NOUNS

A NOUN IS USUALLY DEFINED AS A PART OF SPEECH THAT NAMES A PERSON, PLACE, OR THING (INCLUDING A QUALITY, AN IDEA, OR AN ACTION)
Classification of Nouns Common Nouns Proper Nouns Collective Nouns Countable Nouns

Description Names given to words identifying persons, places, or things in a special class Names of particular person, place or thing Names of groups or collections; fractions or sums of money belong to this category Nouns which can be counted

Examples Day, lady, teacher, hometown, freshman June 6, Tuesday, Allane, Ms. Peralta, Iriga City Class, mob, audience, faculty, one hundred pesos

Friends, children, teachers, classmates Hair, sand, corn, ice cream, Mass Nouns/ Nouns which cannot be counted water, spaghetti, salad, Uncountable Nouns or difficult to count coffee. Sugar, oil, chalk Euphoria, elation, happiness, Names for concepts, feelings or Abstract Nouns desperation, love, anger, ideas fatigue, anxiety

FORMING THE PLURAL OF NOUNS

1. Most nouns form their plural by adding s to the singular form. Bottle bottles friend friends sibling siblings day days 2. If the singular form ends in the letters s, x, z, ch, or sh, the plural is formed by adding es to the singular. Lens lenses Box boxes squash squashes (vegetables) Tax taxes

3. If the singular form ends in y, preceded by a consonant, the plural is formed by changing y to i and adding es. Caddy caddies duty duties rally rallies buddy buddies 4. Nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel take only s to form the plural forms. Cameo cameos portfolio portfolios rodeo rodeos Cuckoo cuckoos

5. Nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant, are quite tricky. Some form their plural by adding s or es. Others use either s or es.
s

albino armadillo canto ditto embryo

albinos armadillo cantos dittos embryos

Echo Hero Potato Tomato torpedo

es Echoes Heroes Potatoes Tomatoes torpedoes

Buffalo Cargo Fresco Ghetto

s or es Buffaloes/buffalos Cargoes/cargos Frescoes/frescos Ghettoes/ghettos

6. Some nouns ending in f or fe have their plurals formed by changing f to v before adding s or es. Wife wives leaf leaves self selves Life lives 7. Some nouns retain f in the plural form with s added. Belief beliefs proof proofs cliff cliffs gulf gulfs

8. Some nouns have irregular plural forms; that is, s or es is not added to the singular. This is because most of these nouns are foreign words adopted in English. Man men woman women mouse mice alumnus alumni Ox oxen child children radius radii agendum agenda Foot feet graffito graffiti

15. Other nouns retain the foreign plurals, but the regular forms (s or es endings) have also been used. However, recently there is tendency toward the use of the regular plural endings, although the foreign plurals are preferred in certain academic situations. Formula formulas or formulae index indexes or indices Curriculum curriculums or curricula syllabus syllabuses or syllabi

16. Some nouns have both their singular or plural forms spelled and pronounced in the same way. Cod moose reindeer tactics
Note:

The French loan word, faux pas, which means a social blunder, has the same plural form. However, difference is noted in their pronunciation, fo paa for singular and fo paaz for plural.
Series can be a singular or a plural noun, depending on its meaning. When it is used to refer to a single set of things, it takes singular verb even if it is followed by the preposition of and a plural noun: A series of medical tests is planned for next week. When series refers to two or more sets of things, it takes a plural verb: Three series of medical tests are planned for next week. The word, tactics, when referring to strategies used in battles is treated as singular but when it refers to techniques in other fields, it is treated as plural.

17. Names of nationalities and languages having the same singular and plural forms are differentiated by how they are used in the context. As plural, they refer to the people whereas as singular, they refer to an individual person or to the language. Chinese Portuguese French Dutch

18. Mass/uncountable nouns and abstract nouns are always singular, they have no plural forms. Advice furniture junk Aid evidence food documentation graft and corruption 19. These nouns, however, are sometimes used in plural forms to refer to different species or varieties or in professional context. Kind of fishes (Science) furnitures and fixtures (Accounting)

20. Some mass/uncountable nouns end in s and may seem plural in form but still they are treated as singular. Statistics athletics molasses economics apparatus ethics 21. Some nouns are almost always plural in form and meaning. Their singular use is still considered nonstandard. Antics belongings manners environs Assets briefs (underwear)

22. Some nouns are always plural although may seem singular in form. Aircraft (airplane) people (person) cattle (cow) police (policeman) 23. Letters, figures, symbols, signs and words referred to as words take s for plurals of numerals and acronyms. $s 5s ors ands ifs buts 9s

24. Nouns denoting quantity and used as adjectives or adverbs do not take plural forms when used with numerals. He won 3 million pesos in the lottery. Akeem is taking a 5 year computer program at the University of Bedfordshire.

Rina bought 5 dozen apples for Noche Buena.

QUANTIFYING MASS NOUNS

GENDER OF NOUNS
Masculi Femini Common Neuter ne ne Billy Nanny goat Animal goat goat buck doe Deer, plant rabbit Dog, fox bitch Dog, fox idea Masculi Feminine ne Abbot Abbess alumnu s Czar, tsar duke emper or husban d lad Male man wizard alumna Czarina, tsarina duchess empress wife Common Person (in charge of an abbey) Alumnus A Russian ruler

drake gander
Lion

duck goose
lioness

fowl Water bird animal fowl

sheep pig cat

feeling emotio n snake tree

dress plan trust

Leader A ruler of an empire Spouse Teenager

Person Person A person with magical powers

peacoc k ram boar tomcat

peahe n ewe sow Shecat

lass
female woman witch

NAMES OF ANIMAL YOUNG

Adult Bear Beaver Bird Boar, sow (pig) Bobcat Buffalo Bull Camel Canary Young cub Pup, kit, kitten Nestling Piglet Kitten, cub Calf, yearling, spike-bull Bullock Calf, colt Chick Adult goose Horse Young Gosling Foal, yearling, colt (m), filly (f) Kangaroo Joey Lion Cub Louse Nit Owl owlet Partridge Penguin Rabbit Cheeper, chick Fledging, chick Bunny, kitten

COLLECTIVE NAME FOR ANIMALS

Animals
ants bears bees

Collective Names

Animals

Collective Names Cloud, horde Tribe, trip, herd

Animals
oysters

Collective Names Bed

Colony, swarm, nest gnats Sleuth, sloth Grist, swarm, hive, nest, colony goats

partridge Covey s peacock Muster, s ostentation

goldfinch charm es

birds cats cattle

Flight, volary, flock Clowder, clatter, litter Drove, herd

gorillas

band

pheasant Nest, nide s pigs quails Litter Bevy, covey

greyhoun leash ds hares Down, husk

POSSESIVE OF NOUNS
1. Nouns referring to persons or animals ordinarily form the possessive by adding an apostrophe () to plural nouns that end in s or es and by adding (s) to all other nouns, singular or plural.
ADD () The horses stable The Smiths home The ladies powder room The wives discussion My roommates plan ADD (s) The horses stable The Smiths home The ladys glove The wifes thoughtfulness The womens program His parent-in-laws business His parents-in-laws company

2. The of-phrase may also be used with nouns of this kind in some situations.
ADD () or (s) The mens clothes Peoples dreams Pharaohs daughter My roommates wardrobe The horses stable Aristotles philosophy Shakespeares sonnets The knights armor OF-PHRASE The clothes of the men Dreams of people The daughter of the Pharaoh The wardrobe of my roommate The stable of the horses The philosophy of Aristotle The sonnets of Shakespeare The armor of the knights

3. Nouns referring to things, places, and concepts are often followed by an of-phrase to indicate relationships such as association, measure or portion. The lower drawer of the desk The performance of a lifetime half of the chapter A box of stationery the summer of this year

4. In some cases the object of the of-phrase may be placed before the noun as a modifier. In this construction, the noun may still suggest a relationship such as association, but its function is primarily that of a descriptive modifier. (The possessive form of the noun is not used.) The barn door The desk drawers the door of the barn the drawers of the desk

5. The possessive form of certain nouns indicates measure or source A pesos worth a months salary a lifetimes achievement

FUNCTIONS OF NOUNS
1. SUBJECT OF THE VERB (tells who or what is being talked about in the sentence) E.g. Time is gold. Italy is a Peninsula on the edge of southern Europe. Seismologists, the scientists who study earthquake, can predict its occurrence.

2. OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION (comes after a preposition such as before, after, under, beyond) E.g. Music was important to ancient man. There is no defense against a panic fright. Good music produces a kind of pleasure.

3. OBJECT OF THE VERB/DIRECT OBJECT/OBJECT OF A TRANSITIVE VERB (completes the action of the verb; answers whom or what about the verb) E.g. Love cures the pain and suffering of humankind. (Pain and suffering answer the question, what does love cure?) Seismologists can predict the incidence of earthquake. (Incidence answers the question, what can seismologists predict?)

4. INDIRECT OBJECT/OBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT/ COMPLEMENT OF A TRANSITIVE VERB (tells to whom, for whom, to what or for what about the direct object or transitive verb) E.g. The teacher taught the students a new lesson. The tourist guide showed the tourists the Great Sphinx. The lawyer gave her clients a briefing.
Note: An indirect object is used only with a direct object. The indirect object appears before the direct object in the sentence.

5. SUBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT/PREDICATIVE NOMINATIVE/COMPLEMENT OF A LINKING VERB (A noun that is linked to a subject by a linking verb [am, is, are, was, were]; this noun refers back to the subject.) E.g. AMA Computer College is a computer school in Naga City. Akhenaton was the husband of Nefertiti, a great Egyptian beauty.

6. APPOSITIVE (A word in apposition is placed next to another word or follows immediately a word it identifies, renames or explains. Thus, a noun as an appositive is a noun placed to another noun or pronoun to identify, rename, or explain it.) E.g. Lea, a nurse, works in Canada. Her hobby, graphology, is the study of handwriting.

7. DIRECT ADDRESS/NOMINATIVE ADDRESS E.g. Our Father, you are in heaven. Leo, write your name on the board. Rachel, were you absent yesterday. 8. NOUN MODIFIER/NOUN ADJECTIVES E.g. Octopuses are sold at the Tokyo fish market. During the Shinto Festival, Hinamatsuri, paper dolls or flowers are floated down a river.

RULES ON CAPITALIZATION
1. Every sentence must begin with a capital letter. 2. Always capitalize the pronoun I. 3. Capitalize all proper nouns. 4. Capitalize each part of a persons full name, including initials. E.g. Angelina Jolie E.F. Villamor

5. Capitalize the names of specific events and periods of time except seasons of the year. Seasons such as summer or winter are not capitalize unless they are part of a title such as event or book. E.g. The most popular theme for summer is Hawaiian. Summer Solstice is written by Nick Joaquin. Most Asians have not experienced winter. Most states in the US celebrate Winter Carnival.

SPECIFIC EVENTS AND TIMES

Historical Periods Historical Events Documents Days, Months Holidays, Religious Day Special Events Middle Ages, Renaissance Period Spanish Era, World War II Code of Maragtas, Treaty of Paris Monday, Wednesday, May, August Rizals Day, Independence Day, Christmas, Peafrancia Fiesta Mothers Day, Valentines Day, Nutrition Month, Flower Festival

6. Capitalize the names of organizations, government units, political parties, nationalities and their languages.

E.g. The ambassador of Malaysia attended the third session of the Philippine Congress. Konstantin delivered a lecture on German culture and received warm applause.

SPECIFIC GROUPS Organizations Government Units/Bodies Political Parties Teachers Club Department of Education, Integrated National Police Republican Party, Nacionalista Party, People s Democratic Party

Nationalities Languages

Chinese, Cypriots, Japanese, Korean, Filipinos English, Spanish, Italian, French, Mandarin

7. Capitalize references to religions, deities, and religious scriptures. However, the words, god and goddess in references to ancient mythology are not capitalized. E.g. The god Zeus of Greek mythology is the same as the Roman god Jupiter. The Greek goddess Aphrodite corresponds with the Roman goddess Venus.

RELIGIOUS REFERENCES
Christianity God, Lord, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Bible. Genesis, Psalm, Sirach, Amen

Judaism
Islam Hinduism Buddhism

God, Lord, Prophets, Torah, Talmud, Midrash

Allah, Prophet, Mohammed, Koran Brahma, Bhagavad Gita, Vedas Buddha, Mahayana, Hinayana

8. Capitalize the names of awards. E.g. One of my professors in college won a Fulbright Scholarship.

9. Capitalize geographical names.

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES Streets, Barangays Towns, Cities, Counties Provinces, Regions States, Nations, Continents Valleys, Deserts, Mountains Islands, Scenic Spots Rivers, Falls, Lakes, Bays, Seas, Oceans Magsaysay Avenue, C.M. Recto Avenue, Bagumbayan Sur, Pacol Pasacao, Legaspi City, Seoul City, Cook County Camarines Sur, Albay, Bicol Region, National Capital Region Alberta, Philippines, Japan, Asia, Europe, Africa, USSR Cagayan Valley, Sahara Desert, Mt. Isarog, Mt.Apo Aguirangan Islands, Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto Bicol River, Maguindanao Falls, Taal Lake, Laguna Bay, China Sea, Pacific Ocean

10. A compass point such as south or northeast is capitalized only when it names a specific geographical location. But, when a compass point refers to a direction, it is not capitalized. E.g. The South is experiencing peace problem mainly because of the Abu Sayyaf. The typhoon is now in the southeastern portion of Bicol Region.

ARTICLES
The indefinite article (a/an) is used with singular countable nouns (A is used before a consonant sound while an is used before a vowel sound.) a. To refer to an indefinite person or thing Ill call you in a minute or two. Please lend me a pencil. Please give me an apple. *I have a laptop. I have only one laptop.

b. To mention a particular person or thing for the first time. There was a vehicular accident at the crossing of Bagumbayan Sur and Libotion. The accident happened at around 4 a.m. yesterday. I saw a man groping in the dark. The man suddenly turned to our neighbors house but he was startled by the growling of a dog rushing towards him.

c. To refer to something general rather than particular. Im looking for a job. The Maltese Falcon is a terrific mystery with a firstrate cast. d. To refer to one example of a general class. My sister is an accountant. She is a professor in a university in Manila.

Note: Indefinite articles are not used with plural nouns but indefinite adjectives such as some, any, several, many, few, a few, fewer may be used to indicate an indefinite number. She put candies in the jar. There are many students at the Student Pavilion. She put some candies in the vase. There arent any guards at the main gate.

THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE (THE) IS USED WITH COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS WHETHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL TO REFER TO:

a. A definite person or thing (to single out a specific person or thing) Please give me the pencil on the table. Please give me the pencils on the table. The arboreal tarsier found in Indonesia and the Philippines feeds primarily at night on insects and lizards. Have you watched the movie, The Moonstones? It is a film version of Wilkie Collins novel which is a blending of a detective story with his social comments about Victorian hypocrisy and hypocrites.

In the first example, the speaker has in mind a specific PENCIL, and he assumes that the person to whom he is talking also has in mind the same PENCIL. If necessary, the speaker might further identify the pencil by adding a qualifying word, phrase or clause such as The red pencil The pencil on top of the drawer The pencil which is inside my black bag placed on top of the drawer

Note: The has almost the same meaning as the demonstrative pronoun that, although that is more emphatic in pointing out something.

Did you give the dress to Elvira? Did you give that dress to Elvira?

b. Something which has already been mentioned There was a vehicular accident at the crossing of Bagumbayan Sur and Liboton. The accident happened at around 4 a.m. yesterday. I saw a man groping in the dark. The man suddenly turned to our neighbors house but he was startled by the growling of a dog rushing towards him.

c. Oceans, seas, rivers, mountain ranges The Pacific Ocean contains more than 30,000 islands including the Philippines.

The Dead Sea is not actually a sea but a salt lake which forms part of the Israeli-Jordanian border.
The Yangtze or Chang Jiang River in China is the longest rives of Asia and the third longest river in the world. The Alps, the highest and the largest mountain system in Europe, cover 70% of Switzerland.

d. Superlatives The Yangtze or Chang Jiang River in China is the longest river of Asia and the third longest river in the world. The Alps, the highest and the largest mountain system in Europe, cover 70% of Switzerland.

THE ZERO ARTICLE IS USED WITH UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS, MASS NOUNS AND COUNTABLE PLURAL NOUNS.
a. To refer to persons or things as a group or in general. I like to read history books. IT workers are paid high in corporate setting.

b. To refer to mass or uncountable nouns, abstract nouns and general areas of subject matter such as history, arts and sciences, engineering, architecture, economics and English Drink plenty of water. The investigation will take months. Love is the most powerful emotion a human being can feel. She teaches English in the university.

c. To refer to single mountains and lakes Mount Everest considered the highest mountain in the world is referred to as Goddess Mountain of the World by the Tibetans. Mayon Volcano is a major tourist attraction in the Philippines because it is the most perfectly symmetrical volcano in the world.

d. To refer to names of sports such as basketball, football, wakeboarding, tennis, golf, chess, dancing and singing

Have you tried wakeboarding at CWC? I havent played golf and tennis.

e. With proper names and geographical names, including countries (except for a few: the Philippines, the Bahamas, the Congo, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates [UAE], the United Kingdom [UK], the United States [US]), cities and streets. Albert Einstein, perhaps the most well-known scientist of the 20th century, did not talk until the age of three. China, the worlds largest by population and one of the largest by area, measures the same size as the United States.

SOME NOUNS ORDINARILY CONSIDERED AS UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS MAY ALSO FUNCTION AS COUNTABLE NOUNS.
Japanese often drink tea. (tea mass noun) The teas of India are of several varities. (the tyoes of teas countable noun) Beauty is truth. (beauty abstract noun) She is a beauty. (a beautiful girl countable noun) Science has contributed much to human progress. ( a general area of subject matter) Would you call psychology a science? (a branch of science countable noun)

Reading is a necessary communication skill. (the act of reading a gerund) The Lord of the Ring is a good read. (a type of reading material good for reading)