Parts of Speech: Noun
Part of Speech in English Language, words can be considered as the smallest elements that have distinctive meaning. Based on their use and functions, words are categorized into several types or parts of speech. Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Adverb, Conjunction, Preposition, and Interjection.
A. Nouns
A Noun tells you what you are talking about.
Nouns are names of persons, places, events, things, measures of times, action, quality and ideas.
| Ron | Friend | Puppy | Dentist |
| Dog | Stone | Computer | Plants |
| Picture | Province | lawyer | Table |
| Christmas | Freedom | Courage | Honor |
| Beauty | Dancing | Climbing | Speaking |
| Inch | Year | Philippines | Day |
Different Kinds of Nouns
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Proper Nouns are specific and are written in capital letter. It refers to a particular person, place or thing.
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Common Nouns are general, refer to a class of people, places and things. Opposite of proper noun.
Common Noun Proper Noun Girl Joybel Country Philippines Day Friday Doctor Dr. Angue Teacher Jaynel -
Collective Nouns refer to nouns that are made up, not by single word, but by a group of words, persons, animals or things.
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Mass Noun is the opposite of count noun.
Mass noun is also called non-countable nouns, and they need to have “counters” to qualify them.
Collective Noun Mass Noun Team hair Crowd sugar Organization water Family sand Class stars -
Concrete Nouns exist in the physical word.
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Abstract Nouns refer to ideas and feelings.
Concrete Noun Abstract Noun Flower love Chair independence Bag honesty Man freedom Lion friendship -
Count Noun - it refers to anything that is countable, and has a singular and plural form.
Kitten video ball
Three Properties of Nouns
1. Number of Nouns (Singular and Plural)
A. Singular - if the noun is only one, when a noun is refers to one person, place or ting.
B. Plural - if it is two or more, a noun refers to more than one person, place, or thing.
Fifteen rules in forming the singular and plural noun:
A. Most nouns add the letter s to the singular to form the plural.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Coin | Coins |
| Student | Students |
| Cake | Cakes |
| Cat | Cats |
| Egg | Eggs |
B. Add es to nouns ending in a hissing sound (s, ch, sh, x or z)
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Class | Classes |
| Church | Churches |
| Wish | Wishes |
| Tax | Taxes |
| Quiz | Quizzes |
C. Most nouns ending in f of fe change f to ve before ending s.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Calf | calves |
| Knife | knives |
| Leaf | leaves |
| Thief | thieves |
| Wife | Wives |
D. Most nouns ending in y proceeded by a consonant sound change y to i and add es.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| City | Cities |
| Lady | Ladies |
| Reply | Replies |
| Mystery | Mysteries |
| Prophecy | Prophecies |
E. Nouns ending in y after a vowel add s.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Key | Keys |
| Valley | valleys |
| Monkey | Monkeys |
F. Some nouns ending in o proceeded by a consonant add es.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Grotto | Grottoes |
| Tomato | Tomatoes |
| Hero | Heroes |
| Mango | Mangoes |
| Zero | Zeroes |
G. Some nouns add en or change the vowel or remain unchanged.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Ox | Oxen |
| Child | Children |
| Sheep | Sheep |
H. Nouns ending in an o that is preceded by a vowel form the plural by adding s.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Patio | Patios |
| Rodeo | Rodeos |
| Cargo | Cargos |
| Motto | Mottos |
I. Most compound nouns add s or es to the principal words of the compound.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Bookcase | Bookcases |
| Runner up | Runner ups |
| Handful | Handfuls |
J. A few nouns are plural in form but singular in meaning.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Statistics | Mathematics |
| Economics | News |
K. Some nouns form the plural by a change in the vowel, and sometimes the consonant.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Foot | Feet |
| Goose | Geese |
| Louse | Lice |
| Tooth | Teeth |
| Woman | Women |
L. Some nouns have the same form for both singular and plural.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Aircraft | Aircraft |
| Means | means |
| Series | series |
| Headquarters | headquarters |
| Crossroads | Crossroads |
M. You just have to be familiar with the different ways that titles are made plural.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Miss | Misses |
| Mr. | Messrs. |
| Mrs. | No plural (sometimes Mesdames) |
| Madam | Mesdames |
N. Words taken from foreign languages usually retain their plural form.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Crisis | Crises |
| Bacterium | Bacteria |
| Criterion | criteria |
| Phenomenon | Phenomena |
| Alumna | Alumnae (Feminine) |
O. Adding the apostrophe (') and s forms the plural of numbers, letters, signs, and symbols.
- Your card shows many grades of 1's.
- If your grades will be converted to our system, you will have a lot of A's.
2. Gender means sex
A. Masculine refers to male: Father, Nephew, Priest
B. Feminine refers to female: Mother, Seamstress, Daughter
C. Common refers to either male or female: Cousin, Teacher, Friend
D. Neuter has no sex at all: Chair, Book, Car
Special feminine nouns
| School | Ship |
| Country | Nature |
Exercise:
Give the masculine or feminine gender of the following:
- Duke
- Boar
- Indian
- Baron
- Fox
- Lad
- Emperor
- Doe
- Landlord
- Aviatrix
3. Cases of Nouns
A. Nominative - if the noun is used as the subject, noun of address, predicate noun or appositive.
- Jennilyn looks pretty in her red dress.
- Maika, come and get your toys.
- The winner in the oratorical contest is Jolina
- Dr. Lucena, our new professor, discusses the lesson well.
B. Objective - if the noun is used as direct object, indirect object or object of preposition.
- The students are playing volleyball.
- Leonardo sent Martha a love letter.
- The concert was held in the park.
C. Possessive shows possession or ownership.
Rules in forming possession
A. Singular nouns added apostrophe and s ('s) for singular possessive, plural noun add apostrophe alone.
| Girl's | Girls' |
| Student's | Students' |
B. Those nouns that do not end with s, add 's to the plural forms.
| Oxen's | Deer's |
| Women's |
C. Add only an Apostrophe at the end of a proper noun ending in s or z.
| Reyes' | Sanchez' |
| Perez' |
D. Of phrase is placed after a noun.
- The dresses of a girl
- The daughter of the president
In case of an inanimate object, the prepositional phrase with of is used. Noun-noun compounds are also used.
| Of phrase | Noun-noun compound |
|---|---|
| The gate of the garage | Garage gate |
| The roof of the house | House roof |
Thing, places and concepts are often followed by of phrase to indicate association, measure or person.
- A box of candy
- A cup of sugar
- The town of Manila
Certain possessive forms of noun denote time, distance, measure and value.
- A day's work
- A week's wage
- An hour's rest
Uncountable Noun
| Accommodation | Luggage | Cutlery |
| Advice | Dust | |
| Ammunition | Personnel | Elite |
| Artillery | Scenery | Equipment |
| Behavior | Furniture | Staff |
| Blame | Information | |
| Chalk | Jewelry |
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