PART 2

SUB TOPIC/SUB THEME : Nouns

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES : Students are able to understand and use
nouns correctly in oral and written
communications.
INDICATOR : Students are able to apply count noun,
noncount noun, singular noun, and plural
nouns in sentences

LEARNING MATERIAL

Count and noncount nouns vary from language to language. In some languages,
there are no count nouns (e.g., Japanese). In addition, some nouns that are
noncount in English may be countable in other languages (e.g., hair or
information).
Errors with count and noncount nouns can result in errors with article usage and
with subject verb agreement.

COUNT NOUNS
Count nouns can be separated into individual units and counted. They usually
have both a singular and a plural form. Most English nouns are count nouns.
• one phone, two phones
• one dog, two dogs
• one shirt, two shirts

However, a few countable nouns only have a plural form in English. Here are a
few examples:
• clothes
• pants
• jeans
• shorts

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• pajamas

These are often used with some sort of quantifier, or quantity word, to show how
they are counted (e.g., a pair of pants, twopairs of pants, some pants).

Count nouns are usually made plural by adding an –s or an –es.

• one boy, two boys

• one folder, two folders
• one box, two boxes
• one church, two churches

If the noun ends in –y, change the –y to –ies to make it plural.

• one family, two families

• one party, two parties

However, if a vowel proceeds the –y, add an –s to make it plural.

• one toy, two toys

• one donkey, two donkeys

If the noun ends in –o, add –es to make it plural.

• one potato, two potatoes

• one tomato, two tomatoes

If the noun ends in –f or –fe, change the –f to a –v and add –es.

• one thief, two thieves

• one hoof, two hooves

Some count nouns have irregular plural forms. Many of these forms come from
earlier forms of English.

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 • one foot, two feet
• one person, two people
• one tooth, two teeth
• one criterion, two criteria

When unsure of the plural form, please consult the dictionary. An English
Learner’s Dictionary (such as Merriam-Webster, Cambridge, Oxford, or
Longman) may be the most useful.

Important: Singular count nouns must have a word in the determiner slot. This
could be an article, a pronoun, or a possessive noun (i.e., a/an, the, this, or a
possessive noun). Please see our page on article usage for more information.

NONCOUNT NOUNS

Noncount (or uncountable) nouns exist as masses or abstract quantities that cannot
be counted. They have no plural form. Although most English nouns are count
nouns, noncount nouns frequently occur in academic writing.

Here are some common categories of noncount nouns. Like all things in English
(and language in general), there may be exceptions.

A mass:work, equipment, homework, money, transportation, clothing, luggage,

jewelry, traffic

A natural substance: air, ice, water, fire, wood, blood, hair, gold, silver

Food: milk, rice, coffee, bread, sugar, meat, water

An abstract concept: advice, happiness, health, education, research, knowledge,

information, time

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A game: soccer, tennis, basketball, hockey, football, chess, checkers

A disease: diabetes, measles, polio, influenza, malaria, hypothyroidism, arthritis

A subject of study: economics, physics, astronomy, biology, history, statistics

A language: Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, English

An activity (in the –ing form): swimming, dancing, reading, smoking, drinking,
studying

Important:Noncountnouns do not use the indefinite articles a/an. They can,

however, use the definite article the if what is being referred to is specific. They
can also use no article if what is being referred to is general (generic) or
nonspecific.

Double Nouns

Some nouns can be both count and noncount. When they change from a count to a
noncount noun, the meaning changes slightly. In the noncount form, the noun
refers to the whole idea or quantity. In the count form, the noun refers to a specific
example or type. When the noun is countable, it can be used with the indefinite
article a/an or it can be made plural.

Check the published literature in your field of study to determine whether specific
nouns are used in a countable or an uncountable way. Sometimes, a noun that is
generally countable becomes uncountable when used in a technical way.

Here are a few examples:

• life
o Life is a gift. (noncount)

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 o She leads a very fulfilling life. (count = This specifies the type of
life. It could be a boring life, a dangerous life, and so on.)
• cheese
o I like cheese. (noncount)
o The cheeses of France are my favorite. (count = This specifies the
type of cheese.)
• language
o The study of languageis called linguistics. (noncount)
o English is often considered an international language. (count)

Quantity Words

Quantity words are used to add information about the number or amount of the
noun. Some quantity words can only be used with countable singular nouns (e.g.,
computer, pen, and crayon), some can only be used with countable plural nouns
(e.g., printers, flashdrives, and keyboards), some can only be used with
uncountable nouns (i.e., paper, ink), and some can be used with both plural
countable nouns and with uncountable nouns.

With countable singular nouns (e.g., computer, pen, crayon):

• each - each computer

• every - every computer
• another - another computer

With countable plural nouns (e.g., printers, flashdrives, and keyboards):

• several
o several printers
• a large/small number of
o a large number of printers
o a small number of printers

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 • (not/too) many
o not many printers
o too many printers
o many printers
• a few*
o a few printers
• (very) few*
o very few printers
o few printers
• fewer
o fewer printers

With uncountable nouns (e.g., paper or ink):

• a great deal of
o a great deal of paper
• a large/small amount of
o a large amount of paper
o a small amount of paper
• (not/too) much
o not much paper
o too much paper
o much paper
• a little*
▪ a little paper
• (very) little*
o very little paper
o little paper
• less
o less paper

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With countable plural nouns and with uncountable nouns (e.g., printers,
flashdrives, keyboards; paper, or ink):

• some
o some printers
o some ink

• any
o any printers
o any ink
• a lot of
o a lot of printers
o a lot of ink
• hardly any
o hardly any printers
o hardly any ink
• (almost) all
o (almost) all printers
o (almost) all ink
• no
o no printers
o no ink
• none of
o none of the printers
o none of the ink
• not any
o not any printers
o not any ink
• other
o other printers

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 o other ink
*Note the difference between few/little (almost none) and afew/a little (some,
but not many/much). Few/little tend to have a negative connotation. A few/a
little tend to be more positive.
• There are few solutions. (There are not many solutions.)
• There are a few solutions. (There are some solutions.)
• He received little education. (He did not receive much education.)
• He received a little education. (He received some education.)

SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS

Regular nouns

Most singular nouns form the plural by adding -s.

Examples
Singular Plural
Boat boats
House houses
Cat cats
river rivers

A singular noun ending in s, x, z, ch, sh makes the plural by adding-es.

Examples
Singular Plural
bus buses
wish wishes
pitch pitches
box boxes

A singular noun ending in a consonant and then y makes the plural by dropping
the y and adding-ies.

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Examples
Singular Plural
penny pennies
spy spies
baby Babies
city Cities
daisy daisies

Irregular nouns

There are some irregular noun plurals. The most common ones are listed below.
Examples
Singular Plural Singular Plural
woman women potato potatoes
man men tomato tomatoes
child children cactus cacti
tooth teeth focus foci
foot feet fungus fungi
person people nucleus nuclei
leaf leaves syllabus syllabi/syllabuses
mouse mice analysis analyses
goose geese diagnosis diagnoses
half halves oasis oases
knife knives thesis theses
wife wives crisis crises
life lives phenomenon phenomena
elf elves criterion criteria
loaf loaves datum data

Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural.

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Examples
Singular Plural
sheep Sheep
fish fish
deer deer
species species
aircraft aircraft

Irregular verb/noun agreement

Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.

Plural nouns used with a singular verb Sentence
News The news is at 6.30 p.m.
Athletics Athletics is good for young people.
Linguistics Linguistics is the study of language.
Darts Darts is a popular game in England.
Billiards Billiards is played all over the world.

Some nouns have a fixed plural form and take a plural verb. They are not used in
the singular, or they have a different meaning in the singular. Nouns like this
include:trousers, jeans, glasses, savings, thanks, steps, stairs, customs,
congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts, goods, wits

Plural noun with plural verb Sentence

Trousers My trousers are too tight.
Jeans Her jeans are black.
Glasses Those glasses are his.

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SUMMARY
In English grammar, countable nouns are individual people, animals, places,
things, or ideas which can be counted. Uncountable nouns are not individual
objects, so they cannot be counted. Here, we’ll take a look at countable and
uncountable nouns and provide both countable noun examples and uncountable
noun examples. Although the concept may seem challenging, you’ll soon
discover that these two different noun types are very easy to use.

EXERCISES
1. Choose the incorrect response.
A. person – people
B. lady – ladies
C. man – men
D. photo – photoes

2. Which one is different?

A. Class
B. Match
C. Foot
D. Box

3. Choose the noun that is always singular.

A. Furniture
B. Knife
C. Baby
D. Tooth

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4. Choose the irregular plural.
A. wives
B. mice
C. shelves
D. books

5. "We use singular verb forms with mass nouns."

Choose the incorrect sentence according to this rule.
A. Sugar is bad for your teeth.
B. The tea was hot enough to drink.
C. Water boil at 100oCelsius degree.
D. The bread is stale.

6. "We use singular verb forms with school subjects."

Choose the incorrect sentence according to this rule.
A. History is my favourite subject.
B. Pysics are difficult to understand
C. Maths isn't my favourite subject.
D. Geograpy informs us about nature.

7. "We use singular verb forms with games."

Choose the correct sentence according to this rule.
A. Billiards are my favourite game.
B. Darts is an enjoyable game.
C. Dominoes are played with two to four people.
D. Football are a very popular sport.

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8. Choose the incorrect response.
A. shoe – shoes
B. police – polices
C. person – people
D. child – children

9. "We use plural verb forms with the nouns referring two objects that consist of
two parts."
Choose the incorrect sentence according to this rule.
A. My dad's new binoculars are fantastic!
B. His glasses are broken.
C. Your pyjamas are on the bed.
D. Where is my new shoes?

10. Choose the noun that is not always singular.

A. Advice
B. Money
C. Fox
D. Homework

11. There _____ two __________ in the barn.

A. is/ horses
B. are/horse
C. are/horses
D. is/horse

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12. There_____ one__________sleeping on the bed.
A.is/cat
B. are/cat
C. are/cats
D. is/cats

13. There _____ three __________in the vase.

A. is/flower
B. are/flower
C. are/flowers
D. is/flowers

14. There_____ a large __________in the distance

A. is/ mountain
B. are/mountain
C. are/ mountains
D. is/mountains

15. There_____ fifteen__________ in the classroom.

A. are/student
B. is/student
C. are/students
D. is/students

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GLOSSARY

Noun : Any member of a class of words that can function as the main or
only elements of subjects of verbs (A dog just barked), or of
objects of verbs or prepositions (to send money from home), and
that in English can take plural forms and possessive endings
(Three of his buddies want to borrow John's laptop). Nouns are
often described as referring to persons, places, things, states, or
qualities, and the word noun is itself often used as an attributive
modifier, as in noun compound; noun group.
Count Noun : A noun, as apple, table, or birthday, that typically refers to a
countable thing and that in English can be used in both the
singular and the plural and can be preceded by the indefinite
article a or an and by numerals.
Noncount Noun : A noun, as water, electricity, or happiness, that typically refers
to an indefinitely divisible substance or an abstract notion, and
that in English cannot be used, in such a sense, with the
indefinite article or in the plural.

REFERENCES
Murphy, R. 1989. English grammar in use: Reference and practice for
intermediate students of English. Cambridge University Press
Azar, B. S. 2002. Understanding and using English grammar, 3rd ed. with answer
keys. Person Longman
https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/nouns
www.dictionary.com/

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