Chapter 1 Nouns  Les Hanson 2002

Nouns wDefinition of nouns wCapitalization wpluralization

When to capitalize nouns wNames of particular people, places, or things wE.g. Stockwell Day, Alberta, Canadian Alliance But not general references  party leader, communist, fascist, right wing In general, specific names require capitals  Lake Superior, Fred, Great Depression wGeneral names do not require capitals  the prairies, my uncle, a recession

Names and Titles wCapitalize titles that precede names  Prime Minister Chretien, Aunt Polly But not when used alone, or after names  The minister was demoted to the back benches  Bill, my uncle, sat beside Gary Doer, premier of Manitoba

Sentences wCapitalize the first word of a sentence wAnd the first word of a quoted sentence  She said, “You are stupid.” wDon’t capitalize the second part of a fragmented quotation  “You are stupid,” she said, “and your mother dresses you funny.” wDon’t capitalize partial quotes  He talked of the “plausible deniability” of the scheme.

Titles of books, articles, and songs wCapitalize the first, last, and all important words in a title wDon’t capitalize short articles, prepositions, and conjunctions  As You Like It  The Merry Wives of Windsor  Love’s Labours Lost  Taming of the Shrew  The Merchant of Venice

Dates and Directions wCapitalize days of the week, months, holidays  Monday, June, Thanksgiving wBut not seasons  summer, fall, winter wDon’t capitalize directions  I drove north for two blocks wUnless it refers to a specific location  Fighting broke out in the Middle East  Winter roads are common in the North

Names of Groups wCapitalize races, religions, nationalities and languages  Bosnian, Buddhism, French, Cree

Product Names wCapitalize brand names and trademarks  Coke, Kleenix, Roller Blades, Popsicle wDo not capitalize generic product names  cola, tissues, inline skates, flavoured ice

Course Names wCapitalize specific names of courses  History 101, Intermediate Basket- weaving, a Bachelor of Arts degree wBut not general references to courses  geography, communication, accounting  He is studying engineering

Pluaralization wRegular plurals wAdding –s wAdding-es (-s, --ss, -sh, ch, -x, -z) Nouns ending in –y Nouns ending in ay,ey,oy,uy Nouns ending in o Nouns ending in –f

The pronunciation of the plural endings –s and -es wIz (After –s,-ss,-z, -x, se, dge, -ge) wBus, horse, buzz, wish, match, wage wZ (After vowel sounds and voiced consonants) wDay, car,dog,home wSwS wAfter other unvoiced consonants wBook, lip,cliff

OtherPlurals wIrregular plurals wWords of foreign origin wNouns which do not change in the plural wNouns which look singular but are in fact plural wNouns ending in –s which are in fact singular

Irregular plurals wMan\ woman\ Child wfoot/\tooth\goose wLosue\ Mouse\ ox wPenny ( pennies- pence) Pennies (to talk about the number of coins) e.g there are 5 pennies on the table pence(to talk about the value of something)e.g, the small apples are 5 pence each.

Words of foreign origin wEnding in –us =-uses, -I Cactus, fungus,stimulus. wEnding in –a = -as, -ae Alga, formula, vertebra wEnding in –um = ums, -a Memorandum, bacterium, datum wEnding in –ex = exes, ices Index ( indexes for books, indices,used in math)

wEnding in –ix= -ixes, -ices wAppedix ( appendices in books, appendexes in medicine) w-on = -ons,-a wCriterion, phenomenon wEnding in –is = -ises, -es wAnalysis, hypothesis, synopsis,diagnosis, oasis

Nouns which do not change in the plural wSeries and species He gave a series of lectures about birdwatching. There have been several series of programes on television about microchip technology. wNouns of nationalities ending in –ese China, Japan, Portugal wSome animals and fish Duck, snipe,fish salmon,piketrout deer

Nouns which look singular but are in fact plural wCattle,clergy, dice, people, police wHis cattle are the finestin this part of England wDice are used in many board games

Nouns ending in –s which are in fact singular wNews wSome diseses wRickets, mumps, measles wSome games wBilliards,darts,dominos wSome activities or branches of study wCeramics, phonetics, politics

Formation of Nouns wMasculine or feminine wEndings to describe size wEndings which describe repeated actions and small objects wProfessions wAbstract nouns wGerunds wNoun and verb wCompound nouns

Masculine or feminine wDifferent words Bachelor-spinster, cock-hen,lad-lass, Husband-wife, king-queen, uncle-aunt wChange of ending Actor-actress, duke-duchess, emperor- empress, hero-heroine wNo distinction Cousin friend parent person guest

Endings to describe size w-let: leaflet, booklet w-ling: duckling, weakling Sometimes we use adjectives to describe small things like big, little -ette: maisonette, kitchenette, Mini-: minicab, minicomputer Micro-, macro-: microchip macro- economics.

Endings which describe repeated actions or small objects w-inkle: twinkle, winkle w-ingle: jingle, tangle, tingle w-ggle: giggle, wriggle w-tter: mutter stutter, chatter w-mble: mumble, stumble,rumble w-bble: bubble pebble quibble w-ddle: cuddle, muddle, paddle, puddle w-ttle: little, tittle-tattle

Professions w-er: bake-baker, play-player, teach-teacher, engine-engineer, photograph- photographer w-or Actor, tailor, doctor, director w-ist: piano-pianist, violin-violinist w-ologist: geology-geologist w-icist: physics-physician

Professions w-ist: science-scientist w-ian wMathematics-mathematician, w_ian: wHistory-historian w-ant: w account-accountant w-ent: residence-resident