English nouns (Nouns)

Noun is the class of words that name beings in general, objects, places, feelings, among others.

Nouns are among the most important words in a language. Even though there is a vast knowledge of the grammar rules of a language, without the nouns communication would be extremely difficult.

Check out the translated examples below, where nouns are highlighted.

Examples:

• add up people don’t like hot weather. (Some people don't like hot weather.)
• my boss asked me to deliver the report tomorrow. (My boss asked me to deliver the report tomorrow.)
• you should use the ruler to measure the size of the picture. (You should use a ruler to measure the size of the photo.)
• I bought a new pair of glasses. (I bought a new pair of glasses.)
• London is a beautiful city in England. (London is a beautiful city in England.)
• The lawyer will arrive at the office in 5 minutes. (The lawyer will arrive at the office in five minutes.)
• We have a thirty-year-old friendship. we met when we were 3. (We have a 30-year friendship. We met when we were 3 years old.)
• I admire the love he has for his country. (I admire the love he has for his country.)

Types of nouns

As in the Portuguese language, the English language subdivides the nouns into two main groups and classifies them as proper nouns (proper nouns) and common nouns (common nouns).

Check out the information below and learn about the different types of nouns.

Proper nouns (proper nouns)

Name beings in a specific way. Proper nouns are, for example, words that designate people's names, geographical places, days of the week, months, brand names, professional titles, etc.

Examples:

• Richard
• Brazil (Brazil)
• Chicago
• march (March)
• Thursday (Thursday)
• doctor (doctor)
• President (president)

In the case of professional titles, they are only considered proper names when accompanied by a name that identifies them: Doctor Robinson (Doctor Robinson); President Strickland (President Strickland).

Brazil is the most successful country when it comes to soccer. (Brazil is the most successful country when it comes to football.)

common nouns (common nouns)

They name beings of the same species. Are nouns that refer to things in general

Examples:

• bookstore (book store)
• city (City)
• museum (museum).

The bookstore of Alexandria is one of the most famous in the world. (The library of Alexandria is one of the most famous in the world.)

The common noun group encompasses some noun subtypes. Check it out below.

Concrete nouns (concrete nouns)

They name concrete beings, with real or imaginary existence.

Examples:

• employee (employee)
• banker (banker)
• hero (hero)

The boss gave a raise to all of his employees. (The boss gave all his employees a raise.)

Collective nouns (collective nouns)

They name beings belonging to a group of the same species.

Examples:

• army - of soldiers (army - of soldiers)
• hive - of bees (swarm of bees)
• kennel - of dogs (kennel - of dogs)

She found a big hive in her garden. (She found a large hive in her garden.)

Abstract nouns

They name qualities, feelings.

Examples:

• peace (peace)
• height (height)
• goodness (kindness)
• anger (anger)

I am great for my friends kindness when I needed it the most. (I am grateful for the kindness of my friends when I needed it most.)

Countable nouns

Countable nouns are those that we can count, enumerate.

Examples:

• car (car)
• dog (puppy)
• day (morning)
• book (book).

There are three dogs playing in the yard. (There are three dogs playing in the garden.)

Uncountable nouns

Countless nouns are those we cannot count. We usually need to use a specific word to quantify these nouns.

Examples:

• coffee (coffee)
• money (cash)
• advice (advice)
• information (information)
• water (Water)

He drank two cups of coffee this morning. (He drank two cups of coffee this morning.)

Compound nouns (compound nouns)

Compound nouns are those that have more than one word in their formation. These words can be joined together, forming a single term, they can be separated by a hyphen or just separated by a space.

Examples:

• football (soccer)
• father-in-law (father in law)
• bus stop (bus stop.)

The bus had already left by the time she got to the bus stop. (The bus had already left when she arrived at the bus stop.)

Gender of nouns

In many languages, nouns have a gender. This causes other word classes, such as adjectives, to be inflected according to the gender of the noun used in the sentence.

In Portuguese, for example, if we refer to a girl (female noun), we can say that she is cute.The (and not prettyO).

In English, nouns have no grammatical gender. However, some nouns traditionally have different forms because they are also associated with the biological gender of the word itself.

This is the case, for example, with the words actor (actor); actress (actress) and waiter (waiter); waitress (waitress).

Check the explanations below

Masculine nouns (masculine nouns)

Nouns that specifically represent the male gender.

Examples:

• uncle (uncle)
• man (men)
• cock (rooster)

Uncle Ben and my brother are fishing. (Uncle Ben and my brother are fishing.)

Feminine nouns (feminine nouns)

Nouns that are specifically used to represent the female gender.

Examples:

• aunt (aunt)
• woman (women)
• chicken (hen)

Aunt Rose and my sister are repairing the computer. (Aunt Rose and my sister are fixing the computer.)

Neutral gender nouns

With regard to people, the neuter noun can be used to refer to both genders. (masculine and feminine), that is, they are nouns that in Portuguese we classify as common of two genders.

Examples:

• lawyer (lawyer or lawyer)
• teacher (teacher or teacher)
• doctor (doctor/doctor or doctor/physician)

My doctor is a really kind person. (My doctor is a very kind person or My doctor is a very kind person.)

In some cases, the English language has three terms.

Example:

• policewoman (woman cop)
• policemen (male policeman)
• police officer (police officer)

Note that the term police officer is a gender-neutral noun.

The police officer arrested the thief. (The police officer arrested the thief or The police officer arrested the thief.)

In English, the neuter gender also refers to words considered genderless in English. These are the words that, when singular, can be replaced by the personal pronoun it (used for objects, animals and things).

Example:

• fork (fork)
• spoon (Spoon)
• car (car)

although in portuguese fork be a masculine noun, Spoon a feminine noun and car a masculine noun, the English translation of these words has no gender.

plural of nouns

To form the plural of English nouns, we need to follow certain rules that are directly related to the endings of these words.

Check below the rules of plural formation in English.

Just add the -s

To form the plural of some words, it is not necessary to make any change in their spelling, other than adding the letter –s.

Examples:

• computer: computers (computer: computers)
• day: days (day: days)
• animal: animals (animal: animals)
• book: books (book: books)

Words ending in y preceded by a consonant

When an English noun ends with y and before that y there is a consonant, we must remove the y, replace it with i and add –ies.

Examples:

• baby: babies (baby: babies)
• body: bodies (body: bodies)
• city: cities (city: cities)
• battery: batteries (battery: batteries)

Words ending in –s, –ss, –ch, –sh, –x, –z and –o

To form the plural of words ending in –s, –ss, –ch, –sh, –x, –z, and –o, just add –es.

Examples:

• tomato: tomatoes (tomato: tomatoes)
• hero: heroes (hero: heroes)
• box: boxes (box: boxes)
• watch: watches (watch: watches)

Words ending in –ch with sound of /k/

To form the plural of words ending in –ch with a sound of /k/, just add the –s.

Examples:

• stomach: stomachs (stomach: stomach)
• monarch: monarchs (monarch: monarchs)
• conch: conchs (shell: shells)
• patriarch: patriarchs (patriarch: patriarchs)

Words ending in -o preceded by a vowel

if a word ends in O and before the O there is a vowel, just add s to form the plural of that word.

Examples:

• zoo: zoos (zoo: zoos)
• radio: radios (radio: radios)
• studio: studios (studio: studios)

IMPORTANT: some words ending with –o admit two plural forms: one with a –s ending and another with a –es ending.

Examples:

• mango: mangoes/mangoes (mango: mango -fruit)
• flamingo: flamingos, flamingoes (flamingo: flamingos)
• volcano: volcanos/volcanoes (volcano: volcanoes)

Words ending in –f or –fe

To form the plural of words ending in f or faith, just remove the f or the faith and replace with –ves.

Examples:

• wolf: wolves (wolf: wolves)
• life: lives (life: lives)
• leaf: leaves (leaf: leaves)
• yourself: yourselves (yourself; alone: ​​yourself; alone)

Nouns whose plural is irregular

Although the formation of the plural in most words is guided by certain rules, in the case of some words, the plural is irregular, that is, it has its own form that is independent of rules.

Examples:

• man: men (man: men)
• woman: women (woman women)
• fish: fish (fish: fish)
• child: children (children children)

noun list

Below is a list of the most common nouns in English.

The words were published in Dolch word list, a list of frequently used English words, compiled by Edward William Dolch.

Video

Watch the video below, get to know the twenty most used nouns in the English language and learn to pronounce them correctly.

The 20 Most Common Nouns in English

Exercises

Do the exercises below and learn a little more about English nouns

1. (URCA-CE/2007)

NUTTY FOR THE DRAWING BOARD (PART I)

About to turn 75, author and cartoonist Ziraldo collects honors and says he is in love with his work. Ziraldo Alves Pinto contradicts the legend that people from Minas Gerais don't talk too much. Born in the city of Caratinga, in October 1932, the author of one of the greatest editorial successes in Brazil, the children's book The Nutty Boy, from 1980, lets loose to talk about Blank I passion for drawing and for the art of putting ideas on paper. Full of projects, Ziraldo says he doesn't plan to stop soon. Happy, he celebrates countless honors which he has received in 2007, when he turns 75 years old and completes more than 50 years in his career.

There are exhibitions that show his talent as movie poster, designer, cartoonist, comic strip writer, and illustrator. Ziraldo was also honored with an extensive display at the 18th Salão Carioca de Humor, which ended in April.

Ziraldo, who has already sold almost 10 million books, is the author of the first national comic magazine written by a single author, Pererê's Gang. But his first success in children's literature was the book Flicts (1969), about a color that can't find its place in the world. (…)

Examples of countable nouns are:

a) cheese - scissors - camera
b) book - exhibition - information
c) milk – shorts – room
d) juice - table - butter
e) papaya – parade – mechanic

See Answer

Correct alternative: e) papaya – parade – mechanic

2. (Unioeste-PR/2012)

Brazil police occupy Rio favela in World Cup operation

Brazilian security forces have occupied one of Rio de Janeiro’s biggest slums as part of a major crackdown ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Some 800 police and special forces moved into the Shantytown Hose, without needing to fire a shot, having announced the raid in advance.

The slum – or favela – is close to Rio's famous Maracana stadium, where the World Cup final will be played.

The pre-dawn operation involved armored vehicles and helicopters.

According to the newspaper, O Globo, leaflets were thrown out of the helicopters, some with photos of wanted criminals.

Others were printed with the police special forces’ telephone number so that residents could pass on information about drugs traffickers or weapons.

BBC Brazil correspondent Paulo Cabral says most of Mangueira’s residents co-operated with the operation, as they want to rid the area of ​​drug dealers.

He says that Rio's authorities are making an effort to gain the trust of those living in the slums, who – after decades of abuse – have got used to seeing the police as their enemy.

Mangueira – home to one of Rio's most famous samba schools – is the 18th favela that the authorities have recently occupied.

_{Adapted from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13833037}

Mark the noun that does NOT have the same plural forms as in residents:

a) Slums.
b) Criminals.
c) Dealers.
d) Forces.
e) Women.

See Answer

Correct alternative: e) Women.

3. (CBM-BA/2017)

In the English language there are specific rules for the construction of the plural of nouns.

Below is a short excerpt of a text on multiple intelligences whose nouns that are in parentheses in the singular must be written in the plural form.

[...] Linguistic - using ___________ (word) effectively. These ____________ (learner) like reading, taking notes in their ________ (class), making up poetry or ___________(story). Interpersonal - understanding, interacting with others. These ______________ (student) learn through interaction. They like group ___________ (activity), ____________ (seminar), __________ (debate), _________ (interview). Logical-Mathematical - reasoning, calculating. __________ (Person) who excel in this intelligence like to experiment, solve ____________ (puzzle) play with logic __________ (game), read about ___________ (investigation), and solve ___________ (mystery).

Check the alternative that correctly and respectively completes the gaps considering the plurals of nouns in American English.

a) words - learners - classes - stories; students - activities - seminars - debates - interviews; Persons - puzzles - games - investigations - mysteries
b) words - learners - classes - stories; students - activities - seminars - debates - interviews; People - puzzles - games - investigations - mysteries
c) wordes - learners - classes - stories; students - activities - seminars - debates - interviews; People - puzzles - games - investigations - mysteries
d) words - learners - classes - stories; students - activities - seminars - debates - interviews; People - puzzles - games - investigations - mysteries
e) words - learners - classes - storys; students - activities - seminars - debates - interviews; Persons - puzzles - games - investigations - mysteries

See Answer

Correct alternative: d) words - learners - classes - stories; students - activities - seminars - debates - interviews; People - puzzles - games - investigations - mysteries

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