You no ones (nouns) are the words that represent people, places and things, but this definition can be expanded to encompass other categories of nouns. When we think about the category of stuff, it can be subdivided into nouns concrete and abstract.
We can still think of nouns common and own. Proper nouns are usually capitalized in English and refer to something particular. It is also important to say that the nouns plurals they differ from those that occur in Portuguese, because they are categorized into countable or non-countable nouns, which is a non-existent concept in our language.
Types of no ones
common vs properno ones
nounsown they can naming people, places or things. It is important to note that proper nouns (Monet, New York, Oreo, Mary, etc.) classify something in a specific way. Also, they are always capitalized, regardless of the position they occupy in a sentence. On the other hand, common nouns classify things in general (painter, city, biscuit, mother, etc.). For example:
- this car is amazing.
This one car it is wonderful.
In this example, we see which car is a common noun because it is a general classification for a means of transport, which can represent any type of car. Now, look at the next example:
- this Ferrari is amazing.
It is Ferrari it's wonderful.
the noun Ferrari indicates a specific car type, so it is, in English, a proper noun. See other examples:
common nouns |
Proper nouns |
|
i live in this city. I live in this City. |
I live in California. I live in California. |
|
he is handsome man. He is one men beautiful. |
he is Barack Obama. He is barack obama. |
See too: Adjectives: know how to assign characteristics in English
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Abstract vs concreteno ones
By thinking of subtypes of common nouns, we can think of them in terms of abstract or concrete nouns, that is, whether they are tangible or not. You abstract nouns (intangibles) refer to ideas, concepts, emotions and feelings, qualities, since they are not directly related to the concrete or physical world, the latter being the main aspect of concrete nouns (tangibles). Look at the examples:
Abstractno ones |
concrete nouns |
love (love), happiness (happiness), life (life), future (future), sad (sad), justice (justice), friendship (friendship), philosophy (philosophy), thought (thought) etc. |
car (car), apple (Apple), tree (tree), water (Water), building (building), Casa, Lar (House) etc. |
Collective nouns
To the English language, nouns can also represent, through a word, a set or a group of people, animals, places. They are called collective nouns, by denoting a class. Its use can cause some confusion, because, as it represents the whole of something, language learners they don't know if the noun agrees with the conjugated verb in the third person singular or in the plural form. In fact, both conjugations are possible, with a slight change in meaning. For example:
1- The class don’t hesitate to solve the doubts.
THE class does not hesitate to resolve doubts.
2- The class doesn’t hesitate to solve the doubts.
THE class does not hesitate to resolve doubts.
Note that, in both examples, the Portuguese translation remains the same. However, in English, you need to assess the context. In the first sentence, we think of the individuals who make up the class; while in the second example, we have the idea of the class constituting a whole.
See some more examples of collective nouns:
- army (army)
- association (Association)
- choir (coral)
- class (class, class)
- community (community)
- Group (group)
- population (population)
- family (family)
- Pack (gang)
- set (set)
- Series (series)
- team (team)
- University (University)
Compoundno ones
Compound nouns are formed by two words or more, juxtaposed, which may or may not be separated by a hyphen. For example:
- mother in law (mother-in-law)
- Toothpaste (toothpaste)
- Weekend (weekend)
- armchair (armchair)
- football (soccer)
countable vs uncountableno ones
In English, we find an important category for classifying nouns, with regard to the number aspect. Nouns can be countable and/or uncountable, as the same noun can belong to two categories, depending on the context.
Normally, the uncountable noun cannot be separated into units, for example, oil/oil, water/Water, rice/rice. While the countable noun can, as in Casa, Lar/House, chair/chair.
Furthermore, the countable nouns they can appear both in the singular and in the plural: a house/one house, two houses/two houses. Countless nouns, on the other hand, only appear in the singular form: some rice/some rice.
However, when a noun is accompanied by an implicit or explicit container, it can be interpreted in a plural way. For example: some coffee/ some coffee, why coffee it is countless. But if we order at a restaurant: two coffees/ two coffee, it is implied that we are asking two cups of coffee/two cups of coffee.
With these two concepts in mind, we can move on to the next section, where we will cover the rules for plural English nouns. Let’s go!
Read too: Personal pronoun it in English
Plural formno ones
As we saw in the previous section, only the countable nouns have a plural form. In the English language, most nouns are followed by an -s when plural. For example:
- House - houses
house - houses
- band - bands
band – bands
- cat - cats
cat - cats
- Day - days
day - days
In some cases, the spelling rule changes depending on the noun ending:
If ending in –o, –s, –sh, –ch, –x, add –es:
- Tomato – tomatoes
tomato - tomatoes
- Potato - potatoes
Potato - Potatoes
- Church – churches
church - churches
If ending in -f, -ves is added, eliminating -f:
- Shelf - shelves
Shelf - shelves
- Knife - knives
knife - knives
If ending in consonant + -y, add –ies, eliminating –y:
- Fly – flies
fly - flies
- Baby - babies
baby - babies
However, there are some nouns that have an irregular plural form.:
- Man - men
man - men
- Woman – women
Woman women
- Child - children
Children children
- Person – people
Person people
- Foot – feet
foot - feet
Also access: Contracted forms: abbreviated forms in English
gender of no ones
Although in the English language it is not usual to divide nouns into gender, some words have the feminine, masculine or neuter gender.
Neutral nouns refer to both genders.:
- Friends, students, doctors, teachers...
Friends, students, doctors, teachers...
In this case, if you want to indicate the gender, you can add before the word: male/female (male/female): female teacher, male student.
Nouns followed by the suffix -ess are usually feminines:
- Waiter - waitress
Waiter - waitress
- Actor - actress
Actor actress
- prince - princess
Prince Princess
When the noun is followed by the suffix -man, we can change it to -woman:
- postman - postwoman
Postman - wallet
- businessman - businesswoman
business man - business woman
For some nouns relating to relationships, we have both forms.:
- Husband - wife
Husband wife
- father - mother
Father mother
- Brother - sister
Brother sister
- uncle - aunt
Uncle aunt
solved exercises
Question 1 (PUCRS)
Nouns in English can be divided into “countable” or “uncountable” (eg, apple X water). In order to indicate some kind of "measurement" in the case of uncountable nouns, another noun is required (e.g.: "glasses" or "liters" of water). Therefore, the expression below that is equivalent to the structure "blades of grass" is:
a) structures of steel.
b) Chinese classes.
c) cups of coffee.
d) floors of wood.
e) letters of complaint.
Resolution
The correct answer is letter c, because cups of coffee (coffee cups) indicate a container, allowing you to quantify the coffee.
Question 2 (Nucepe)
The plural form of brother-in-law, foot and candy is:
a) brothers-in-laws, feet ,candys.
b) brothers-in-law, feet, candies.
c) brother-in-laws, feet, candies.
d) brothers-in-law, foots, candies.
e) brother-ins-law, foots, candys.
Resolution
The correct answer is the letter b, because when the noun is compounded, only the noun can go plural (brother). Feet is the plural of foot (irregular) and candy, as it ends in a consonant + -y, must be accompanied by –ies.
By Mrs. Patricia Veronica Moreira
English teacher
