The Noun in English Grammar – An Excellent Approach of Learning

The Noun in English grammar is an essential topic of the parts of speech. As you know there are eight parts of speech in English grammar. 

They are –

1. Noun
2. Pronoun
3. Verb
4. Adverb
5. Adjective
6. Conjunction
7. Preposition
8. Interjection

Noun comes first in the list and plays a very important role in English grammar. Today, we will discuss the noun in English Grammar in detail.

Let us start the subject with the meaning of noun.

In short we can say, a noun is a member of a class of words that can come with determiners. It works as the subject to a verb. And being singular or plural it can be replaced by a pronoun. And finally, tells about quality, state, action or any concept.

Now let us move on to the definition of a noun. Look at the following pictures of nouns.

See the first picture. What do you find?

It is a name of an animal. That is a dog.

Now, look at the second picture. You find a place. That is a house.

Now move on to the third one. What is that?

That is a table, the name of a thing.

See the last picture. There is a woman, a name of a person.

Therefore, if you conclude all the above, you can say a noun is a name of a person, place, or thing. In other words, the noun is a naming word.

Congratulation!

You have finished the first step of the journey of the noun in English Grammar.

Some Noun Examples

Now let us see some noun examples sentences for more clarification. It will improve the subject the noun in English Grammar.

Here are some sentences. Go ahead and underline the nouns among them.

• Villa is operating a computer.
• Serve him a glass of shake.
• We get herbs from the Himalayas.
• She has a pet dog.
• The police are evacuating the villagers.

You have given it a try.

Nice!

Let me explain all the above sentences.

• In the first sentence, Villa and computer are nouns because Villa is a person’s name, and computer is the name of a thing.
• In the second sentence, glass and shake are nouns because they are the names of things.
• The third sentence tells herbs and Himalayas are the nouns as they are the names of a thing and a mountain.
• Sentence four has the word ‘dog’ that is the name of an animal. Therefore, it is a noun.
• Finally, in sentence fifth, the police and the villagers are nouns because they are names of persons.

Thumbs up for you! For getting a step ahead in the subject the noun in English Grammar. You can see some more noun examples sentences and improve more.

Now let us move onto the kinds of nouns here. 

Kinds of The Noun in English Grammar

This part will give a huge boost to the subject of the noun in English grammar. There are five kinds of nouns. Let’s see them below-

1. Proper Noun: The Red Fort, Mahatma Gandhi, Amitabh, etc.
2. Common Noun: City, park, girl, boy, man, etc.
3. Collective Noun: bunch, flock, fleet, crowd, etc.
4. Abstract Noun: childhood, wisdom, honesty, etc.
5. Material Noun: gold, silver, steel, stone, etc.

Let us see all the above kinds of noun in detail.

Proper Noun

Proper nouns are the names of particular persons, places, or things. They do not have plural forms.

For example:

• The Chennai Express arrives at 2 a.m.
• Ankleshwar goes to the office on Sundays.

Take a test

Identify the proper nouns from the following sentences of the noun in English grammar and rewrite them with appropriate capitalization. 

1. patna is the capital of bihar.
2. ashoka was a kind person.
3. He loves rani very much.
4. tom did not make a mistake in the examination.
5. india wants to be self-reliable. 

Check Your Answers

Now it is time to match your answers to the above exercise of the noun in English grammar.

1. Patna is the capital of Bihar.
2. Ashoka was a kind person.
3. He loves Rani very much.
4. Tom did not make a mistake in the examination.
5. India wants to be self-reliable.

Common Noun

Common nouns are the names of common persons, places, or things. They have both singular and plural forms.

For example:

• The train comes to the station on time.
• Amit goes to school.

Take a test

Choose the common noun from the following sentences of the noun in English grammar.

1. He is an obedient son.
2. My uncle does not go to the temple.
3. Birds can fly high in the sky.
4. Our school is situated near a bazaar.
5. Dogs are barking right now. 

Check Your Answers

Now it is time to match your answers to the above exercise of the noun in English grammar.

1. He is an obedient son.
2. My uncle does not go to the temple.
3. Birds can fly high in the sky.
4. Our school is situated near a bazaar.
5. Dogs are barking right now. 

Here in the sentences, son, uncle, temple, birds, school, bazaar, and dogs are common noun. This is so because they are the common names of a particular class.

Collective Noun

Collective nouns are the names of groups or collections of persons, animals, or things as a complete whole.

For example:

• My dog has a litter of five pups.
• The herd of cattle is grazing the crop.

Take a test

Write the collective nouns for the following of the noun in English grammar.

1. A collection of fish
2. A collection of sailors
3. Collections of sticks
4. A collection of players
5. A collection of dogs

Check Your Answers

Now it is time to match your answers to the above exercise of the noun in English grammar.

1. A collection of fish – Shoal
2. A group of sailors – Crew
3. Packs of sticks – Bundle
4. A collection of players – Team
5. A collection of dogs – Litter 

Abstract Noun

Abstract nouns are abstract qualities, actions, feelings, state of mind, or art.

For example:

• Childhood is the golden period of life.
• His friendship is beyond suspicion.

Take a test

Fill in the blanks with the noun form of words given in the brackets of the noun in English grammar.

1. Being in another country, my friend knows no ………. (free)
2. Who says he will be rewarded for his ……….. (honest)
3. She sent her marriage ………… (invite)
4. The soldiers are awarded for their ………….. (brave)
5. …………… is a nine days wonder. (Young)

Check Your Answers

Now it is time to match your answers to the above exercise of the noun in English grammar.

1. Being in another country, my friend knows no freedom.
2. Who says he will be rewarded for his honesty.
3. She sent her marriage invitation.
4. The soldiers are awarded for their bravery.
5. Youth is a nine days wonder. 

Material Noun

Material nouns are the names of materials that are used for making different things.

For example:

• Chapati is made of wheat flour.
• My ring is made of gold.

Take a test

Choose the material nouns in the following sentences of the noun in English grammar.

1. The sweets are made of pure milk.
2. Plates are made of paper.
3. The pots of my house are made of China clay.
4. Bathing tubs are made of plastic.
5. His window is made of glass. 

Check Your Answers

Now it is time to match your answers to the above exercise of the noun in English grammar.

1. The sweets are made of pure milk.
2. Plates are made of paper.
3. The pots of my house are made of China clay.
4. Bathing tubs are made of plastic.
5. His window is made of glass. 

All the items are made of milk, paper, china clay, plastic, and glass in the above sentences. So these items are material nouns.

You have come to a step ahead of the subject of the noun in English Grammar. Let us move onto the next one. 

Another Classification of The Noun in English Grammar

Now see another classification of nouns in the sequence of the noun in English grammar. There are two types of nouns – 

1. Countable Nouns
2. Uncountable Nouns

Let us see the above two types in detail.

Countable Noun –

The nouns that are counted are called countable nouns. 

For examples –

• A girl, two girls, three girls, etc.
• An elephant, two elephants, three elephants, etc.

For a countable noun, you can ask a question, ‘how many .’ While answering these questions, you should use numbers to show how many. Apart from these rules, it would be best to use determiners like a, an, and a few with it.

Uncountable Noun –

Nouns that you can not count are called uncountable nouns.

For examples –

Milk, salt, kindness, money, wood, etc.

For uncountable nouns, you can ask a question, ‘how much?’ While answering these questions, you should use the quantity of the nouns. You can use some and a little with them. In addition, it would help if you used the value of measurement.

For examples –

• A glass of milk,
• A liter of diesel
• Two kilos of rice
• A box of sweets, etc.

Gender – The Noun in English Grammar

Moving forward in the sequence of the noun in English grammar, let us see gener. Gender has its origin from the Latin word genus. It means a kind or a sort.

It means it informs us about the type of sex of a noun. So, you have got the definition of gender. It tells whether the noun is a male, female, both, or none of these.

There are four kinds of gender in English grammar. 

1. Masculine Gender
2. Feminine Gender
3. Common Gender
4. Neuter Gender

See the gender in detail below.

The Masculine Gender

A noun that denotes the male animal is masculine gender. It means they are the words for men, boys, and male animals.

For example –

cock, dog, horse, lion, hero, actor, etc.

The Feminine Gender

A noun that denotes a female animal is feminine gender. It means they are the words for women, girls, and female animals.

For example – 

hen, bitch, mare, lioness, heroin, actress, etc.

The Common Gender

A noun that denotes both the male and female animal is common gender. It means they are words for men, women, boys, girls, male and female animals.

For example – 

student, friend, child, teacher, enemy, etc.

The Neuter Gender

A noun that denotes neither male nor female animal is neuter gender. It means they are the words neither for men, women, boys, girls, males, or female animals. 

For example – 

book, tree, room, fan, laptop, etc.

Based on the above information, you can say that gender of a noun is a matter of sex.

Sometimes, lifeless objects are often personified. You take it as a living thing. It would help if you regarded them as male or female. See the examples below.

• The Sun gives his energy to everyone, the poor and the rich.
• The Moon hides her face behind the clouds.
• The death lays her icy hands on kings.

We can see the how to make feminine of the masculine gender to push the subject the noun in English grammar forward.

How to Form the Feminine of Nouns: Noun in English Grammar

There are three ways of forming the feminine of nouns:

1. By using an entirely different word
2. By adding a syllable 
3. Placing a word before or after

Let us see them in detail one by one.

By Using an Entirely Different Word

These feminine gender words are different from the Masculine gender words. See the examples below.

• Bachelor – Spinster
• Brother – Sister
• buck – doe
• lord – lady
• man – woman 

See the other list below.

By Adding a Syllable

In most nouns of masculine gender -ess, -ine, -trix, – a, etc. are added to make feminine gender. For example –

• Giant – giantess
• priest – priestess, etc.

See the list of masculine and feminine gender below.

This list is a bit different from the above. Here, you should add -ess after dropping the vowel of masculine gender.

See example –

• Actor – Actress
• Hunter – Huntress

Here o of the word actor and e from the word hunter not there in the feminine gender. It would help if you dropped the last vowel of the masculine gender noun.

By Placing words Before or After

In this rule, we use a different word for making feminine gender. It is another word from the masculine gender. See the examples below.

• grandfather – grandmother
• landlord – landlady
• salesman – saleswoman 

See the list below.

Take a test

Write proper masculine or feminine nouns below for the noun in English grammar. 

1. Bull……………
2. Fox……………
3. Man……………
4. ………………princess
5. ………………empress
6. King………………….
7. Stallion……………….
8. ……………….witch
9. Nephew……………..
10. …………….duck
11. Brother……………..
12. Husband………………
13. Waiter…………………
14. …………………goose
15. Actor………………….

Check Your Answers

Now it is time to match your answers to the above exercise of the noun in English grammar.

1. Bull – cow
2. Fox – vixen
3. Man-woman
4. Prince – princess
5. Emperor – empress
6. King – queen
7. Stallion – mare
8. Wizard – witch
9. Nephew – Niece
10. Drake – duck
11. Brother – sister
12. Husband – wife
13. Waiter – waitress
14. Gander – goose
15. Actor – actress

Number: The Noun in English Grammar

So we have come to the next step of the subject – the noun in English grammar. That is the number of the noun. Let’s start with the following examples. 

• There is a bird on a tree.
• There are some birds on trees. 

Examine the above sentences closely. In the first sentence, there is one bird and one tree. But, on the contrary, in the second sentence, there are many birds and many trees. This is because the first sentence denotes one bird and tree, and the second sentence conveys many birds and trees.

A noun that denotes one person, place or thing, is the singular number, like a tree, bird, paper, lion, man, etc.

A noun that denotes more than one person, place or thing, is the plural number, like trees, birds, papers, lions, men, etc.

Thus you find two numbers in English.

1. Singular Number
2. Plural Number

Forming plural from singular is more important than identifying the singular and plural number. Knowing singular and plural does not make the topic end. But, its formation is the thing that challenges you.

We, therefore, move forward towards the formation of the plural in the subject the noun in English grammar.

Formation of plurals: The Noun in English Grammar

There are several rules for making a noun plural. Let us the rules of forming plurals one by one for the noun in English grammar.

By adding -s to the singular noun

Generally, we make plural nouns by adding -s to the singular. See the example below.

• Boy – boys
• Notebook – notebooks
• Mobile – mobiles
• Sentence – sentences 
• Cow – cows

By adding -es to the singular noun

The nouns that end in -s, -sh, -ch, or -x, you should form the plural by adding -es to the singular. For example, see the following nouns. 

• class – classes
• dish – dishes
• match – matches
• box – boxes 

Most nouns that end in -o, you should also add -es to make them plural. Like-

• buffalo – buffaloes
• cargo – cargoes
• hero – heroes

By adding -s to the singular noun

Many nouns need only -s to make plurals. Like-

• photo – photos
• logo – logos
• solo – solos

By adding -ies to the singular noun

For the singular nouns that end in y (preceded by the consonant), you need to change the y into I and add -es them. See the following examples- 

• baby – babies
• army – armies
• fly – flies
• story – stories
• city – cities

By changing f/fe into v

Many nouns end in ‘f’ or ‘fe.’ You should change them into v and add es to make them plural nouns. For example-

• leaf – leaves
• half – halves
• knife – knives
• shelf – shelves
• wolf – wolves

For some nouns like dwarf, hoof, scarf, wharf, you can add ‘s’ or ‘ves’ to make them plural.

• dwarf – dwarfs/dwarves
• hoof – hoofs/hooves
• scarf – scarfs/scarves
• wharf – wharfs/wharves

See some other words ending n f/fe that do not follow the rules.

• chief – chiefs 
• gulf – gulfs
• safe – safes
• cliff – cliffs
• proof – proofs
• handkerchief – handkerchiefs 

By changing the inside vowel of the singular

There are a few nouns that form the plural by changing the inside vowel of the singular noun. See the examples below.

• man – men
• woman – women
• mouse – mice
• louse – lice
• tooth – teeth

By adding -en to the singular 

Some nouns form their plural by adding -en to the singular. 

• ox – oxen
• child – children

Let us talk about the plural of fish. Some people say the plural of fish is ‘fishes.’ On the other hand, some people believe that ‘fish’ is the plural of fish.

So what do you think?

Which one is right?

Both the group is right. That is surprising! How can both of them be right?

Let me explain it. We will take two instances of the pond. 

1. A pond has a lot of fish like Rohu, starfish, golden fish, etc. 
2. There is a different pond that also has much fish like Rohu only. 

So in the first instance, you need to use the word ‘fishes’ for plural. It is so because there are different breeds of fish. But in the second instance, There is a lot of fish but the same kind. So you need to use the word ‘fish’ as plural.

So you got the difference between ‘fish’ and ‘fishes’ now.

We have see the rules of making plural from the singular nouns. Let us move forward with the subject the noun in English grammar. 

Rules of the Noun in English Grammar 

You have to see the rules of making plurals in the above heads. Now you will see what the rules of the noun are. These rules are frequently asked in competitions. So let us give the subject of the noun in English grammar a move with the directions below.

The Singular and Plural Alike

You read that there are many rules for making plurals from singular nouns. But some nouns need no rules to form plurals. Here they are-

• Swine, sheep, deer, cod, trout, salmon, aircraft, spacecraft, series, species, 
• pair, dozen, score, gross, hundred, thousand, [if you use them with a numeral, they always are the same]

See some instances below.

• Buy three dozen bananas. (correct)
• Buy three dozens bananas. (incorrect)
• She bought a gown of five thousand rupees. (correct)
• She purchased a gown of five thousands rupees. (incorrect)

In the first example, the dozen and the thousand come with a numeral of three and five, respectively. Therefore, you need to use the exact words as plurals.

Nouns always used in plurals

Some nouns are always used in plurals. This is because they do not have a singular number. So, while using these nouns, we need to be very careful.

See the list below-

• Names of the instruments that have two parts as a pair are in plurals.

For example – bellows, scissors, tongs, pincers, spectacles. Etc. 

• Terms of particular articles of the dress also have plurals forms only.

For example – trousers, drawers, breeches, jeans, tights, shorts, pajamas. Etc. 

• Some specific nouns also have only plural forms. 

For example – annals, thanks, proceeds, tidings, environs, nuptials, obsequies, assets, chattels. Etc.

Nouns originally singular but used as a plural

Some nouns are singular in their original form. But now, they are generally used as plural nouns.

Like – Alms, riches, eaves. 

• Riches have a lot of value today. [correct]
• Riches has a lot of value today. [incorrect]
• Alms are good enough to help you beyond this world. [correct]
• Alms is good enough to help you beyond this world. [incorrect]

Nouns that are singular but look plural

Many nouns look singular, but actually, they are plural in number. We can see them through the following heads.

Names of Subjects

Some subjects look plural because there are ‘s’ in their names. They are not plural. They are singular.

For examples –
Mathematics, physics, electronics, Etc.

• Mathematics are difficult subject. (incorrect)
• Mathematics is a difficult subject. (correct)
• Physics are subject of science stream. (incorrect)
• Physics is a subject of science stream. (correct)

Names of Some Diseases

Some games look plural, but they are singular in number.

For example –

Measles, mumps, Rickets, Etc.

• Measles are a human disease. (incorrect)
• Measles is a human disease. (correct)
• The deficiency of vitamin D cause rickets. (incorrect)
• The deficiency of vitamin D causes rickets. (correct)

Names of Some Games

Some names of the games also look plural, but you should use them as singular nouns. 

For example – 

Billiards, draughts, Etc.

• Billiards are a costly game. (incorrect)
• Billiards is an expensive game. (correct)
• Draughts are rarely played in India. (incorrect)
• Draughts is seldom played in India. (correct)

Names of Some Other Nouns

Some nouns create confusion. You must be very careful while using these words.

For example-

News, means, Etc.

• These news are good for you. (incorrect)
• This news is good for you. (correct)

Now, let us see the word ‘means.’ Means has two meanings. It has both singular and plural implications as you use it. If you use it for wealth, it is always in the plural number. If you use it for a source, it is in a singular number or a plural number.

See the example below.

• Small means do not incur debt to an honest person. (correct)
• His unfair means are the root cause for his success. (correct)
• His unfair means is the root cause of his success. (correct)

Some Collective Nouns used in Plural 

Specific collective nouns look singular in form, but they are always used as plurals. 

For example-

poultry, cattle, vermin, people, gentry, Etc.

• These poultry are not away from public places. (correct)
• This poultry is not away from public places. (incorrect)
• Cattle were grazing in the field. (correct)
• Cattle is grazing in the area. (incorrect)
• Vermin carry disease. (correct)
• Vermin carries disease. (incorrect)
• These people can help us. (correct)
• This pople can help us. (incorrect)
• There are few gentry that live in our town. (correct)
• There is a few gentry that lives of our city. (incorrect)

The word ‘people’ is used for two meanings, for persons and a nation. See the examples below.

• The Chinese are hard-working people.
• There are many peoples in the world. 

A Plural of a Compound Noun

A compound noun has a principal word in it. It would be best if you made the principal word plural while making a compound noun plural.

See the examples below. 

• Commander-in-chief = Commanders-in-chief
• Son-in-law = Sons-in-law
• daughter-in-law = daughters-in-law
• stepson = stepsons
• stepdaughter = stepdaughters
• mainservant = maidservants
• passer-by = passers by
• man-of-war = men-of-war

Let us has a list of words that create confusion.

• spoonful
• handful
• brahman
• Musselman

Now see the plurals of these words. 

• spoonful – spoonfuls
• handful – handfuls
• brahman – brahmans
• Musselman – Musselmans

You might be confused with the plurals of these nouns. Isn’t it? Let me explain these nouns. Spoonful and Handful are supposed to be one word. That is why they have these plurals. And, brahman and Musselman are the words that come from Hindi. They are not compound words. Therefore, they have these plurals. 

Plurals of the Nouns from the Foreign Language

If you make plurals of the nouns that are from foreign languages, keep their original plural forms.

See the examples of Latin, Greek, Italian, French, Hebrew, Etc.

• erratum – errata
• index – indices
• radius – radii
• formula – formulae (formulas)
• memorandum – memoranda 
• terminus – termini (terminuses)
• axis – axes
• crisis – crises
• basis – bases
• analysis – analyses
• parenthesis – parentheses
• hypothesis – hypotheses
• phenomenon, phenomena
• criterion – criteria
• Bandit – banditti (bandits)
• madam – mesdames
• monsieur – messieurs
• cherub – cherubim (cherubs)
• seraph – seraphim (seraphs)

The Nouns That Have Two Plural Forms

Some nouns have two forms of their plural. But don’t take them the same. But they have somewhat different meanings.

See the examples below.

Brother – brothers, brethren 

Here brothers mean the sons of the same parents. But brethren means people of the society, not the sons of the same parents. Let us see it in a sentence.

We are Indians. We are all brothers.

Here in the sentence, you can see brothers. The sentence does not mean that all Indians are the sons of the same parents. Parents are different. Right! So the word ‘brothers’ is not good to use here. Instead, it would help if you used ‘brethren.’ So the correct sentence for the above is –

We are Indians. We are all brethren. (Not brothers)

Cloth – clothes (stitched clothes, i.e., garments), cloth (unstitched cloth, i.e., pieces of fabric)

Die – dies (stamp for coining), dice (a small cube used in games like ludo etc.)

Index – Indexes (a table for a book), indices (signs of algebras)

Penny – pennies (number of coins), pence (amount of value)