Nouns

Nouns

Nouns are words that name persons, animals, places, or things.

Question 1: How many nouns are there in the following sentence??

An old fisherman who had no luck hooked a huge fish that pulled his boat far out to sea.

Answer: Five.

1. fisherman (a person)

2. luck (a thing)

3. fish (an animal)

4. boat (a thing)

5. sea (a place)

Nouns name things we can see and touch, like boat, as well as things we cannot see or

touch, like luck.

Question 2: How many nouns does the following sentence contain?

Divers fish for pearls in the Gulf of Mexico.

Answer: Three.

1. Divers (persons)

2. pearls (things)

3. Gulf of Mexico (a place)

Note that fish, which was a noun in the earlier sentence, is not one here because it does

not name anything. Here, fish is a verb (a word that expresses action).

Question 3: May a noun consist of more than one word?

Answer: Yes. Gulf of Mexico is one noun. Nouns of more than one word are

called compound nouns. Here are more examples of compound nouns:

living room

Atlantic Ocean

Grand Central Parkway

Mr. Applebaum

sister-in-law

Common and Proper Nouns

Compare the following sentences:

1. We are approaching a lake.

2. We are approaching Lake Michigan.

In sentence 1, we call lake a common noun. In sentence 2, we call Lake Michigan a

proper noun.

What Is a Proper Noun?

A proper noun refers to one particular person, animal, place, or thing—

like Lake Michigan in sentence 2.

A proper noun is always capitalized.

What Is a Common Noun?

A common noun refers to no particular person, animal, place, or thing, but to any one at all—like lake in sentence 1.

A common noun is not capitalized.

Here are some more examples of common and proper nouns.

COMMON NOUNS                                              PROPER NOUNS

(not capitalized)                                  (always capitalized)

day (any day)                                      Monday

month (any month)                             April

bridge (any bridge)                             Golden Gate Bridge

ocean (any ocean)                               Pacific Ocean

event (any event)                                Olympics

magazine (any magazine)                    Newsweek

institution (any institution)                 Congress

language (any language)                     Spanish

boy (any boy)                                      Jim

girl (any girl)                                       Brittany

Plural Nouns

Nouns have a singular form and a plural form.

The singular is the form that means only one:

boy, girl, soda, hamburger, etc.

The plural is the form that means more than one:

boys, girls, sodas, hamburgers, etc.

Here are the singular and plural forms of a few more nouns.

SINGULAR PLURAL

(only one) (more than one)

1. hat               hats

2. box              boxes

3. leaf              leaves

4. foot                         feet

From the above examples, you can see that there is no single rule for forming the

plural of nouns; there are several. If you memorize the rules and do the exercises carefully,

you will be well on your way to spelling plurals correctly.

Rule 1. For most nouns:

Add s to the singular to form the plural.

SINGULAR PLURAL

ear + s = ears

chair + s = chairs

table + s = tables

face + s = faces

Question: Can I form the plural of words like class or dish by just adding s?

Answer: No, because [classs] and [dishs] would be hard to pronounce. We must

do something else. This brings us to Rule 2.

Rule 2. For nouns ending in s, sh, ch, or x:

Add es to form the plural.

NOUNS ENDING IN s: class + es = classes

dress + es = dresses

NOUNS ENDING IN sh: dish + es = dishes

wish + es = wishes

NOUNS ENDING IN ch: bench + es = benches

lunch + es = lunches

NOUNS ENDING IN x: box + es = boxes

tax + es = taxes

Exceptions: The following nouns add neither s nor es, but form their plurals in an irregular

way:

man                 men

woman            women

child                children

foot                 feet

tooth                teeth

louse                lice

mouse              mice

goose               geese

ox                    oxen

Rule 3. For most nouns ending in f:

Add s to form the plural.

belief + s = beliefs

grief + s = griefs

roof + s = roofs

Exceptions: The following nouns ending in f change f to v and add es:

leaf      leaves

loaf      loaves

half      halves

self      selves

shelf    shelves

thief     thieves

wolf     wolves

But not in a name:

Mr. Wolf The Wolfs

Rule 4. For three nouns ending in fe—knife, life, and wife:

Change f to v and add s to form the plural.

knife    knives

life       lives

wife     wives

Plural of Nouns Ending in y

To form the plural of a noun ending in y—like way or lady—first ask:

Is the letter before y a vowel or a consonant?

Remember that the vowels are a, e, i, o, and u. All of the other letters of the alphabet are consonants.

Now follow Rule 5 or 6.

Rule 5. If the letter before y is a vowel, add s to form the plural.

SINGULAR PLURAL

way + s = ways

key + s = keys

toy + s = toys

Rule 6. If the letter before y is a consonant, change the y to i and add es.

SINGULAR PLURAL

lady     ladies

enemy enemies

spy       spies

Plural of Nouns Ending in o

Rule 7. If a noun ends in a vowel plus o, add s to form the plural.

ENDING SINGULAR PLURAL

VOWELe + o stereo + s = stereos

VOWELi + o radio + s = radios

Rule 8. If a noun ends in a consonant plus o, add s in most cases.

auto + s = autos

two + s = twos

alto + s = altos

piano + s = pianos

Exceptions: Add es to the following nouns:

potato + es = potatoes

tomato + es = tomatoes

echo + es = echoes

veto + es = vetoes

Possessive Nouns

A possessive noun is a noun that shows possession or ownership.

 A possessive noun always contains an apostrophe [ ’ ].

Here are some examples of possessive nouns:

1. student’s money The possessive noun student’s shows that the money belongs

to the student.

2. students’ money The possessive noun students’ shows that the money belongs

to the students.

3. children’s money The possessive noun children’s shows that the money belongs

to the children.

Note that a possessive noun can help us express ourselves in fewer words. For example,

we can say the children’s money (two words) instead of the money belonging to the

children (five words).

Question: Why does the apostrophe come before the s in examples 1 and 3,

above, but after the s in example 2?

Answer: Over the centuries, English has developed three rules for using the

apostrophe to show possession.

Rule 1. If the possessor is a SINGULAR NOUN, add an APOSTROPHE AND s.

the eyes of the baby                                        becomes the baby’s eyes

the whiskers of the cat                                    becomes the cat’s whiskers

the novels by Dickens                                     becomes Dickens’s novels

Rule 2. If the possessor is a PLURAL NOUN ENDING IN s, add ONLY AN

APOSTROPHE.

the lab experiments performed by the girls    becomes the girls’ lab experiments

the coats owned by the students                     becomes the students’ coats

the nests of birds                                             becomes the birds’ nests

Rule 3. If the possessor is a PLURAL NOUN NOT ENDING IN s, first write the

plural; then add an APOSTROPHE AND s.

shoes worn by men                                         becomes men’s shoes

suits for women                                               becomes women’s suits

the faces of people                                          becomes people’s faces

Composition Hint

When you write a paragraph, or even a sentence, see if you can reduce the number

of words you have used. Sometimes, a possessive noun can help. For example,

INSTEAD OF: the car that my brother has (6 words),

WRITE: my brother’s car (3 words).

                    Possessive noun

 Nouns as Direct Objects

How is the noun Amy used in these two sentences?

1. Amy is our top scorer.

2. The crowd cheered Amy.

In the first sentence, the noun Amy is the subject of the verb is. In the second sentence, the

noun Amy is the direct object of the verb cheered.

What Is a Direct Object?

A direct object is a word in the predicate that receives the action of the verb.

In sentence 2, above, the noun Amy is the word in the predicate that receives the action

of the verb cheered. Therefore, the noun Amy is the direct object of the verb cheered.

Note: There can be no direct object without an action verb.

Compare the noun Amy in the following sentences:

1. Our top scorer is Amy.

2. The crowd cheered Amy.

Sentence 1 cannot have a direct object because it has no action verb; is does not express

action. Amy, in sentence 1, is not a direct object.

On the other hand, sentence 2 can have a direct object because it has an action verb;

cheered expresses action. Amy, in sentence 2, receives the action of the verb cheered and is

a direct object of that verb.

The crowd cheered Amy.

        S.                  V.           D.O.

Question: Are there other verbs, besides is, that do not express action?

Answer: Yes. Here are some of them:

am will be may be have been

are shall be might be has been

was would be can be had been

were should be could be will have been

All of the listed verbs, including is, are forms of a single verb—the verb be.

Remember the following about am, is, are, will be, and all other forms of the verb be:

1. They do not express action.

2. They cannot have a direct object.

Easy Procedure for Finding the Direct Object

To find the direct object, ask the question WHAT? or WHOM? right after the action verb.

Question 1: What is the direct object in the following sentence?

Caroline drives a Ford.

Procedure: Caroline drives a WHAT?

Answer: Ford is the direct object.

Question 2: What is the direct object in the following?

I watched the artist at work.

Procedure: I watched WHOM at work?

Answer: Artist is the direct object.

The following sentence has a compound direct object:

Heavy rain flooded the streets and highways.

      S.                     V.                  compound direct object

Nouns as Indirect Objects

How is the noun Amy used in the following sentence?

The crowd gave Amy a cheer.

          S.               V.        ?       D.O.

Amy is the indirect object of the verb gave.

What Is an Indirect Object?

An indirect object is a word in the predicate that tells FOR WHOM or TO WHOM something was done, or is being done, or will be done.

Note that there are two nouns after the action verb gave: Amy and cheer. The noun

cheer is the direct object of gave because it answers the question WHAT? (The crowd gave

WHAT?) The noun Amy tells FOR WHOM the crowd gave a cheer. Therefore, Amy is the

indirect object of the verb gave.

The crowd gave Amy a cheer.

            S.             V.      I.O.      D.O.

The above sentence shows that an action verb can have both a direct object and an

indirect object in the same sentence.

Question: Which comes first in a sentence, the direct object or the indirect object?

Answer: The indirect object always comes before the direct object. Note these further examples:

A friend sent Marilyn a card.

                                   I.O.          D.O.

(Marilyn is the indirect object because it tells TO WHOM a friend sent a card.)

Carlos is buying Mrs. Lopez a gift.

                                              I.O.             D.O.

(Mrs. Lopez is the indirect object because it tells FOR WHOM Carlos is buying a gift.)

The firm pays its officers a salary.

                                          I.O.             D.O.

(Officers is the indirect object because it tells TO WHOM the firm pays a salary.)

Nouns can be tricky, too. They change form depending on how they are used—as singular,

plural, or possessive nouns. On the next page is a summary of the rules for forming

plurals of nouns.

When to add S:

A. To most nouns: book—books.

A–X. Exceptions to A:

man—men                   foot—feet       mouse—mice

woman—women         tooth—teeth   goose—geese

child—children           louse—lice      ox—oxen

B. To most nouns ending in f: belief—beliefs.

B–X. Exceptions to B:

leaf—leaves                shelf—shelves

loaf—loaves                thief—thieves

half—halves                wolf—wolves

self—selves

C. To nouns ending in a vowel + y: way—ways.

D. To nouns ending in a vowel + o: radio—radios.

E. To most nouns ending in a consonant + o: auto—autos.

When to add es:

E–X. Exceptions to E:

potato + es = potatoes             echo + es = echoes

tomato + es = tomatoes           veto + es = vetoes

F. To nouns ending in s: class + es = classes

sh: wish + es = wishes

ch: bench + es = benches

or x: box + es = boxes

When to change y to i and add es:

G. When a noun ends in a consonant + y: lady—ladies.

When to change f to v and add s:

H. In the following three nouns ending in fe and their compounds:

knife—knives

life—lives

wife—wives

penknife—penknives

housewife—housewives