A CLOSER LOOK AT NOUNS

Introdução aos Sintagmas da Língua Inglesa

Prof.ª Ms Flávia Cunha2015.1

A CLOSER LOOK AT NOUNS

WHAT ARE NOUNS?

Nouns are words that name a person, place,

or thing in a sentence, and they are classified

according to their meaning.

A CLOSER LOOK AT NOUNS

COMMON NOUNS AND PROPER NOUNS � A word which names a person, place or thing in

general is called a common noun. e.g. waiter, dog, girl, house, car, and city. When a word names a particular, or the only,

member of a class or group it is called a proper noun. Proper nouns are always capitalized.

e.g. Paul (the name of a particular person ), Doberman (the name of a particular kind of

dog), New Brunswick (the name of a particular

province), and Ottawa (the name of a particular city).

A CLOSER LOOK AT NOUNS

CONCRETE NOUNS AND ABSTRACT NOUNS � If a noun names something that can be

detected by the five senses, it is called a concrete noun. Nouns like table, house, car, brain, cloud, sky are concrete nouns. On the other hand, if a noun refers to qualities which do not exist in the real world and cannot be felt, tasted, seen, heard or touched, they are categorized as abstract nouns.

Examples: honesty, pride, beauty, swiftness, friendship, height, speed, faith

A CLOSER LOOK AT NOUNS

COLLECTIVE NOUNS Collective nouns name groups or

collections of people, places and things. Examples: team, crowd, audience, jury,

committee. Collective nouns have both singular and

plural forms: one committee, six committees.

Example: Six trials are scheduled so the judge called six juries.

A CLOSER LOOK AT NOUNS MASS NOUNS

Most nouns refer to things that can be counted like apples, steaks, miles, chairs, bracelets, dollars, and are, therefore called count nouns. Mass nouns, however, are similar to collective nouns, but refer to non-living things which cannot be counted: They are always used in the singular even though they refer to many items. Some grammar books call these mass nouns as non-count nouns/uncountable nouns.

Examples: meat, land, furniture, money, food, gold, clothing, equipment.

A CLOSER LOOK AT NOUNSFORMS OF NOUNS1. SINGULAR AND PLURAL � Nouns may be singular referring to one, or plural,

referring to more than one. Most nouns change their form by adding “s” when they are plural. However, there are exceptions to every rule - and exceptions for the exceptions.

2. POSSESSIVE NOUNS � Common and proper nouns can sometimes be further

classified as possessive nouns. A possessive noun shows ownership, belonging, or that something is part of something else.

e.g. Libby’s front teeth, Eva’s big smile, Greg’s tiny nose

A CLOSER LOOK AT NOUNSEXERCISE: A. Underline all the nouns you can find.

1. The dog chased the cat under the porch.2. Muffins made with blueberries are delicious.3. My daughter sold her computer to a friend.4. Robert drove his car to Saint John and shopped for a new

truck.5. So much snow covered the roads that even truck drivers

pulled into motels.6. The passengers on the ship witnessed the collision with the

iceberg.7. The Titanic sank in a few hours; many husbands and wives

were separated.8. Penguins live near the South Pole, but these birds aren’t

bothered by the cold.9. Many retired couples move to Florida where the weather is

warmer.

A CLOSER LOOK AT NOUNS

B. Write 3 sentences of your own. Underline all the nouns you used.

NOUNS SYNTACTIC CHARACTERISTICS Nouns can be recognized by the following

syntactic characteristics:

They may be preceded by determiners: the young boy my two catsThey may be modified by adjectives a large pizza those lovely flowers

NOUNS SYNTACTIC CHARACTERISTICSThey may be premodified by other nouns a university degree a computer programmer When a noun is head of a subject noun

phrase, it agrees in person and number with the tensed verb of the clause:

e.g. Their apologies were accepted.