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created by: bbedited by: dzyubamA noun can be a person, place, or thing. Nouns can be the actor of a sentence (as the subject), a receiver of the action (as the object/complement), or contained in a prepositional phrase to add more information to the idea of the sentence.
The Noun Phrase
A noun phrase is a group of words that ends with a noun and can contain determiners (a, an, the, these, etc), adjectives and adverbs. Both subjects and complements often consist of noun phrases. A prepositional phrase is NOT considered a noun phrase.
Count and Non-Count Nouns
A noun that can be counted is called a count noun.
chair – one chair, two chairs, three chairs…
boy – one boy, two boys, three boys…
dog – one dog, two dogs, three dogs…
A noun that cannot be counted is called a non-count noun.
coffee – you cannot say: one coffee, two coffees, etc.
However, you can make some non-count nouns countable by placing them into a countable container.
Can of coffee – one can of coffee, two cans of coffee…
The following chart gives some common non-count nouns and their groupings.
1. WHOLE GROUPS CONSISTING OF SIMILAR ITEMS: jewelry, traffic, clothing, furniture, luggage, scenery, mail, makeup, money, cash, food, fruit, equipment, etc.
2. FLUIDS: water, blood, oil, tea, milk, gasoline, soup, etc
3. SOLIDS: wood, meat, bread, butter, ice, gold, silver, glass, wool, paper, iron, etc.
4. GASES: air, smoke, pollution, nitrogen, oxygen, steam, etc.
5. PARTICLES: sand, salt, sugar, flour, dust, corn, wheat, grass, hair, chalk, dirt, etc.
6. ABSTRACTIONS: advice, beauty, courage, education, energy, fun, grammar, health, help, homework, information, intelligence, knowledge, luck, music, news, peace, progress, slang, sleep, space, time, truth, vocabulary, wealth, work, etc.
7. LANGUAGES: Chinese, English, German, Spanish, etc.
8. FIELDS OF STUDY: chemistry, history, literature, mathematics, etc.
9. RECREATIONAL SPORTS: baseball, chess, football, poker, soccer, tennis, etc.
Some common irregular count nouns are listed below.
child = children
man = men
person = people
woman = women
foot = feet
mouse = mice
tooth = teeth
Exercise 2: Identifying Count and Non-Count Nouns
Identify the following nouns as countable or non-countable by placing a “C” after countable nouns and a “N” after non-countable nouns.
Examples:radio C
algebra N
minute
clothing
canyon
gas
smoke
food
eye
bus
spoon
advice
milk
math
Articles
A And An
A or
an only precede singular count nouns and refer to one thing. Either is used for a general statement, or to introduce a new subject that has not been mentioned before.
A leopard has spots. (in general – speaking of all leopards)
I talked to
a girl today. (We are introducing this subject. We don’t know which girl.)
A is used with words that begin with a consonant sound.
An is used with words that begin with a vowel sound.
A car
an elephant
Some words can be confusing because the pronunciation is different from the spelling. Listening to the sound will help determine which article is used.
Words such as
union,
uniform,
university and
European,
eucalyptus,
eulogy have a long “u” sound which is the same sound as
y in
yellow or
yard. Therefore, they are considered to have a consonant sound and
a is used before these words.
A yellow dog ran past us.
A uniform is required for school.
A yard consists of three feet. I went to school with
a European.
Some words have a silent first letter, so the correct article depends on the heard sound. Words such as
hot,
home and
head have a pronounced “h” consonant sound and, thus, begin with
a. However, words such as
honor,
hour and
herb have a silent “h” and are considered to have a vowel sound.
It is
a hot day. It was
an honor to meet the president.
The
Use
the when you know, or assume, that the listener is familiar with the same person, place, or thing that you are talking about.
The earth is a beautiful planet. (There is only one earth.)
The teacher asked me a question. (It is assumed the listener knows your teacher.)
Use
the with non-count nouns only when you are speaking specifically. If you are speaking in general, no article is used.
Water is wet. (general)
The water in the stream is cold. (specific water located in the stream)
The same rule applies for plural count nouns. Specific plural count nouns use
the, while general plural count nouns do not.
I like apples. (all apples)
The apples on the tree are not ripe. (specific apples on the tree)
USE The WITH | DON’T USE The WITH |
oceans, seas, rivers, gulfs, plural lakes: the Pacific Ocean, the Caspian Sea, the Mississippi River, the Gulf of Mexico, the Finger Lakes | singular lakes:Lake Titicaca, Lake Michigan |
mountains: the Smoky Mountains, the Andes | mounts: Mount Rushmore, Mount St. Helens |
sun, moon, earth: the sun, the moon, the earth | planets, constellations: Mercury, Saturn, Gemini, Leo |
schools, colleges, universities (when the phrase begins with one of these words): the School of Fine Arts, the University of Southern California | schools, colleges, universities (when the phrase begins with a proper noun): Arizona University, Bardstown Community College |
ordinal numbers before nouns: the First Amendment, the third floor | cardinal numbers after nouns: Apollo One, floor three |
wars (except world wars): the Vietnam War, the War of 1812 | World War One, World War Two |
certain countries or groups of countries with more than one word (except Great Britain): the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates | countries preceded by New or an adjective such as a direction: New Zealand, South Africa, North Korea one word countries: China, Australia, Germany, Italy continents: Asia, North America, South America states: Kentucky, Alabama, Utah, California |
historical documents: the Constitution, the Bill of Rights | |
| sports: baseball, volleyball, football, soccer abstract nouns: intelligence, beauty, happiness general areas of subject matter: science, algebra, social studies holidays: New Year, Christmas, Thanksgiving |
Exercise 3: Using Articles
Fill in the blanks of the following sentences using
a,
an,
the, or
Ø (if no article is needed).
1. John is wearing _______ baseball cap today.
2. _______ chair is _______ useful piece of furniture.
3. _______ chairs in _______ living room are antiques.
4. She cried when she peeled _______ onion.
5. _______ women like to wear _______ jewelry.
6. _______ jewelry that my sister wears is made of _______ gold.
7. When you look at _______ moon, you can see _______ face.
8. _______ hour ago I saw _______ eagle flying overhead.
9. _______ life can be fun, but sometimes there are _______ problems.
10. _______ last time I saw ________ bear, I was travelling in _______ Europe.
Other
Often, correctly using the word
other can be confusing. The word
another and
other are not specific, while
the other is specific. If the subject is understood then
other can be used as a pronoun. If the understood noun is a plural count noun then
other becomes
others. (Note:
other CANNOT be plural if followed by a noun.) Look at the following examples.
This knife is dull. Please give me
another.
(
an +
other + singular noun = any other knife – not specific)
This knife is dull. Please give me
the other.
(
the other + singular noun = the only other option – specific)
This cake is delicious.
Other cakes are delicious also.
OR This cake is delicious.
Others are delicious also.
(
other + plural noun = other cakes: not specific) Since the subject is understood from the first sentence, you can omit the plural noun “cakes” in the second sentence and pluralize
other to
others.
These apples are bad. I want
the other apples.
OR These apples are bad. I want
the others.
(
the other + plural noun = other apples: specific) Since the subject is understood from the first sentence, you can omit the plural noun “apples” in the second sentence and pluralize
the other to
the others.
You can also substitute
other +
one (for a singular noun) and
other +
ones (for a plural noun.)
This knife is dull. Please give me
another one. (not specific)
This knife is dull. Please give me the
other one. (specific)
This cake is delicious.
Other ones are delicious also. (not specific)
These apples are bad. I want
the other ones. (specific)
Exercise 4: Using Other
Fill in the blanks of the following sentences with the correct form of
other.
1. I received two gifts for my birthday. One was from my parents. _______________ one was from my brother.
2. This pie is fantastic! Can I have __________________ piece?
3. These pants don’t fit well. Let me try ____________________ ones.
4. I have a large stamp collection. The stamps in this section are from the United States. __________________ are from ________________ places in the world.
5. Joshua likes to wear Nike shoes. He won’t wear any ________________ brand.
6. I’m almost finished with my homework. I just need ________________ ten minutes.
7. John, Melissa and I are going to the movies. ___________________ are going to the Craft Fair.
8. This house is brand new. _____________________ house is really old.
9. We like to swim. _________________ like to surf, and still ________________ like to ski.
10. You can buy this shirt and ___________________ one. Which ________________ would you like?
Determiners of Quantity
Words that determine quantity are used to show how much of something to which you are referring. Some expressions of quantity are only used with count nouns, some are only used
with non count nouns and others are used with both. Study the chart below.
Determiners of Quantity | With Count Nouns | With Non Count Nouns |
one each every | one ball each ball every ball | Ø Ø Ø |
two, three, etc. both a couple of a few several many a number of | two balls both balls a couple of balls a few balls several balls many balls a number of balls | Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø |
a little much a great deal of | Ø Ø Ø | a little water much water a great deal of water |
no some/any a lot of/lots of plenty of most all | no balls some/any balls a lot of/lots of balls plenty of balls most balls all balls | no water some/any water a lot of/lots of water plenty of water most water all water |
Exercise 5: Determining Quantity
Cross out the words that CANNOT be used to complete each sentence correctly. An example is given in sentence number two.
1. Joan drank __________ sodas. a. five b. a few c. hardly any d. several e. no f. a lot of g. a great deal of h. too much i. some j. a number of k. too many l. a little | 2. Randy drank _________ coffee. a. five b. a few c. hardly any d. several e. no f. a lot of g. a great deal of h. too much i. some j. a number of k. too many l. a little |
Collective Nouns
Some nouns reflect a group of people or animals and are usually singular. Following are examples of some common collective nouns.
army
audience
class
club
Congress
crowd
family
flock
gang
government
group
majority
minority
organization
pack
public
staff
team
Our
class is going on a field trip today.
The
pack of dogs
was chasing the deer.
The
public is against the war.
Our
team is playing the champions next week.
Nouns That Are Always Plural
Some nouns are always plural and cannot be singular, unless used in the phrase “a pair of _________”.
eyeglasses
jeans
pants
pliers
scissors
shorts
slacks
trousers
tongs
tweezers
My favorite
jeans are in the washer.
This
pair of jeans needs to be washed.
My
eyeglasses are new.
This
pair of eyeglasses is new.
Nouns That Function As Adjectives
Many nouns can function as adjectives when they are coupled with other nouns. The first noun acts to describe the second noun. Nouns which function as adjectives are always singular, even when they modify a plural noun.
The
car doors have all been replaced.
We hurried to get to the
train station.
This
gold coin is worth a lot.
When number noun combinations are used, they are always hyphenated.
The
hike was
eight hours to the temple.
BUT It was an
eight-hour hike to the temple.
These
tickets cost
forty dollars.
BUT These are
forty-dollar tickets.
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