NOUN RULES

What is noun?

A noun is a part of speech that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action. A noun can function as a subject, object, complement, appositive, or object of a preposition.

Types of nouns

There are major five types of nouns:

1. Proper Noun: a proper noun is the name of some particular person or place.

Ex- Reema , Shyama, Lucknow.

2. Common Noun: A Common noun is a name given in common to every person or thing of the same kind or class.

Ex- flower, girl, animal etc.

3. Collective noun: A collective noun is the name of a group of persons or things.

Ex- army, committee, crowd etc.

4.Abstract Noun: a noun denoting an idea, quality, or state rather than a concrete object.

Ex- strength, innocence, fear, judgment. Etc.

5. Material Noun: Material noun is the name given to the material, substance or things made up of The alloy.

Ex- cotton, gold, silver etc.

NOUN: On the basis of Gender

1. Masculine Gender: A noun that denotes male animal is said to be of the Masculine Gender.

Ex- Man, boy, Tiger, Sun etc.

2. Feminine Gender: A noun that denotes a female animal is said to be of the Feminine Gender.

Ex- woman, girl, nature, lioness etc.

3. Common Gender: A noun that denotes either a male or a female is said to be of the common gender.

Ex- Parent, child, student, cousin etc.

4.Neuter Gender: A noun that denotes a thing without life , neither male nor female , is said to be of the Neuter gender.

Ex- Book, Pen, room etc.

NOUN: On the basis of NUMBER

1. Singular Noun:  A noun that denotes one person or thing , is said to be in the Singular Number.

Ex- pen, cow, boy etc.

2. Plural Noun: A noun that denotes more than one person or thing , is said to be in the plural Number.

Ex- Pens, Boys, Cows etc

Plural Noun Rules for Irregular Nouns

Irregular nouns follow no specific rules, so it’s best to memorize these or look up the proper pluralization in the dictionary.

child – children

goose – geese

man – men

woman – women

tooth – teeth

foot – feet

mouse – mice

person – people

NOUN: countable / uncountable

1.Countable nouns are the names of objects, people etc that we can count.

Ex- book, apple, doctor, horse etc.

2. Uncountable nouns are the names of things which we can’t count.

They mainly denote substance and abstract things.

Ex- milk, oil, sugar, gold, honesty etc.

RULES

☞Some nouns always take a singular verb. These nouns are as follows:

Scenery, advice, information, machinery, stationery, furniture, abuse, fuel, rice, gram, issue, bedding, repair, news, mischief, poetry, business, economics, physics, mathematics, classic, ethics, athletics, innings, gallows.

(A)   The scenery of Darjeeling are captivating. (Correct use- is)

(B)   The sceneries of Darjeeling are captivating. (wrong)

(C)   The scenery of Darjeeling is captivating.   (right)  

(D)  He has given advices. (Correct use- advice) 

☞Some nouns are singular in meaning, but they are used as plural nouns and always take a plural verb. These are :

Cattle, gentry, vermin, peasantry, artillery, people, clergy, company, police.

(A) The cattle is grazing in the field. (correct use- are)

(B) The cattles are grazing in the field. (wrong)

(C) The cattle are grazing in the field.   (right) 

(D) Police has investigated the matter. (wrong)

(E) Police have investigated the matter.   (right) 

☞ Some nouns are always used in a plural form and always take a plural verb. These are:

Trousers, scissors, spectacles, stockings, shorts, measles, goods, alms, premises, thanks, tidings, annals, chattels, etc.

(A)   Where is my trousers? (wrong)

(B)   My trousers are a few inches long. (right)

(C)   The scissors I bought is blunt. (wrong)

(D)  The scissors I bought are blunt. (right)

☞Collective nouns such as jury, public, team, committee, government, audience, orchestra, company, etc. are used both as singular and Plural. It depends on the usage.

(A)               The jury was divided in their opinion. (wrong)

(B)               The jury were divided in their opinion. (right)

(C)               The jury were unanimous in opinion. (wrong)

(D)              The jury was unanimous in opinion. (right)

☞There are some nouns that indicate length, measure, money, weight or number. When they are preceded by a numeral, they remain unchanged in form.

Foot,  meter,  pair,  score,  dozen,  head,  year,  hundred,  thousand,  million.

(A)         She got admitted in five – years degree course.  (correct use- year)

(B)         She got admitted in five – year degree course. 

(C)         Sunil has bought 4 dozens of bananas.  (correct use- dozen)

(D)         Sunil has bought 4 dozen of bananas. 

☞People are often confused or they commit mistakes in the use of certain nouns.

(A) Lecturership is wrong: lectureship is correct.

(B) Freeship is wrong; free – studentship is correct.

(C) Boarding is wrong; boarding house is correct.

(D) Family members is wrong; members of the family is correct.

(E) English teacher is wrong; the teacher of English is correct.

(F) Cousin – brother or sister is wrong; only cousin is correct.

☞Use of Apostrophe 's' : ('s) An “Apostrophe” and ‘S’ should be used with living beings only to show possession.

(A)Our table’s leg is broken.(wrong)

(B)The leg of our table is broken. (right)

☞ Titles of books and other works of art are always considered singular even if the title sounds plural.

Example :

(A) The Gulliver’s travels are full of adventurous stories. (wrong)

(B)  The Gulliver’s travels is full of adventurous stories. (right) 

☞  If a preposition comes after a noun and then the same noun is repeated, the noun should be preferred in singular form.

Example: (A) Rows upon row of marble looks elegant. (right)

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