THE NOUN PHRASE

Nouns are one of the four main classes of lexical words. They generally refer to concrete,
physical entities (people, objects, substances). Some examples of these are: child, book,
iron. They can also denote abstract entities (qualities or states), such as freedom, friendship,
etc.
Nouns can occur as head of a ‘noun phrase’, i.e., preceded or followed by many kinds of
words. Let’s observe the following examples:

child (noun)
Mary (noun)
my little child (noun phrase)
The boy in green (noun phrase)
The nice lady with the shopping bag (noun phrase)

Main types of nouns

Nouns can be grouped into a small number of classes in relation to their meaning and their
grammatical behavior. First, we can distinguish between common nouns and proper nouns.

PROPER N: They only name an individual (a specific person, place, etc). They are
singular and definite. Some typical proper nouns are:
 Personal names: Mary, Joan of Arc
 Place names: Argentina, Australia
 Organization names: UNESCO, Audi
 Time names: March, Saturday, Christmas

COMMON N: They denote a class. They can be countable or uncountable, e.g.: a dog,
many students, some sugar, etc.

COUNTABLE CN: They refer to entities, things which can be counted. They have a
singular and a plural form, e.g.: a house- two houses.
Some examples of countable nouns are: animals, conditions, disease, rose, lie, accident,
ball, etc.
They show contrast between ‘indefinite’ and ‘definite’ in the singular and plural forms by
means of the articles, e.g.: a child vs. the child- students vs. the students.
In the singular form, nouns must always be preceded by a noun determiner (a/an, the, this,
her, etc). Some examples are: a woman, my sister, the dog, her mother, this desk, etc.
In the plural form, they may occur without a determiner:
Babies tend to cry when they need something.
I hate hamburgers.

UNCOUNTABLE CN: They refer to something which cannot be counted. They do not
vary for number. They cannot occur with the indefinite article ‘a’ but they show contrast
between ‘definite’ and ‘indefinite’, e.g.: the milk vs. milk.
Some typical uncountable nouns are:
 Materials: wood, glass, paper
 Liquids: water, juice, coffee, tea
 Emotions and other states: love, hate
 (Many) abstract concepts: feedback, time, theory, news
 Names of diseases: mumps, measles
 Names of fields of study: mathematics, physics

COUNTABLE/ UNCOUNTABLE USES OF NOUNS

There are some nouns that can be countable or uncountable, with some variation in
meaning. Here are some examples:
C: The carriage was full of Greek ladies with chickens. (living animal)
U: Would you like some more chicken? (meat)
C: The kids were throwing stones in the lagoon. (particular entities)
U: The outer walls of the chapel are made of stone. (material)
C: Have you read the paper today? (newspaper)
U: I’ll have to go to the stationery shop; we’ve run out of paper. (material)
C: What an awesome time we had! (a particular moment)
U: It is incredible how fast time goes by. (hours, minutes)
C: I love Picasso. His works are inspiring. (paintings)
U: Looking after children can be hard work. (activity)
Activity 1. Read the following text; extract 10 common and 10 proper nouns and place
them under the columns below. Then, write next to each common noun ‘C’, for count and
‘U’ for uncountable. An example of each type has been provided for you.

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the
United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in
2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime and 15 at the time of
her death. Her reign of 70 years and 214 days is the longest of any British monarch and
the longest recorded of any female head of state in history.
On 8 September 2022, Buckingham Palace announced that Elizabeth was under medical
supervision at Balmoral Castle after doctors expressed concern. The statement read,
"Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen's doctors are concerned for Her
Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The Queen
remains comfortable and at Balmoral. Elizabeth's four children, along with her daughters-in-
law, and grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry, travelled to Balmoral. Her death was
confirmed that evening at 18:30 BST, setting in motion Operation London Bridge and, because
she died in Scotland, Operation Unicorn.
Extracted from Wikipedia.com

PROPER NOUNS COMMON NOUNS

C/U
Elizabeth II realm C
history U

As regards their meaning, nouns may also fall under another distinction: concrete vs.
abstract.
CONCRETE NOUNS: They refer to physical entities (persons, objects, places) or
substances (materials, liquids, gases).
ABSTRACT NOUNS: They refer to abstractions, such as ‘times’, ‘qualities’, ‘events’ and
‘states’.
In the previous text we can find some examples of these classes of nouns:
CONCRETE N: queen, United Kingdom, monarch, states, children, etc.
ABSTRACT N: lifetime, concern, death, Operation Unicorn, etc.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS
Another type of noun is the ‘collective noun’. These nouns refer to groups or single entities.
They behave like ordinary countable nouns since they can vary in number and definiteness,
e.g.: a committee, this committee, the committees, etc. When these nouns refer to a group as
a whole, they are used with a singular verb. Conversely, when they are used to refer to
single entities, they are used with a plural verb.
My family comes from Scotland originally. (as a unit)
The Royal Family have large estates in Scotland. (considering each individual member)
Some typical collective nouns are: army, committee, family, crew, jury, staff, team, etc.

Activity 2. Read the text below and analyze the underlined nouns. Determine whether they
are proper/common, count/ uncountable, concrete/ abstract, collective.

Inspired by Covid-19's long lockdowns and safety concerns, cities are implementing
pedestrian-friendly initiatives and pushing for more car-free spaces.
When the initial wave of Covid prevented indoor gatherings in most countries around the
world, many cities responded by quickly reimagining what life could look like outside.
Some introduced pedestrian-only streets, turned parking spots into pop-up restaurants and
added more bike lanes – transforming once car-filled areas into walking- and cycling-
friendly spots.
The changes paid dividends, not just in increased economic activity, but studies also
showed the virus may spread less quickly in highly walkable neighbourhoods. And while
many places have now rolled back these initiatives as life returns to the new normal, some
cities have held fast to their pedestrian improvements and have been pushing for even more
car-free spaces.
Four cities around the world have made some of the boldest and fastest pedestrian-friendly
changes during the pandemic – and their governments are keeping many of those initiatives
to encourage residents and visitors to get around on foot.

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PLURAL OF NOUNS
Regular Plural
 We generally add ‘s’ to the singular noun: dog-dogs, table-tables, plant-plants, etc.
 We add ‘es’ to singular nouns ending in ‘s’, ‘z’, ‘x’, ‘ch’ or ‘sh’: box-boxes, bush-
bushes, match-matches, etc.
 If the noun ends in a consonant plus ‘y’, in the plural the ‘y’ is dropped and ‘ies’ is
added: copy-copies, fly-flies, etc.
 Nouns ending in ‘o’ generally add ‘s’: radio-radios, memo-memos, etc.
 Some nouns ending in ‘o’ form the plural by adding ‘es’: tomato-tomatoes, potato-
potatoes, hero-heroes, echo-echoes, etc.
 With some nouns ending in ‘o’, there are two possible endings ‘os’ or ‘oes’:
volcano-volcanos/volcanoes, buffalo- buffalos/buffaloes, cargo-cargos/cargoes, etc.
 Nouns ending in ‘f’ add ‘s’ to form the plural: belief-beliefs, proof- proofs, roof-
roofs, reef-reefs, cliff-cliffs, etc.
Irregular plurals
 Some nouns form the plural by changing a vowel: man-men, woman-women, foot-
feet, goose-geese, tooth-teeth, mouse-mice, louse-lice.
 Some nouns add ‘(-r)en’ to form the plural: child-children, ox-oxen
 Some nouns change ‘f’ for ‘ves’: wife-wives, calf-calves, knife-knives, scarf-
scarves, thief- thieves, leaf-leaves, shelf-shelves, etc
 Some nouns keep the same form in the singular and plural: fish, sheep, trout, deer,
series, species, etc.
 Some nouns are always plural, although they seem singular: people, police, cattle.
 Some nouns are plural-only nouns, and they refer to things made up of two parts:
scissors, trousers, pajamas, shorts, pants, binoculars, pliers, etc. Others refer to
things made up of an indefinite number of parts: belongings, outskirts, clothes,
surroundings, etc.

Activity 3. Fill in the blanks with the plural form of the noun in brackets.
1. The vet diagnosed botulism, so the …………… (goose) were infected.
2. This coming weekend, there will be three big football ………….. (match).
 3. During lockdown, everyone had to wear ……….. (mask) to go to the supermarket.
4. Paris, Bogotá, Milan and San Francisco are four ………….. (city)around the world
that made some of the boldest pedestrian-friendly changes during the pandemic.
5. My mother bought me a new lovely pair of …………….. (shorts).
6. My cousin’s new apartment is 700 square …………. (foot), can you believe it?
7. In the hills of Córdoba, there are several rivers where you can go fishing for
…………….. (trout).
8. Ecuador is famous for its eruptions; 20 of the 22 ………….. (volcano) found there
are still active.
9. You can find the book you are looking for in some of those ……………. (shelf)
behind you.
10. The students were asked to prepare two …………….. (essay) about global
warming.
11. The Arab world is used to seeing a man with many …………….. (wife).
12. If you go trekking to the mountains, watch out for the ………… (cliff).

Activity 4. Choose the correct form of the verb.

1. The film crew was/were making a documentary about the war in Ukraine. It
included interviews to famous as well as ordinary people, and images of several
regions before and after combat took place.
2. The jury has/have reached a verdict.
3. The staff was/were very helpful in sending the invitations, organizing the food
catering and hiring a band for the event.
4. Mary’s family is/are very close. They all get together once a month.
5. The cabin crew has/have earned the distinction of ‘wing of the year’, awarded by
the company to recognize efficiency and commitment.

Activity 5. Read the sentences below and indicate whether the underlined nouns are
countable (C) or uncountable (U).

1. His injuries have made it impossible for him to return to normal. He will be on a
leave from work until the end of the month.
2. Please, put those scissors down.
3. It was said that he was cheating on her, but she had no proof.
4. If you are a salesperson, you need to have genuine belief in the product.
5. Irina doesn’t eat meat, but she’s not vegan. This is related to her religious beliefs.
6. A member of the design team will be coming this afternoon to give us a hand.
7. They lay under the bush and contemplated the stunning sunset.
8. Lice can be very hard to get rid of, especially during pool season.
 9. It was a lovely event. We had some cake and a glass of champagne.
10. Even grass grows so finely that cattle can feed properly.
11. As it was her birthday yesterday, I brought her a home-made cake.
12. The theory that there is life in the universe apart from the one on earth must be true.
13. For the first time in your student life; please, listen to your teacher.
14. Fortunately, the hurricane left only minor damage and broken glass, but nobody got
hurt.
15. Both his sons are in the army, so he fears they will be sent to the front line.

Activity 6. Complete this funny poem of an unknown author with the appropriate singular
or plural noun.

No wonder the English language is so difficult to learn.

I sometimes wonder how we manage to communicate at all!
We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is ………………
But the plural of ox should be ……………, not oxes.
The one fowl is a goose, but two are called ……………..
Yet the plural of ………………... should never be meece.
You may found a lone mouse or a whole set of ………………
Yet the plural of house is ………….. not hice.
If the plural of man is always called ………..
Why shouldn’t the plural of ……… be called pen?
If I speak of a foot and you show me your ……………..
And I give you a ………….; would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are ………………
Why should not the plural of …………….. be called beeth?
(…) So English, I fancy you will all agree
Is the funniest language that you ever did see!
Activity 7. Read the text and correct the mistakes you find (if any). Write your corrections
on the right column.

Last Saturday, my family and I decided to go on a picnic. …………………….

My childs were in charge of the games, and my husband …………………….
and I prepared the rest. He packed forks, knifs, glasses ……………………..
and a tablecloth in a basket, and looked for some ……………………..
cushions and two sun loungers. I prepared a couple of ……………………..
sandwich with turkey, egg and mayonnaise, and grabbed …………………….
some fruit (apples, grapes and strawberries). I also ……………………...
brought orange juices for everyone and even cookies and ……………………..
cake for the afternoon. We had a wonderful time. We ………………………
chatted, played darts, and were so entertained that a ……………………..
time flew. We even lit a bonfire without matchs! I’m sure ……………………..
they’ll never forget this experience. These are the ……………………..
memory I want to treasure forever! ………………………