = tables of contents, indices = collections of information in alphabetical order
brothers = siblings / brethren = members of the same comunity
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▪ Some singular forms can have different meanings than plural forms.
arm = part of human body, arms = weapons
content = amount of a substance, contents = everything that is contained within something
wood = material, woods = small forest

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Compound nouns
A compound noun is a noun that is formed from two or more unique words and has a more specific
meaning than the separate words. The compound word can be written as separate words (mother
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tongue), as a single word (grandmother) or with hyphens (mother-in-law).

Types of compound nouns

▪ Open compound nouns = separate words:
swimming pool, first aid, hot dog

▪ Closed compound nouns = a single word:

grandmother, snowball, railway

▪ Hyphenated compound nouns = words connected with hyphens:

check-in, mother-in-law, merry-go-round

Possible combinations
We can combine various parts of speech to make compound nouns.

Noun + noun:
traffic warden, petrol station, shop window
seaside, website, Iceland
hitch-hiker, fire-fly, paper-clip

Adjective + noun:
small talk, full moon, last will
blackbird, hardware, greenhouse

Combinations with gerunds:

fruit picking, gold mining, waiting list, driving licence
trainspotting, haircutting, storytelling
price-fixing, weight-lifting, dining-room

Combinations with prepositions:

output, checkout, onlooker
passer-by, check-in, father-in-law

Open compound nouns

The open compound noun is made up of two words that are written as separate words but their
combination creates a new, single meaning.
air force, fairy tale, street lamp, goose bumps, first aid, hot dog, remote control, fire engine, bank clerk,
prime minister, credit card

Closed compound nouns

The closed compound noun combines two words that are written as one word with a new meaning.
airmail, banknote, billboard, earthworm, honeymoon, keyboard, outlook, overcoat, painkiller,
password, rainbow, runway, sweetheart, swordfish

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Hyphenated compound nouns
The hyphenated compound noun is a combination of two or more words that are connected with
hyphens. They are less common in modern English than in the past.
co-worker, editor-in-chief, hanger-on, happy-go-lucky, mass-production, passer-by, runner-up,
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word-of-mouth, forget-me-not

Plurals of compound nouns

We normally add -s to the last part of a compound noun to make the plural.
a shop window, two shop windows
a blackbird, a few blackbirds
a hitch-hiker, many hitch-hikers

But there are a few exceptions to this rule.

a passer-by, two passers-by (but two grown-ups)
a woman doctor, several women doctors (but several female doctors)
a sister-in-law, all my sisters-in-law (but merry-go-rounds)

Compound words in transition

There are no clear rules how to form a compound noun in English. With the relaxed attitude toward
spelling, a lot of compound nouns gradually develop. A good dictionary will help you to find out how to
write a compound word.
all right | alright
back yard | back-yard | backyard
check in | check-in

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Group (collective) nouns
Collective (or group) nouns are nouns that have a singular form but they describe groups of people,
animals or things.
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Groups of people: family, police, team, crew
Groups of animals: colony, flock, herd
Groups of things: bunch, bundle, set

Collective nouns and verb agreement

Group (or collective) nouns can take a singular verb or plural verb: The crew is/are on the ship.
We use the singular verb if we refer to a group as a single unit.
Our family is going on holiday to Spain in summer.
The herd is lying quietly in the shadow of trees.

We use the plural verb if we refer to a group as a number of individuals.

Our family are going on holiday to different places in summer.
The herd are looking in all directions. They are frightened.

Similarly:
The jury has just announced a decision.(= a group acting as a single unit)
The jury were not allowed to contact their families. (= a group acting as a number of individuals)

Collective nouns for animals

Examples of the most common collective nouns for groups of animals:

Birds
a flock of birds, a gaggle of geese, a brood of hens, a clutch of chicks, a host of sparrows

Mammals
a herd of cows (sheep), a drove of pigs, a pack of wolves (dogs), a pride of lions, a troop of monkeys,
a littre of puppies (kittens, cubs), a pod of doplhins

Fish
a school (shoal) of fish, a run of salmon, a battery of barracudas

Insects
a swarm of bees, a colony of ants, a cloud of grasshoppers, a scourge of mosquitoes

Reptiles
a float/bask of crocodiles (in water/on land), a lounge of lizards, a nest of snakes,
a bale (dole) of turtles

Collective nouns for people

There are many collective nouns in English which refer to a group of people as a single unit or to
individual members of a goup and therefore can take a singular or plural verb (compare the examples
above).
family, police, team, crew, choir, board, government, committee, jury, staff, Manchester United...

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We can also use the following collective nouns to talk about groups of people.
a board of directors, a caravan of travellers, a circle of friends, a flock of tourists, a tribe of Indians, a
bevy of beauties, a crowd of people, a gang of youths

Collective nouns for things

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Examples of the most common collective nouns to describe groups of things.
a bouquet (bunch) of flowers, a bunch of keys, a bundle of sticks, a fleet of taxis (ships), a convoy of
trucks, a flight of aeroplanes (stairs), a clump of bushes, a round of drinks, a range of mountains, a
pack of cards, a set of golf clubs

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Proper nouns
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Proper nouns are the names of particular people, animals, organizations, places and other things.
Unlike common nouns they always begin with capital letters.

Compare (common/proper noun):

teacher/Mrs. Clark, gallery/the National Gallery, mountain/Mount Everest, month/January

There are many types of proper nouns that begin with a capital letter. Some of them are used with the
definite article the, others are used without the.

Proper nouns with the:

The definite article (the) is used before:

Plural names of people: the Collins (= the Collin family)

Plural names of countries and country names that include common names: the Netherlands,
the Philippines, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic
Nations (the + adjective): the Spanish, the Polish, the British
Seas and rivers: the Adriatic, the Atlantic Ocean, the Thames, the Mississippi River
Groups of islands and chains of mountains: the Azores, the Bahamas, the British Isles, the Alps,
the Andes, the Himalayas
Deserts and regions: the Sahara, the Gobi Desert, the Riviera, the Crimea
Most organizations: the Bush Administration, the Rotary Club, the Ford Foundation, the Supreme
Court, the Senate (but Congress)
Newspapers: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Daily Mirror (but USA
Today)
Historical and cultural periods: the Bronze Age, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance
Most names made with 'of': the London School of Economics, the Statue of Liberty, the Tower of
London, the Bank of New York (but Bank of America)
Most names consisting of adjective + common noun: the National Gallery, the British Museum,
the North Pole, the West End, the High Street, the Republican Party (but North America, West
Germany = an adjective + proper name)
Some other names: the City, the Mall, the Bronx

Proper nouns without the:

The definite article (the) is not used before:

Names and titles of people: William, Angelina Jolie, President Kennedy, Captain Cook, Detective
Poirot, Doctor Watson
Names of animals: Simba, Spot, Fluffy
Languages, nationalities or ethnic groups: Spanish, Polish, Hindi, Han Chinese
Countries consisting of a singular proper name and continents: Spain, Vietnam, Britain, Ghana, India,
Asia, Australia, Europe
Streets, squares, towns, cities: Broadway, Oxford Street, Times Square, Trafalgar Square, Dover,
New York (but the Cathedral Square, the Hague)
Lakes and ponds: Lake Victoria, Lake Superior, Great Pond
Islands and mountain peaks: Borneo, New Guinea, Madagascar, Mont Blanc, Mount Everest,
Aconcagua, Mount Kenya
Parks and amusement parks: Central Park, Hyde Park, Disneyland, Europa Park, Everland
Most magazines: Newsweek, Vogue, National Geographic, PC World, Better Homes and Gardens (but
The New Yorker, The Economist)
Brands: Jack Daniel's, Kit Kat, Coca - Cola, Mercedes - Benz, Panasonic
Days, months and holidays: Monday, July, New Year's Eve, Halloween, Labour Day, Thanksgiving
Religious names: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism

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Most places named after a person or a town: Mario's Pizzeria, McDonald's, St Peter's Cathedral,

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Vaclav Havel Airport, Edinburgh Castle, Carnegie Hall, Rockefeller Center (but the Royal Albert Hall,
the John Hancock Center, the Sears Tower)

Proper nouns with the or without the

There are, however, many categories of proper nouns used with the or without the. For example:

Buildings and places of interest: Burj Khalifa, Capital Hotel, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey/
the Hilton Hotel, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Taj Mahal, the Sydney Opera House
Schools: Columbia University, Boston College/the Sorbonne, the U. S. Military Academy
Companies: General Motors, Bank of America/the Ford Motor Company, the World Bank
Bridges: London Bridge, Tower Bridge/the Golden Gate Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge
Works of art: Mona Lisa, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Guitar, Bust of Nefertiti/the Sistine Madonna,
the Nightwatch, the Burghers of Calais, the Terracota Army

Capitalizing tricky proper nouns

If a common noun (mum, pope, president, captain) becomes a proper noun, it begins with a capital
letter. The rule is, when we use such words, we capitalize them only if we use them exactly as names.

You can ask Mom. (but You can ask your mum.)
I'd like to meet Pope Francis. (but I'd like to meet the pope.)
Where was President Lincoln assassinated? (but Who was the first president of the USA?)
It was in 1778, when Captain Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands. (but Who is the captain of this
ship?)

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