3

Introduction

The present work is talking about the nouns and the plural nouns whereby is given the basic
concept of the nouns based on some authors. It also focuses on the types of nouns which have
to do with its classification. From the classification of the nouns they may be proper nouns,
common nouns, countable nouns and uncountable nouns. To make the plural nouns are
followed some rules which are described during the work. The objective of this paper is to
explain the nouns and their use in singular and plural. To produce the present work the group
was based on the literature review.
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Nouns and plural nouns

According CAMBRIDGE Advanced Learners Dictionary, Nouns are words that refer a
person place, thing, event, substance or quality"

HEWINGS, (2002: 99) states that "nouns are people, places or things and they may be
classified as countable nouns, uncountable nouns, proper nouns and common nouns ".

From these points of view we can say that the nouns are the names of things, people, places,
events, substances and qualities around us.

Classification of nouns

The nouns can be classified as proper nouns, common nouns, countable and uncountable
nouns.

Countable and uncountable nouns

Nouns can be either countable or uncountable.

Countable nouns are those which can have the word a/an before them or be used in the
plural.
Uncountable nouns are not used with a/an or in the plural.
This sentence includes countable nouns in bold:
We've got three children, two cats, and a dog.
This sentence includes uncountable nouns in bold:
It was good to get out into the countryside and breathe in some fresh air.

Some nouns in English are normally uncountable; in many other languages they are
countable:
There's always lots of housework to do. Her jeweler must have cost a fortune.
Here are some more nouns like this: accommodation, advice, applause, assistance, baggage,
camping, cash, chaos, chess, clothing, conduct, courage, cutlery, dancing, dirt, employment,
equipment, evidence, fun, furniture, and others.
Sometimes a noun is used unaccountably when we are talking about the whole substance or
idea, but countably when we are talking about;
recognized containers for things. Ex
I prefer tea to coffee. and Three teas (= cups of tea), please.
a type, brand or make of thing. Ex.
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There's cheese in the fridge. and There were dozens of cheeses (= kinds of cheese) to
choose from.
Particular example of a physical or concrete thing. Ex.
She has blonde hair. and There's a hair in my soup!
a particular instance of a substance or an idea. Compare:
The statue was made of stone. and I had a stone in my shoe.
She was always good at sport. and Football is mainly a winter sport in Britain.
There are many nouns like this, including beer, coffee, water; fruit, shampoo, toothpaste,
washing powder; cake, chicken, land, noise, rain, snow, sound, space, stone; abuse,
(dis)agreement, business, conversation, difficulty, dislike, fear and others.

Some nouns have different meanings when they are used countable and uncountable.

(HEWINGS, 2002:100)
e.g. Bolivia is one of the world's largest producers of tin. (= the metal) and;

The cupboard was full of tins. (= metal food containers)

Other nouns like this include accommodation, competition, glass, grammar, iron, jam, lace,
paper, property, room, sight, speech, time, work.
MORPHY (2000:70) states, "Some nouns that are usually used unaccountably can be used
accountably, but only in the singular, including education, importance, knowledge,
resistance, traffic."
She has an extensive knowledge of property prices in this area.
The decision to build the bridge later took on an unexpected strategic importance.
The noun damage can be used countable, but only in the plural:
Sue is claiming damages (= money paid as compensation) for the injuries caused.
Proper and common nouns
Nouns are names of people, places and things. Every noun can further be classified as
common noun or proper noun. A proper noun has two distinctive features such as:
1. It will a specific item. 2- it will begin with capital letter, no matter where it occurs in the
sentence.
Common nouns Proper nouns
Writer Herman Melville
Teacher Mrs. Hacket
Beagle Snoop
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Cookie Oreo
city Orlando Orlando
Restaurant Declaration of Independence
Document University of Southern California

Examples
1. Tina offered Antonio one of her mothers homemade oatmeal cookies but an Oreo would
satisfy his sweet tooth. In this sentence we have cookies as a common noun and Oreo as a
proper noun.
2. Charlie had wanted an easy teacher for his composition class, but he got Mrs Hacket
whose short temper and unreasonable demands made the semester torture. For this sentence
we have teacher as a common noun and Mrs Hacket as proper noun.
Plural nouns
How to make plurals?
Pluralism in English can be a bit of a tricky game, and with any language the key to mastering
this aspect lies in practicing through reading and conversing until that the variation that
appear unpredictable in the beginning become second nature, a matter of habit. Having said
the there are certain principles that are generally applicable that make the task easier by giving
us a broad idea of how common words are pluralized. Now let us have a look of these:
1. For most nous we make their plurals by adding (s) at the end of the word.Ex.
Singular Plural
Car Cars
Desk Desks
Tree Trees
Ball Balls
Hand Hands

2. For nouns that end with (s, x,z,ch, or sh) we add (es) at the end of the word.
Ex.
Singular Plural
Boss Bosses
Box Boxes
Topaz Topazes
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Leech Leeches
Dish Dishes

3.For some Words that end with (o), we also add (es) at the end of the word.
Ex.
Singular Plural
Potato Potatoes
Tomato Tomatoes
Echo Echoes
Hero Heroes
Mango Mangoes

4. For some nouns that end with (o) we add (s) at the end of the word.Ex.
Singular Plural
Photo Photos
Piano Pianos
Logo Logos
Radio Radios

5. For some nous that ending with (f), replace the (f) with a (v) and add (es) at the end of the
word. Ex.
Singular Plural
Thief Thieves
Loaf Loaves
Half Halves
Calf Calves
Leaf Leaves

6. For some words also ending with (f), we just add (s) at the end of the word to form its
plural. Ex, reef---reefs, roof----roofs; chef-----chefd.
7. For some word ending with (life) we replace the (f) with a (v) and add an (s) at the end of
the word. Ex. Wife-----wives, knife-----knives, life----lives.
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8.For common nouns ending with a consonant followed by (y) replace the (y) with (I) and add
(es) at the end of the word.
Ex. nappy-----nappies; Poppy-----poppies; fly-----flies; penny-------pennies; sty----sties
9. Some nouns are the same in both forms.
Ex sheep ------sheep; tuna---- tuna; deer----- deer; fish---- fish; trout------- trout.
10. For some nouns, other letters must be replaced or added, sometimes changing the word
completely.
Ex. Person------ people; ox---- oxen; child------ Children; goose ---- geese; foot ----feet; tooth
-----teeth.
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Conclusion
Reaching to this point, the group concludes that the nouns are words that refer to things,
places, events, substances and quality taking into account the context in which the word is
been used. They can be classified in proper, common, countable and uncountable nouns. Most
of nouns can be put in the plural when they are added an (s) at the end of the noun. For some
nouns, they need to replace some letters to put in the plural, others remain the same in both
forms (singular and plural) and some of them change completely to other word in the plural. It
is very important as well as, it shows the most important strategies used to form the plural
nouns.

Reference
CAMBRIDGE. Advance Learner Dictionary. Third Edition.
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HEWINGGS, Martin. Advanced Grammar in Use, seven Edition, Cambridge University

Press. (2002).
MURPHY, Raymond. English Grammar in Use, A self-study reference and practice book for
intermediate students, second edition, Cambridge University press. (2000).