Meeting the Words – Nouns

In this episode, we’ll start exploring the different types of words we use in English. These types are called “parts of speech.” We’ll begin with one of the most important parts of speech: nouns.

1. What is a Noun?

A noun is a word that names something. It can be:

• A person: teacher, boy, Mary, doctor
• A place: school, park, London, house
• A thing: book, car, tree, apple
• An idea: happiness, love, time, danger

Think of nouns as the labels we put on everything around us.

2. Types of Nouns (Simplified)

For now, let’s focus on two main types of nouns that are important for beginners:

• Common Nouns: These are general names for people, places, or things.
  • Examples: dog, city, book, day
• Proper Nouns: These are specific names for people, places, or things. They always start with a capital letter.
  • Examples: Rover (a dog’s name), London (a city), Harry Potter (a book), Monday (a day)

Examples in Sentences:

• The dog barked at the car. (Common nouns)
• Rover barked at the car. (Proper noun for the dog, common noun for the car)
• London is a big city. (Proper nouns)

3. Singular and Plural Nouns

Nouns can be singular (one) or plural (more than one).

• Most nouns become plural by adding -s:
  • Examples: cat → cats, book → books, tree → trees
• Some nouns have different plural forms:
  • Adding -es: Nouns ending in -s, -x, -z, -ch, -sh usually add -es.
    • Examples: bus → buses, box → boxes, watch → watches
  • Changing -y to -ies: Nouns ending in a consonant + -y change the -y to -ies.
    • Examples: baby → babies, city → cities, story → stories
  • Irregular plurals: Some nouns have completely different plural forms. It’s best to memorize these.
    • Examples: man → men, woman → women, child → children, foot → feet, tooth → teeth
  • No change: Some nouns stay the same in both singular and plural.
    • Examples: sheep, fish, deer

Examples in Sentences:

• I have one cat. I have two cats.
• The baby is sleeping. The babies are sleeping.
• I saw a fish. I saw many fish.

4. Countable and Uncountable Nouns (Simplified)

• Countable Nouns: These are things you can count. They have singular and plural forms.
  • Examples: one apple, two apples; one car, many cars
• Uncountable Nouns: These are things you can’t easily count. They usually don’t have a plural form.
  • Examples: water, rice, information, advice

Examples in Sentences:

• I drank some water. (Not “waters”)
• I need some advice. (Not “advices”)
• I ate two apples.

5. Compound Nouns (Basic)

A compound noun is made up of two or more words.

• Examples: football, bedroom, bus stop

Examples in Sentences:

• I play football.
• My bedroom is upstairs.
• I waited at the bus stop.

What We Skipped (For Now):

• Abstract nouns: While important, these can be confusing for absolute beginners. It’s better to introduce them later.
• Collective nouns: The singular/plural agreement with collective nouns is complex and best left for a later lesson.
• Noun gender: This is largely not relevant in modern English and can be safely omitted for beginners.

Why are Nouns Important?

Nouns are essential because they name everything we talk about. Without nouns, we couldn’t describe people, places, things, or ideas.

Other Useful Links
| Introduction to English Grammar | Noun | Pronoun | Adjectives | Verbs | Adverb | Preposition | Conjunction | Interjection | Articles | Phrases | Clause | Modal Verbs | Tenses | Passive Voice |