Nouns
A noun is a person (Simon, Alice, the prime minister), a place (Germany, living room, park) or a thing (car, pencil, water).
Regular Nouns
Most plural nouns in English form the plural by adding “-s” to the end of the singular noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| pen | pens |
| rabbit | rabbits |
| moon | moons |
| apple | apples |
Make plurals with singular nouns that end in “s”, “x”, “z”, “ch”, “sh” by adding “-es”.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| sandwich | sandwiches |
| box | boxes |
| stress | stresses |
| wish | wishes |
| waltz | waltzes |
Singular nouns ending in a consonant and then “y” makes the plural by dropping the “y” and adding “-ies”.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| fairy | fairies |
| penny | pennies |
| city | cities |
Irregular Nouns
There are some irregular noun plurals. Here are some of the most common.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| man | men |
| woman | women |
| child | children |
| person | people |
| mouse | mice |
| leaf | leaves |
| half | halves |
| wife | wives |
| life | lives |
| potato | potatoes |
| tomato | tomatoes |
| focus | foci |
| analysis | analyses |
| thesis | theses |
| crisis | crises |
| phenomenon | phenomena |
There are nouns have the same form in both the singular and the plural.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| sheep | sheep |
| fish | fish |
| deer | deer |
Irregular Verb/Noun Agreement
Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.
| Plural nouns used with a singular verb | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| linguistics | Poppy studies linguistics at university. |
| athletics | He chose athletics because it keeps him fit. |
| news | We watch the news every morning at 7 a.m. |
There are nouns with fixed plural forms. These nouns take plural verbs and are either not used in the singular or have a different meaning in the singular.
| Plural noun with plural verb | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| glasses | My glasses make me look more intelligent. |
| scissors | Those scissors are sharp. |
| trousers | These are my favorite trousers. |
Countable Nouns
Countable nouns, as their name suggests, are nouns that can be counted with numbers and we can use “a” “an” with. They have a singular and a plural form.
Ben has seven backpacks.
She has a banana in her lunch box.
I put two rats in my snake’s tank.
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are those we cannot count with numbers. They are mostly the names for qualities, ideas or physical things that are changeable like liquids and gases. Uncountable nouns are used with a singular verb and do not have a plural form.
Examples:
- Water
- Oxygen
- Money
- Hate
- Love
- Evidence
- knowledge
We cannot use “a” or “an” with uncountable nouns. Instead, we must use words and phrases such as “some...”, “a little...”, “a glass of...”, “5 lbs of…”, etc.
There is a little water in my boots.
He has lots of money in his bank account.
There is a ton of evidence to convict him of the crime.
Compound Nouns
Compound nouns are two or more words joined together to make a single noun. They can be words written together, words that are hyphenated, or separate words that go together by meaning.
Here are the different forms compound nouns can take with examples.
| Format | Example |
|---|---|
| noun+noun |
policeman girlfriend businesswoman |
| noun+verb |
bellyflop haircut skyscraper |
| noun+adverb |
passer-by hanger-on |
| verb+noun |
racing track washing machine viewing area |
| verb+adverb |
lookout drawback |
| adverb +noun |
underground onlooker |
| adjective+verb |
highlight dry-cleaning |
| adjective+noun |
blackboard redhead |
| adverb+verb |
upturn output |
Capitalization Rules for Nouns
Below are the times you should always use capitals when writing nouns.
The beginning of a sentence
Men are not allowed to go into the Women’s changing room.
Dogs make great pets.
The first person personal pronoun, I
To be honest, I don’t like the Star Wars movies.
If you want me to, I can clean your car too.
Names and titles of people
The President of the United States
Martin Luther King
Marie Curie
The Queen of England
Doctor Maria Gonzalez
Titles of works, books, movies
The Tempest
Pride and Prejudice
The Quran
Jaws
Months of the year
January
July
February
August
Days of the week
Monday
Friday
Tuesday
Saturday
Seasons
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Holidays
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Remembrance Day
Names of countries and continents
Zimbabwe
France
Peru
Thailand
Names of regions, states, districts
Oregon
Brittany
Tuscany
Names of cities, towns, villages
Manchester
Cape Town
Abu Dhabi
Vancouver
Names of rivers, oceans, seas, lakes
the Atlantic
the Pacific
Lake Heron
the Seine
the Thames
Names of geographical formations
the Himalayas
Snowdonia
the Gobi Desert
Adjectives relating to nationality
Italian food
German music
Egyptian history
Collective nouns for nationalities
the Japanese
the English
the Americans
Language names
I speak Spanish.
She is learning Korean.
Names of streets, buildings, parks
Hyde Park
Sydney Opera House
Central Park
Possessive Nouns
It is possible in English to show possession when referring to nouns by adding an apostrophe and “s” to the end of the noun.
Emma’s house is the one with the black door.
Russia’s most famous city is Moscow.
The dog’s food was spilled all over the kitchen floor.
If the noun already ends in “s”, or if it is a plural noun, add an apostrophe after the “s”.
Jess’ homework got wet in the rain.
The boys’ changing room was messy after the football match.