Nouns in Detail

Nouns

Definition
Nouns are words that indicate a person, place, or thing.
In a sentence, nouns can function as the subject or the object of a verb or preposition.
Nouns can also follow linking verbs to rename or re-identify the subject of a sentence or
clause; these are known as predicate nouns.
The Subject
The subject in a sentence or clause is the person or thing doing, performing, or controlling
the action of the verb. For example:
• The dog chased its tail. (The noun dog is performing the action of the verb chase.)
• Mary reads a book every week. (The proper noun Mary is performing the action of the
verb read.)

Objects
Grammatical objects have three grammatical roles: the direct object of a verb, the indirect
Direct objects
Direct objects are what receive the action of the verb in a sentence or clause. For example:
• “The dog chased its tail.” (The noun tail is receiving the action of the verb chase.)
• “Mary reads a book every week.” (The noun book is receiving the action of the verb read.)
Indirect objects
An indirect object is the person or thing who receives the direct object of the verb. For
instance:
• “Please pass Jeremy the salt.” (The proper noun Jeremy is receiving the direct object
salt, which receives the action of the verb pass.)
• “I sent the company an application for the job.” (The noun company is receiving the direct
object application, which receives the action of the verb sent.)

Objects of prepositions
Nouns are also used after prepositions to create prepositional phrases. When a noun is part
of a prepositional phrase, it is known as the object of the preposition. For example:
• “Your backpack is under the table.” (The noun table is the object of the preposition under which creates the prepositional phrase under the table.)
• “I am looking for work.” (The noun work is the object of the preposition for, which creates
the prepositional phrase for work.)

Predicate Nouns
Nouns that follow linking verbs are known as predicate nouns (sometimes known as
predicative nouns). These serve to rename or re-identify the subject. If the noun is
accompanied by any direct modifiers (such as articles, adjectives, or prepositional
phrases), the entire noun phrase acts predicatively.
For example:
• “Love is a virtue.” (The noun phrase a virtue follows the linking verb is to rename the
subject love.)
• “Tommy seems like a real bully.” (The noun phrase a real bully follows the linking verb
seems to rename the subject Tommy.)
• “Maybe this is a blessing in disguise.” (The noun phrase a blessing in disguise follows
the linking verb is to rename the subject this.)
(Go to the section on Subject Complements in the part of the guide that covers Syntax to
learn more about predicate nouns.)Categories of Nouns
There are many different kinds of nouns, and it’s important to know the different way each
type can be used in a sentence. Below, we’ll briefly look at the different categories of nouns.
You can explore the individual sections to learn more about each.

Common and Proper Nouns
Nouns that identify general people, places, or things are called common nouns—they name
or identify that which is common among others.
Proper nouns, on the other hand, are used to identify an absolutely unique person, place, or
thing, and they are signified by capital letters, no matter where they appear in a sentence

Common                            Nouns Proper Nouns
“He sat on the chair.”        “Go find Jeff and tell him dinner is ready.”
“I live in a city.”                “I’ll have a Pepsi, please.”
“We met some people.”     “Prince William is adored by many.”

Nouns of Address

Nouns of address are used in direct speech to identify the person or group being directly
spoken to, or to get that person’s attention. Like interjections, they are grammatically
unrelated to the rest of the sentence—they don’t modify or affect any other part of it. For
example:
• “James, I need you to help me with the dishes.”
• “Can I have some money, Mom?”
• “This, class, is the video I was telling you about.”
• “Sorry, Mr. President, I didn’t see you there.”

Concrete and Abstract Nouns
Concrete nouns name people, places, animals, or things that are physically tangible—that
is, they can be seen or touched, or have some physical properties. Proper nouns are also
usually concrete, as they describe unique people, places, or things that are also tangible. For
example:

• table
• rocks
• lake
• countries
• people
• Africa
• Mac Book
• Jonathan
• Abstract nouns, as their name implies, name intangible things, such as concepts, ideas,
• feelings, characteristics, attributes, etc. For instance:
• love
• hate
• decency
• conversation
• emotion

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable nouns (also known as count nouns) are nouns that can be considered as

individual, separable items, which means that we are able to count them with numbers—we

can have one, two, five, 15, 100, and so on. We can also use them with the indefinite articles

a and an (which signify a single person or thing) or with the plural form of the noun.

Single Countable Nouns   Plural Countable Nouns

a cup                                   two cups

an ambulance                     ambulance several ambulances

a phone                              10 phones

Countable nouns contrast with uncountable nouns (also known as non-count or mass

nouns), which cannot be separated and counted as individual units or elements. Uncountable

nouns cannot take an indefinite article (a/an), nor can they be made plural.

✔ Correct                                                                 ✖ Incorrect

“Would you like tea?”                                    “Would you like a tea?”

“Do you have any information?”                  “Do you have an information?”

“We bought new camping equipment.”        “We bought new camping equipments.”

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are nouns that refer to a collection or group of multiple people, animals,

or things. However, even though collective nouns refer to multiple individuals, they still

function as singular nouns in a sentence. This is because they still are technically referring to

one thing: the group as a whole. For example:

• “The flock of birds flew south for the winter.”

• “The organization voted to revoke the rules that it had previously approved.”

• “The set of tablecloths had disappeared. ”

Attributive Nouns (Noun Adjuncts)

Attributive nouns, also called noun adjuncts, are nouns that are used to modify other

nouns. The resulting phrase is called a compound noun. For example:

• “The boy played with his toy soldier.”

In this sentence, toy is the noun adjunct, and it modifies the word soldier, creating the

compound noun toy soldier.

To learn more about attributive nouns, go to the section on Adjuncts in the chapter on The

Predicate.

Compound Nouns

A compound noun is a noun composed of two or more words working together as a single

unit to name a person, place, or thing. Compound nouns are usually made up of two nouns or

an adjective and a noun.

• water + bottle = water bottle (a bottle used for water)

• dining + room = dining room (a room used for dining)

• back + pack = backpack (a pack you wear on your back)

• police + man = policeman (a police officer who is a man)

Noun Phrases

A noun phrase is a group of two or more words that function together as a noun in a

sentence. Noun phrases consist of a noun and other words that modify the noun. For

example:

• “He brought the shovel with the blue handle.”

In this sentence, the shovel with the blue handle is a noun phrase. It collectively acts as a

noun while providing modifying words for the head noun, shovel. The modifiers are the and

with the blue handle.

Nominalization (Creating Nouns)

Nominalization refers to the creation of a noun from verbs or adjectives.

When nouns are created from other parts of speech, it is usually through the use of suffixes.

For example:

• “My fiancée is an actor.” (The verb act becomes the noun actor.)

• “His acceptance of the position was received warmly.” (The verb accept becomes the

noun acceptance.)

• “The hardness of diamond makes it a great material for cutting tools.” (The adjective hard

becomes the noun hardness.)

• “This project will be fraught with difficulty.” (The adjective difficult becomes the noun

difficulty.)

Common Nouns

All nouns serve to name a person, place, or thing.

Those that identify general people, places, or things are called common nouns—they name

that which is common among others.

For example:

• “He sat on the chair.”

• “I live in a city.”

• “We met some people.”

• “She went into politics.”

• “Our teacher is angry.”

• “Let’s go down to the lake.”

Proper Nouns

Proper nouns, on the other hand, are used to identify a unique person, place, or thing. A

proper noun names someone or something that is one of a kind, which is signified by the use

of a capital letter, no matter where it appears in a sentence.

Names

The most common proper nouns are names, as of people, places, or events. For example:

• “Go find Jeff and tell him dinner is ready.”

• “I lived in Cincinnati before I moved to New York.”

• “My parents still talk about how great Woodstock was in 1969.”

Brands

Proper nouns are also used for commercial brands. In this case, the object that’s being

referred to is not unique in itself, but the brand it belongs to is. For example:

• “Pass me the Hellmann’s mayonnaise.”

• “I’ll have a Pepsi, please.”

• “My new MacBook is incredibly fast.”

Appellations

When a person has additional words added to his or her name (known as an appellation),

this becomes part of the proper noun and is also capitalized. (Some linguists distinguish

these as proper names, rather than proper nouns.) For example:

• “Prince William is adored by many.”

• “Italy was invaded by Attila the Hun in 452.”

Job Titles and Familial Roles

Many times, a person may be referred to according to a professional title or familial role

instead of by name. In this case, the title is being used as a noun of address and is

considered a proper noun, even if it would be a common noun in other circumstances. For

example:

• “How are you doing, Coach?”

• “I need your advice, Mr. President.”

• "Mom, can you come with me to the playground?”

• “Pleased to meet you, Doctor.”

Nouns of Address

Definition

Nouns of address (technically called vocatives, but also known as nominatives of address

or nouns of direct address) identify the person or group being directly spoken to. Like

interjections, they are grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence—that is, they don’t

modify or affect any other part of it. Instead, they are used to let the listener or reader know

who you are addressing, or to get that person’s attention. For example:

• “James, I need you to help me with the dishes.”

• “Can I have some money, Mom?”

• “This, class, is the video I was telling you about.”

• “Mr. President, I didn’t see you there.”

• “Hey, guy in the red shirt, can you help me?”

Punctuation

Nouns of address are found in the initial, middle, or final position in a sentence. No matter

where they occur, they are normally set apart from the rest of the sentence by one or two

commas. If they occur in the initial position, they are followed by a comma. If they occur in

the middle position, they are enclosed between two commas, and if they occur in the final

position, they are preceded by a comma. For example:

• “James, I was wondering if you could help me with the dishes.”

• “I was wondering, James, if you could help me with the dishes.”

• “I was wondering if you could help me with the dishes, James.”

• “Class, this is the video I was telling you about.”

• “This, class, is the video I was telling you about.”

• “This is the video I was telling you about, class.”

Capitalization

Proper nouns

Proper nouns, such as the name or title of a person, are the most frequent nouns of address.

These nouns are always capitalized, no matter where they appear in a sentence. If a

professional title is used with the name, it is capitalized as well. For example:

• “Can you help me, James?”

• “Thank you, Mrs. Smith, for being here.”

• “It’s so nice to meet you, Doctor Jenner.”

• “Hey, Coach Frank, how are you doing today?”

Common nouns in place of titles

Common nouns can also be used as nouns of address. If the common noun is the title of a job

or family member and is used in place of a person’s name, it should always be capitalized.

For example:

• “How are you doing, Coach?”

• “I need your advice, Mr. President.”

• "Can you come with me, Mom?”

• “Pleased to meet you, Doctor.”

Compare the examples above to the following cases in which the same titles of jobs and

family members are not used to address the person directly, and therefore are not

capitalized:

• “Give that football to the coach.”

• “Was the president at the meeting?”

• “Tell your mom to come with us.”

• “Did you call the doctor yet?”

Terms of endearment

When a term of endearment is being used in place of a person’s name, we do not capitalize

the word unless it begins the sentence. For example:

• “Would you get me a glass of water, sweetie?”

• “Thanks, pal, I appreciate your help.”

• “Love, please put away your clothes.”

Other common nouns

If they do not act as a professional or familial title, other common nouns should generally

remain in lowercase, unless they occur as the first word of the sentence. For example:

• “This, class, is the video I was telling you about.”

• “Can you help me, guy in the red shirt?”

• “Please stand up, boys and girls.”

• “Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated for the duration of the performance.”

Concrete and Abstract Nouns

All nouns serve to name a person, place, or thing. Depending on whether they name a

tangible or an intangible thing, nouns are classed as being either concrete or abstract.

Concrete Nouns

Concrete nouns name people, places, animals, or things that are or were physically tangible

—that is, they can or could be seen or touched, or have some physical properties. For

instance:

Abstract Nouns

Abstract nouns, as their name implies, name intangible things, such as concepts, ideas,

feelings, characteristics, attributes, etc.—you cannot see or touch these kinds of things.

Here are some examples of abstract nouns:

• love
• hate
• decency
• conversation
• emotion
• aspiration
• excitement
• lethargy
• Gerunds, verbs that end in “-ing” and function as nouns, are also abstract. For example:
• running
• swimming
• jumping
• reading
• writing
• loving
• breathing

These all name actions as concepts. They cannot be seen or touched, so we know they are

not concrete.

Countable Nouns vs. Uncountable Nouns

Both concrete and abstract nouns can be either countable or uncountable, depending on

what they name.

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns (also known as count nouns) are, as the name suggests, nouns that can be

counted as individual units.

Concrete countable nouns

Many concrete nouns are countable. Consider the following, for example:

• cup
• ambulance
• phone
• person
• dog
• computer
• doctor

Each of these can be considered as an individual, separable item, which means that we are able to count them with numbers—we can have one, two, five, 15, 100, and so on. We can

also use them with the indefinite articles a and an (which signify a single person or thing) or

with the plural form of the noun. For example:

• a cup – two cups
• an ambulance – several ambulances
• a phone – 10 phones
• a person – many people

Abstract countable nouns

Even though abstract nouns are not tangible, many of them can still be counted as separable

units. Like concrete nouns, they can take a or an or can be made plural. For example:

• a conversation – two conversations
• an emergency – several emergencies
• a reading – 10 readings
• an aspiration – many aspirations

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns, on the other hand, are nouns that cannot be considered as separate

units. They are also known as non-count or mass nouns.

Concrete uncountable nouns

Concrete nouns that are uncountable tend to be substances or collective categories of things.

For instance:

• wood, smoke, air, water

• furniture, homework, accommodation, luggage

Uncountable nouns cannot take the indefinite articles a or an in a sentence, because these

words indicate a single amount of something. Likewise, they cannot take numbers or plural

forms, because there cannot be multiple units of them. For example:

✖ “I see a smoke over there.” (incorrect)

✔ “I see (some*) smoke over there.” (correct)

✖ “I don’t have furnitures.” (incorrect)

✔ “I don’t have (any*) furniture.” (correct)

(*We often use the words some or any to indicate an unspecified quantity of uncountable

nouns.)

However, uncountable nouns can sometimes take the definite article the, because it does not

specify an amount:

• “They’re swimming in the water.”

• “The homework this week is hard.”

Abstract uncountable nouns

A large number of abstract nouns are uncountable. These are usually ideas or attributes. For

instance:

• love, hate, news*, access, knowledge

• beauty, intelligence, arrogance, permanence

(*Even though news ends in an “-s,” it is uncountable. We need this “-s” because without it,

news would become new, which is an adjective.)

Again, these cannot take indefinite articles or be made plural.

✖ “He’s just looking for a love.” (incorrect)

✔ “He’s just looking for love.” (correct)

✖ “She’s gained a great deal of knowledges during college.” (incorrect)

✔ “She’s gained a great deal of knowledge during college.” (correct)

As with countable nouns, though, we can sometimes use the definite article the:

• “I can’t stand watching the news.”

• “Can you believe the arrogance he exhibits?”

Countable Nouns

Definition

Countable nouns (also known as count nouns) are nouns that can be considered as

individual, separable items, which means that we are able to count them with numbers—we

can have one, two, five, 15, 100, and so on. We can also use them with the indefinite articles

a and an (which signify a single person or thing) or in their plural forms.

Countable nouns contrast with uncountable nouns (also known as non-count or mass

nouns), which cannot be separated and counted as individual units or elements. Uncountable

nouns cannot take an indefinite article, nor can they be made plural.

Concrete vs. Abstract Countable Nouns

Both concrete and abstract nouns can be countable. Concrete nouns name people, places,

or things that are tangible—they can be seen or touched. Abstract nouns, on the other hand,

name intangible things, such as ideas, concepts, feelings, or attributes.

Concrete countable nouns

Concrete nouns are a bit easier to understand as being countable—after all, they are things

that we can see and feel, and so we can usually count them. Consider the following, for

example:

• cup

• ambulance

• phone

• person

• eel

• computer

• doctor

Each of these can be considered as an individual item or unit, which means that we are able

to count them:

Singular                 Plural

a cup                     two cups

an ambulance       several ambulances

a phone                10 phones

a person               many people

an eel                   three eels

a computer          a few computers

a doctor               some doctors

Abstract countable nouns

Even though abstract nouns are not tangible, many of them can still be counted as separable

units. Like concrete nouns, they can take a or an or can be made plural.

Consider these abstract nouns:

• conversation

• emergency

• reading

• aspiration

• emotion

• belief

Now let’s see how they can be counted:

Singular                                 Plural

a conversation                      two conversations

an emergency                       several emergencies

a reading                              10 readings

an aspiration                        many aspirations

an emotion                           hundreds of emotions

a belief                                 certain beliefs

Grammar with countable nouns

When we use countable nouns, certain elements in a sentence will change depending on

whether the noun is singular or plural.

Third-person singular vs. third-person

plural pronouns

If a countable noun is being represented by a third-person pronoun, we must take care to

use the correct singular or plural form.

Singular

When a noun is singular and names a person (or, sometimes, a pet) whose gender is known,*

then we use the third-person singular he, him, or his (masculine) or she, her, or hers

(feminine). For example:

• “The man left early, so I didn’t get a chance to talk to him.” (Man is singular, so it takes

the third-person singular pronoun him.)

• “The president has many things that she wants to accomplish in office.” (President is

singular, so it takes the third-person singular pronoun she.)

• “We taught our dog to know which bed is his.” (Dog is singular, so it takes the third-person

singular pronoun his.)

If the noun names a singular place, thing, or non-domestic animal, then we must use the third person

neuter pronoun it:

• “I hate this computer because it is so slow!”

• “The cow lowed softly as it ate.”

• “Some people dislike this town, but I’ve always loved it.”

Plural

When a noun is plural, we use the same third-person pronouns for people, places, animals,

and things: they, them, and theirs*. For example:

• “The parade floats are spectacular! I love watching them go down the street.”

• “Bill and Samantha told me they were coming over later.”

• “Make sure the children know which bags are theirs.”

*Usage Note: “Singular they”

English does not have a way of identifying a single person with a pronoun if his or her

gender is not known, so sometimes the third-person plural forms (they, them, etc.) are used

as a gender-neutral alternative to the third-person feminine/masculine forms. This is

sometimes called “singular they.”

For example:

• “You shouldn’t judge someone until you know what they are really like.”

• “If anyone needs extra help with their studies, they should feel free to see me after class.”

While it is still considered incorrect by some writers and writing guides, especially in

American English, “singular they” is gradually becoming accepted as the norm, especially in

instances with indefinite pronouns that sound plural but are grammatically singular (like

anyone in the example above).

Subject-Verb Agreement

Because countable nouns can be either singular or plural, it is very important to use the

correct subject-verb agreement when they are functioning as the subject of a clause.

Subject-verb agreement refers to using certain conjugations of verbs for singular subjects

and using other conjugations for plural subjects. This happens most noticeably with the verb

to be, which becomes is or was with singular subject nouns and are or were with plural

subjects.

For example:

• “My brother is back from college.” (singular present simple tense)

• “The company was in financial trouble.” (singular past simple tense)

• “Many people are getting frustrated with the government.” (plural present simple tense)

• “The computers were rather old.” (plural past simple tense)

For any other verb, we only need to make a change if it is in the present simple tense. For

most verbs, this is accomplished by adding an “-s” to the end if it is singular and leaving it

in its base form if it is plural. For example:

• “My father runs his own business.” (singular)

• “But his sons run it when he’s away.” (plural)

• “The dog wags his tail when he is happy.” (singular)

• “Dogs sometimes wag their tails when they’re angry or scared.” (plural)

The verbs have and do also only conjugate for singular subjects in the present simple tense,

but they have irregular forms for this: has and does. For example:

• “The apple has a mark on it.” (singular)

• “All the apples have marks on them.” (plural)

• “The teacher does not think it’s a good idea.” (singular)

• “The other teachers do not mind, though.” (plural)

Finally, the modal auxiliary verbs will, would, shall, should, can, could, might, and must

do not conjugate for singular vs. plural subjects—they always remain the same. For

instance:

• “This phone can also surf the Internet!” (singular)

• “Most phones can do that now.” (plural)

• “The president will arrive in Malta next week.” (singular)

• “The other diplomats will arrive shortly after that.” (plural).

Uncountable Nouns

Definition

Nouns that cannot be divided or counted as individual elements or separate parts are called

uncountable nouns (also known as mass nouns or non-count nouns). These can be tangible

objects (such as substances or collective categories of things), or intangible or abstract

things, such as concepts or ideas. Nouns that can be divided are called countable nouns, or

simply count nouns.

Here are some examples of uncountable nouns:

• wood, smoke, air, water

• furniture, homework, accommodation, luggage

• love, hate, beauty, intelligence, arrogance

• news*, access

(*Even though news ends in an “-s,” it is uncountable. We need this “-s” because without it,

news would become new, which is an adjective.)

Using articles with uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns cannot take the indefinite articles “a” or “an” in a sentence, because

these words indicate a single amount of something. For example:

✖ “Would you like a tea?” (incorrect)

✔ “Would you like tea?” (correct)

✖ “Do you have an information?” (incorrect)

✔ “Do you have (some/any) information?” (correct)

(We often use the words “some” or “any” to indicate an unspecified quantity of uncountable

nouns. We’ll investigate this more in a later part of this section.)

However, uncountable nouns can sometimes take the definite article “the,” as in:

• “Have you heard the news?”

• “The furniture in my living room is old.”

However, this is only the case if a specific uncountable noun is being described. For

example:

✖ “I am looking for an accommodation.” (incorrect)

✖ “I am looking for the accommodation.” (incorrect)

✔ “I am looking for accommodation.” (correct)

✔ “I am looking for the accommodation listed in this advertisement.” (correct—

references specific accommodation)

Uncountable nouns are not plural

Third-person singular vs. third-person

plural pronouns

Just as uncountable nouns cannot take the indefinite articles “a” or “an” because there is not

“one” of them, it is equally incorrect to use third-person plural pronouns with them, as they

are not considered a collection of single things. For example:

• Person A: “Your hair looks very nice today.”

✖ Person B: “Yes, I washed them last night.” (incorrect)

✔ Person B: “Yes, I washed it last night.” (correct)

Note that single hairs become countable. If there are two hairs on your jacket, you can say

“hairs” or use the plural pronoun “they.” The hair on your head, however, is seen as an

uncountable noun.

Plural forms of the noun

We also cannot make uncountable nouns plural by adding “-s” on the end. Again, they are

grammatically regarded as single, collective units. For example:

✖ “We bought new camping equipments.” (incorrect)

✔ “We bought new camping equipment.” (correct)

✖ “The teacher gave us many home works.” (Incorrect. We also cannot use the quantifier

“many” with uncountable nouns, because it refers to individual things.)

✔ “The teacher gave us a lot of homework.” (Correct. We can use the quantifier “a lot” to

indicate a large amount of an uncountable noun.)

Subject-verb agreement

Because uncountable nouns cannot be plural, it is very important to use the correct subject verb

agreement. Subject-verb agreement refers to using certain conjugations of verbs with

singular vs. plural subjects. This happens most noticeably with the verb to be, which

becomes is or was with singular subject nouns and are or were with plural subjects. Because

uncountable nouns are grammatically singular, they must take singular forms of their verbs.

Here are a few examples illustrating this distinction:

✖ “The furnitures in my living room are old.” (incorrect)

✖ “The furnitures in my living room is old.” (incorrect)

✔ “The furniture in my living room is old.” (correct)

✖ “Their behaviors are not good.” (incorrect)

✔ “Their behavior is not good.” (correct)

✖ “The news are good.” (incorrect)

✔ “The news is good.” (correct)

Measurements of distance, time, and

amount

A notable exception to the subject-verb rule we just discussed relates to countable nouns that

are describing measurements of distance, time, or amount. In this case, we consider the sum

as a singular amount, and so they must take singular forms of their verbs. For example:

✖ “$20,000 have been credited to your account.” (incorrect)

✔ “$20,000 has been credited to your account.” (correct)

✖ “I think 50 miles are too far to travel on foot.” (incorrect)

✔ “I think 50 miles is too far to travel on foot.” (correct)

✖ “Wow, two hours fly by when you’re having fun!” (incorrect)

✔ “Wow, two hours flies by when you’re having fun!” (correct)

Making uncountable nouns countable

If we want to identify one or more specific “units” of an uncountable noun, then we must add

more information to the sentence to make this clear.

For example, if you want to give someone advice in general, you could say:

• “Can I give you advice?” or;

• “Can I give you some advice?”

But if you wanted to emphasize that you’d like to give them a particular aspect or facet of

advice, you could not say, “Can I give you an advice?” Instead, we have to add more

information to specify what we want to give:

• “Can I give you a piece of advice?”

By adding “piece of” to the uncountable noun advice, we have now made it functionally

countable. This means that we can also make this phrase plural, though we have to be

careful to pluralize the count noun that we’ve added, and not the uncountable noun itself. For

example:

• “Can I give you a few pieces of advice?”

Using quantifiers with uncountable nouns

As we’ve already seen, certain quantifiers (a kind of determiner that specifies an amount of something) can only be used with uncountable nouns, while others can only modify

countable nouns. While we will examine these more in depth in the chapter on Determiners,

here are a few examples that cause particular confusion.

Too – Too Much – Too Many

We use “too + adjective” to mean “beyond what is needed or desirable,” as in, “It is too

big.”

Too much, on the other hand, is used to modify uncountable nouns, while too many is used

with countable nouns—they are not used with adjectives. For example, the following

sentences would both be incorrect:

✖ “It is too much big.”

✖ “It is too many big.”

One particular source of confusion that can arise here is the fact that much can be used as an

adverb before too to give it emphasis, as in:

• “It is much too big.”

We also must be sure not to use too much with a countable noun, nor too many with an

uncountable noun.

✖ “I have too much pieces of furniture.” (incorrect)

✔ “I have too many pieces of furniture.” (correct)

✖ “I have too many furniture.” (incorrect)

✔ “I have too much furniture.” (correct)

Fewer vs. Less

The conventional rule regarding less vs. fewer is that we use fewer with countable nouns and

less with uncountable nouns. For example:

✖ “I have less friends than Jill has.” (incorrect)

✔ “I have fewer friends than Jill has.” (correct)

✖ “I have fewer money than he has.” (incorrect)

✔ “I have less money than he has.” (correct)

The rule carries over when we add words to an uncountable noun to make a countable

phrase (as we looked at above). We can see this distinction in the following examples:

• “I want less toast.” (toast is uncountable)

• “I want fewer pieces of toast.” (pieces of toast is countable)

• “There is less water in the jug.” (water is uncountable)

• “There are fewer cups of water in the jug.” (cups of water is countable)

Measurements of distance, time, and amount

As we noted above, measurements of distance, time, or amount for nouns that we would

normally consider countable (and thus plural) end up taking singular verbs. Likewise, these

terms also take the word less, most often in the construction less than. For example:

• “$20,000 is less than we expected to pay.”

• “We walked less than 50 miles to get here.”

• “We have less than two hours to finish this project.”

• “I weigh 20 pounds less than I used to.”

Note, however, that we can’t use less before these kinds of nouns:

✖ “We have less $20,000.” (incorrect)

✖ “I ran less 10 miles.” (incorrect)

Less is also used with countable nouns in the construction one less _____, as in:

• “That is one less problem to worry about.”

Fewer can also be used (albeit less commonly), but the construction usually changes to one

______ fewer, as in:

• “That is one problem fewer to worry about.”

Rule or non-rule?

It is important to note that many grammar guides dispute the necessity of this supposed

“rule,” referencing that it was in fact implemented as a stylistic preference by the 1770

grammarian Robert Baker, and that fewer and less had been used interchangeably for

countable and uncountable nouns for hundreds of years before that. Specifically, it is

considered by some as acceptable to use less with countable nouns, especially in informal

or colloquial writing and speech.

As long as the sentence does not sound awkward, it is probably safe to do so. However,

many still regard the fewer vs. less rule as indisputable, so it is recommended to adhere to

the rule for professional, formal, or academic writing.

Collective Nouns

Definition

Collective nouns are nouns that refer to a collection or group of multiple people, animals,

or things. However, even though collective nouns refer to multiple individuals, they still

usually function as singular nouns in a sentence. This is because they still are technically

referring to one thing: the group as a whole. Here are some examples of collective nouns:

group – A group is a single unit that is made up of a number of individuals, whether

people or things.

• collection – A collection is a single unit that typically consists of many similar things
• organized together, such as paintings.
• tribe – A tribe is a single unit that is made up of a group of tribe members.
• fleet – A fleet is a single unit that is made up of several vehicles or vessels, such as
• ships.
• band – A band is a single unit that consists of a number of different musicians.

Collective nouns are used in sentences to refer to a group of people, animals, or things. Here

are some examples of collective nouns being used in sentences:

• “The flock of birds flew south for the winter.”

• “The organization voted to revoke the rules that it had previously approved.”

• “The set of tablecloths had disappeared. ”

Similarity to plural nouns

Collective nouns are very similar to plural nouns. Plural nouns are nouns that refer to

multiple people, places, or things, and they primarily (but not always) end in “-s,” “-es,” or

“-ies.” They are derived from singular nouns, and so are truly plural in form and function.

For example, the following words are all plural nouns:

• dogs
• cities
• tables
• oceans
• sleds

Both plural nouns and collective nouns can refer to multiple things. The difference is that

collective nouns refer to a group of individuals in a single unit, whereas plural nouns refer

to multiple individuals. To understand the difference, consider the following sentence:

• “The musicians played the song beautifully.”

This sentence contains the plural noun musicians. This word lets the reader know that there

are multiple musicians who played the song beautifully. However, consider the following

sentence:

• “The orchestra played the song beautifully.”

This sentence contains the collective noun orchestra. This word lets the reader know that

there is a group of musicians that played the song beautifully. However, it also lets the

reader know that the multiple musicians are arranged into a single group. The plural noun

musicians in the first sentence does not do that.

Here are two more examples:

• “The soldiers marched very swiftly.” (plural noun)

• “The platoon marched very swiftly.” (collective noun)

As in the previous examples, both soldiers and platoon indicate multiple people. However,

only platoon lets the reader know that the soldiers are organized into a collective unit.

Singular vs. Plural Use

Collective nouns usually function as singular nouns in a sentence, but they are occasionally

used as plurals, too. Whether they are used in a singular or plural manner can impact which

verbs and pronouns should be associated with the word.

The way we determine in which manner the collective noun should be used is to consider

whether the members of the collective noun are being regarded as a single, whole unit, or as

multiple individuals. If they are functioning as a whole, then you use singular verb tenses and

pronouns; if they are acting individually, then you use plural verb tenses and pronouns.

For example, the following sentence demonstrates singular use of a collective noun:

• “The offense hopes to score a touchdown on its next play.”

Here, the collective noun offense refers to the members of the team’s offensive unit

functioning as a whole; therefore, it acts as a singular noun in the sentence. As a result, the

verb hopes and the pronoun its are also singular.

Compare this to the next sentence, which demonstrates plural use of a collective noun:

• “The jury eat their lunches before they deliberate.”

In this sentence, the collective noun, jury, refers to the jury members acting individually. As

a result, jury functions as a plural noun in the sentence. This means that the plural pronouns

they and their are used, as is the plural form of the verb eat.

Finally, it is worth noting that in British English, it is more common for collective nouns to

function as plurals in all instances.

Plural-only collective nouns

Certain collective nouns can only be plural, such as “police.” For example:

✖ “The police is investigating the matter.” (incorrect)

✔ “The police are investigating the matter.” (correct)

However, we can make the noun countable by adding more information to the sentence. If we

want to specify a single member of the police, we could say:

• “A police officer is investigating the matter.”

Here are some other examples of collective nouns that can only be plural:

• people
• children
• poultry
• vermin
• cattle     

Collective Nouns and Animals

In the English language, there are many different types of collective nouns that refer to

different groupings of animals. There are hundreds of different collective nouns used to

describe animal group names, but here are a few common ones:

• flock of birds
• pod of whales
• pack of wolves
• pride of lions
• gaggle of geese
• band of coyotes
• gatling of woodpeckers
• huddle of penguins
• mob of kangaroos
• school of fish

Compound Nouns

Definition

A compound noun is a noun consisting of two or more words working together as a single

unit to name a person, place, or thing. Compound nouns are usually made up of two nouns or

an adjective and a noun, but other combinations are also possible, as well.

Generally, the first word in the compound noun tells us what kind of person or thing it is or

what purpose he, she, or it serves, while the second word defines the person or object,

telling us who or what it is. For example:

• water + bottle = water bottle (a bottle used for water)

• dining + room = dining room (a room used for dining)

• back + pack = backpack (a pack you wear on your back)

• police + man = policeman (a police officer who is a man)

Like other nouns, compound nouns can be modified by other adjectives. For example:

• “I need to buy a large water bottle.”

• “That’s a beautiful dining room.”

• “My old backpack is still my favourite.”

• “A lone policeman foiled the attempted robbery.”

You can recognise compound nouns because the meaning of the two words put together is

different than the meaning of the words separately. For example, water and bottle have their

own separate meanings, but when we use them together they mean a particular type of bottle

that we drink water from.

Forming compound nouns

As mentioned, compound nouns are formed by combining two or more words, with the most common combinations being noun + noun or adjective + noun. However, combinations

using other parts of speech are also possible. Below are the various combinations used to

create compound nouns.

Noun + noun

There are a great number of compound nouns formed using the noun + noun combination.

For example:

• backpack

• bathroom

• bathtub

• bedroom

• bus stop

• fish tank

• football

• handbag

• motorcycle

• shopkeeper

• tablecloth

• toothpaste

• wallpaper

• water bottle

• website

• wristwatch

Adjective + noun

There are also many compound nouns that are formed using the adjective + noun

combination. For example:

• full moon

• blackberry

• blackbird

• blackboard

• cell(ular) phone

• mobile phone

• hardware

• highway

• greenhouse

• redhead

• six-pack

• small talk

• software

• whiteboard

Other combinations

Although the noun + noun and adjective + noun combinations are the most common, there

are also plenty of other possibilities for forming compound nouns. For example:

Combination                                                    Examples

noun + verb                                                      haircut, rainfall, sunrise, sunset

noun + preposition                                           hanger-on, passerby

noun + prepositional

phrase                                                               brother-in-law, mother-in-law

noun + adjective                                               cupful, spoonful

verb + noun                                                      breakfast, washing machine, runway, pickpocket,

                                                                         swimming pool

preposition + noun                                           bystander, influx, onlooker, underpants, upstairs

verb + preposition                                            check-in, checkout/check-out, drawback, lookout,                                                                                    makeup

adjective + verb                                               dry cleaning, public speaking

preposition + verb                                            input, output, overthrow, upturn

Writing compound nouns

Compound nouns are very common, both in written and spoken English, and there are

spelling, punctuation, and pronunciation norms that we must be aware of if we want to use

them correctly.

The three written forms of compound

nouns

Writing compound nouns is a bit complicated due to the fact that they can take three different

forms.

First, open compound nouns (or spaced compound nouns) are those that are written as two

separate words, such as washing machine, swimming pool, and water bottle.

Second, there are hyphenated compound nouns, as in check-in, hanger-on, and mother-in law.

Third, there are closed compound nouns (or solid compound nouns)—those that are written

as one word, such as rainfall, drawback, and toothpaste.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any rules that tell us which of the three forms is acceptable for a particular compound noun. Some compound nouns are commonly written in two forms, as in

website / web site or checkout / check-out, while others, such as bus stop, are strictly used

in one form. Where more than one is possible, the form that is more commonly used may

depend on the variety of English (American English vs. British English, for example), the

style guide of a publication, or the personal preference of the writer.

If you’re not sure which of the three forms to use, it’s important to check a good, up-to-date

dictionary. If you are relying on the spellchecker in a word processor, remember that this has

its limits. For example, spellcheck is good for checking whether a particular compound noun

can be written as one word (closed); however, if we write a compound noun as two words

(open) and it should be written as one word (closed), or if we write it with a hyphen and it

should be written without a hyphen, spellcheck will not catch the mistakes.

Finally, remember that, no matter which way the compound noun is written, it always

functions grammatically as a single unit.

Pluralizing compound nouns

We usually pluralize a compound noun by adding an “-s” or “-es” to the main word, or the

defining word, of the compound noun. This is usually the second word, but not always. For

example:

Singular                        Plural

bedroom                       bedrooms

football                         footballs

water bottle                   water bottles

full moon                       full moons

BUT

Singular                         Plural

secretary                      general secretaries general

mother-in-law              mothers-in-law

passerby / passer-by    passersby / passers-by

When it’s not obvious which of the words is the defining word, we pluralize the end of it.

For example:

Singular                         Plural

haircut                           haircuts

check-in                        check-in

checkout / check-out    checkouts / check-outs

upturn                           upturns

Pronouncing compound nouns

In general, compound nouns are pronounced with the emphasis on the first part of the word.

For example:

• BEDroom
• BLACKbird
• CHECK-in
• GREENhouse
• MAKEup
• WATER bottle

Pronouncing compound nouns in this way helps us distinguish words that form a compound

noun like blackbird and greenhouse from other instances when the same words would

appear together, as in: “Look at that beautiful black bird,” or “I like that green house on

the corner.”

Although we normally stress the first word in a compound noun, there are certain exceptions

to this pattern. For example, we disregard this rule when pronouncing compound nouns that include titles or proper nouns, as in Secretary GENeral and Mount RUSHmore.

If in doubt, you can use a good dictionary to determine which syllable should be

emphasized.

Nominalization (Creating Nouns)

Definition

Nominalization refers to the creation of a noun from verbs or adjectives.

Most of the time, nouns are created from other parts of speech through the use of suffixes. In

other cases, the word remains the same but is simply used a different way; this is known as

conversion or zero derivation.

Suffixes

Suffixes are certain groupings of letters that can be attached to the end of words to change

their meaning. Most verbs and adjectives that become nouns are changed using suffixes.

(Be aware, however, that the examples below only show some of the common ways of using

suffixes to change verbs and adjectives to nouns; they are not all concrete rules, and the lists

of possible suffixes are not exhaustive ones. The best way to learn the spellings of such

nouns is by using a good dictionary, or by encountering them in everyday speech and

writing.)

Verbs

There are certain patterns that we follow to decide which suffix is needed in order to create

a noun from a verb.

Gerunds

The most straightforward way of turning a verb into a noun is through the use of gerunds.

These are made by adding the suffix “-ing” to the end of the verb. For example:

• “Walking is very pleasant.”

• “I enjoy reading.”

• “Listening is an important aspect of any relationship.”

• “My sleeping has been very disrupted lately.”

• “Baking is my favorite pastime.”

• “I hate running.”

Note that if the gerund takes any additional information, such as an object, adverb, or

prepositional phrase, then this entire group of words (known as a gerund phrase) acts as a

noun. To learn more about gerunds and gerund phrases, go to the section on Gerunds in the

chapter about Other Parts of Speech.

Nouns of agency and profession

When we turn a verb into a noun to represent someone (or occasionally something) who is

an agent of that action, or who performs the action in a professional capacity, we typically

use the suffixes “-or,” “-er,” or “-r.” For example:

• “My fiancée is an actor.” (Someone who acts.)

• “I’m training to be a teacher.” (Someone who teaches.)

• “The writer is very well known.” (Someone who writes.)

• “The company is a major employer in the area.” (Something that employs people.)

• “The projector was broken today.” (Something that projects.)

Nouns of recipience

For verbs that become nouns to represent someone who is the recipient of an action, we

often use the suffix “-ee.”

Perhaps the most common example of this in modern English is employee (someone who

others employ), as in:

• “The employee is disputing his wages.”

Other examples include:

• “The bank must approve you as the payee.” (Someone who is paid.)

• “There is one more interviewee waiting to be seen.” (Someone who is interviewed.)

Nouns of general action

We can use a variety of different suffixes to describe an action in general. The most common

of these are “-tion,” “-sion,” “-ance,” “-ment,” and “-ence”; in some instances, we change

the ending of the verb slightly in order to take the suffix.

For example:

• “His acceptance of the position was received warmly.” (The verb accept becomes the noun acceptance.)

• “Thank you for the invitation!” (The verb invite becomes the noun invitation.)

• “In conclusion, we should see a spike in profits soon.” (The verb conclude becomes the

noun conclusion.)

• “Government must derive from the will of the population.” (The verb govern becomes

the noun government; the verb populate becomes the noun population.))

• “Attendance is at an all-time low.” (The verb attend becomes the noun attendance.)

• “I was surprised by my enjoyment of the play.” (The verb enjoy becomes the noun

enjoyment.)

• “Use the textbook as your reference if you’re confused.” (The verb refer becomes the

noun reference.)

Some other suffixes that work in this way are “-al” and “-ure,” as in:

• “Failure to find a solution is not an option.” (The verb fail becomes the noun failure.)

• “The review will include a quick perusal of your work.” (The verb peruse becomes the

noun perusal.)

Adjectives

We change adjectives into nouns when we want to speak of them as general ideas or

concepts. Adjectives can take a variety of different suffixes, depending on how they are spelled.

“-ness”

We often use the suffix “-ness” for many adjectives. Most of the time, we can simply add the

suffix on to the end of the adjective without making any changes to its spelling. For example:

• “The hardness of diamond makes it a great cutting tool.” (The adjective hard becomes the

noun hardness.)

• “The child’s meekness is quite sweet.” (The adjective meek becomes the noun meekness.)

• “His gruffness is not appreciated.” (The adjective gruff becomes the noun gruffness.)

• “I don’t care for the roughness of my hands.” (The adjective rough becomes the noun

roughness.)

• “I don’t think you understand the seriousness of the situation.” (The adjective serious

becomes the noun seriousness.)

• “Please don’t underestimate my gratefulness.” (The adjective grateful becomes the noun

gratefulness.)

However, when we use this suffix with an adjective ending in “-y,” we change “y” to “i”:

• “We’re waiting for some steadiness in the market.” (The adjective steady becomes the

noun steadiness.)

• “The teacher puts her students’ happiness above all else.” (The adjective happy becomes the noun happiness.)

Some adjectives ending in a “-t” preceded by a long vowel sound can take this suffix as

well:

• “Her greatness is without question.” (The adjective great becomes the noun greatness.)

• “The flatness of the Earth was disproven long ago.” (The adjective flat becomes the noun

flatness.)

“-y”

Other adjectives that end in a “-t” preceded by a consonant will take the suffix “-y” to

become nouns. For example:

• “This project will be fraught with difficulty.” (The adjective difficult becomes the noun

difficulty.)

• “That’s enough of your modesty.” (The adjective modest becomes the noun modesty.)

• “Honesty is a very important virtue.” (The adjective honest becomes the noun honesty.)

“-ity”

When adjectives end in “-e,” they often take the suffix “-ity” to become nouns. However,

there is often a change to the spelling of the word. Usually, we simply drop “e” and replace

it with “-ity,” as in:

• “There is a scarcity of food in the city.” (The adjective scarce becomes the noun scarcity.)

• “Kindness is a rarity in this world.” (The adjective rare becomes the noun rarity.)

When the word ends in “ble,” though, we have to change “le” to “il,” as in:

• “This project is your responsibility.” (The adjective responsible becomes the noun

responsibility.)

• “I have no question of your ability.” (The adjective able becomes the noun ability.)

Uniquely, we also use the “-ity” suffix to change the adjective hilarious to hilarity, even

though other adjectives with similar endings (such as serious, grievous, callous, etc.) take

the suffix “-ness.”

“-ance” and “-ence”

We often use the suffix “-ance” for adjectives ending in “-ant,” as in:

• “This is of the utmost importance.” (The adjective important becomes the noun

importance.)

• “Your ignorance is astounding.” (The adjective ignorant becomes the noun ignorance.)

We often use the suffix “-ence” for adjectives ending in “-ent,” as in:

• “We demand greater independence.” (The adjective independent becomes the noun

independence.)

• “Silence is expected during tests.” (The adjective silent becomes the noun silence.)

Conversion

When we use a verb or adjective as a noun without changing its spelling in any way, it is

called conversion or zero derivation.

Verbs

Conversion is especially common with verbs, and there are many instances where the same

word may function as a verb or a noun, depending on the context. For example:

• “Please answer the phone, Tom.” (verb)

• “We’ll need an answer by tomorrow.” (noun)

• “I run each morning before breakfast.” (verb)

• “I’m going for a run later today.” (noun)

• “Meteorologists are forecasting a snowstorm overnight.” (verb)

• “The forecast said there would be rain in the afternoon.” (noun)

Less commonly, there are instances in which, instead of changing a word’s spelling, we

change where we pronounce a stress on the word’s syllables to indicate a shift from a verb

to a noun; this change is known as a suprafix. Let’s look at some examples (with the stressed

syllable underlined):

• “You need to convert pounds into kilograms.” (verb)

• “The church always welcomes recent converts to its meetings.” (noun)

• “Make sure you record the meeting so we can review it later.” (verb)

• “I love listening to old records.” (noun)

• “Please don’t insult my intelligence.” (verb)

• “We will not forget this insult to our company.” (noun)

The word use can also function as either a noun or a verb, but instead of changing the stress

on a syllable, we change the actual pronunciation of the word, as in:

• “We plan to use a diagnostic test to evaluate the problem.” (verb—use is pronounced

“yooz”)

• “There is only one use for this tool.” (noun—use is pronounced “yuce”)

Nominal adjectives

We can also convert adjectives into nouns without changing spelling, but we generally do so

by adding the article the before the word. These are known as nominal adjectives. For

example:

• “The wealthy have an obligation to help the poor.”

• “We all want the best for her.”

• “This law protects the innocent.”

To learn more about how and when these are used, go to the section about Nominal

Adjectives in the chapter on Adjectives.

Infinitives

Lastly, verbs can serve the function of nouns by being used in their infinitive form—that is,

the base form of the verb with the particle to. Infinitives are not technically an example of

nominalization, because they can also act as adjectives and adverbs, but it’s worth looking at

how they work when they function as nouns. For example:

As the subject of a clause

• “To err is human; to forgive is divine.”

• “To study mathematics at Harvard was her ultimate dream.”

• “To live in the city means adjusting to a completely different lifestyle.”

As the object of a verb

• “I’m not going unless you agree to go with me.”

• “You appear to be correct.”

• “Please be quiet; I’m trying to study.”

As an object complement

(An object complement is a word or group of words that describe, rename, or complete the

direct object of the verb.)

• “I don’t expect you to approve of my decision.”

• “She’s forcing me to work through the weekend.”

• “We need you to make a few more copies.”

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