English Grammar Nouns (Examples +Exercises)

Two important categories of nouns are count nouns and noncount nouns. Briefly, count nouns name things that can be counted, such as car and computer. Noncount nouns name things that cannot be counted such as freedom and happiness.

Count Nouns

Nouns that can be counted are called count nouns, They can be singular or plural in form.

Singular      -     Plural

one subject  -   five subjects
a problem    -    two problems
a child        -   eight children

Singular Count Nouns

Singular count nouns, together with any descriptive adjective, have an article (a, an, the) or another determiner before them (my, your, this, one, every, each)

an exam, a long exam, my brother, eahc new chapter

!!! Don't use a singular count noun without an article or determiner

Incorrect  - Correct
house      -  a house
New car  -   My new car

However, in a few idiomatic expressions, no article is used:
 have dinner       in school      at home       at work
by bus (by+transportation)      by phone (by+communication)

Plural Count Nouns

Plural count nous are sometimes preceded by the definite article the or by another determiner, or they may appear alone. Plural count nouns are NOT preceded by a or an.

Regular Plurals

Most count nouns form their plural by adding -s to the singular noun.

cat/cats  tree/trees    taxi/taxis    professor/professors

Irregular Plurals

A few common count nous have an irregular plural form.

man/men    woman/women    child/children     mouse/mice    fish/fish    tooth/teeth    foot/feet     person/people or persons    knife/knives    thesis/theses    criterion/criteria    fungus/fungi    self/selves    analysis/analyses    datum/data    focus/foci    live/lives    alumnus/alumni    medium/media    hypothesis/hypotheses    half/halves    sheep/sheep     hero/heroes     species/species

Nouns that have no singular form

A few nouns do not have a singular form:

glasses pants jeans scissors tongs clothes

Special Spelling of Plurals

A few types of count nouns form their plurals in a slightly different manner. Nouns ending in a CONSONANT + y form their plurals by changing the -y to -i and adding -es.

library / libraries     lady/ladies      copy/copies

This rule does not apply to nouns that end in a VOWEL + y.

tray / trays      monkey/monkeys     surver/surveys

Nouns ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, and -z add -es to form the plural.

class / classes   bush / bushes    bench / benches     box / boxes    quiz / quizzes

Noncount Nouns

Nouns that cannot be counted are called noncount or mass nouns. They are used with singular verbs.

- Noncount nouns are often liquids or gases

water   air oil  oxygen

- Noncount nouns often refer to a whole or a mass made up of small particles or items.
sugar    equipment    salt     white sand     money       good news

Noncount nouns are often weather phenomena, fields of study, raw materials, abstractions, or sports and pastimes.
rain   economics    gold       hapiness        soccer      psychology        luck          hot weather


!!! the following noncount nouns are often mistakenly used as plural count nouns:

Incorrect:    furnitures   advices    homeworks  equipments   informations
Correct:        furniture   advice      homework    equipment      information

List of words that don't have plural form

words that are the same singular and plural in form

Water Love Accomodation Time Wine Fun Baggage Air Milk Wisdom Travel Heat Rice Knowledge Traffic Housework Pasta Information Transportation Homework Bread Advice Nature Education Beef Help Currency Equipment Pork Assistance Art Business That Courage Poetry Attention Sugar Bravery Literature Garbage Salt Satisfaction Chess Oil Flour Curiosity Judo/ Yoga Paper Cheese Aggresion Entertainment Dirt Butter Beauty Applause Dust Tea Freedom Grass Land Honey Faith Mud Jam Grief Rain Guilt Sunshine Humour Mail

Nouns in English

Comparing Noncount Nouns and Count Nouns

Noncount nouns are like count nouns in certan ways.

1. Noncount nouns are like singular and plural count nouns.

• like singular and pluiral count nouns, noncount nouns may have certain determiners in front of them, such as the definite article the or the possessive adjectives my and your.
• possessive adjectives have the same forms in front of all types of nouns: singular count nouns, plural count nouns, and noncount nouns.
• You can use this and that with singular count nouns and noncount nouns; these and those can appear in front of plural count nouns only.

Singular Count Nouns		Plural Count Nouns		Noncount Nouns
Determiner	Example of noun	Determiner	Example of noun	Determiner	Example of noun
the an my, your his, her, its our, their this, that	car apple vegetable job job cat	the - my, your his, her, its our, their these, those	cars apples vegetables jobs jobs cats	the - my, your his, her, its our, their	traffic fruit rice work work

2. Noncount nouns act like plural count nouns. Like plural count nouns, noncount nouns may be preceded by determiners and certain expressions of quantity, or they may appear alone.

!!! in the chart below, the determiners before plural count nouns and noncount nouns are the same.

Singular Count Nouns		Plural Count Nouns		Noncount Nouns
Determiner	Example of noun	Determiner	Example of noun	Determiner	Example of noun
a the one	taxi taxi taxi	- the some a lot of enough a plenty of	taxis taxis taxis taxis taxis taxis	- the some a lot of enough a plenty of	traffic traffic traffic traffic traffic traffic

Incorrect: Let's get taxi.
Correct: Let's get a taxi.

Remember: singular count nouns must have an article or determiner.

In the following chart, the determiners-certain expressions odf quantity-before plural count nouns and noncount nouns are different.

Singular Count Nouns		Plural Count Nouns		Noncount Nouns
Determiner	Example of noun	Determiner	Example of noun	Determiner	Example of noun
a/the/one	taxi	many a few few several four	taxis taxis taxis taxis taxis	much a little little a great deal of	traffic traffic traffic traffic

Exercice

Choose the correct answer.

A. We nned to buy............... for the living room.

1. a new furniture
2. new furniture
3. new furnituresa new furnitures

B. I got........... wonderful news today! I'm getting a 10% raise.

1. a
2. some
3. a few
4. those

C. Before we decide where to go on vacation, we have to get........... informaion about hotel costs.

1. an
2. a few
3. some
4. one

D. My son spends too .......... watching television.

1. much time
2. much times
3. many time
4. many times

E. David, can you give me.........abvout asking for a promotion at work?

1. an advice
2. some advice
3. some advices
4. advices

F. Since we moved into this neighborhood, the kids have made......... new friends and have spent........ time with them, so iI think they're adjusting OK.

1. a little....a few
2. a few....a little
3. a little......a little
4. a few...... a little

Answer key:

A. 2

B. 2

C. 3

D.1

E.3

F.2