1. Nouns & Determiners

2. Five Classifications of Nouns

3. 1. Singular or Plural Singular Noun Plural Noun How to Form the Plural
Names one person, place, thing, idea, or quality
Takes a singular verb
Plural Noun
Names two or more persons, places, things, ideas, or qualities
Takes a plural verb
How to Form the Plural
Usually: add –s or –es to the end of the singular noun form
There are many irregulars
Important: subject/verb agreement; article usage
1. Singular/Plural Common/Proper Concrete/Abstract Collective Count/Noncount

4. 2. Common or Proper Common Noun Proper Noun & Johnny Depp Tracy
Names one or more members of a class of things; names general/nonspecific nouns
Examples:
dog actors island women restaurant
Proper Noun
Names a specific person, place, or thing
Capitalized
Fido Natalie Portman Catalina Julie & Subway
& Johnny Depp Tracy
Important: article usage
1. Singular/Plural Common/Proper Concrete/Abstract Collective Count/Noncount

5. 3. Concrete or Abstract Concrete Noun
Names an object that can be perceived by the physical senses; person, place, or thing
Examples:
door heat garlic person Australia
Abstract Noun
Names a quality or idea
love peace sadness joy
1. Singular/Plural Common/Proper Concrete/Abstract Collective Count/Noncount

6. 4. Collective A Collective Noun
Singular-appearing noun that names a group
Ex: faculty, team, audience, committee, crew, government
Can be singular or plural:
In American English, usually singular
The committee was meeting. (note: singular verb)
In British English, usually plural
The committee were meeting. (note: plural verb)
In Am. Eng. some are always plural - EX: police, people
Either way, no plural ending on the noun
Important: subject/verb agreement
1. Singular/Plural Common/Proper Concrete/Abstract Collective Count/Noncount

7. 5. Count or Noncount A Count Noun: Nouns that can be counted
Ex: car: three cars phone: five phones
A Noncount Noun
Nouns that cannot be counted (no plural form)
Ex: health, courage, gold, dust, leather, furniture, milk
Some Nouns are Both
Ex: joy: I felt joy./The joys of youth…
Important: determiner & article usage
1. Singular/Plural Common/Proper Concrete/Abstract Collective Count/Noncount

8. Determiners

9. Determiners Determiners are sometimes called limiting adjectives
Tell: which ones, how many, or how much
Several kinds
Web Search: claimed 4 to 50 kinds
Most books list six:
Possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
Demonstrative: this, that, these, those
Indefinite: any, either, many, some a few, both, lots of, other
Interrogative: which? whose? what?
Numerical: one, five, third, sixth
Articles: a, an, the

10. Determiners: In General
Important: Some determiners are only used with count or noncount nouns
Count Nouns (only plural):
Determiners used ONLY with plural nouns:
many, two, few, a few, fewest, fewer, these, those, a number of, both, several, a couple of
Noncount Nouns (only singular):
Determiners used ONLY with noncount nouns:
much, little, a little, less, the least, an amount of, a great deal of

11. Determiners: Articles
Two types of articles:
Indefinite: a/an
Definite: the
Some resources say there is another: Ø
Meaning no article is used

12. Determiners: Articles
General Guidelines for Article Usage:
Use the when your audience is familiar with and thinking about the same specific thing/person.
EX: Give this pencil to the instructor.
Use the for the second mention of an indefinite noun.
EX: A cat jumped into my car last night. Then I couldn’t find the cat anywhere.

13. Determiners: Articles
General Guidelines for Article Usage:
Do not use the with a plural count noun or a noncount noun with you are making a generalization.
EX: Ø Carrots are my favorite vegetable.
EX: Ø Honey is produced by bees.
A singular count noun is always preceded by:
an article (a/an, or the);
this/that; OR
a possessive pronoun (my, your, her, his, its, Judy’s).
EX: I rode ____ bicycle for the first time.

14. Determiners: Articles
Resources for Article Usage:
Purdue Online Writing Lab