ENGLISH LANGUAGE GRAMMAR - PARTS OF SPEECH
NOUNS
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN HERE IN NOUNS:
• Noun Gender
• The Plural of Nouns
• Countable and Uncountable nouns
• Compound Nouns
• Proper Nouns
• Nationalities
NOUNS
Nouns answer the questions "What is it?" and "Who is it?" They give names to
things, people and qualities.
Examples: dog, bicycle, man, girl, beauty, truth, world.
NOUN GENDER
In general there is no distinction between masculine, feminine and neuter in
English nouns. However, gender is sometimes shown by different forms or
different words.
Examples:
Different words:
Masculine Feminine
man woman
father mother
uncle aunt
boy girl
husband wife
Different forms:
Masculine Feminine
actor actress
prince princess
hero heroine
waiter waitress
widower widow
Some nouns can be used for either a masculine or a feminine subject:
Examples:
cousin teenager teacher doctor
cook student parent friend
relation colleague partner leader
• Mary is a doctor. She is a doctor
• Peter is a doctor. He is a doctor.
• Arthur is my cousin. He is my cousin.
• Jane is my cousin. She is my cousin.
It is possible to make the distinction by adding the words 'male' or 'female'.
Example: a female student; a male cousin
For professions, we can add the word 'woman'
Example: a woman doctor; a woman journalist.
In some cases nouns describing things are given gender.
Examples:
• I love my car. She (the car) is my greatest passion.
• France is popular with her (France's) neighbours at the moment.
• I travelled from England to New York on the Queen Elizabeth, she
(the Queen Elizabeth) is a great ship.
NOUNS
THE PLURAL OF NOUNS
Most nouns form the plural by adding -s or -es.
Singular Plural
boat boats
hat hats
house houses
river rivers
A noun ending in -y preceded by a consonant makes the plural with -ies.
Singular Plural
a cry cries
a fly flies
a nappy nappies
a poppy poppies
a city cities
a lady ladies
a baby babies
There are some irregular formations for noun plurals. Some of the most
common ones are listed below.
Examples of irregular plurals:
Singular Plural
woman women
man men
child children
tooth teeth
foot feet
person people
leaf leaves
half halves
knife knives
wife wives
life lives
loaf loaves
potato potatoes
cactus cacti
focus foci
fungus fungi
nucleus nuclei
syllabus syllabi/syllabuses
analysis analyses
diagnosis diagnoses
oasis oases
thesis theses
crisis crises
phenomenon phenomena
criterion criteria
datum data
Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural.
Examples:
Singular Plural
sheep sheep
fish fish
species species
aircraft aircraft
Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.
Examples:
news The news is on 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 plural form and take a plural verb.
Examples:
trousers My trousers are too tight.
jeans Her jeans are black.
glasses Those glasses are his.
others include:
savings, thanks, steps, stair, customs, congratulations, tropics, wages,
spectacles, outskirts, goods, wits
NOUNS
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Countable nouns are for things we can count
Example: dog, horse, man, shop, idea.
They usually have a singular and plural form.
Example: two dogs, ten horses, a man, six men, the shops, a few ideas.
Uncountable nouns are for the things that we cannot count
Example: tea, sugar, water, air, rice.
They are often the names for abstract ideas or qualities.
Example: knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love.
They are used with a singular verb. They usually do not have a plural form.
We cannot say sugars, angers, knowledges.
Examples of common uncountable nouns:
money, furniture, happiness, sadness, research, evidence, safety,
beauty, knowledge.
We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of one of these
nouns, use a word or expression like:
some, a lot of, a piece of, a bit of, a great deal of...
Examples:
• There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
• He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
• They've got a lot of furniture.
• Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English.
Some of the most common of these are:
accommodation news
advice progress
baggage traffic
behaviour travel
bread trouble
furniture weather
information work
luggage
BE CAREFUL with the noun 'hair' which is normally uncountable in English:
She has long blonde hair
It can also be countable when referring to individual hairs:
My father's getting a few grey hairs now
See also Adjectives - Comparisons of quantity
NOUNS
COMPOUND NOUNS
Formation
Words can be combined to form compound nouns. These are very common,
and new combinations are invented almost daily. They normally have two
parts. The second part identifies the object or person in question (man,
friend, tank, table, room). The first part tells us what kind of object or
person it is, or what its purpose is (police, boy, water, dining, bed):
What type / what purpose What or who
police man
boy friend
water tank
dining table
bed room
The two parts may be written in a number of ways :
1. as one word.
Example: policeman, boyfriend
2. as two words joined with a hyphen.
Example: dining-table
3. as two separate words.
Example: fish tank.
There are no clear rules about this - so write the common compounds that
you know well as one word, and the others as two words.
The two parts may be: Examples:
bedroom
water tank
noun + noun
motorcycle
printer cartridge
rainfall
noun + verb haircut
train-spotting
hanger-on
noun + adverb
passer-by
washing machine
verb + noun driving licence
swimming pool
lookout
verb + adverb* take-off
drawback
greenhouse
adjective + noun software
redhead
dry-cleaning
adjective + verb
public speaking
onlooker
adverb + noun
bystander
output
overthrow
adverb + verb*
upturn
input
Compound nouns often have a meaning that is different from the two
separate words.
Stress is important in pronunciation, as it distinguishes between a compound
noun (e.g. greenhouse) and an adjective with a noun (e.g. green house).
In compound nouns, the stress usually falls on the first syllable:
a 'greenhouse = place where we grow plants (compound noun)
a green 'house = house painted green (adjective and noun)
a 'bluebird = type of bird (compound noun)
a blue 'bird = any bird with blue feathers (adjective and noun)
* Many common compound nouns are formed from phrasal verbs (verb +
adverb or adverb + verb).
Examples: breakdown, outbreak, outcome, cutback, drive-in, drop-out,
feedback, flyover, hold-up, hangover, outlay, outlet, inlet, makeup,
output, set-back, stand-in, takeaway, walkover.
NOUNS
NATIONALITIES
a. Country: I live in England.
b. Adjective: He reads English literature.
c. Noun: She is an Englishwoman.
COUNTRY ADJECTIVE NOUN
Africa African an African
America American an American
Argentina Argentinian an Argentinian
Austria Austrian an Austrian
Autralia Australian an Australian
Bangladesh Bangladesh(i) a Bangladeshi
Belgium Belgian a Belgian
Brazil Brazilian a Brazilian
Britain British a Briton/Britisher
Cambodia Cambodian a Cambodian
Chile Chilean a Chilean
China Chinese a Chinese
Colombia Colombian a Colombian
Croatia Croatian a Croat
the Czech Republic Czech a Czech
Denmark Danish a Dane
England English an Englishman/Englishwoman
Finland Finnish a Finn
France French a Frenchman/Frenchwoman
Germany German a German
Greece Greek a Greek
Holland Dutch a Dutchman/Dutchwoman
Hungary Hungarian a Hungarian
Iceland Icelandic an Icelander
India Indian an Indian
Indonesia Indonesian an Indonesian
Iran Iranian an Iranian
Iraq Iraqi an Iraqi
Ireland Irish an Irishman/Irishwoman
Jamaica Jamaican a Jamaican
Japan Japanese a Japanese
Mexico Mexican a Mexican
Morocco Moroccan a Moroccan
Norway Norwegian a Norwegian
Pakistan Pakistani a Pakistani
the Philippines Philippine a Filipino
Poland Polish a Pole
Portugal Portuguese a Portuguese
Rumania Rumanian a Rumanian
Russia Russian a Russian
Saudi Arabia Saudi, Saudi Arabian a Saudi, a Saudi Arabian
Scotland Scottish a Scot
Serbia Serbian a Serb
the Slovak Republic Slovak a Slovak
Sweden Swedish a Swede
Switzerland Swiss a Swiss
Thailand Thai a Thai
The USA American an American
Tunisia Tunisian a Tunisian
Turkey Turkish a Turk
Vietnam Vietnamese a Vietnamese
Wales Welsh a Welshman/Welshwoman
Yugoslavia Yugoslav a Yugoslav
Note: We use the + nationality adjective ending in -ese or -ish with a
plural verb, to refer to all people of that nationality:
The Chinese are very hard-working.
The Spanish often go to sleep in the afternoon.
NOUNS
USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS WITH NOUNS
Capital letters are used with:
Names and titles of people
a. Winston Churchill
b. Marilyn Monroe
c. the Queen of England
d. the President of the United States
e. the Headmaster of Eton
f. Doctor Mathews
g. Professor Samuels.
Note: The personal pronoun 'I' is always written with a
capital letter.
Titles of works, books etc.
a. War and Peace
b. The Merchant of Venice
c. Crime and Punishment
d. Tristan and Isolde
Months of the year
January July
February August
March September
April October
May November
June December
Days of the week
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Seasons
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Holidays
Christmas Eid New Year's Day
Boxing Day May Day Thanksgiving Day
Geographical names...
names of countries and continents
America England Scotland
China Peru Albania
Africa Europe Asia
names of regions, states, districts etc.
Sussex California Queensland
Provence Tuscany Vaud
Florida Costa Brava Tyrol
names of cities, towns, villages etc.
London Cape Town Rome
Florence Bath Wagga Wagga
Vancouver Wellington Peking
names of rivers, oceans, seas, lakes etc.
the Atlantic the Dead Sea the Pacific
Lake Leman Lake Victoria Lake Michigan
the Rhine the Thames the Nile
names of geographical formations
the Himalayas the Alps the Sahara
Adjectives relating to nationality nouns
France - French music
Australia - Australian animals
Germany - German literature
Arabia - Arabic writing
Indonesia - Indonesian poetry
China - Chinese food
Names of streets, buildings, parks etc.
Park Lane Central Avenue Pall Mall
George Street Sydney Opera House Central Park
Hyde Park the Empire State Building Wall Street
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