NOUNS (SUSTANTIVOS)

Nouns are mostly names of things, e.g. cat, idea, money, oil, reason, strength. Singular nouns: cat, idea, reason; plural nouns: cats, ideas, reasons. Countable nouns (cat) can be singular or plural. Uncountable nouns (oil, happiness) are only singular, and cannot come after a/an.

PROPER NOUNS (NOMBRE PROPIO)

Proper nouns include the following types of nouns: Names of people: Lilian, Martin, Nora Ephron. Names of places (countries, cities, ocesans, rivers, lakes, mountains, parks, schools, buildings, stores, etc.): China, Beverly Hills, Atlantic Ocean, Amazon River, Lake Michigan, Mount Fuji, Central Park, Coe College, Sears Tower, Bloomingdales. Names of religions: Buddhism, Buddhist; Hinduism, Hindu; Christianity, Christian. Names of courses in school and college: Philosophy, History of Science. Historical periods and events: the Middle Ages, the Civil War. Styles of art and architecture: Victorian, Gothic, Baroque, Expressionist, Cubist. Nationalities, languages, and associated words: Chinese, Japanese, Sinophile, Anglophobe. Days, months, special holidays: Christmas, Passover, New Years Day, December, Tuesday. Tiles: Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr.

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

The way we use common nouns depends first on whether a particular noun is countable or uncountable. Then, if we use a countable noun, we also have to determine whether is in singular or plural. Markers of Common Nouns Countable A ring The ring One ring Each ring Every ring

Singular

Uncountable Jewerly The jewerly Some jewerly A lot of jewerly Not much jewerly A little of jewerly A great deal of jewerly

Plural

Rings Two rings Some rings Several rings A lot of rings Not many rings A few rings A large number of rings

Countable nouns
Nouns that are preceded by a or an are always countable and always singular. In fact it must appear with a, an, or the (or some other determiner) in front of it: it cannot stand alone. Singular A promise ( = one promise): He made a promise. The promise ( = one specific promise): He made the promise I had asked for. BUT NOT He made promise. Plural The promises ( = some specific promises): He made the promises I had asked him for. Two promises, many promises, etc. BUT NOT He made a solemn promises. Regular Plural Forms Singular Plural promise promises form forms doctor doctors month months test tests match matchs day days toy toys requirement requirements Irregular Plural Forms Singular Form Plural Form Consonant + y Consonant + ies promise promises form forms -f or -fe wife life thief -ves wives lives thieves EXCEPTIONS: Beliefes Chief roofs -oes or -os potatoes photos

-o potato photo COMMON IRREGULAR FORMS man woman child tooth foot mouse

men women children teeth feet mice

Uncountable nouns
Some nouns cannot be counted in certain contexts in English. Nouns that are uncountable in thir context: Do not have a plural form. Are never used with a or an. Are used with third person singular verb (he, she, or it form).

Sometimes, nouns that are uncountable in one context become countable in another: I love chocolate. BUT Would you like a chocolate? (= one piece of chocolate candy). Life is exciting. He lived and exciting life ( as opposed to a boring life). Iron is a though metal. She bought an iron ( utensil for pressing clothes). The frequently used nouns that are uncountable in most context are these: MASS NOUNS Furniture Luggage Money Vocabulary Equipment Machinary Garbage Homework Traffic Jewerly scenary ABSTRACT NOUNS Information Knowledge News Happiness Education Advice Fun Honesty Wealth Health Secrecy Anger Confidence Courage DISEASES Measles Mumps Influenza Arthritis GAMES Checkers Billiards Baseball Tennis SUBJECTS OF STUDY Physis Mathematics Politics Economics History Biology Medicine Chocolate comes from the cocoa bean.

Collective nouns
Like uncountable nouns, have no distinct singular and plural form. However, they are followed by a plural form of the verb: People (person is used for the singular). Police The poor (= the poor people). The rich The old The young The police are coming soon.

Quantity words with countable and uncountable nouns

Quantity words Countable Uncountable Plural (not) many Too many A few (very) few Several A great number of A large number of Fewer Not much Too much A little (very) little A great deal of A large amount of Less

Singular Each Every Another

Some (some) other Any A lot of Lots of No Not any She took another day off. She has less free time than Max does. She has fewer projects to work on, but they are all big ones. She doesnt have many clients. He has no clients. He has no money.

Note that a lot of is more common in positive statements, while much is used in negatives and questions:

She has a lot of free time. She doesnt have much free time. Does she have much free time? Remember to distinguish between expressions like many and many of the. They are not interchangeable. GENERAL Many children are absent from school. Some doctors refuse to tell lies. A few nurses are on duty. SOME OF A SPECIFIC GROUP Many of the children in her class are absent today. Some of the doctors I know refuse to tell lies. A few of the nurses on duty tonight are in the emergency room.

Few and a few

They are both used with countable nouns in the plural, but they are not interchangeable. They have different meanings and occur in different contexts. He has a few friends, so he goes out most weekends is the equivalent of He has some friends, whereas He has few friends, so he stays home most weekends is the equivalent of He has hardly any friends. That is, a few implies more than a few. Few has more negative connotations than a few does. Few is often modified by very. He has very few new ideas. It is, however, more idiomatic to use notmuch. He doesnt have much time to spare.

Measure words
Uncountable nouns are often found preceded by a noun phrase that serves to make them countable. A piece of furniture A bit of information A piece of advice A bottle of wine A carton of juice A slice of bread A drop of rain A teaspoon of medicine A cup of sugar A pint of milk Many pieces of furniture Numerous bits of information Several pieces of advice Three bottles of wine Two cartons of juice A dozen slices of bread A few drops of rain Two teaspoons of medicine Three cups of sugar Two pints of milk

In addition, some plural countable nouns that exist only in the plural form need the measure word of pair to make them countable: A pair of pants A pair of jeans A pair of shorts A pair of pajamas A pair of scissors