NOUNS

I. What is a noun?
A noun is word for a thing, feeling, state, animal, place, day, month, etc.

II. Types of Noun

proper nouns
common nouns
countable nouns
non-countable nouns
abstract nouns
concrete nouns
compound nouns
collective nouns

Note that most nouns belong to more than one type: car is common, countable, and
concrete; strength is common, uncountable, and abstract.

A. PROPER AND COMMON NOUNS

Proper nouns are nouns that you use to name or refer to a specific person, place,
institution, brand, etc. The first letter of a proper noun is always capitalized:
Tokyo, Osamu Dazai, Mozart, Toyota, January, Buddhism
Proper nouns are sometimes called proper names.

All other nouns are common nouns. Common nouns are nouns that discuss general
things; it can be an object or an abstraction. It can also refer to a quality, an action, or a
concept:
city, writer, music, month , swimming, philosophy, time
 Types of proper noun
Proper nouns include:
names: Fritz, Jim, Shakespeare
titles: Mrs. Robinson, Emperor Akihito, Doctor Jones
forms off address: Uncle Ben, Daddy, Mom
continents and countries: Asia, Philippines, South America, Brazil
states, counties, cities, towns, villages: California, Osaka, Baguio, Shinjuku
mountains and mountain ranges: Mount Fuji, Mount Everest, the Himalaya, the
Andes, the Japan Alps
islands and groups of islands: Spratly Islands, the Bahamas, Kyushu
oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and canals: the Pacific, Mediterranean Sea, Lake Geneva,
the Amazon, the Suez Canal
street names: Session Road, Takeshita Street, Fifth Avenue
public buildings: the Tokyo Imperial Palace, the White House, Baguio General
Hospital
months, days of the week: January, December, Monday, Friday
languages: English, Japanese, Afrikaans, Kankanaey
institutions, organizations, and facilities: the British Broadcasting Corporation, the
United Nation, the Ritz (Hotel), the Imperial Japanese Army
events: the Great Depression, the Olympic Games
festivals: Christmas, Tanabata, Mardi Gras
religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism
political parties: the Republican Party, the Liberal Democratic Party
newspapers, periodicals, and press agencies: The Times, Newsweek, Tokyo Shimbun
Exercise 1
Determine whether each noun is a common noun or a proper noun.
If the noun is common, write common noun on the line.
If the noun is proper, re-write the noun on the line using correct
capitalization.

Examples: restaurant common noun

new york New York

1. june _____________________

2. buildings _____________________

3. city _____________________

4. paris _____________________

5. mr. david _____________________

6. fire _____________________

7. shop _____________________

8. south korea _____________________

9. grass _____________________

10. mount rushmore _____________________

11. mountain _____________________

12. christmas _____________________

13. sherlock holmes _____________________

14. scissors _____________________

15. theory _____________________

B. CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT NOUNS

Concrete nouns refer to anything with a physical reality that can be seen, heard,
smelled, tasted, or touched:

cow, gold, bamboo, coffee, perfume

Abstract nouns are the names of quality, idea, or feeling rather than of a person or
a physical object. Since they have no material form, they cannot be seen or touched. We
can know of them only through our mind:

knowledge, idealism, fear, beauty, heat

Exercise 2

Read the sentences below and underline the Concrete Nouns and circle
the Abstract Nouns.

1. He is the chef at a hotel.

2. The doctor prescribed me a medicine for pain.

3. After dinner, Harry and Gina decided to go home.

4. My dad will pick me from school on Friday.

5. The little girl was startled by the loud thunder.

6. The children at the park are having fun.

7. The farmer has been growing rice for years.

8. Bernadette is thinking of joining the contest.

9. The young man has little knowledge of fashion.

10. He is an honest student.

Number of Nouns
A singular noun names one person, place, thing, or idea. A plural noun names more
than one person, place, thing, or idea.
A bee buzzed around the flower. (singular nouns)
Several bees buzzed around the flowers. (plural nouns)

This chart shows the usual ways to form the plurals of nouns.

RULE SINGULAR SAMPLE PLURAL

Add s to most nouns. clock, card clocks, cards

Add es to nouns ending in s, sh, ch, x, or z. inch, mass inches, masses

Add s to most nouns that end in o. radio, piano radios, pianos

Add es to a few nouns ending in o preceded
hero, potato heroes, potatoes
by a consonant.
Change the y to i and add es to nouns
lady, fly ladies, flies
ending in y preceded by a consonant.
If a vowel comes before the y, add s. monkey, toy monkeys, toys
Change the f to a v and add es to most
elf, thief elves, thieves
nouns that end in f or fe.
Add s to a few nouns that end in f or fe. roof, giraffe roofs, giraffes
Some nouns change into plural form by
man, mouse men, mice
changing the spelling.
Some nouns form the plural by adding en at
child, ox children, oxen
the end of the word.
Some words with descriptive adjectives and
father-in-law, fathers-in-law,
hyphens form the plural by adding the
attorney-general attorneys-general
correct affix to the noun portion of the word.
Some nouns (zero plural) are used only in the
-- goods, scissors
plural form.
Some nouns (invariable nouns) are plural in
civics, news civics, news
form but singular in meaning and use.
Add s to nouns that end in ful. handful, spoonful handfuls, spoonfuls
Add s at the end of numbers, letters, dates,
5, f, 1980 5s, fs, 1980s
and symbols.
A few nouns retain the same form in the
sheep, deer sheep, deer
plural as in the singular.
Some nouns taken from foreign languages
larva, datum larvae, data
retain their foreign plurals.
Exercise 3
A. Change each of the singular nouns below into plural nouns.
1. pen: _____________ 4. spoon:_____________
2. book: _____________ 5. window: _____________
3. cup: _____________ 6. game: _____________

B. Change each of the singular nouns below into plural nouns.

1. dress: _____________ 4. box: _____________
2. church: _____________ 5. brush: _____________
3. fox: _____________ 6. quiz: _____________

C. Change each of the singular nouns below into plural nouns.

1. lady: _____________ 4. party: _____________
2. city: _____________ 5. body: _____________
3. bakery: _____________ 6. berry: _____________

D. Change each of the singular nouns below into plural nouns.

1. dwarf: _____________ 4. calf: _____________
2. hoof: _____________ 5. wife: _____________
3. scarf: _____________ 6. life: _____________

E. Change each of the singular nouns below into plural nouns.

1. foot: _____________ 4. tooth: _____________
2. man: _____________ 5. mouse:_____________
3. louse: _____________ 6. child: _____________

F. Change each of the singular nouns below into plural nouns.

1. photo: _____________ 7. cupful: _____________
2. cherry: _____________ 8. sheep: _____________
3. mango: _____________ 9. mother-in-law: ______________
4. ox: _____________ 10. tomato: _____________
5. stone: _____________ 11. 12: _____________
6. bear: _____________ 12. news: _____________
C. COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

A countable noun can be used with a or an in the singular, and can be counted or
made plural:
a key, keys, an orange, oranges
An uncountable noun is not generally used with a or an in the singular, and cannot
be counted or made plural:
money but not *a money or *moneys
knowledge but not knowledges
water, coffee, sugar, rice, furniture, mud, fire

Nouns and Articles

An article is a determiner that may or may not precede a noun. Notice that many proper
nouns on the above list, especially mountains, oceans, seas, rivers, and canals, are
preceded by the article the. This does not usually have a capital letter unless it is a fixed
part of the name, as in The Gambia or The Hague. Some uncountable nouns are
occasionally used with a or an, often with an adjective in between: an idea of first aid; a
formal education.)

Countable nouns are sometimes called count nouns. Uncountable nouns are
sometimes called uncount nouns, non-count nouns or mass nouns.

The following words are uncountable in English but countable in some other languages.
They are normally only singular:

advice hair knowledge news work

luck travel luggage baggage information
Countable expressions can be formed with quantifiers or phrases meaning a piece of or
a quantity of:

I need some advice. I dont have much money.

Ill have a cup of coffee. We need a little luck.
The charts below provide a visual overview of the information on the rules of using articles
with nouns.

PROPER NOUN

Singular Plural
the or no article the or no article

COMMON NOUNS

Countable Non-Countable

Specific Non-specific
Singular Plural
the Quantity words
some, a little, etc.
OR
Specific Non-specific Specific Non-specific No article if noun is
the a or an the Quantity words used as a
some, a little, etc. generalization
OR
No article if noun
is used as a
generalization
Exercise 4
A. Circle the uncountable nouns
mud oil bag idea
salt photo book luck
guitar river phone advice
water cups snow rice

B. Put a or an with the countable nouns and some with the uncountable
nouns.
_______ mouse _______ money _______boy
_______ knowledge _______ advice _______ flour
_______ teacher _______ furniture _______ sugar

C. Put in suitable uncountable nouns from the box.

advice information furniture water news

hair coffee sugar fire mud

1. Can you give me some ____________ about Japan?

2. My __________ used to be curly.

3. I am feeling sleepy. Maybe a cup of ___________ would help me stay

awake.

4. The _________ about the war is very alarming.

5. I dont know what to do. Can you give me some ______________?

6. She was thirsty and asked for a glass of ______________.

7. They bought some new _____________ for the house.

8. Stay away from the ____________. You might get burned.

9. His shoes were covered with ____________ after running in the rain.

10. Can I have tea and a spoonful of __________, please?

D. COLLECTIVE NOUNS

A collective noun refers to a group of people, animals, things, etc., such as class,
panel, jury, committee, herd, flock, army, family, audience, team, group, pack,
basket, bunch, litter.
Our class has forty students.
The basketball team is ready for the game.
He brought a basket of fruits to the hospital.
A pack of wolves lives in the forest.

Collective nouns are singular in form, but you can use them with a singular verb or a
plural verb:
The committee has reached a decision at last.
The committee were unable to agree on a new name for the club.
In the first example, the committee is a body of people acting together to make a
joint decision. In the second example, it is a number of separate individuals who
cannot agree with each other.
Here are some pairs of examples:
The team has never lost a home match.
The team were disappointed at the result.

The audience was not very large

The audience were given fee tickets for the next show.

The family has caused a lot of trouble in the neighbourhood.

The family were all present at the funeral.

It is sometimes hard to decide whether to use a singular or plural verb, pronoun,

etc., and it often doesnt matter which you choose. However, you should not mix
singular and plural forms within the same sentence:
The team have chosen Bob Jones as their captain.
The team has chosen Bob Jones as their captain.
The team have chosen Bob Jones as its captain
Collective noun itself is singular, so it must be used with this or that rather than
these or those, even if the verb is plural:
This team are all university graduates.
These team are all university graduates.
However, most collective nouns can be made plural: several audience, two teams,
etc. When you use a collective noun in the plural it behaves like any other plural
noun:
These families are now homeless after the earthquake.
Those herds will be shipped.

Some collective nouns are uncountable. They cannot be made plural, but they may
still be used with a singular or plural verb. Uncountable collective nouns include
names of organizations, companies, etc.:
Honda has released their new car designs for 2018.
The United Nations have been helping the victims of war.

Other examples of collective nouns

Herd A group of herbivore animals
Pack A group of canine animals such as wolves or dogs; also used to
describe playing cards and packages containing multiple objects
Flock A group of birds; also used to discuss small hooved animals
such as sheep or goats
Swarm A group of insects
Shoal A group of fish
Group A very general term used to describe people, places, things,
and animals
Crowd Usually used to describe a group of people
Gang Usually used to describe a group of criminals; also used to
describe a group of workers, particularly sailors or dock workers
Mob Normally used to describe an angry or unruly group of people;
also used to describe a group of kangaroos
Staff A group of people who work in the same place
 Crew Usually used to denote a group of workers; also used to
describe aircraft and ships personnel
Choir A large, organized group of singers
Orchestra A large, organized group of instrumentalists, led by a
conductor
Panel A group of experts
Board A group of people, usually professionals, who take on an
advisory role
Troupe A group of actors or acrobats; also used to describe a group
of monkeys
Bunch Usually a group of smallish objects such as grapes, flowers,
keys, or bananas
Pile An untidy collection of items such as rubbish
Heap A mounded collection of items; used interchangeably with
pile
Set A tidy group of matched objects such as dishes; also used to
describe rules or a social group of people
Stack A group of items neatly laid one on top of another; i.e., a stack
of books
Series Used to discuss movies, books, or events that follow one after
another, i.e. Star Trek or Harry Potter
Shower Usually used to describe rain, although it can be used to
describe gifts or compliments
Fall Often used to discuss weather, such as rain, snow or hail
Exercise 5
A. Read each sentence below. Fill-in the blank with a collective noun from
the word box.

staff swarm bunch set orchestra

choir family team mob crowd

1. The blooming flowers are attracting the _____________ of bees.

2. The _____________ will be performing a selection of Mozart pieces tonight.

3. He always had a _____________ of keys on his belt.

4. The show is fun for the whole _____________.

5. The company president called his _____________ for a meeting.

6. They are the best _____________ in soccer.

7. The _____________ will be singing Christmas songs in the church.

8. The _____________ cheered as the parade began.

9. The angry _____________ attacked the building.

10. She is buying gifts for the whole _____________.

B. Circle the collective noun or nouns in each sentence.

1. A gang robbed the store.

2. A group of dancers went to the stage.

3. She washed the pile of dishes on the sink.

4. The librarian fixed the stack of books.

5. A herd of cows are grazing on the fields.

E. COMPOUND NOUNS
A compound noun is made up of two or more other words, at least one of which
is a noun. These words may be joined together or linked by a hyphen. Some
compound nouns are always written as one word, some never. For many others
you will find that opinions vary some dictionaries print them with a hyphen,
some without.

Compound nouns are formed by combining different parts of speech. This list of
ten is not exhaustive.

1. noun + noun: shoelace, footstool, bedroom, coffee table, air force,

goalkeeper, question mark, DVD player
2. noun + preposition/adverb: hanger-on, voice-over,
3. noun + adjective attorney general, battle royal, mother superior
4. noun + verb: haircut, snowfall, sunset, sunrise
5. adjective + noun: high school, black eye, whiteboard, full moon
6. adjective + verb: well-being, whitewashing, dry-cleaning, highlight
7. preposition/adverb + noun: off-ramp, onlooker, underground, aftereffect
8. verb + noun: singing lesson, washing machine, swimming pool
9. verb + preposition/adverb: warm-up, know-how, get-together
10. word + preposition + word: free-for-all, mother-in-law, word-of-mouth
11. single letter + noun: V-neck, U-turn, X-ray, T-shirt

A compound noun behaves like a single noun, no matter how many words it
consists of. You can usually make its main noun plural (e.g. black eyes), but its
other parts are fixed you cannot have a *blacker eye.

The plural of compound nouns

The plural of compound nouns is usually formed by making the main part plural:
Secretaries-general, black eyes, passers-by, mothers-in-law, T-shirts, X-rays

In noun + noun compounds, only the second noun is made plural:

bus stops (not *busses stop or *busses stops)
toothbrushes (not *teethbrush or *teethbrushes)
 In word + preposition + word compounds, the first noun is made plural:
men-of-war (not *man-of-wars)
In compounds that do not contain a noun, the final part is made plural:
Breakdowns, has-beens, forget-me-nots, spin-offs

Exercise 6
Match the correct words from the box with each of the words below. The
clues will help you.
lace brush pool machine rays
moon superior mark in-law together
how mouth cut looker school

1. tooth___________ A brush for cleaning the teeth.

2. X-___________
3. washing __________
4. full ___________
5. high___________
6. hair___________
7. know-___________
8. mother ___________
9. swimming ___________
10. question___________
11. on___________
12. get-___________
13. brother-___________
14. word-___________
15. shoe___________
Used to examine and make images of things, such
as bones and organs inside the body.
A machine used for washing clothes.
The moon when it appears as a bright circle.
A school for older children.
The act or result of cutting and shaping ones hair.
Knowledge of how to do something well.
A woman who is the head of a convent
A large structure that is filled with water and that is
used for swimming.
The punctuation mark ?.
A person who watches an activity or even without
being involved in it.
An informal social gathering.
The brother of your husband or wife, or the
husband of your sister.
The passing of information from person to person
by oral communication.
A string that is used for fastening a shoe.
F. GENDER OF NOUNS
Masculine refers to a male character or member of a species:
Boy, man, husband, headmaster, hero, bull, lion
Feminine refers to a female character or member of a species:
Girl, woman, princess, wife, hen, lioness, mare
Common gender or dual gender refers to a member of species which can
be a male or a female:
Child, parent, cousin, doctor, teacher, cat, mouse, spider
Neuter gender (animate, inanimate) refers to a member of a species
which is neither a male nor a female. Normally nouns referring to lifeless
object.
Computer, pen, house, water, love, happiness, possibility

Exercise 7
A. Write the list of nouns in the box under the correct heading.

grandfather grandparents teacher girlfriend baby

uncle fireman husband wife king
policewoman actress sister doctor
student mother brother-in-law singer

Masculine Feminine Common

B. Certain animals have different names depending on whether they are
male or female. An example of this is fox (male) and vixen (female).
Using a dictionary and your own knowledge, please put the names of
animals on the list under the correct headings.
lion goose gander peacock boar
doe lioness dog bitch sow
stag Mare stallion peahen

Masculine Feminine

C. Change the masculine nouns in the sentences into feminine nouns.

1. My father has two sons.

___________________________________________________

2. The boy helped the old man cross the street.

___________________________________________________

3. Grandfather Taylor is Uncle Andrews father.

___________________________________________________

4. The kings son is a prince.

___________________________________________________

5. That man is my brother.

___________________________________________________