What are nouns?
There are numerous words in English. These words are divided into eight classes on the basis of their grammatical behaviour.
The eight parts of speech are: noun, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction, verb and interjection.
Nouns
A noun is the name of a person, place or thing. Examples are: boy, girl, tree, apple, computer, India, mother, father, Raju, river, breeze, heat, country etc.
A noun can be the subject or object of a verb.
Some nouns have plural forms. These are called countable nouns. Example are: apple, boy, book, car, flower, country, student etc.
Most singular nouns form their plurals by adding -s to the singular.
- Apple -> apples
- Boy -> boys
- Girl -> girls
- Book -> books
- Flower -> flowers
- Student -> students
Some singular nouns form their plurals by adding -es to the singular.
Examples are:
- Fox -> foxes
- Box -> boxes
- Mango -> mangoes
- Tomato -> tomatoes
Some nouns form their plurals irregularly.
- Man -> men
- Woman -> women
- Child -> children
- Foot -> feet
- Tooth -> teeth
We can use numbers and the definite articles a/an with countable nouns. We can, for example, say an apple or two apples. A singular countable noun always has an article or another determiner with it. We say a book, my book, the book, this book or that book, but not just book.
Some nouns do not have plural forms. In grammars, these nouns are uncountable nouns. Uncountable nouns are the names of materials, liquids, abstract ideas, collections and other things which we do not see as separate object. Examples are: water, oil, petrol, air, gas, weather, wool, rice, milk, sand etc.
We cannot use numbers or the article a/an with uncountable nouns. We say weather, not a weather or two weathers.
Most uncountable nouns are followed by singular verbs. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Some nouns which are uncountable in English have plural countable forms in many languages.
Sections in this article
NounsPlural Nouns
Formation of plurals
Compound nouns and their plurals
Irregular plurals
Possessive Nouns
Nouns that always require a plural verb
See also
Adverb clauses
Adjective clauses
Noun clauses
Transformation of sentences
See also
Common mistakes in the use of nouns
Common mistakes in the use of nouns | Exercise 1
Common mistakes in the use of nouns | Exercise 2
Common mistakes in the use of nouns | Exercise 3
More CBSE English Grammar worksheets
Passive voice worksheet | Simple past tensePassive voice worksheet | Past continuous tense
Passive voice worksheet | Simple future tense
Passive voice worksheet | Future perfect tense
