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Nouns in the English language explained with an exercise.

Nouns in the English Language

Common Nouns

Nouns are divided into common nouns and proper nouns.
Common nouns are words for people, animals, places,
or things.
These are words for people. They are common nouns:

actor lawyer aunt judge baby man baker nurse cook police officer dentist singer doctor soldier giant teacher

These are words for animals. They are common nouns:

eagle zebra deer bird crocodile bear

These are words for places. They are common nouns:

airport market cave mountain playground farm restaurant

These are words for things. They are common nouns:

bag kite box ladder bread lamp

Proper Nouns

Proper nouns are names for particular people, places or
things. They always begin with a capital letter.

Here are some more names of people:

Ali Baba Florence Nightingale Derek Jeter Patrick Harry Potter

The names of countries and their people are also
proper nouns:

America Americans Korea Koreans Egypt Egyptians Malaysia Malaysians

The names of towns, cities, buildings and landmarks
are proper nouns:

the Great Wall of China Brooklyn Bridge the Statue of Liberty the Eiffel Tower Pike’s Peak Sydney Tokyo

The days of the week and months of the year are proper
nouns:

Sunday Monday Tuesday, January
February March

The names of mountains, seas, rivers and lakes are
proper nouns:

Lake Michigan the Alps the Himalayas the Dead Sea the Pacific Ocean

The names of festivals, some special events and holidays
are proper nouns, too:

Mother’s Day Memorial Day April Fool’s Day Labor Day Thanksgiving Day Independence Day

Singular Nouns

Nouns can be singular or plural. When you are talking
about one person, animal, place, or thing, use a singular
noun:

an airplane a letter a bicycle a map a boy a photograph

Plural Nouns

When you are talking about two or more people,
animals, places, or things, use plural nouns.
Most nouns are made plural by adding -s at the end:

bird birds/broom brooms/camel camels/desk desks/doll dolls/egg eggs

Some plural nouns end in -es:

beach beaches/branch branches/box boxes/bush bushes/dish dishes/dress dresses

Some plural nouns end in -ies:

baby babies/cherry cherries/diary diaries/dictionary dictionaries/fairy fairies/family families

What if there is a vowel before the y?
In that case, add -s to form the plural:

chimney chimneys/cowboy cowboys/day days/donkey donkeys/jersey jerseys/kidney kidneys/monkey monkeys

If a noun ends in -f, you often change f to v, and add -es:

Singular: calf Plural: calves/Singular: loaf Plural: loaves/Singular: elf Plural: elves/Singular: shelf Plural: shelves/ Singular: half Plural: halves/

Singular: thief Plural: thieves/ Singular: leaf Plural: leaves

/ Singular: wolf Plural: wolves

With some words that end in -fe, you change f to v, and add -s:

knife knives/life lives/wife wives

But you only add -s to giraffe to form the plural.

If a noun ends in -o, you just add -s to form the plural:

a hippo hippos/a video videos/a zoo zoos

But with some nouns that end in -o, you add -es to form
the plural:

a tomato tomatoes/a potato potatoes/a hero heroes

With some nouns that end in -o, you can add
either -s or -es to form the plural:

a mango mangoes mangos/a mosquito mosquitoes mosquitos
a zero zeroes zeros/a buffalo buffaloes buffalos

Some plural nouns don’t follow the -s rule. They don’t end in -s, -es, -ies or -ves. Instead, the word changes form:

child children/man men/ox oxen/tooth teeth/woman women/mouse mice

Note:

The plural of the mouse that you use with your computer is either mice or mouses.

Some plural nouns are the same as the singular noun:

bison bison/deer dee/sheep sheep/fish fish

Some plural nouns are the same as the singular noun:

bison bison/deer dee/sheep sheep/fish fish

Note:

You can use fishes as the plural of fish when you are talking about
different kinds of fish: all the fishes of the Pacific Ocean.

Some nouns are always plural:

pants/scissors/pajamas/sneakers/shorts/slippers/trousers/stockings/

sandals

Some nouns are always plural:

pants/scissors/pajamas/sneakers/shorts/slippers/trousers/stockings/

sandals

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are words for groups of people,
animals or things.
These are nouns for groups of people:

an audience/ a gang/a band /a group/a choir/ a team/a class/ a family/ an orchestra

Here are more collective nouns that are used for groups
of people, animals or things.:

a bunch of keys/a class of pupils/a collection of books/a deck of cards
a fleet of ships/a flock of sheep/a gaggle of geese/a gang of robbers
a herd of cattle/a litter of cubs/a pod of whales/a pack of wolves
a pride of lions/a set of stamps/a swarm of bees/a troupe of actors

a school of fish

Here are more collective nouns that are used for groups
of people, animals or things:

a bunch of keys/a class of pupils/a collection of books/a deck of cards
a fleet of ships/a flock of sheep/a gaggle of geese/a gang of robbers
a herd of cattle/a litter of cubs/a pod of whales/a pack of wolves
a pride of lions/a set of stamps/a swarm of bees/a troupe of actors

a school of fish

Masculine and Feminine Nouns

Masculine nouns are words for men and boys, and
male animals.
Feminine nouns are words for women and girls, and
female animals:

boy girl/man woman/prince princess/steward stewardess/waiter waitress

king queen/rooster hen/lion lioness

Many nouns are used for both males and females. We call these nouns common-gender nouns:

accountants parents artists managers designers pupils engineers singers
lawyers teachers

Words for things that are neither male nor female are
called neuter nouns:

ball forest building gymnasium broom playground cake rock computer sky
card socks floor wind

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Prepared By

Mr. Concord English Language Blogger

Nouns in the English language explained with an exercise

Nouns in the English language explained with an exercise.

Nouns in the English Language

Common Nouns

Nouns are divided into common nouns and proper nouns. Common nouns are words for people, animals, places, or things.These are words for people. They are common nouns:

actor lawyer aunt judge baby man baker nurse cook police officer dentist singer doctor soldier giant teacher

These are words for animals. They are common nouns:

eagle zebra deer bird crocodile bear

These are words for places. They are common nouns:

airport market cave mountain playground farm restaurant

These are words for things. They are common nouns:

bag kite box ladder bread lamp

Proper Nouns

Proper nouns are names for particular people, places or things. They always begin with a capital letter.

Here are some more names of people:

Ali Baba Florence Nightingale Derek Jeter Patrick Harry Potter

The names of countries and their people are also proper nouns:

America Americans Korea Koreans Egypt Egyptians Malaysia Malaysians

The names of towns, cities, buildings and landmarks are proper nouns:

the Great Wall of China Brooklyn Bridge the Statue of Liberty the Eiffel Tower Pike’s Peak Sydney Tokyo

The days of the week and months of the year are proper nouns:

Sunday Monday Tuesday, January February March

The names of mountains, seas, rivers and lakes are proper nouns:

Lake Michigan the Alps the Himalayas the Dead Sea the Pacific Ocean

The names of festivals, some special events and holidays are proper nouns, too:

Mother’s Day Memorial Day April Fool’s Day Labor Day Thanksgiving Day Independence Day

Singular Nouns

Nouns can be singular or plural. When you are talking about one person, animal, place, or thing, use a singular noun:

an airplane a letter a bicycle a map a boy a photograph

Plural Nouns

When you are talking about two or more people, animals, places, or things, use plural nouns. Most nouns are made plural by adding -s at the end:

bird birds/broom brooms/camel camels/desk desks/doll dolls/egg eggs

Some plural nouns end in -es:

beach beaches/branch branches/box boxes/bush bushes/dish dishes/dress dresses

Some plural nouns end in -ies:

baby babies/cherry cherries/diary diaries/dictionary dictionaries/fairy fairies/family families

What if there is a vowel before the y? In that case, add -s to form the plural:

chimney chimneys/cowboy cowboys/day days/donkey donkeys/jersey jerseys/kidney kidneys/monkey monkeys

If a noun ends in -f, you often change f to v, and add -es:

Singular: calf Plural: calves/Singular: loaf Plural: loaves/Singular: elf Plural: elves/Singular: shelf Plural: shelves/ Singular: half Plural: halves/

Singular: thief Plural: thieves/ Singular: leaf Plural: leaves

/ Singular: wolf Plural: wolves

With some words that end in -fe, you change f to v, and add -s:

knife knives/life lives/wife wives

But you only add -s to giraffe to form the plural.

If a noun ends in -o, you just add -s to form the plural:

a hippo hippos/a video videos/a zoo zoos

But with some nouns that end in -o, you add -es to form the plural:

a tomato tomatoes/a potato potatoes/a hero heroes

With some nouns that end in -o, you can addeither -s or -es to form the plural:

a mango mangoes mangos/a mosquito mosquitoes mosquitosa zero zeroes zeros/a buffalo buffaloes buffalos

Some plural nouns don’t follow the -s rule. They don’t end in -s, -es, -ies or -ves. Instead, the word changes form:

child children/man men/ox oxen/tooth teeth/woman women/mouse mice

Note:

The plural of the mouse that you use with your computer is either mice or mouses.

Some plural nouns are the same as the singular noun:

bison bison/deer dee/sheep sheep/fish fish

Some plural nouns are the same as the singular noun:

bison bison/deer dee/sheep sheep/fish fish

Note:

You can use fishes as the plural of fish when you are talking about different kinds of fish: all the fishes of the Pacific Ocean.

Some nouns are always plural:

pants/scissors/pajamas/sneakers/shorts/slippers/trousers/stockings/

sandals

Some nouns are always plural:

pants/scissors/pajamas/sneakers/shorts/slippers/trousers/stockings/

sandals

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are words for groups of people, animals or things. These are nouns for groups of people:

an audience/ a gang/a band /a group/a choir/ a team/a class/ a family/ an orchestra

Here are more collective nouns that are used for groups of people, animals or things.:

a bunch of keys/a class of pupils/a collection of books/a deck of cards a fleet of ships/a flock of sheep/a gaggle of geese/a gang of robbersa herd of cattle/a litter of cubs/a pod of whales/a pack of wolvesa pride of lions/a set of stamps/a swarm of bees/a troupe of actors

a school of fish

Here are more collective nouns that are used for groups of people, animals or things:

a bunch of keys/a class of pupils/a collection of books/a deck of cards a fleet of ships/a flock of sheep/a gaggle of geese/a gang of robbersa herd of cattle/a litter of cubs/a pod of whales/a pack of wolvesa pride of lions/a set of stamps/a swarm of bees/a troupe of actors

a school of fish

Masculine and Feminine Nouns

Masculine nouns are words for men and boys, and male animals. Feminine nouns are words for women and girls, and female animals:

boy girl/man woman/prince princess/steward stewardess/waiter waitress

king queen/rooster hen/lion lioness

Nouns are divided into common nouns and proper nouns.
Common nouns are words for people, animals, places,
or things.
These are words for people. They are common nouns:

Proper nouns are names for particular people, places or
things. They always begin with a capital letter.

The names of countries and their people are also
proper nouns:

The names of towns, cities, buildings and landmarks
are proper nouns:

The days of the week and months of the year are proper
nouns:

Sunday Monday Tuesday, January
February March

The names of mountains, seas, rivers and lakes are
proper nouns:

The names of festivals, some special events and holidays
are proper nouns, too:

Nouns can be singular or plural. When you are talking
about one person, animal, place, or thing, use a singular
noun:

When you are talking about two or more people,
animals, places, or things, use plural nouns.
Most nouns are made plural by adding -s at the end:

What if there is a vowel before the y?
In that case, add -s to form the plural:

But with some nouns that end in -o, you add -es to form
the plural:

With some nouns that end in -o, you can add
either -s or -es to form the plural:

a mango mangoes mangos/a mosquito mosquitoes mosquitos
a zero zeroes zeros/a buffalo buffaloes buffalos

You can use fishes as the plural of fish when you are talking about
different kinds of fish: all the fishes of the Pacific Ocean.

Collective nouns are words for groups of people,
animals or things.
These are nouns for groups of people:

Here are more collective nouns that are used for groups
of people, animals or things.:

a bunch of keys/a class of pupils/a collection of books/a deck of cards
a fleet of ships/a flock of sheep/a gaggle of geese/a gang of robbers
a herd of cattle/a litter of cubs/a pod of whales/a pack of wolves
a pride of lions/a set of stamps/a swarm of bees/a troupe of actors

Here are more collective nouns that are used for groups
of people, animals or things:

a bunch of keys/a class of pupils/a collection of books/a deck of cards
a fleet of ships/a flock of sheep/a gaggle of geese/a gang of robbers
a herd of cattle/a litter of cubs/a pod of whales/a pack of wolves
a pride of lions/a set of stamps/a swarm of bees/a troupe of actors

Masculine nouns are words for men and boys, and
male animals.
Feminine nouns are words for women and girls, and
female animals:

accountants parents artists managers designers pupils engineers singers
lawyers teachers

Words for things that are neither male nor female are
called neuter nouns:

ball forest building gymnasium broom playground cake rock computer sky
card socks floor wind