UNIT III NOUNS Part 1

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE TUCUMAN Introducción a la Gramática Inglesa
FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA Y LETRAS UNIT 3 - NOUNS
UNIT Nº 3: NOUNS
PART I: CLASSIFICATION - ACCIDENTS
Theory Section
A noun indicates what someone or something is called. A noun can be the name of a person
(Monica), a job title (dentist), the name of a thing (book), the name of a place (Tucumán), the
name of a quality (pride) or the name of an activity (laughter). Nouns can combine with
other words to make up Noun Phrases. E.g.
➜ A beautiful dress ➜ The woman next-door

➜ The very intelligent student ➜ The man in blue suit
Characteristic Noun Endings
■ -er as in player ■ -ity as in activity

■ -ant as in consultant ■ -ar as in burglar
■ -eer as in engineer ■ -ent as in president
■ -ian as in musician ■ -or as in actor
■ -ese as in Chinese ■ -age as in courage
■ -al as in arrival ■ -ence as in dependence
■ -ance as in importance ■ -ery as in discovery
■ -ion as in companion ■ -ment as in arrangement
■ -sion as in television ■ -tion as in condition
■ -ety as in anxiety ■ -ness as in happiness
■ -cy as in primacy ■ -dom as in boredom
■ -ful as in spoonful ■ -hood as in childhood
■ -ism as in dynamism ■ -ette as in usherette
■ -en as in kitten ■ -let as in booklet
Compound Nouns
Many nouns in English are formed with two or more parts. Sometimes they are spelled with
a hyphen or they are spelled as two separate words. E.g.
➜ typewriter ( single word compound)

➜ greenhouse ( adjective + noun)
Cuadernillo Anual - 2022 1

➜ frying pan ( -ing form + noun)

➜ horse riding (noun + -ing form)
➜ make-up ( noun + adverb particle)
➜ car keys ( noun + noun)
TYPES OF NOUNS
All nouns fall into two classes. They may be either proper nouns or common nouns. A proper
noun is the name of a particular person, place, thing or idea which is, or is considered to be,
unique. For example: Buenos Aires, Monica, etc. It is generally spelt with a capital letter.
Articles are not normally used in front of Proper nouns. Proper nouns include:
■ Personal names (with or without titles): Peter, Mr. Peter Smith, President Kirchner, etc.
■ Forms of address: Sister Mary, Uncle Tom, etc.
■ Geographical Names: Africa, Canada, London, etc.
■ Months, days of the week, festivals and seasons: April, Saturday, Easter, Christmas,
Summer, etc.
■ Languages: French, English, etc.
Any noun that is not the name of a particular person, place, thing or idea is a common noun.
We can use the different articles in front of these nouns. All common nouns fall into two
subclasses: they may be either countable nouns or uncountable nouns (also known as mass
or non-count nouns).

If a noun is countable:
■ We can use “a/an” in front of it: a teacher - an architect.

■ It has a plural form and can be used in the question how many?
■ We can use numbers before it: one car- nine cars.
If a noun is uncountable:
■ We do not normally use a/an in front of it: Coffee is bad for your health.
■ It does not normally have a plural and it can be used in the question how much?
■ We cannot normally use a number before it. E.g. * one oil- two oils.
Many countable nouns are concrete (having an individual physical existence). The following
are the different types of nouns that fall within the concrete label:
■ Persons, animals, plants: a boy, a dog, a rose.

■ Objects: a house, a table.
■ Groups: an army, a herd.
■ Units of measurement: a kilo, a metre.
■ Parts of a mass: a piece, a slice.
Concrete uncountable nouns (sometimes having physical but not individual existence)
include words like:
■ Materials, liquids, gases: cotton, milk, air.

■ Grains and powder: rice, flour.
■ Activities: eating, reading.
Some countable nouns are abstract. E.g. a hope, an idea, etc. A number of abstract nouns
can be used only as countables. E.g. a denial, a proposal, etc. Many uncountable nouns are
abstract. E.g. love, hatred, justice, disappointment, etc.

NOUNS WHICH CAN BE EITHER COUNTABLE OR UNCOUNTABLE
There are some nouns which can be either count or non-count depending on their use.
■ Nouns we can think of as “single items” or “substances”.
When we refer to these nouns as single items, they are countable. E.g.:
➜ He’s bought a coke for lunch.
When we refer to them as substances, they are uncountable. E.g.:
➜ Do you like coke?
Other examples of this type of nouns are an egg / egg, a ribbon / ribbon, a chicken / chicken.
■ Nouns which refer to “objects or material”.
When we use such nouns as countable, we refer to a thing which is made of the material or
which we think of as being made of the material. When we use them as uncountable, we
refer only to the material. Compare:
➜ Would you like an ice? / Ice floats.

➜ I broke a glass this morning. / Glass is made from sand.
■ Normally uncountable nouns used as countables.
Many nouns which are normally uncountable can be used as countable if we refer to
particular varieties. When this occurs, the noun is usually preceded by an adjective or there
is some kind of specification. E.g.:
➜ This region produces an excellent wine - some good wines / I like white wine.
■ Nouns which can refer to something specific or general.
➜ A good education is expensive. / Education should be free.

➜ Try not to make a noise. / Noise is a kind of pollution.
■ Nouns ending in "-ing"
-ing forms are generally uncountable but a few can refer to a specific thing or event. E.g.:
➜ Are these drawings by Picasso? / I'm no good at drawing.

PARTITIVE EXPRESSIONS
Both countable and uncountable nouns can enter constructions denoting part of a whole.
Such partitive expressions can refer to either:
■ Quantity
■ Quality
1. Quantity partition
a. Of uncountable nouns:
➜ a piece of cake- an item of clothing- a blade of grass- a speck of dust
b. Of plural count nouns:

➜ a flock of sheep- a series of concerts
c. Of singular count nouns:

➜ a page of a book- two pieces of a broken cup- three acts of a play
2. Quality partition, expressed most commonly with kind and sort:
➜ A new kind of computer.

➜ An interesting sort of wrapping paper.
NUMBER
Number is a grammatical category that requires that a noun be understood grammatically as

either singular or plural. Singular relates to the quantity "one" for count nouns, to the
unique referent for most proper nouns and to undifferentiated mass for uncountable nouns.
Plural relates to the quantity "two or more" for count nouns, to the unique referent for some
proper nouns (e.g.: the Bahamas) and to individual units that are seen as reflecting plural
composition (e.g. binoculars- goods). Most nouns have both a singular and a plural form,
showing a contrast between “one” and “more than one”, and these are known as variable
nouns. A small group of nouns do not have number contrast and they are called invariable
nouns.
Most variable nouns change from singular to plural in a wholly predictable way, by adding an
“s” ending. This is the regular plural form seen in dogs, flutes, eggs, dictionaries, and
thousands more.
By contrast, there are only a few hundred nouns with irregular plural form.

VARIABLE NOUNS
SINGULAR AND PLURAL FORMS
1. Regular spelling
Singular Plural
■ -s after most nouns: cat cats
■ -es after nouns ending in:

-o potato potatoes
-s class classes
-x box boxes
-ch church churches
-sh bush bushes
■ consonant + -y becomes -ies Country countries
■ note that vowel + -y adds -s

-ay day days
-ey key keys
-oy boy boys
-uy guy Guys
■ Proper nouns ending in -y Fry the Frys
add -s in the plural
2. Irregular spelling
a. Voicing: some endings in –f/ -fe wife wives

take –ves
b. Internal vowel change man men
c. Nouns with plurals in –en child children
d. No change sheep sheep
e. Foreign plurals index indices

IRREGULAR PLURAL FORMATION
■ Voicing
Several singular nouns ending in /f/ and /Ɵ/ undergo voicing, the former reflected in
spelling, the latter not:
knife- knives ______________________ /naif/- /naivz/

bath- baths _____________________ /bαƟ /- /bαδz/
Like knife are calf, half, leaf, loaf, self, shelf, thief, wife, wolf, etc. With some nouns such as
handkerchief, hoof and scarf, the plural may involve voicing or be regular.
○ The plural is irregular in mouth, oath, path, truth, youth, (similar to bath).
Exceptions:
○ The plural is always regular in belief, cliff, proof.

○ With cloth, death, faith, moth only the regular plural is found.
○ Where there is a consonant preceding the last sound as in birth, length, etc. we also
have the regular plural.
■ Vowel Change
With a small number of nouns there is a change of vowel sound and spelling without an
ending. This group of nouns is also called mutation plurals.
foot feet
louse lice
mouse mice
woman women
goose geese
man men
tooth teeth
○ The plural of child involves both “vowel change” and an “irregular ending”, children.
Other examples are brother- brethren (used in religious contexts), ox-oxen.

■ Zero Plural
Some nouns have the same form in both singular and plural. They do not change in form for
the plural; they remain the same. These words can take singular or plural concord with verbs.
These include:
a. Names of certain animals, birds and fish: deer, grouse, salmon, sheep, trout, etc.
➜ This sheep is from Australia/ These sheep are from Australia.
b. Certain nouns describing nationalities: a Chinese, a Swiss, a Vietnamese, etc.
➜ He is a Chinese / The Chinese are very hard working.
* Fish is the normal plural of fish (singular), but fishes can also be used to refer to species of
fish.
c. Nouns of quantity: Units of number, length, value and weight tend to have zero plural
when premodified by another quantitative word. E.g.
➜ Two dozen eggs, four hundred soldiers, ten thousand dollars, etc.
Exception: notice that these words have normal plural forms when they are not preceded
by numerals. E.g.
➜ There were hundreds of people begging for better working conditions.
➜ I have no precise idea how many people attended the course: thousands, certainly.
d. Nouns with equivocal number: these nouns can be treated as singular or plural i.e.,
they can take singular or plural concord with the verb. E.g. dice, gallows, headquarters,
means, mews, oats, offspring, series, species, etc.
➜ The craft was sunk. All the craft were sunk (craft in the sense of “ship”).
➜ This is a busy crossroads. There are several crossroads here.

■ Foreign Plurals
a. Several nouns adopted from foreign languages, especially Latin and Greek, retain the
foreign inflection for plural. These are nouns with foreign plurals only, e.g.:
➜ -us: alumnus / alumni; stimulus / stimuli

➜ -a: alumna / alumnae; larva / larvae
➜ -um: stratum /strata; bacterium / bacteria
➜ -is: analysis / analyses; crisis / crises
➜ -on: criterion / criteria; phenomenon / phenomena
In some cases there are two plurals, an English regular form used in non-technical
discourse (every day speech). Therefore some native English speakers avoid foreign
plurals in everyday speech and use these foreign plurals only in scientific and technical
contexts, not in everyday language.
b. Nouns of foreign origin with anglicized plurals (that is to say, they take the regular
plural form) E.g
a. album / albums
b. genius / geniuses
c. apparatus / apparatuses
d. metropolis / metropolises
e. electron / electrons
c. Nouns with both foreign and anglicized plurals, e.g.
➜ -us: cactus / cacti or cactuses; nucleus / nuclei or nucleuses; focus / foci or focuses
➜ -ex: index / indices or indexes; matrix / matrices or matrixes;
➜ -um: medium / media or mediums; curriculum / curriculums or curricula;
memorandum / memoranda or memorandums
➜ -eu/-eau: adieu / adieux or adieus; plateau / plateaus or plateaux
➜ -a: antenna / antennae or antennas; formula / formulae or formulas; vertebra /
vertebrae or vertebras
➜ -on: automaton / automata or automatons; ganglions / or ganglia
Alternative plurals can have different meanings: e.g. antennae is a biological term;
antennas can describe for example radio aerials / appendixes (anatomical); appendices
(in books).

INVARIABLE NOUNS (NOUNS RESISTANT TO NUMBER CONTRAST)
They are called as such because they maintain their grammatical category of number as
being either singular or plural although there are exceptions.
Whether or not with inflectional regularity, number essentially involves the distinction
between one or more than one. However, there are singular nouns that cannot ordinarily be
plural (eg: meat) and plural nouns that cannot ordinarily be singular (e.g. binoculars). We
shall look at such nouns under these two broad headings:
1. Ordinarily singular nouns: nouns used only as singular. They typically take singular verbs.
These include the following subcategories:
a. Proper nouns: London is beautiful.
b. Noncount nouns: Music is the food for love
Exception: Nouns such as cheese or injustice can be plural only when used to indicate
partition. For example: These cheeses come from France.
c. The noun news and certain other items ending in –s:
d. Names of subjects, diseases and games also take singular verbs. E.g: Phonetics,
Acoustics, mumps, shingles, measles, billiards, dominoes, darts, etc.
* Note: The nouns athletics, gymnastics, linguistics, mathematics and physics always take
singular concord. However, some nouns ending in –ics such as acoustics, economics, ethics,
phonetics and statistics take a singular or a plural verb. When the reference is to an
academic subject (e.g. acoustics = the scientific study of sound), then the verb must be
singular:
➜ Acoustics is the scientific study of sound.
When the reference is specific (e.g. acoustics = sound quality), then the verb must be plural:
➜ The acoustics in this theatre are extremely good.
e. Collective nouns, such as committee, council, government, team, audience, class,

company, crew, crowd, firm, family, gang, jury, etc. can be used with both singular and
plural verbs.
*When they are considered singular, they can combine with the relative pronouns
which/that and be replaced by it when we think of them as a whole group. E.g.

➜ The present government, which has been in power long, is trying to control
inflation. But it isn’t having much success.
When they are used as plural and they can combine with who and be replaced by they/them
when we think of them as individuals that make up the group. E.g.
➜ The government, who are looking for a quick victory, are calling for a general
election soon. They expect to be re-elected since a lot of people are giving them
their support.
Note that these collective nouns can also have regular plural formation, that is, “s/es” can be
added to the word.
➜ Governments in all countries are working against inflation.

➜ Families are the support for humanity.
Notice that the following collectives usually occur in the singular only with the definite
article: the aristocracy, the clergy, the bourgeoisie, the elite, the church, the gentry, the
intelligentsia, the public, the laity, the press, the youth.
➜ The clergy rejects the Vatican’s proposal.
Collective proper nouns include: the Commons, Parliament, the United Nations, the United
States, the Vatican, (the) Congress (US). E.g.
➜ The Commons are assembling this afternoon.

➜ The United Nations condemns the actions taken by terrorist groups.
Note: Unlike aggregate nouns, collective nouns retain singular determiners even where plural
concord is used.
➜ This committee were unanimous.

2. Ordinarily plural nouns: they usually have a plural form and they take plural concord.
*Some of them have only plural form:

a. Binary nouns or “two parts” items which refer to entities that comprise two parts.
E.g.: tools and instruments such as binoculars, scissors; articles of dress such as jeans,
pants, trousers, etc.
➜ These scissors are useless.

➜ I can’t remember where my binoculars are.
b. Aggregate nouns or Pluralia Tantum, which usually end in-s, refer to entities which
comprise an indefinite number of parts. Some of these may be plural in form, as for
instance arms, communications, goods, troops, ashes, bowels, spirits (mood), earnings
and take the verb in the plural.
➜ The troops are arriving in England.
*Some of them may have singular form and concord can be singular or plural
The noun data causes special problems. This word was once found only as a plural, but it is
now often used as singular especially in scientific contexts: e.g. Much of this data needs
re-examining (rather than Many of these data need re-examining). This use continues to
attract critical comments from those who prefer the older pattern.
New singular usages have also appeared with the words media (in the sense of mass media),
criteria and phenomena e.g. The media is responsible, The criteria is important, The
phenomena is amazing. Criticism of singular media seems to be reducing, as its use becomes
increasingly widespread, but educated people universally condemn the singular use of the
other two words. This means that native speakers prefer the phrase: The media are… the
criteria are and the phenomena are… .
The following aggregate nouns that have singular form must be followed by a plural verb.
E.g.: cattle, clergy, people, the police, the military, swine, vermin. They are unmarked plural
nouns. (which means that they do not end in “s” they don´t inflect for plural, they have a
zero ending) E.g.
➜ The police have surrounded the building.
c. Some Proper Nouns: The East/West Indies, the Hebrides, the Highlands, the Midlands,
the Netherlands. These take verbs in the plural.

GENDER
In the English Language, Gender relates directly to the meanings of nouns, with particular
reference to biological sex.
Personal Nonpersonal
Male (boy – husband) ANIMALS male (bull – lion)
Female (girl – wife) female (cow – lioness)
Dual (friend – student)
Common (baby – cat)
Nouns with personal gender
Nouns with personal reference may have male, female, dual or common gender as the chart
above shows. Those nouns that have no inflection or mark that suggests male or female
reference are UNMARKED for gender. Within this category we can find nouns such as:
➜ father-mother ➜ sir-madam
➜ boy-girl ➜ nephew-niece
➜ wizard-witch ➜ husband-wife
➜ tutor-governess ➜ monk-nun
➜ gentleman-lady ➜ bachelor-spinster
➜ man-woman
Other nouns do have an inflection that marks them as male or female. They are
morphologically MARKED for gender. E.g.
➜ actor- actress ➜ heir- heiress

➜ bridegroom- bride ➜ hero- heroine
➜ czar/tsar- czarina/tsarina ➜ host- hostess
➜ duke- duchess ➜ leopard- leopardess
➜ emperor- empress ➜ lion- lioness
➜ god- goddess ➜ master- mistress
➜ lad- lass(ie) ➜ mayor- mayoress
➜ prince- princess ➜ patron- patroness
➜ usher- usherette ➜ schoolmaster- schoolmistress
➜ waiter- waitress ➜ steward- stewardess
➜ widower- widow ➜ warder- wardress
➜ sultan- sultana ➜ tiger- tigress

Dual nouns
Many nouns have dual gender since they can be male or female in reference as required.
E.g.:
➜ artist ➜ friend
➜ enemy ➜ cousin
➜ teenager ➜ inhabitant
➜ foreigner ➜ servant
➜ passenger ➜ musician
➜ scientist ➜ neighbour
➜ stranger ➜ novelist
➜ writer ➜ spouse
➜ minister ➜ singer
➜ cook ➜ tourist
➜ criminal ➜ journalist
➜ doctor ➜ student
Examples:
○ This young novelist published his/her novel three years ago.
○ My doctor prescribed antibiotics. He/she told me there was a serious infection.
○ Unfortunately, the passenger couldn’t recover his/her luggage.
Common gender
Nouns which have common gender can be treated as personal or non-personal nouns. In a
number of cases, the speaker can choose between personal or non-personal reference and
the choice of pronouns (he, she, it, who, which) will depend on this selection. Personal
reference expresses the speaker’s familiarity or involvement with the item. On the other
hand, non-personal reference suggests the speaker is more detached.
Study the following examples:
➜ The baby lost its parents when it was 1 year-old.

(If the speaker does not know the child’s sex or he is not related to the child,
non-personal gender is the best choice)
➜ A child learns to speak the language of its environment.

(To make generalizations in scientific contexts, non-personal reference is preferred)
➜ Only the dog’s determination to be reunited with her master kept her going.
(When the speaker is related to the animal, the choice is personal gender)

In the following examples the choice is between feminine and non-personal only:
➜ England has always been proud of her poets.
➜ Italy announced it had recalled its ambassador to Romania for consultations.

(countries as political/economic units can be treated as feminine while countries as
geographical units as non- personal)
➜ That ship is important to me. I worked really hard to buy her.

(inanimate entities, such as ships, towards which we have a personal relationship may
be treated as feminine)
Nouns referring to animals and inanimates
Farming or domestic pets which are significant in familiar experience tend to occur in male
and female pairs. E.g.:
➜ stallion- mare ➜ colt – filly

➜ cock - hen ➜ boar – sow
➜ dog-otter – bitch-otter ➜ hog – sow
➜ bull – cow ➜ drake – duck
➜ cock/rooster – hen ➜ gander – goose
➜ buck – doe ➜ ram – ewe
~ bullock – heifer ➜ fox – vixen
CASE
Nouns make a distinction in case; a distinction which is based on the grammatical function of
the noun. Nouns have two cases: the common case and the genitive case. The former is the
one that is used ordinarily. The latter is usually marked by means of an apostrophe and the
inflection “s” at the end of the noun. The Genitive Case is sometimes called the Possessive
Case due to one of the main meanings it expresses, possession. E.g.:
If Peter owns a car, you can refer to it as:

➜ Peter’s car The car Peter has
Singular Plural
Common case The student The students
Genitive case The student’s suggestions The students’ suggestions

Rules of Genitive Formation
1. Add ‘s to singular nouns and to names not ending in –s: the student’s teacher; Peter’s new
car.
2. If two names are joined by “and”, add ‘s to the second: Peter and Monica’s dog.
3. Add an apostrophe or ‘s to names ending in –s: Mr. Jones’ car or Mr. Jones’s car.
No matter how we write the genitive in such cases, we normally pronounce it as /IZ/. This is
so in order to avoid repetitive or awkward combinations of sounds.
With some famous names ending in –s we normally add an apostrophe: Keats’ poetry.
Initials can be followed by ‘s when the reference is singular: A PhD’s thesis, or ’ when the
reference is plural: PhDs’ theses.
4. Add ‘s to singular nouns ending in –s: the actress’s part.

5. Add ‘s to irregular plural nouns: women’s jobs.
6. Add only an apostrophe after regular plural nouns ending in –s: girls’ clothes. In being
phonologically identical with the plural, the regular genitive plural is called the “zero
genitive”.
7. Add ‘s after the last word of a compound noun. This genitive is called “the group
genitive”: my mother- in- law’s meanness.
Gender and the Genitive
The genitive is not used with all nouns equally but tends to be associated with those of
animate gender, especially those having personal reference. E.g.:
➜ People’s incomes
➜ Argentina’s inflation
➜ The bird’s name
Geographical names take the genitive inflection, especially when they are used to imply
human collectivity and when you speak about territories. E.g.:
➜ Argentina’s policy ---------------------the policies Argentina applies.

➜ Argentina’s mountains------------------------- mountains in Argentina.
With inanimate nouns the genitive is possible as long as it is used with relevance to human
activity or concern. E.g.:
➜ The city’s inhabitants rather than the city’s landscape.

Structure of the Genitive
1. The -s Genitive
The –s genitive usually occurs with the following classes of nouns:
1. Proper nouns: Andrew’s graduation

2. Personal nouns: the child’s sad look
3. Animal nouns: the dog’s collar
4. Collective nouns: the nation’s resources
5. Geographical names.
a. States: Maryland’s streets
b. Cities and Towns: Hollywood’s movies
c. Universities: Oxford’s Linguistics Department
6. Locative nouns denoting regions, institutions, etc. the hotel’s entrance
They can be very similar to geographical names.
7. Temporal nouns: a moment’s thought
The Genitive with Superlatives and Ordinals
The genitive is particularly common with locative nouns followed by superlatives or general
ordinals such as first, last, next, etc. E.g.:
➜ The world’s best universities

➜ Europe’s next security policy

2. Periphrastic Genitive or “of-construction”
We normally use the of- construction when referring to:
a. Things: the script of the play

b. Parts of things: the inside of the box
c. Abstract reference: the price of fame
d. When the noun in the of-phrase is modified by a phrase or a clause:
➜ Look at the watch of the man next to you.

➜ Look at the watch of the man who is standing next to you.
3. The Independent Genitive
It is common to omit the noun following the genitive under the following circumstances:
1. When we refer to a noun that is implied:

➜ We need a ladder. We can borrow from our neighbour’s.
2. When we refer to where someone lives:
➜ I’m staying at my grandma’s.
3. When we refer to shops and businesses:
➜ I have to go to the butcher’s today.
4. When we refer to medical practitioners:
➜ I’ve got an appointment at the dentist’s.
5. When we refer to well-known restaurants by the name of the owner or founder:
➜ Scott’s is a great place to eat out.
6. When we refer to churches and colleges often named after saints:
➜ They got married at St. Andrew’s.
4. The Post-Genitive or Double Genitive
The ‘s genitive can be used after the of genitive to produce a construction known as the
Post-Genitive or Double Genitive. In this case, the Independent Genitive acts as prepositional
complement of the preposition of. The Independent Genitive is not elliptical in this case. E.g.:
➜ A friend of my brother’s one of my brother’s friends

➜ Every move of John’s
This is a special construction which makes it possible for the same head noun to take a
genitive as determiner and another determiner. In the example above, the head noun is
friend, which takes the genitive as determiner after the preposition of and the Indefinite
Article as determiner in front of itself.
The head noun is most typically preceded by the indefinite article and sometimes a
demonstrative pronoun. E.g.:
➜ This was a good idea of John’s. / - I like this good idea of John’s.
5. The Group Genitive
In this type, the genitive suffix is attached to the last word of the genitive phrase. This last
word is usually a postmodifier of the head noun. E.g.:
➜ My mother-in-law’s meanness
➜ The Secretary of State’s visit
The group genitive is mainly used with more or less fixed phrases. Other examples are found
with coordinate constructions. E.g.:
➜ Lucy and Erika’s room

➜ A week or two’s time
Genitive meanings
The meanings expressed by the genitive can conveniently be shown through paraphrase; at
the same time, we can compare the analogous use of the of-construction.
Meanings Example Paraphrase

Possessive Genitive Robert’s job The job that Robert has.
Genitive of Attribute My mother’s generosity My mother is generous. Or
My mother is a generous
person.
Genitive of Origin Susan’s letter The letter was written by
Susan.

Partitive Genitive The human body’s parts The human body contains
parts.
Subjective Genitive The President’s lie The President lied.
Objective Genitive The President’s kidnap Someone kidnapped the
President
Descriptive Genitive Women’s clothes Clothes especially designed for
women.
Temporal Genitive A two hours’ flight A flight that takes two hours.
Locative Genitive At the Chemist’s At the Chemist’s shop
One of a Group A relative of my father’s One of the relatives that my
father has.
Genitive of Measure A four thousand miles’ A river which is four thousand
river miles long.
*******************
BIBLIOGRAPHY
● Biber, D., Conrad, S., Leech, G. (2003). Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written
● English. ( Student’s Book and Workbook) . Longman. Essex: England.
● Alexander, L.G. (1990). Longman English Grammar. Longman. Chapter 2.
● Greenbaum S. and R. Quirk (1990). A Student’s Grammar of the English Language.
● Longman. Chapter 5.

UNIT Nº 3: NOUNS
Practice Section
⏩ Task Nº 1. Write more examples of the different types of nouns.

1. Proper: _______________________________________________________________
2. Countable concrete: ___________________________________________________
3. Countable abstract: ____________________________________________________
4. Uncountable concrete: __________________________________________________
5. Uncountable abstract: __________________________________________________
⏩ Task Nº 2. Complete the chart.

Animal names Nouns for meat
1. cow ______________
2. calf ______________
3. pig ______________
4. sheep ______________
5. deer ______________
6. lamb ______________
7. chicken ______________
⏩ Task N°3. Some non-count nouns cannot be used as count to refer to a single item.
Give the singular equivalent of the following non-count nouns.
1. Bread ______________ 8. laughter ______________

2. luggage /baggage ______________ 9. poetry ______________
3. money ______________ 10. machinery ______________
4. work ______________ 11. accommodation ______________
5. travel ______________ 12. arms ______________
6. clothing ______________ 13. pay ______________
7. permission ______________

⏩ Task N° 4. Fill in the blanks with an appropriate partitive construction.

1. a ____________ chocolate 14. a ___________ salt
2. a ____________ matches 15. a ___________ smoke
3. a ____________ soap 16. a ___________ anger
4. a ____________ dust 17. a ___________ ice
5. an ___________ news 18. a ___________ clothing
6. a ____________ water 19. an __________ information
7. a ____________ earth 20. an __________ furniture
8. a ____________ paper 21. a ___________ sand
9. a ____________ cigarettes 22. a ___________ metal
10. a ____________ grass 23. a ___________ cloth
11. a ____________ air 24. a ___________ abuse
12. a_____________ bread 25. a ___________ applause
13. a_____________ hair 26. a ___________ fever
⏩ Task N° 5. Insert the appropriate collective noun in each blank.

1. a ___________ soldiers 14. a ___________ children
2. a ___________ flowers 15. a ___________ people
3. a ___________ grapes 16. a ___________ experts
4. a ___________ friends 17. a ___________ visitors
5. a ___________ trees 18. a ___________ dolphins
6. a ___________ coins 19. a ___________ teeth
7. a ___________ ants 20. a ___________ shops
8. a ___________ sailors 21. a ___________ celebrities
9. a ___________ cards 22. a ___________ directors
10. a ___________ cattle 23. a ___________ puppies
11. a ___________ ships 24. a ___________ dogs
12. a ___________ thieves 25. a ___________ houses
13. a ___________ bees 26. a ___________ hooligans
⏩ Task Nº 6. Write the plural forms of the nouns in the box under the correct category.
dish – volcano – tomato – match – beach – address – ray – strawberry – family – guy –
ash – fox - scratch – play – prey – video – hero – January – bottle – bus – pet – friend
– eye – bag – sky – soliloquy - oath – worker - tape – lesson – orange – youth
1. -s after most nouns:

__________________________________________________________________

2. -es after nouns ending in -o, -s, -x, -ch, -sh:

__________________________________________________________________
3. consonant + -y becomes –ies:
__________________________________________________________________
4. vowel + -y adds -s :
__________________________________________________________________
5. Proper nouns ending in -y add -s in the plural:

__________________________________________________________________
⏩ Task N° 7. Classify the nouns from the box into the categories given below.
life - linguistics - darts - the public - remains - mumps - mouth - Portuguese - mouse -
the Midlands - roof - gang - brains - church - forceps - ellipsis - police - loaf -
memorandum - child - series - quiz - foot - species - birth - suspenders - audience -
news - size - dominoes - earnings - hovercraft - the Grand Hotel - people - the clergy
Nouns with regular plural:
Nouns with irregular plural:

a. Voicing:
b. Mutation:
c. Foreign plural:
d. Zero plural:
Singular invariable nouns:

a. Non-count noun:
b. Proper noun:
c. Nouns ending in –s:
d. Collectives:
Plural invariable nouns:

a. Proper nouns:
b. Binary nouns:
c. Aggregate nouns:
d. Unmarked plural nouns:

⏩ Task N° 8. Classify the nouns given according to NUMBER.

Noun Classification
Livestock
elf
Shingles
parenthesis
dirt
spectacles
man
soprano
Path
Rickets
Boss
Alms
⏩ Task N° 9. Write meaningful sentences with these nouns and show plural or singular
concord
● cattle
● The Alps
● theses
● cod
● series
● mumps

⏩ Task N° 10. Write the plural form(s) of the following nouns. If the noun has no plural
form, put a cross.
1. glass ______________ 11. vertebra ______________

2. baggage ______________ 12. shelf ______________
3. bamboo ______________ 13. mud ______________
4. calf ______________ 14. belief ______________
5. brother-in-law ______________ 15. automaton ______________
6. bureau ______________ 16. woman doctor ______________
7. dwarf ______________ 17. wife ______________
8. hoof ______________ 18. homework ______________
9. grown-up ______________ 19. deer ______________
10. notary public ______________ 20. study ______________
⏩ Task N° 11. Choose the correct option.

1. The police work/works hard in this city.
2. Billiards are/is becoming more popular among young people.
3. This/These surroundings is/are very dangerous.
4. I saw some/an oxen grazing in the fields.
5. The little children found larvas/larvae while they were playing in the garden.
6. I’m going shopping because I need some/a new clothing.
7. The public agrees/agree with this TV presenter’s opinion.
8. Gymnastics is/are preferred to volleyball by female adolescents.
9. A large group of young people is/are hanging around on the corner of the street.
10. These/This cattle is/are from our ranch.
11. Measles are/is a/some serious illness.
12. The World Series is/are played in October.
13. Three fish/fishes are swimming with scuba tanks.
14. A cacti/cactus is able to live in the desert.
⏩ Task N° 12. Supply appropriate forms of the verbs in brackets (present tense only).
1. A teacher’s earnings __________ (not be) enough for him/her to have a good
lifestyle.
2. There __________ (be) egg on your t-shirt. You should clean it immediately.

3. ________ (be) her clothes dirty?

4. Our government ____________ (not fulfil) people’s expectations.
5. The police ________ (be) coming. I have already called them.
6. A lot of works _______ (have) gone bankrupt since the government changed its
politics.
7. Green lettuce _________ (be) rich in vitamin C.
8. Economics ________ (be) my brother’s favourite subject.
9. The statistics in that report on oil production _______ (be) incorrect.
10. Statistics _______ (be) a branch of mathematics.
11. The news on the front pages of both daily newspapers __________ (concern) the
progress of the peace conference.
⏩ Task Nº 13. Complete the chart with neutral forms.

Neutral Traditional Male Traditional Female
chair (person) chairman chairwoman
____________ spokesman spokeswoman
____________ policeman policewoman
____________ fisherman x
____________ barman barmaid
____________ businessman businesswoman
____________ fireman x
____________ steward stewardess/air hostess
____________ foreman x
____________ congressman x
⏩ Task N° 14. Classify these nouns according to gender into (M) male, (F) Female, (D)
dual and write their counterparts whenever possible:
1. thief: 21. usher:

2. singer: 22. wife:
3. artist: 23. god:
4. uncle: 24. lad:

5. aristocrat: 25. schoolmaster:

6. nephew: 26. inhabitant:
7. fiancé: 27. nurse:
8. farmer: 28. judge:
9. wardress: 29. countess:
10. baron: 30. tutor:
11. hero: 31. leopardess:
12. heir: 32. filly:
13. landlord: 33. goose:
14. teacher: 34. drake:
15. lady: 35. ewe:
16. widow: 36. cock:
17. seamstress: 37. czar:
18. bride: 38. king:
19. wizard: 39. duke:
20. host: 40. actor:
⏩ Task N° 15. Write examples of the following:

● 3 nouns with dual gender:
_____________________________________________________________________
● 3 nouns that may have personal or non personal gender (common gender):
_____________________________________________________________________
● 3 nouns morphologically marked for gender (male and female)

_____________________________________________________________________
● 3 unmarked nouns (animals and personal nouns)

_____________________________________________________________________

⏩ Task Nº 16. Fill in the gaps with appropriate personal, possessive or reflexive
pronouns. Give alternatives where possible.
1. The manager said __________ is doing ________ best to introduce radical changes in
our company.
2. My cat is always scratching people so don’t touch ____________.
3. The bridegroom was so nervous that it seemed __________ would faint.
4. ___________ became tsarina at the age of 15 and was the best ruler ever known.
5. Shortly before birth the baby reverses _____________ position in the uterus.
6. The head monk absented _________________ from the meeting because of health
problems.
7. A: Did you feed the ram? B: No, I thought you’d fed ____________.
8. I’d like to congratulate the mayoress on __________ permanent support to the needy.
9. Our new neighbour is so annoying! ____________ plays the music loud every single
day.
10. My baby is nine months old. ___________ is learning to walk.
⏩ Task Nº 17. Relate the following pairs of nouns by means of the Genitive making use of
the rules of Genitive formation.
1. The CD- tracks

____________________________________________________________________
2. Police Station- address
____________________________________________________________________
3. My children- toys
____________________________________________________________________
4. Erika- boyfriend
____________________________________________________________________
5. Borges- books
____________________________________________________________________
6. Boys- games
____________________________________________________________________
7. Liz- career
____________________________________________________________________

8. Rachel and Tom- dog

____________________________________________________________________
9. Stewardess- uniform
____________________________________________________________________
10. CDs- business
____________________________________________________________________
⏩ Task Nº 18. Classify the genitives according to their structure.

independent genitive -s genitive periphrastic genitive
double genitive group genitive
1. Patricia hasn’t been to the doctor’s since she was operated on.
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
2. Jason is a brother of Maria’s.
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
3. The frame of the picture is quite original.
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
4. Mrs Lovett is a neighbour of ours.
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
5. My son is getting baptized at St. George’s.
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
6. Fluffy is the name of Linda and Owen’s dog.
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
7. I need a good calculator for this exercise. Why don’t you use my sister’s?
Structure: ____________________________________________________________

⏩ Task Nº 19. Classify the Genitives according to their structure and meanings. Then
explain the meanings by means of a paraphrase.
1. Argentina’s sheep
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
Meaning: _________________________ Paraphrase: ________________________
2. The teachers’ effort
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
3. The student’s stubbornness
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
4. The pages of the book
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
5. A five centimetres’ cut
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
6. Mother’s affection
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
7. A winter’s day
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
8. The Legislator’s assassination
Structure: ____________________________________________________________

9. A friend of my family’s
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
10. A year’s inflation
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
11. Mrs. Smith’s three husbands
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
12. Shakespeare’s plays
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
13. At the grocer’s
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
14. A five-year-old’ s innocence
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
15. England’s invasion
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
16. The child of the woman in black dress
Structure: ____________________________________________________________

17. The President’s incredible speech
Structure: ____________________________________________________________
18. Dylan and Jason’s arrogance.

Structure: ___________________________________________________________
Meaning: _________________________ Paraphrase: _______________________
⏩ Task Nº 20. Study these pairs of sentences and discuss their differences.
1. a) A doctor’s prescription can’t be disregarded.
b) The doctor’s prescription can’t be disregarded.
2. a) The food department sells a cheese made from goat’s milk.
b) The food department sells cheese.
3. a) The class was waiting outside the teacher’s office.
b) The class were waiting outside the teacher’s office.
4. a) There’s wine in the fridge.
b) There are two wines in the fridge.
5. a) The child lost its temper.
b) My child lost her temper.

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UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE TUCUMAN Introducción a la Gramática Inglesa

FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA Y LETRAS UNIT 3 - NOUNS

➜ A beautiful dress ➜ The woman next-door

Characteristic Noun Endings

■ -er as in player ■ -ity as in activity

➜ typewriter ( single word compound)

Cuadernillo Anual - 2022 1

➜ frying pan ( -ing form + noun)

■ Forms of address: Sister Mary, Uncle Tom, etc.

■ Geographical Names: Africa, Canada, London, etc.

■ Languages: French, English, etc.

Cuadernillo Anual - 2022 2

■ We can use “a/an” in front of it: a teacher - an architect.

■ Persons, animals, plants: a boy, a dog, a rose.

■ Materials, liquids, gases: cotton, milk, air.

Cuadernillo Anual - 2022 3

NOUNS WHICH CAN BE EITHER COUNTABLE OR UNCOUNTABLE

■ Nouns we can think of as “single items” or “substances”.

➜ He’s bought a coke for lunch.

When we refer to them as substances, they are uncountable. E.g.:

➜ Do you like coke?

■ Nouns which refer to “objects or material”.

➜ Would you like an ice? / Ice floats.

■ Normally uncountable nouns used as countables.

■ Nouns which can refer to something specific or general.

➜ A good education is expensive. / Education should be free.

■ Nouns ending in "-ing"

➜ Are these drawings by Picasso? / I'm no good at drawing.

Cuadernillo Anual - 2022 4

b. Of plural count nouns:

c. Of singular count nouns:

2. Quality partition, expressed most commonly with kind and sort:

➜ A new kind of computer.

Number is a grammatical category that requires that a noun be understood grammatically as

Cuadernillo Anual - 2022 5

SINGULAR AND PLURAL FORMS

■ -es after nouns ending in:

■ note that vowel + -y adds -s

a. Voicing: some endings in –f/ -fe wife wives

b. Internal vowel change man men

c. Nouns with plurals in –en child children

d. No change sheep sheep

e. Foreign plurals index indices

Cuadernillo Anual - 2022 6

IRREGULAR PLURAL FORMATION

knife- knives ______________________ /naif/- /naivz/

○ The plural is always regular in belief, cliff, proof.

Cuadernillo Anual - 2022 7

➜ This sheep is from Australia/ These sheep are from Australia.

b. Certain nouns describing nationalities: a Chinese, a Swiss, a Vietnamese, etc.

➜ He is a Chinese / The Chinese are very hard working.

➜ There were hundreds of people begging for better working conditions.

➜ This is a busy crossroads. There are several crossroads here.

Cuadernillo Anual - 2022 8

➜ -us: alumnus / alumni; stimulus / stimuli

c. Nouns with both foreign and anglicized plurals, e.g.

Cuadernillo Anual - 2022 9

1. Bread 8. laughter