Problems with Nouns

1
Problems with Nouns
Singular or Plural????
2
Introduction
Problems with Nouns

• Look at the sentences below. Whats wrong? Move
  your
• mouse over each sentence to see the answer.

Bedrooms should be plural because the sentence
says there are three.
The word milks is incorrect, because it is a
non-count noun and cannot have an s.
1. I have three bedroom in my house.
2. There are many milks in the refrigerator.
3. Those chair are in the wrong room.
4. There are five reds cars.
5. Some of the class are at night.
6. Your childs are beautiful.
7. Would you like a few milk?
3
Guideline 1
Count and Non-Count Nouns

• In English, we have countable and non-countable
  nouns.
• Some examples of countable and non-countable
  nouns are
• below.

Countable Nouns
Non-Countable Nouns
More Non-Countable Nouns
chair student day song computer room
love money weather food fruit furniture
4
Guideline 2
Countable Nouns

• Countable nouns can have singular and plural
  forms and
• can be counted numerically. Most countable nouns
  can be
• made plural by adding s or es.

book
books
3 books
box
boxes
2 boxes
5
Guideline 3
Non-Countable Nouns

• Non-countable nouns have only one form and cant
  be
• counted numerically. Look at the examples below.

monies
money
one money
money
healths
health
two health
health
6
Guideline 4
Non-Countable Nouns

• Non-countable nouns cannot take the plural s or
  es or
• an article (a, an).

a furniture
furniture
furnitures
furniture
a news
news
newses
news
7
Guideline 5
Irregular Plural Nouns

• Some nouns have an irregular plural form. Look
  at the examples below.

woman
womans
women
child
childs
children
Click here to see a list of irregular plural
nouns.
8
Guideline 6
Noun Quantifiers

• Words like, a few, a little, much, any, some,
  and many
• are used differently depending on whether the
  noun in the
• sentence is count or non-count.

a few
count nouns
a few bananas
a little
non-count nouns
a little flour
9
(Continued)
Noun Quantifiers
many
count nouns
many chairs
much
non-count nouns
much furniture
some
non-count nouns
some furniture
count nouns
some chairs
10
(Continued)
Noun Quantifiers

• Any is used in negative sentences with count and
  non-count nouns. Notice the difference in plural
  and singular verbs.

any
count nouns
There arent any chairs.
any
non-count nouns
There isnt any furniture.
11
Guideline 7
Agreement with Demonstrative Adjectives

• Remember to make demonstrative adjectives (this,
  that, these, those) agree with the nouns they
  modify.

singular
plural
these room
these rooms
this rooms
this room
12
Guideline 8
Nouns and of phrases

• A countable noun is always plural after an of
  phrase that shows quantity. A non-count noun is
  always singular after an of phrase.

plural
Some of the chairs are broken.
of phrases
singular
Some of the furniture is broken.
13
Guideline 9
Adjectives

• Adjectives are never plural.

Those are beautifuls houses.
beautiful
That is an olds book.
old
14
Appendix
Irregular Plural Nouns

• woman ? women deer ? deer
• man ? men calf ? calves
• child ? children wife ? wives
• ox ? oxen life ? lives
• foot ? feet half ? halves
• tooth ? teeth knife ? knives
• goose ? geese self ? selves
• mouse ? mice wolf ? wolves
• louse ? lice thief ? thieves
• sheep ? sheep leaf ? leaves
• fish ? fish shelf ? shelves

15
Appendix
Non-Countable Nouns

• accommodation coal garbage leisure
  vocabulary
• advice conduct gossip lightning
  wealth
• anger countryside grass luck
  weather
• applause courage hair luggage
  work
• assistance damage happiness machinery
  violence
• baggage dancing harm meat
  underwear
• behavior furniture help money
  travel
• bread dirt homework mud
  traffic
• cardboard education hospitality music
• cash evidence housework news
• chaos flu information patience
• chess food jewelry poetry
• china fruit knowledge scenery
• clothing fun laughter soap
• spelling strength stuff thunder

16
Appendix
of phrases

• Some of the A little of the
• Many of the Much of the
• A number of the A lot of the
• One of the
• Most of the
• Half of the
• A few of the