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Grammar Basics (Nouns)
Resource: Advanced English Grammar for ESL Learners C/LtCol Genieve M. Martínez
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Lesson Objectives Review grammar basics: Parts of Speech
Noun Pronoun Verb Adjective Adverb Preposition Conjunction Putting words together Sentence Test Knowledge: Quiz 1
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Parts of Speech NOUN a person, place, or thing. Can be the subject or object of a sentence. PRONOUN a word that replaces or stands for ("pro" = for) a noun. VERB an action word. ADJECTIVE a word that describes or modifies a noun. Answers the questions "how many," "what kind," etc. ADVERB a word that describes or modifies a verb. PREPOSITION (literally "pre-position") a word that indicates the relationship of a noun (or noun phrase) to another word.
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Nouns Types of nouns: Proper/Common Noncount/Count Collective
Abstract/Concrete Possessive Proper represent a unique entity (a specific person or a specific place) Capitalized Countable Common nouns that can become a plural can combine with exact numbers (even one, as a singular) or indefinite numbers (like "a" or "an”) Name groups consisting of more than one individual or entity Concrete you can see, hear, smell, taste, or feel the item names who or what has something nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals Common Describe an entire group of entities (village or women) Not capitalized Noncount they can't become plural or combine with number words Examples "family", "committee", "corporation","faculty", "army", and "school” Abstract Refer to ideas or concepts, like the nouns "politeness" or "hatefulness" refers to where someone works or plays or spends their time
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Spelling of regular nouns
Most regular nouns form their plural spelling by adding –s to the singular form: If the regular plural ending is pronounced s, x, ch or sh, the regular plural is spelled –es: Singular Plural Boat boats Plane planes Ski Skis Singular Plural Batch batches Box boxes Bus buses Wish Wishes
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Spelling of regular nouns
The plural of words ending in constant + y change the y to i and add –es: If the y follows a vowel, the y is part of the spelling of the vowel and cannot be changed: Singular Plural Baby Babies Family Families Lady Ladies Story Stories Singular Plural Day Days Key Keys Toy Toys
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Test your knowledge: Spelling of regular nouns
Write the correct form of the plural in the second column. The first question is done as an example. Singular Plural Flash Flashes Delay 2. Tool 3. Stone 4. Fly 5. Neck 6. Switch 7. Library 8. Path 9. Guess 10. Valley
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Irregular plurals Seven nouns form their plurals by a vowel change alone: Singular Plural Foot Feet Goose Geese Louse Lice Man Men Mouse Mice Tooth Teeth Woman Women
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Irregular plurals Two nouns retain the plural ending –en that in Old English was standard for regular nouns: If the noun ends with /f/ the f changes to v and add the –es plural or if the word has /f/ in the middle change the f to v and add –s at the end: Singular Plural Ox Oxen Child Children Singular Plural Half Halves Life Lives Thief Thieves
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Test your knowledge: Irregular nouns
Write the correct form of the plural in the second column. The first question is done as an example. Singular Plural Deer Tooth 2. Loaf 3. Goose 4. Shelf 5. Ox 6. Trout 7. Knife 8. Mouse 9. Wolf 10. Cliff
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Latin plurals Plural of Latin nouns ending in –us change the –us to -i: Plurals of Latin nouns ending in –um change –um to -a: Singular Plural Alumnus Alumni Focus Foci Locus Loci Singular Plural Addendum Addenda Curriculum Curricula Datum Data
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Test your knowledge: Latin plurals
Write the correct form of the plural in the second column. The first question is done as an example. Singular Plural Stratum Strata Stimulus 2. Memorandum 3. Syllabus 4. Spectrum 5. Consortium
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Noncount nouns Are names for categories of things. For example the noncount noun housing is a collective term that refers to an entire category of places where people temporarily or permanently reside, such as a room, house, dormitory, condo, tent and so on. Category Examples Abstractions Beauty, faith, luck Academic fields Chemistry, economics, physics Food Butter, meat, salt Gerunds Running, smiling, winning Languages Arabic, English, Spanish Liquids and gases Air, blood, gasoline Materials Cement, paper, wood Natural phenomena Electricity, matter, space Sports and games Baseball, chess, soccer Weather words Fog, rain, wind
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Noncount nouns The following words are all noncount nouns. Put each noun into the category that is most appropriate for it. The first word is done as an example. Beer Charity cheese Chinese coffee football geology glass gold gravity hope knowledge laughing literature oxygen pepper poker rice Russian sleeping snow sunshine talking time wool Category Abstractions Academic fields Food Gerunds Languages Liquids and gases Beer Materials Natural phenomena Sports and games Weather words
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Possessive nouns and personal pronouns
Possessive nouns and pronouns have the same functions but are formed in very different ways. The use of the apostrophe signals the possessive use of the plural noun. Plural –s Possessive -s Boys Boy’s Girls Girl’s Friends Friend’s Schools School’s
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Possessive nouns and personal pronouns
Three forms of possessive nouns: plural –s, singular possessive – ’s and plural possessive –s’: Plural –s Singular Possessive -s Plural possessive –s’ Boys Boy’s Boys’ Girls Girl’s Girls’ Friends Friend’s Friends’ Schools School’s Schools’
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Possessive nouns and personal pronouns
While it is correct to call –s’ the plural possessive, it is a mistake to think of the –’s as the singular possessive. The problem with this definition arises with the possessive forms of irregular nouns that become plural without adding a plural –s. Singular Plural Noun Possessive Man Man’s Men Men’s Woman Woman’s Women Women’s Datum Datum’s Data Data’s Sheep Sheep’s
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Test your knowledge: Possessives
Fill in the correct forms of the plurals and possessives. An example is provided. Singular Plural Noun Possessive Teacher Teacher’s Teachers Teachers’ Mouse 2. Thief 3. Child 4. Goose 5. Ox 6. Deer 7. Foot 8. Tooth 9. Fish 10. Wolf
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The common subject pronouns
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns in a sentence. Pronoun Person Adjectival form Pronominal form I First person singular My Mine We First person plural Our Ours You Second person singular Your Yours He Third person singular His She Her Hers It Its They Third person plural Their Theirs
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The possessive form of personal pronouns
The possessive pronoun has: Two numbers Three persons Two Forms Singular First person (Speaker) Adjective Pronoun modifies a following noun That is my coat. Plural Second person (Person spoken to) Pronoun Pronoun stands by itself in place of a noun That coat is mine. Third person (person or thing spoken about)
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Distinguishing between its and it’s
The simplest way to distinguish the contracted form of it is from the uncontracted possessive pronoun its is to see if you can expand its or it’s to it is. If the expanded two-word expression makes sense, then you know that you should use the contracted form it’s. If the expanded two-word expression makes no sense at all, then you know that you are dealing with the possessive pronoun and that you should not use the apostrophe. Here is a test applied to the two examples: My car lost it’s windshield wiper. Expanded: My car lost it is windshield wiper. The correct form is My car lost its windshield wiper.
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Test your knowledge: Distinguishing between its and it’s
Expand the its and it’s in the following sentences and then write the corrected form under the expanded form. If the original is already correct, write “OK” under the expanded form. Our team lost it’s best player. Expanded it is Correction its It’s a beautiful day for an outing. Expanded it is Correction OK 1. The train just came in. Its on Track 7. Expanded Correction 2. The kitchen needs its windows cleaned. 3. The store is cutting back on it’s hours. 4. I think its a big mistake to do it. 5. The drug will lose it’s effectiveness with extensive use. 6. Its a good investment.
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