{"id":1024,"date":"2020-01-17T17:39:39","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T17:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/coreqenglish1\/chapter\/text-nouns\/"},"modified":"2025-03-05T19:13:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T19:13:50","slug":"nouns","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/chapter\/nouns\/","title":{"raw":"Nouns","rendered":"Nouns"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Identify and use various types of nouns<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Nouns<\/h2>\r\nNouns refer to\u00a0<strong>things<\/strong>\u2014the names of people\u00a0(Dr. Sanders, lawyers), places (Kansas, factory, home), things (scissors, sheet music, book), or ideas (love, truth, beauty, intelligence). Let\u2019s take a look at each of these types of nouns and how they need to be treated grammatically.\r\n<h3>Proper Nouns<\/h3>\r\nA\u00a0<strong>proper noun<\/strong> refers to a specific person, place, organization, etc. Proper nouns are capitalized because they are specific nouns.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Examples: Proper nouns<\/h3>\r\nSome examples of proper nouns are Steven (the name), Apple (the company), New York (the state), and the Pittsburgh Steelers (the Pennsylvanian football team).\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe capitalization rule also applies to adjectives that are based on proper nouns:\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Examples: Adjectives based on Proper nouns<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>It can be difficult to understand Shakespearian language.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>After her encounter with Lukas, Elisa\u00a0vowed to never date Swiss\u00a0men.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nIf you're talking about\u00a0<em>swiss cheese<\/em>,\u00a0<em>pasteurized milk<\/em>, and\u00a0<em>french fries<\/em>, these adjectives are lowercase. They have a nonliteral meaning: the cheese isn't really from Switzerland, Louie Pasteur didn't treat the milk himself, and\u00a0the fries aren't really from France.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>I love to eat french fries with swiss cheese. Is that strange?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h3>Common Nouns<\/h3>\r\nA\u00a0<strong>common noun<\/strong>\u00a0refers to a general group or class of people, places, objects, etc.\u00a0Common nouns are generic words, like <em>tissue<\/em> or\u00a0<em>watch<\/em>. They are always lowercase (unless they\u00a0begin a sentence).\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>common noun:\u00a0girl<\/li>\r\n \t<li>proper noun: Esther<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nNouns can be concrete (people, places, things that you can touch, see, hear) but they can also be abstract concepts like love, justice, and time.\r\n<h3>Verbal Nouns<\/h3>\r\nA verbal noun is a type of noun that is derived from a verb. It looks like a verb but actually functions in a sentence like a noun.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Examples: Verbal nouns<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Running<\/em> from zombies is hard work.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Jogging<\/em> is a good exercise that will help you prepare, but you have to do it every day.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">We had a <em>meeting<\/em> to compare our zombie action plans.<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nVerbal nouns and something called <strong>gerunds<\/strong> (a form of a verb or verb phrase that functions as a noun phrase and subject in a sentence) are very similar. In fact, the first two examples above are examples of verbal nouns that are also gerunds. But a verbal noun can be more than a gerund. In the last example, the word meeting is functioning like a noun but isn\u2019t a noun phrase that\u2019s the subject of a sentence.\r\n\r\nIt can certainly get a little confusing, and even the grammar experts disagree sometimes about the differences between verbal nouns and gerunds. The key thing for you to remember is that, when we are talking about nouns, verbs can sometimes function in your sentences like nouns.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2342\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]<img class=\"wp-image-2342 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2484\/2016\/07\/27204317\/image2-300x169.png\" alt=\"Two images: on the left, a drawing of Bigfoot. On the right, a photo of a girl holding a big shoe.\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Let's look at the legend of Bigfoot as an example. The famous Bigfoot on the left is a humanoid figure that apparently lives in Pacific Northwest forests and is an example of a compound noun. On the right, you would have to have a big foot to wear that shoe.[\/caption]\r\n<h3>Compound Nouns<\/h3>\r\nA compound noun is a noun that is the result of joining together two other words (such as tooth and paste making toothpaste).\r\n\r\nA compound noun acts like one word, despite being a combination of two. Sometimes compound nouns are combined with no space (such as daydream); sometimes they retain the space (such as vacuum cleaner); and sometimes they use a hyphen (such as dry-cleaning).\r\n\r\nIf you\u2019re ever in doubt whether a compound should be closed (no space), hyphenated (with a hyphen), or open (with a space), dictionaries are your best reference.\r\n\r\nThe process of making compound nouns plural has its own set of rules to follow. We pluralize (make plural) the primary noun of the compound.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Examples: Compound Nouns<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">fisherman \u2192 fishermen (the main noun is man)<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">blackbird \u2192 blackbirds (the main noun is bird)<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">brother-in-law \u2192 brothers-in-law (the main noun is brothers)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nIf the word doesn\u2019t have a primary noun (such as hand-me-down), we simply add s (hand-me-downs).\r\n\r\nSome compound nouns differ in writing style depending on who you ask, while others are recently developed, such as e-mail being shortened further to email.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/bd34e4ed-f17a-4f69-9811-5afbfe69fdb5\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nWe\u2019ve covered different kinds of nouns. Now, let\u2019s turn to two situations that make using nouns tricky: subject\/verb agreement with collective nouns and pluralizing nouns.\r\n<h3>Collective Nouns<\/h3>\r\n<div class=\"purple-example shorten\">\r\n\r\nSubject\/verb agreement can get tricky when it comes to collective nouns. Collective nouns are nouns such as\u00a0family,\u00a0team, and\u00a0majority. We have to make a decision about whether these nouns are singular or plural so that we can choose verbs that will agree with these nouns.\r\n\r\nThere are no hard and fast rules. The verb you choose to agree with the collective noun actually depends upon how you want your readers to perceive the noun. Is it a single unit or a group of individuals? Even then, it depends upon context.\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Example: Collective nouns<\/h3>\r\n<div class=\"purple-example shorten\">\r\n\r\nTake the collective noun\u00a0family, for example.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The\u00a0<strong>family have<\/strong>\u00a0all gone their separate ways since Grandma died.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nHere, because each member went his or her separate way, the collective noun\u00a0family\u00a0functions as a group of individuals; therefore, you would use a plural verb (have) instead of a singular verb. Let\u2019s look at another example.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">The whole\u00a0family is\u00a0coming to my house for Thanksgiving this year. I had better learn to cook a turkey.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nHere, the family is seen as a single unit, so you would need a singular verb (is).\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe key is to think about how you might perceive the collective noun and consider how it\u2019s used in the sentence.\r\n<h2>Pluralization<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2289\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"126\"]<img class=\"wp-image-2289\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/06\/21144847\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-21-at-10.48.18-AM-300x238.png\" alt=\"Two figures.\" width=\"126\" height=\"100\" \/> <strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. When reviewing your writing, double check your grammar by identifying if a plural word is considered \"regular\" or \"irregular\".[\/caption]\r\n\r\nEnglish has both regular and irregular plural nouns. Regular plurals follow a rule (and other similar rules), so you generally know how to pluralize them, but irregular plurals are, well, not regular and don't follow a \"standard\" rule.\r\n<h3>Regular\u00a0Plurals<\/h3>\r\nLet's start with regular plurals: <strong>regular plural nouns<\/strong> use established\u00a0patterns to\u00a0indicate that there is more than one of a thing. As was\u00a0mentioned earlier, we add the plural suffix -<em>s<\/em> or -<em>es<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>to most words (<em>cats<\/em>, <em>zebras<\/em>, <em>classes<\/em>, <em>foxes, <\/em><em>heroes<\/em>). Remember that\u00a0when words have a foreign origin (e.g., Latin, Greek, Spanish), we just add the plural suffix -<em>s<\/em>\u00a0(<em>tacos<\/em>, <em>avocados<\/em>, <em>maestros<\/em>).\r\n\r\nWhen a word ends in <em>y<\/em>\u00a0and there is a consonant before <em>y<\/em>, we change the <em>y<\/em>\u00a0to <em>i<\/em>\u00a0and add -<em>es<\/em>. Thus\u00a0<em>sky<\/em> becomes\u00a0<em>skies<\/em>. However, if the\u00a0<em>y<\/em> follows another vowel, you simply add an -<em>s<\/em>. (<em>donkeys<\/em>,\u00a0<em>alloys<\/em>). When a word ends in -<em>f<\/em> or -<em>fe<\/em>, we change the <em>f<\/em> to <em>v<\/em>\u00a0and add -<em>es\u00a0<\/em>(<em>calves<\/em>,\u00a0<em>leaves<\/em>). However,\u00a0if there are two terminal <em>f<\/em>s, or if\u00a0you still pronounce the <em>f<\/em> in the plural, you simply add an -<em>s<\/em> (<em>cliffs<\/em>,\u00a0<em>chiefs<\/em>).\r\n<h3>Irregular Plurals<\/h3>\r\n<strong>Irregular plurals<\/strong>, unlike regular plurals,\u00a0don't necessarily follow any particular pattern\u2014instead, they follow a lot of\u00a0<em>different<\/em> patterns. For this reason, irregular plurals require a lot of memorization. If you're ever in doubt, the dictionary is there for you.\r\n\r\nThe first kind of irregular plural we'll talk about is the <strong>no-change<\/strong> or <strong>base plural<\/strong>. In these words, the\u00a0singular noun has the exact same form as the plural (<em>sheep<\/em>,\u00a0<em>fish<\/em>,\u00a0<em>deer<\/em>, <em>moose<\/em>). Most no-change plurals are types of animals.\r\n\r\nThe next type of irregular is the <strong>mid-word vowel change<\/strong>. This includes words like\u00a0<em>tooth<\/em>,\u00a0<em>man<\/em>, and\u00a0<em>mouse<\/em>, which become\u00a0<em>teeth<\/em>,\u00a0<em>men<\/em>, and\u00a0<em>mice<\/em>.\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> The plural for a computer mouse (as opposed to the fuzzy animal) can either be <em>mice<\/em> or <em>mouses<\/em>. Some people prefer\u00a0<em>mouses<\/em> as it creates some differentiation between the two words.<\/div>\r\nWe also have the\u00a0<strong>plural -<em>en<\/em>.<\/strong> In these words, -<em>en<\/em> is used as the plural ending instead of -<em>s<\/em> or\u00a0<em>-es<\/em>.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>child\u00a0\u2192 children<\/li>\r\n \t<li>ox\u00a0\u2192 oxen<\/li>\r\n \t<li>brother\u00a0\u2192 brethren<\/li>\r\n \t<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">sister\u00a0\u2192 sistren<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Brethren<\/em>\u00a0and <em>sistren<\/em>\u00a0are\u00a0antiquated terms that you're unlikely to encounter or use; however, since these are the only four words in English that use this plural, all four have been included above.<\/div>\r\nThe last category of irregular plurals is <strong>borrowed words<\/strong>. These words are native to other languages (e.g., Latin, Greek) and have retained the pluralization rules from their original tongue.\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Singular -<em>us<\/em>; Plural -<em>i<\/em><\/th>\r\n<td>cactus\u00a0\u2192 cacti<\/td>\r\n<td>fungus\u00a0\u2192 fungi<\/td>\r\n<td>syllabus\u00a0\u2192 syllabi<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Singular\u00a0-<em>a<\/em>; Plural -<em>ae<\/em><\/th>\r\n<td>formula\u00a0\u2192 formulae<\/td>\r\n<td>vertebra\u00a0\u2192 vertebrae<\/td>\r\n<td>larva\u00a0\u2192 larvae<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Singular -<em>ix<\/em>, -<em>ex<\/em>; Plural -<em>ices<\/em>, -<em>es<\/em><\/th>\r\n<td>appendix\u00a0\u2192 appendices<\/td>\r\n<td>matrix \u2192 matrices<\/td>\r\n<td>index\u00a0\u2192 indices<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Singular -<em>on<\/em>,\u00a0-<em>um<\/em>; Plural -<em>a<\/em><\/th>\r\n<td>bacterium \u2192 bacteria<\/td>\r\n<td>criterion \u2192 criteria<\/td>\r\n<td>medium\u00a0\u2192 media<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Singular -<em>is<\/em>; Plural -<em>es<\/em><\/th>\r\n<td>thesis\u00a0\u2192 theses<\/td>\r\n<td>analysis\u00a0\u2192 analyses<\/td>\r\n<td>crisis\u00a0\u2192 crises<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nThe rules presented in the table above are almost always followed, but as a borrowed word becomes more popular in its usage, it\u00a0can be\u00a0adopted into regular pluralization. For example, <em>formulas<\/em> and\u00a0<em>appendixes<\/em> are accepted words in formal situations. Also,\u00a0in informal speech, <em>cactuses<\/em>\u00a0and <em>funguses<\/em>\u00a0are acceptable.\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Because of the word's history,\u00a0<em>octopuses<\/em> is preferred to\u00a0<em>octopi<\/em>, but\u00a0<em>octopi<\/em> is an accepted word.<\/div>\r\n<div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\n[embed]https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1290622187380800738\/embed[\/embed]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Count vs. Non-count Nouns<\/h2>\r\n<strong>Count nouns<\/strong> are nouns that can be counted. Count nouns can be associated with a numerical value (i.e., <em>three<\/em> whales) in both its singular and plural forms (one fox, two foxes). In some cases, the number can be replaced by the words a, an, or the (a fox, an owl, the squirrel).\r\n\r\nIf a noun cannot have a numerical value nor a plural form, it is called a <strong>non-count<\/strong> or <strong>mass noun<\/strong>. A person can give another person advice, but they cannot give three advices, because advice has no quantity. Other examples of non-count nouns include nouns like weather, happiness, homework, furniture, thunder, etc. You will know that something is a non-count noun if it sounds weird when you try to pluralize it by adding an -s to the end. For example, you can't have \"furnitures\" or \"thunders,\" but you can have \"pieces of furniture\" or \"claps of thunder.\"\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Is it less or Fewer? Many or Much?<\/h3>\r\nThe adjectives\u00a0<em>less<\/em> and\u00a0<em>fewer<\/em> are both used to indicate a smaller amount of the noun they modify. <em>Many<\/em> and\u00a0<em>much<\/em> are used to indicate a large amount of something. People often use these pairs of words interchangeably; however, the words\u00a0<em>fewer<\/em> and\u00a0<em>many<\/em>\u00a0are used with count nouns, while\u00a0<em>less<\/em> and\u00a0<em>much<\/em>\u00a0are used with non-count nouns:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The pet daycare has <strong>fewer<\/strong> dogs than cats this week.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Next time you make these cookies, you should use <strong>less<\/strong> sugar.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Many<\/strong>\u00a0poets\u00a0struggle\u00a0when they try to determine whether a poem is complete or not.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>There's too <strong>much<\/strong> goodness in her heart.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nYou may have noticed that <em>much<\/em> has followed the adverb\u00a0<em>too<\/em> in this example (<em>too much<\/em>). This is because\u00a0you rarely find <em>much<\/em> by itself. You don't really hear people say things like \"Now, please leave me alone; I have <em>much<\/em> research to do.\"\u00a0The phrase\u00a0\"a lot of\" has taken its place in current English: \"I have a lot of research to do.\"\u00a0<em>A lot of<\/em>\u00a0can be used in the place of either <em>many<\/em> or <em>much<\/em>:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>A lot of<\/strong>\u00a0poets\u00a0struggle\u00a0when they try to determine whether a poem is finished or not.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>There's <strong>a lot of<\/strong>\u00a0goodness in her heart.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify and use various types of nouns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Nouns<\/h2>\n<p>Nouns refer to\u00a0<strong>things<\/strong>\u2014the names of people\u00a0(Dr. Sanders, lawyers), places (Kansas, factory, home), things (scissors, sheet music, book), or ideas (love, truth, beauty, intelligence). Let\u2019s take a look at each of these types of nouns and how they need to be treated grammatically.<\/p>\n<h3>Proper Nouns<\/h3>\n<p>A\u00a0<strong>proper noun<\/strong> refers to a specific person, place, organization, etc. Proper nouns are capitalized because they are specific nouns.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Examples: Proper nouns<\/h3>\n<p>Some examples of proper nouns are Steven (the name), Apple (the company), New York (the state), and the Pittsburgh Steelers (the Pennsylvanian football team).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The capitalization rule also applies to adjectives that are based on proper nouns:<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Examples: Adjectives based on Proper nouns<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>It can be difficult to understand Shakespearian language.<\/li>\n<li>After her encounter with Lukas, Elisa\u00a0vowed to never date Swiss\u00a0men.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you&#8217;re talking about\u00a0<em>swiss cheese<\/em>,\u00a0<em>pasteurized milk<\/em>, and\u00a0<em>french fries<\/em>, these adjectives are lowercase. They have a nonliteral meaning: the cheese isn&#8217;t really from Switzerland, Louie Pasteur didn&#8217;t treat the milk himself, and\u00a0the fries aren&#8217;t really from France.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I love to eat french fries with swiss cheese. Is that strange?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Common Nouns<\/h3>\n<p>A\u00a0<strong>common noun<\/strong>\u00a0refers to a general group or class of people, places, objects, etc.\u00a0Common nouns are generic words, like <em>tissue<\/em> or\u00a0<em>watch<\/em>. They are always lowercase (unless they\u00a0begin a sentence).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>common noun:\u00a0girl<\/li>\n<li>proper noun: Esther<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Nouns can be concrete (people, places, things that you can touch, see, hear) but they can also be abstract concepts like love, justice, and time.<\/p>\n<h3>Verbal Nouns<\/h3>\n<p>A verbal noun is a type of noun that is derived from a verb. It looks like a verb but actually functions in a sentence like a noun.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Examples: Verbal nouns<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Running<\/em> from zombies is hard work.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Jogging<\/em> is a good exercise that will help you prepare, but you have to do it every day.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">We had a <em>meeting<\/em> to compare our zombie action plans.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Verbal nouns and something called <strong>gerunds<\/strong> (a form of a verb or verb phrase that functions as a noun phrase and subject in a sentence) are very similar. In fact, the first two examples above are examples of verbal nouns that are also gerunds. But a verbal noun can be more than a gerund. In the last example, the word meeting is functioning like a noun but isn\u2019t a noun phrase that\u2019s the subject of a sentence.<\/p>\n<p>It can certainly get a little confusing, and even the grammar experts disagree sometimes about the differences between verbal nouns and gerunds. The key thing for you to remember is that, when we are talking about nouns, verbs can sometimes function in your sentences like nouns.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2342\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2342\" class=\"wp-image-2342 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2484\/2016\/07\/27204317\/image2-300x169.png\" alt=\"Two images: on the left, a drawing of Bigfoot. On the right, a photo of a girl holding a big shoe.\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2342\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Let&#8217;s look at the legend of Bigfoot as an example. The famous Bigfoot on the left is a humanoid figure that apparently lives in Pacific Northwest forests and is an example of a compound noun. On the right, you would have to have a big foot to wear that shoe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Compound Nouns<\/h3>\n<p>A compound noun is a noun that is the result of joining together two other words (such as tooth and paste making toothpaste).<\/p>\n<p>A compound noun acts like one word, despite being a combination of two. Sometimes compound nouns are combined with no space (such as daydream); sometimes they retain the space (such as vacuum cleaner); and sometimes they use a hyphen (such as dry-cleaning).<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re ever in doubt whether a compound should be closed (no space), hyphenated (with a hyphen), or open (with a space), dictionaries are your best reference.<\/p>\n<p>The process of making compound nouns plural has its own set of rules to follow. We pluralize (make plural) the primary noun of the compound.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Examples: Compound Nouns<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">fisherman \u2192 fishermen (the main noun is man)<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">blackbird \u2192 blackbirds (the main noun is bird)<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">brother-in-law \u2192 brothers-in-law (the main noun is brothers)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>If the word doesn\u2019t have a primary noun (such as hand-me-down), we simply add s (hand-me-downs).<\/p>\n<p>Some compound nouns differ in writing style depending on who you ask, while others are recently developed, such as e-mail being shortened further to email.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_bd34e4ed-f17a-4f69-9811-5afbfe69fdb5\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/bd34e4ed-f17a-4f69-9811-5afbfe69fdb5?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_bd34e4ed-f17a-4f69-9811-5afbfe69fdb5\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>We\u2019ve covered different kinds of nouns. Now, let\u2019s turn to two situations that make using nouns tricky: subject\/verb agreement with collective nouns and pluralizing nouns.<\/p>\n<h3>Collective Nouns<\/h3>\n<div class=\"purple-example shorten\">\n<p>Subject\/verb agreement can get tricky when it comes to collective nouns. Collective nouns are nouns such as\u00a0family,\u00a0team, and\u00a0majority. We have to make a decision about whether these nouns are singular or plural so that we can choose verbs that will agree with these nouns.<\/p>\n<p>There are no hard and fast rules. The verb you choose to agree with the collective noun actually depends upon how you want your readers to perceive the noun. Is it a single unit or a group of individuals? Even then, it depends upon context.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Example: Collective nouns<\/h3>\n<div class=\"purple-example shorten\">\n<p>Take the collective noun\u00a0family, for example.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The\u00a0<strong>family have<\/strong>\u00a0all gone their separate ways since Grandma died.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Here, because each member went his or her separate way, the collective noun\u00a0family\u00a0functions as a group of individuals; therefore, you would use a plural verb (have) instead of a singular verb. Let\u2019s look at another example.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">The whole\u00a0family is\u00a0coming to my house for Thanksgiving this year. I had better learn to cook a turkey.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here, the family is seen as a single unit, so you would need a singular verb (is).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The key is to think about how you might perceive the collective noun and consider how it\u2019s used in the sentence.<\/p>\n<h2>Pluralization<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_2289\" style=\"width: 136px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2289\" class=\"wp-image-2289\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/85\/2016\/06\/21144847\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-21-at-10.48.18-AM-300x238.png\" alt=\"Two figures.\" width=\"126\" height=\"100\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2289\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. When reviewing your writing, double check your grammar by identifying if a plural word is considered &#8220;regular&#8221; or &#8220;irregular&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>English has both regular and irregular plural nouns. Regular plurals follow a rule (and other similar rules), so you generally know how to pluralize them, but irregular plurals are, well, not regular and don&#8217;t follow a &#8220;standard&#8221; rule.<\/p>\n<h3>Regular\u00a0Plurals<\/h3>\n<p>Let&#8217;s start with regular plurals: <strong>regular plural nouns<\/strong> use established\u00a0patterns to\u00a0indicate that there is more than one of a thing. As was\u00a0mentioned earlier, we add the plural suffix &#8211;<em>s<\/em> or &#8211;<em>es<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em>to most words (<em>cats<\/em>, <em>zebras<\/em>, <em>classes<\/em>, <em>foxes, <\/em><em>heroes<\/em>). Remember that\u00a0when words have a foreign origin (e.g., Latin, Greek, Spanish), we just add the plural suffix &#8211;<em>s<\/em>\u00a0(<em>tacos<\/em>, <em>avocados<\/em>, <em>maestros<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p>When a word ends in <em>y<\/em>\u00a0and there is a consonant before <em>y<\/em>, we change the <em>y<\/em>\u00a0to <em>i<\/em>\u00a0and add &#8211;<em>es<\/em>. Thus\u00a0<em>sky<\/em> becomes\u00a0<em>skies<\/em>. However, if the\u00a0<em>y<\/em> follows another vowel, you simply add an &#8211;<em>s<\/em>. (<em>donkeys<\/em>,\u00a0<em>alloys<\/em>). When a word ends in &#8211;<em>f<\/em> or &#8211;<em>fe<\/em>, we change the <em>f<\/em> to <em>v<\/em>\u00a0and add &#8211;<em>es\u00a0<\/em>(<em>calves<\/em>,\u00a0<em>leaves<\/em>). However,\u00a0if there are two terminal <em>f<\/em>s, or if\u00a0you still pronounce the <em>f<\/em> in the plural, you simply add an &#8211;<em>s<\/em> (<em>cliffs<\/em>,\u00a0<em>chiefs<\/em>).<\/p>\n<h3>Irregular Plurals<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Irregular plurals<\/strong>, unlike regular plurals,\u00a0don&#8217;t necessarily follow any particular pattern\u2014instead, they follow a lot of\u00a0<em>different<\/em> patterns. For this reason, irregular plurals require a lot of memorization. If you&#8217;re ever in doubt, the dictionary is there for you.<\/p>\n<p>The first kind of irregular plural we&#8217;ll talk about is the <strong>no-change<\/strong> or <strong>base plural<\/strong>. In these words, the\u00a0singular noun has the exact same form as the plural (<em>sheep<\/em>,\u00a0<em>fish<\/em>,\u00a0<em>deer<\/em>, <em>moose<\/em>). Most no-change plurals are types of animals.<\/p>\n<p>The next type of irregular is the <strong>mid-word vowel change<\/strong>. This includes words like\u00a0<em>tooth<\/em>,\u00a0<em>man<\/em>, and\u00a0<em>mouse<\/em>, which become\u00a0<em>teeth<\/em>,\u00a0<em>men<\/em>, and\u00a0<em>mice<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> The plural for a computer mouse (as opposed to the fuzzy animal) can either be <em>mice<\/em> or <em>mouses<\/em>. Some people prefer\u00a0<em>mouses<\/em> as it creates some differentiation between the two words.<\/div>\n<p>We also have the\u00a0<strong>plural &#8211;<em>en<\/em>.<\/strong> In these words, &#8211;<em>en<\/em> is used as the plural ending instead of &#8211;<em>s<\/em> or\u00a0<em>-es<\/em>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>child\u00a0\u2192 children<\/li>\n<li>ox\u00a0\u2192 oxen<\/li>\n<li>brother\u00a0\u2192 brethren<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">sister\u00a0\u2192 sistren<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>Brethren<\/em>\u00a0and <em>sistren<\/em>\u00a0are\u00a0antiquated terms that you&#8217;re unlikely to encounter or use; however, since these are the only four words in English that use this plural, all four have been included above.<\/div>\n<p>The last category of irregular plurals is <strong>borrowed words<\/strong>. These words are native to other languages (e.g., Latin, Greek) and have retained the pluralization rules from their original tongue.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Singular &#8211;<em>us<\/em>; Plural &#8211;<em>i<\/em><\/th>\n<td>cactus\u00a0\u2192 cacti<\/td>\n<td>fungus\u00a0\u2192 fungi<\/td>\n<td>syllabus\u00a0\u2192 syllabi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Singular\u00a0&#8211;<em>a<\/em>; Plural &#8211;<em>ae<\/em><\/th>\n<td>formula\u00a0\u2192 formulae<\/td>\n<td>vertebra\u00a0\u2192 vertebrae<\/td>\n<td>larva\u00a0\u2192 larvae<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Singular &#8211;<em>ix<\/em>, &#8211;<em>ex<\/em>; Plural &#8211;<em>ices<\/em>, &#8211;<em>es<\/em><\/th>\n<td>appendix\u00a0\u2192 appendices<\/td>\n<td>matrix \u2192 matrices<\/td>\n<td>index\u00a0\u2192 indices<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Singular &#8211;<em>on<\/em>,\u00a0&#8211;<em>um<\/em>; Plural &#8211;<em>a<\/em><\/th>\n<td>bacterium \u2192 bacteria<\/td>\n<td>criterion \u2192 criteria<\/td>\n<td>medium\u00a0\u2192 media<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Singular &#8211;<em>is<\/em>; Plural &#8211;<em>es<\/em><\/th>\n<td>thesis\u00a0\u2192 theses<\/td>\n<td>analysis\u00a0\u2192 analyses<\/td>\n<td>crisis\u00a0\u2192 crises<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The rules presented in the table above are almost always followed, but as a borrowed word becomes more popular in its usage, it\u00a0can be\u00a0adopted into regular pluralization. For example, <em>formulas<\/em> and\u00a0<em>appendixes<\/em> are accepted words in formal situations. Also,\u00a0in informal speech, <em>cactuses<\/em>\u00a0and <em>funguses<\/em>\u00a0are acceptable.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\"><strong>Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Because of the word&#8217;s history,\u00a0<em>octopuses<\/em> is preferred to\u00a0<em>octopi<\/em>, but\u00a0<em>octopi<\/em> is an accepted word.<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1290622187380800738\/embed\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"500\" height=\"750\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Count vs. Non-count Nouns<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Count nouns<\/strong> are nouns that can be counted. Count nouns can be associated with a numerical value (i.e., <em>three<\/em> whales) in both its singular and plural forms (one fox, two foxes). In some cases, the number can be replaced by the words a, an, or the (a fox, an owl, the squirrel).<\/p>\n<p>If a noun cannot have a numerical value nor a plural form, it is called a <strong>non-count<\/strong> or <strong>mass noun<\/strong>. A person can give another person advice, but they cannot give three advices, because advice has no quantity. Other examples of non-count nouns include nouns like weather, happiness, homework, furniture, thunder, etc. You will know that something is a non-count noun if it sounds weird when you try to pluralize it by adding an -s to the end. For example, you can&#8217;t have &#8220;furnitures&#8221; or &#8220;thunders,&#8221; but you can have &#8220;pieces of furniture&#8221; or &#8220;claps of thunder.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Is it less or Fewer? Many or Much?<\/h3>\n<p>The adjectives\u00a0<em>less<\/em> and\u00a0<em>fewer<\/em> are both used to indicate a smaller amount of the noun they modify. <em>Many<\/em> and\u00a0<em>much<\/em> are used to indicate a large amount of something. People often use these pairs of words interchangeably; however, the words\u00a0<em>fewer<\/em> and\u00a0<em>many<\/em>\u00a0are used with count nouns, while\u00a0<em>less<\/em> and\u00a0<em>much<\/em>\u00a0are used with non-count nouns:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The pet daycare has <strong>fewer<\/strong> dogs than cats this week.<\/li>\n<li>Next time you make these cookies, you should use <strong>less<\/strong> sugar.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Many<\/strong>\u00a0poets\u00a0struggle\u00a0when they try to determine whether a poem is complete or not.<\/li>\n<li>There&#8217;s too <strong>much<\/strong> goodness in her heart.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You may have noticed that <em>much<\/em> has followed the adverb\u00a0<em>too<\/em> in this example (<em>too much<\/em>). This is because\u00a0you rarely find <em>much<\/em> by itself. You don&#8217;t really hear people say things like &#8220;Now, please leave me alone; I have <em>much<\/em> research to do.&#8221;\u00a0The phrase\u00a0&#8220;a lot of&#8221; has taken its place in current English: &#8220;I have a lot of research to do.&#8221;\u00a0<em>A lot of<\/em>\u00a0can be used in the place of either <em>many<\/em> or <em>much<\/em>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A lot of<\/strong>\u00a0poets\u00a0struggle\u00a0when they try to determine whether a poem is finished or not.<\/li>\n<li>There&#8217;s <strong>a lot of<\/strong>\u00a0goodness in her heart.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1024\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Text: Pluralization. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Common vs. Proper Nouns and Concrete vs. Abstract Nouns. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Revision and Adaptation. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Image of two men. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Gregor Cresnar. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: The Noun Project. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/search\/?q=people&#038;i=176708\">https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/search\/?q=people&#038;i=176708<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Compound noun. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Teflpedia. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/teflpedia.com\/Compound_noun\">http:\/\/teflpedia.com\/Compound_noun<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>B5bugerbear. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: CryptoTom. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:B5bugerbear_Colored_Version.jpg\">https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:B5bugerbear_Colored_Version.jpg<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Marina, Large Shoes. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Dave Parker. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/daveparker\/4320683221\">https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/daveparker\/4320683221<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Nouns. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Excelsior OWL. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/grammar-essentials\/parts-of-speech\/nouns\/nouns-try-it-out\/\">https:\/\/owl.excelsior.edu\/grammar-essentials\/parts-of-speech\/nouns\/nouns-try-it-out\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/pdm\">Public Domain: No Known Copyright<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":29,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Text: Pluralization\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Image of two men\",\"author\":\"Gregor Cresnar\",\"organization\":\"The Noun Project\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/search\/?q=people&i=176708\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Common vs. Proper Nouns and Concrete vs. Abstract Nouns\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Compound noun\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Teflpedia\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/teflpedia.com\/Compound_noun\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"B5bugerbear\",\"author\":\"CryptoTom\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:B5bugerbear_Colored_Version.jpg\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Marina, Large Shoes\",\"author\":\"Dave Parker\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/daveparker\/4320683221\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Revision and Adaptation\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Nouns\",\"author\":\"Excelsior 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