Parts of Speech Noun - a word that names a person, place, things, ideas or an event.

The term noun comes from the Latin word nomen (name). Generally speaking, there are two kinds of noun, namely the proper noun and the common noun. Proper noun- is a word or a sequence of several words which names particular individual, place, event or thing. Typically, English proper nouns spelt beginning with capital letter. Proper nouns are definite. They are almost singular Examples: Marvin, Bulacan, Christmas, Honda Civic, etc. On the other hand, a common noun is used to refer to a member of classes of people, places or things. Examples: parents, province, schools, books, etc. There are two subtypes of common nouns which differ grammatically, namely the count nouns and the mass nouns. A mass noun refers to objects that cannot be counted but can be measured. Mass nouns denote the following: Intangible things like gases, such as air, oxygen, etc. Abstract ideas like intelligence, truth, honesty, etc. Emotions like love, hatred, sympathy, etc. Natural phenomena like heat, sunshine, etc. Modes of behavior like laughter, recreation, etc. Material things that are not countable such as liquids, e.g. water, oil, tea, wine, etc. Material things that are too small to be counted like dust, rice, dirt, etc. Sciences like physics, phonetics, chemistry, etc. Other tangible things like knowledge, information, etc. A count noun is a type of common noun which can be used to refer an individual object or to objects in a countable collection like apple, envelope, mountain, house, etc.

There are other kinds of nouns such as concrete nouns, abstract nouns, collective nouns, compound nouns and adjectives used as noun. Collective nouns refer to a number of people or to a group or animals or similar objects that come together and are taken as a unit Examples: congregation, crew, jury, club, council, crowd, etc. An abstract noun is used to name a quality or an idea that cannot be perceived by the senses Examples: love, happiness, kindness, and fear. Concrete noun in contrast to abstract noun have physical forms; they can be seen, touched, tasted heard, or smelled. They can occupy space. Examples: books, fruits, bags, computers, doll, fan etc. Compound noun is made up of two or more nouns or noun and the same other word/s, which form a unit idea. Examples: stairway, grandparents, housemaid, sister-in-law, and commander-in-chief. Adjectives used as noun. Forms of nouns I. Singular and Plural Forms Rules: 1. Nouns ending in s, -x ch, or sh add es, to avoid a double sibilant. Examples match matches kiss kisses

branch branches dish dishes radish radishes bench benches box boxes tax taxes 2. Nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel, add s. Examples piano -

pianos radio - radios rodeo rodeos 2. a Nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant, add es. Examples Hero Mosquito Mango heroes mosquitoes mangoes

2.b A few ending in o take either an s or -es, Examples

Buffalo buffalos or buffaloes Cargo -- cargo or cargoes

3. For nouns ending in y precede by a consonsnt, change y to I and add es. Examples family famillies duty duties baby babies library libraries lily lilies 3.a For nouns endin in y preceded by a vowel add s only as in. Examples donkey donkeys key keys boys boys

4. Nouns ending in f or fe form their plurals by changing f or fe to v ansd add es. Examples leaf leaves life lives elf elves 4.a A few nouns retain the f and add s. belief beliefs roof roofs dwarf dwarfs 5. A words keep the old English form and change the vowel Foot feet Ox oxen Goose geese Child children 6. Some nouns usually names of animals, have the same form in both singular and plural such are deer, fish, sheep, swine, salmon, trout, furniture, information etc. 7. Some nouns are plural in form require plural verbs although their meaning is singular. Examples: barracks, gallows, credentials, shears, auspices, etc. 8. Some nouns are always used in plural while the other nouns are considered singular.

Singular nouns

news politics mumps physics aerobics

whereabouts headquarters mechanics ethics equipment baggage stamina poetry scenery stationary

Plural nouns

Scissors Pants Tweezers Trousers Tidings Ashes Tongs Spectacles scales pliers kin police proceeds remains tidings

goods

9. The largest group of irregular plurals occur in nouns borrowed from foreign languages.

Alumna alumnae Alumnus alumni Formula formulae Nucleus nuclei Fungus fungi Curriculum curricula Parenthesis parentheses Thesis theses Analysis analyses Criterion criteria Beau beaux datum data 10. Compound words form their plural in several ways: Most compound nouns simply use the plural of the last and more significant unit, e.g. motorboats, raincoats If the most significant word comes first, it usually take the plural as in: sisters-in-law, passers by, justices of the peace, attorneys-in-law The significant words remain plural when preceded by assistant or deputy as in chiefs of staff, deputy ministers Compound nouns ending in ful as a unit of measure add s to the last unit: cupfuls, armfuls, spoonfuls

11. The following nationals are the same in both singular and plural forms: Chinese, Japanese, Javanese, Swiss, Burmese, Vietnamese. 12. Letters, characters, and words spoken of as such form their plural by adding apostrophe and an s (s). e.g. 3 ms in mammal , answer the whys, cross your ts

II. Gender of nouns

Four types: masculine refers to the male sex , feminine refers to the female sex, common indicates either male or female sex , neuter it has no sex.

Masculine man, brother, father, gentleman, uncle, nephew Feminine -- women, sister, mother, lady, aunt, niece Common -- doctor, teacher, engineer, nurse, judge, dean, employer, mayor,dancer Neuter -lily, umbrella, flower, tree, house, chalk, board

Guidelines to observe in determining the gender of nouns: A. Certain nouns especially those referring to people may have different forms to indicate masculine and feminine usage. Man women gentleman - lady Brother sister uncle - aunt Father mother nephew - niece

The same case can be said of certain male and female animals: Buck doe ram - ewe Bull -- cow stallion mare Fox vixen

III. Cases of nouns Nouns have three cases the nominative which is the case of the subject, the objective which is the case of the object and the genitive or the possessive. A noun in nominative case may function as a subject, a predicate nominative, an appositive, a nominative of direct address, or nominative of exclamation.

Julie Ann studies her lessons every night. (subject) His most difficult subject, Calculus, caused him of sleepless nights. (appositive) Elisa, you are so generous. (nominative of direct address) Alex is my bestfriend. (predicate nominative) Spiders! They make my hair on the end. (nominative of exclamation) A noun in the objective case may function as a direct object, an object of the preposition, an indirect object, subject of the infinitive, an appositive, a cognate object, or an adverbial phrase. Rocelle sends money to her family regularly. (direct object) Jill gave chris a beautiful gift last Christmas. (indirect object) This letter came from Fe, my cousin. (appositive) Let us send this message to Ellen. (object of the preposition) The dean wants Minda to organize the fieldtrip. (subject of the infinitive) Millions of people all over the world drink softdrinks everyday. (cognate object) The passengers paid ten pesos for the ride. (adverbial phrase) Nouns in the possessive forms (usually formed by the addition of an apostrophe and a letter s), nouns do not change forms. To show ownership or possession, remember the following pointers: 1. If a singular noun does not end in s, add s. The delivery boys truck was blocking the driveway. 2. If a singular common noun ends in s, add s unless the next word begins with s, add

an apostrophe only. (this includes words with s and sh sounds.) The bosss temper was legendary among his employees. The bosss sister arrived from the province yesterday. 3. If s singular proper noun ends in s, add an apostrophe. Chris exam score were higher than any other other students. Lotis answer were very clear. 4. If a noun is in form and end in an s, add an apostrophe only, even if the intended meaning of the word is singular (such as mathematics and measles.) The instructors reports have been submitted. It is hard to endure the marine corps, styleof discipline. 5. If a plural nouns does not end in s, add s. Many activists in Manila are concerned with childrens rights. 6. If there is joint possession, use the correct possessive for only the possessive closest to the noun. Conde and Gonzalos campaign was successful. 7. If there is a separate possession of the same noun, use the correct possessive form for each word. The owners and the bosss excuses were equally false. 8. In a compound construction, use the correct possessive form for the closest to the noun. Avoid possessives with compound plurals. My father-in-laws BMW is really fun to drive.

Exercise 1.

Pick out all the nouns on the song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens Brown paper packages tied up with strings These are a few of my favorite nouns Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings These are a few of my favorite nouns Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes Silver white winters that melt into springs These are a few of my favorite nouns When the dog bites When the bee stings When I'm feeling sad I simply remember my favorite nouns And then I don't feel so bad. Apologies to Oscar Hammerstein II, lyricist of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music Execise 2 Match the words on the first column with the words on the second column with the words on the second column to form a compound noun. AB 1. arm wife 2. cup weight

3. basket cake 4. dish store 5. sauce paste 6. bed chair 7. bath bug 8. house lace 9. news tub 10. panty paper 11. neck pot 12. road ball 13. flower life 14. drug hose 15. tooth pan 16. night ground 17. paper lady 18. key washer 19. play chain 20. Sales block

Exercise 3 Pick out all the singular nouns in the following sentences and change them to the plural form. 1. The beach here is safer than the other beaches in the country 2. Here is a paragraph for you to fill in with the words above each. 3. A passerby was hit by a stray bullet. 4. In class, the teacher gives a quiz everyday. 5. Every phenomenon has an explanation 6. A child is very precious to his parents. 7. I bought

a loaf of bread for breakfast this morning 8. An Ilocano is known to be the thriftiest Filipino. 9. Treat your fungus in your body immediately. 10. There is a only one agendum discussed in the meeting 11. The researcher formulated her hypothesis carefully. 12. Add only a teaspoonful of sugar to my coffee. 13. I admire the generosity of my sister-in law. 14. A modern parent shows a pragmatic approach to the problem of his adolescent child. 15. His argument was laconic but convincing. Exercise 4 Fill in the blanks with the correct plural form of the nouns in parentheses. 1. The ______ (calf) have muddy ________ (hoof). 2. Those __________ (goose) belong to Nonas three ________ (child). 3. There are _________ (mouse) in my friends _________ (house). 4. Four ________ (consultant) made different __________ (analysis) of the problem. 5. All the ________ (alumnus) visited the six ___________ (alumna). 6. These ________ (sheep) are cared for by the two _________ (manservant). 7. How many ______ (deer) did the three (Chinese) shoot? 8. Most _______ (child) love to attend ___________ (party). 9. These _________ ( gladiolus) were sent by my two _________ sister-in-law) 10. The different ballroom ________ (dance) will be demonstrated by the three (pair) of dancers. Exercise 5 Underline the correct words in the following sentences. 1. Mr. Angeles is the (principal, principle) of the school.