{"id":953,"date":"2017-07-24T15:06:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-24T15:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1\/?post_type=chapter&p=953"},"modified":"2026-03-23T14:59:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T14:59:00","slug":"nouns-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/chapter\/nouns-2\/","title":{"raw":"Nouns","rendered":"Nouns"},"content":{"raw":"Nouns are a\u00a0diverse group of words, and they are very common in English. Nouns are a category of words defining things<\/strong>\u2014the name of people\u00a0(Dr. Sanders, lawyers), places (Kansas, factory, home), things (scissors, sheet music, book), or ideas (love, truth, beauty, intelligence).\r\n

Pluralization<\/h2>\r\n\"IconEnglish has both regular and irregular plural nouns. Regular plurals follow standard rules, but\u00a0irregular plurals are, well, not regular and don't follow \"standard\" rules.\r\n

Regular\u00a0Plurals<\/h3>\r\nLet's start with regular plurals: regular plural nouns<\/strong> use established\u00a0patterns to\u00a0indicate there is more than one of a thing. As was\u00a0mentioned earlier, we add the plural suffix -s<\/em> or -es<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>to most words (cats<\/em>, zebras<\/em>, classes<\/em>, foxes, <\/em>heroes<\/em>). Remember that\u00a0when words have a foreign origin (e.g., Latin, Greek, Spanish), we \u00a0just add the plural suffix -s<\/em>\u00a0(tacos<\/em>, avocados<\/em>, maestros<\/em>).\r\n\r\nWhen a word ends in y<\/em>\u00a0and there is a consonant before y<\/em>, we change the y<\/em>\u00a0to i<\/em>\u00a0and add -es<\/em>. Thus\u00a0sky<\/em> becomes\u00a0skies<\/em>. However, if the\u00a0y<\/em> follows another vowel, you simply add an -s<\/em>. (donkeys<\/em>,\u00a0alloys<\/em>). When a word ends in -f<\/em> or -fe<\/em>, we change the f<\/em> to v<\/em>\u00a0and add -es\u00a0<\/em>(calves<\/em>,\u00a0leaves<\/em>). However,\u00a0if there are two terminal f<\/em>s or if\u00a0you still pronounce the f<\/em> in the plural, you simply add an -s<\/em> (cliffs<\/em>,\u00a0chiefs<\/em>).\r\n

Irregular Plurals<\/h3>\r\nIrregular plurals<\/strong>, unlike regular plurals,\u00a0don't necessarily follow any particular pattern\u2014instead, they follow a lot of\u00a0different<\/em> patterns. Because of this, 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 no-change<\/strong> or base plural<\/strong>. In these words, the\u00a0singular noun has the exact same form as the plural (sheep<\/em>,\u00a0fish<\/em>,\u00a0deer<\/em>, moose<\/em>). Most no-change plurals are types of animals. The next type of irregular is the mid-word vowel change<\/strong>. This includes words like\u00a0tooth<\/em>,\u00a0man<\/em>, and\u00a0mouse<\/em>, which become\u00a0teeth<\/em>,\u00a0men<\/em>, and\u00a0mice<\/em>.\r\n
Note:<\/strong> The plural for a computer mouse (as opposed to the fuzzy animal) can either be mice<\/em> or mouses<\/em>. Some people prefer\u00a0mouses<\/em> as it creates some differentiation between the two words.<\/div>\r\nWe also have the\u00a0plural -en<\/em>.<\/strong> In these words -en<\/em> is used as the plural ending instead of -s<\/em> or\u00a0-es<\/em>.\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • child\u00a0\u2192 children<\/li>\r\n \t
  • ox\u00a0\u2192 oxen<\/li>\r\n \t
  • brother\u00a0\u2192 brethren<\/li>\r\n \t
  • sister\u00a0\u2192 sistren<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n
    Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Brethren<\/em>\u00a0and sistren<\/em>\u00a0are\u00a0antiquated terms that you're unlikely to run into in your life; 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 borrowed words. These words are native to other languages (e.g., Latin, Greek) and have retained the pluralization rules from their original tongue.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Singular -us<\/em>; Plural -i<\/em><\/th>\r\ncactus\u00a0\u2192 cacti<\/td>\r\nfungus\u00a0\u2192 fungi<\/td>\r\nsyllabus\u00a0\u2192 syllabi<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Singular\u00a0-a<\/em>; Plural -ae<\/em><\/th>\r\nformula\u00a0\u2192 formulae<\/td>\r\nvertebra\u00a0\u2192 vertebrae<\/td>\r\nlarva\u00a0\u2192 larvae<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Singular -ix<\/em>, -ex<\/em>; Plural -ices<\/em>, -es<\/em><\/th>\r\nappendix\u00a0\u2192 appendices<\/td>\r\nmatrix \u2192 matrices<\/td>\r\nindex\u00a0\u2192 indices<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Singular -on<\/em>,\u00a0-um<\/em>; Plural -a<\/em><\/th>\r\nbacterium \u2192 bacteria<\/td>\r\ncriterion \u2192 criteria<\/td>\r\nmedium\u00a0\u2192 media<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Singular -is<\/em>; Plural -es<\/em><\/th>\r\nthesis\u00a0\u2192 theses<\/td>\r\nanalysis\u00a0\u2192 analyses<\/td>\r\ncrisis\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, formulas<\/em> and\u00a0appendixes<\/em> are accepted words in formal situations. Additionally,\u00a0in informal speech, cactuses<\/em>\u00a0and funguses<\/em>\u00a0are acceptable.\r\n
    Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Because of the word's history,\u00a0octopuses<\/em> is preferred to\u00a0octopi<\/em>, but\u00a0octopi<\/em> is an accepted word.<\/div>\r\nThere are a lot of ways to categorize nouns: concrete vs. abstract nouns, common vs. proper nouns, count vs. non-count nouns, and\u00a0compound vs. non-compound nouns. Let's take a look at each of these kinds of categorization and see exactly what they each mean.\r\n

    Concrete vs. Abstract Nouns<\/h2>\r\nConcrete nouns are things you can hold, see, or otherwise sense, like\u00a0book<\/em>,\u00a0light<\/em>, or\u00a0warmth<\/em>.\r\n\r\nAbstract nouns, on the other hand, are (as you might expect) abstract concepts, like\u00a0time<\/em> and\u00a0love<\/em>.\r\n
      \r\n \t
    • concrete noun: rock<\/li>\r\n \t
    • abstract noun: justice<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

      Common vs. Proper Nouns<\/h2>\r\nCommon nouns are\u00a0generic words, like tissue<\/em> or\u00a0watch<\/em>. They are\u00a0lower-cased (unless they\u00a0begin a sentence).\u00a0A proper noun, on the other hand, is the name of a specific thing, like the brand name\u00a0Kleenex<\/em> or\u00a0Rolex<\/em>. Proper nouns are always\u00a0capitalized.\r\n
        \r\n \t
      • common noun:\u00a0name<\/li>\r\n \t
      • proper noun: Ester<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n
        \r\n\r\nNote:\u00a0<\/strong>This rule also applies to adjectives that are based on proper nouns:\r\n
          \r\n \t
        • It's often difficult to understand Shakespearian language.<\/li>\r\n \t
        • After her encounter with Lukas, Elisa\u00a0vowed to hate all Swiss\u00a0men.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nHowever, when you're talking about\u00a0swiss cheese<\/em>,\u00a0pasteurized milk<\/em>, and\u00a0french fries<\/em>, these adjectives lower-cased. They have a non-literal 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\r\n<\/div>\r\n

          Count vs. Non-Count Nouns<\/h2>\r\nA count noun<\/strong> (also countable noun<\/strong>) is a noun that can be modified by a numeral (three chairs<\/em>) and that occurs in both singular and plural forms (chair<\/em>, chairs<\/em>). The can also be preceded by words such as a<\/em>, an<\/em>, or the<\/em> (a chair<\/em>).\u00a0Quite literally, count nouns are nouns which can be counted.\r\n\r\nA non-count noun<\/strong> (also mass noun<\/strong>), on the other hand, has none of these properties. It can't be modified by a numeral (three furniture<\/em> is incorrect), occur in singular\/plural (furnitures<\/em> is not a word), or co-occur with a<\/em>, an<\/em>, or the<\/em> (a furniture<\/em> is incorrect). Again, quite literally, non-count nouns are nouns which cannot be counted.\r\n
          \r\n

          Less or\u00a0Fewer? Many or Much?<\/h3>\r\nThe adjectives\u00a0less<\/em> and\u00a0fewer<\/em> are both used to indicate a smaller amount of the noun they modify. Many<\/em> and\u00a0much<\/em> are used to indicate a large amount of something.\u00a0People often will use these pairs words\u00a0interchangeably; however, the words\u00a0fewer<\/em> and\u00a0many<\/em>\u00a0are used with count nouns, while\u00a0less<\/em> and\u00a0much<\/em>\u00a0are used with non-count nouns:\r\n
            \r\n \t
          • The pet day care has fewer<\/strong> dogs than cats this week.<\/li>\r\n \t
          • Next time you make these cookies, you should use less<\/strong> sugar.<\/li>\r\n \t
          • Many<\/strong>\u00a0poets\u00a0struggle\u00a0when they try to determine if a poem is complete or not.<\/li>\r\n \t
          • There's too much<\/strong> goodness in her heart for her own good.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nYou may have noticed that much<\/em> has followed the adverb\u00a0too<\/em> in this example (too much<\/em>). This is because\u00a0you rarely find much<\/em> by itself. You don't really hear people say things like \"Now please leave me alone; I have 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.\"\u00a0A lot of<\/em>\u00a0can be used in the place of either many<\/em> or much<\/em>:\r\n
              \r\n \t
            • A lot of<\/strong>\u00a0poets\u00a0struggle\u00a0when they try to determine if a poem is complete or not.<\/li>\r\n \t
            • There's a lot of<\/strong>\u00a0goodness in her heart for her own good<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

              Compound Nouns<\/h2>\r\nA compound noun<\/b> is a noun phrase made up of two nouns, e.g. bus driver<\/i>, in which the first noun acts as a sort of adjective\u00a0for the second one, but without really describing it. (For example, think about the difference between\u00a0a black bird<\/i> and a blackbird<\/i>.)\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1115\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"two Figure 1. A crow is a black bird, while a blackbird is a specific species of bird.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nCompound nouns<\/strong>\u00a0can be made up of two or more other words, but each compound\u00a0has a single meaning.\u00a0There are three typical structures of compound nouns.\r\n

              Types of Compound Nouns<\/h3>\r\nCompounds may be written in three different ways:\r\n
                \r\n \t
              • The solid or closed forms<\/strong> in which two usually moderately short words appear together as one:\u00a0housewife<\/i>, lawsuit<\/i>, wallpaper<\/i>, basketball<\/i>, etc.<\/li>\r\n \t
              • The hyphenated form<\/strong> in which two or more words are connected by a hyphen:\u00a0house-build<\/em>er<\/em>,\u00a0single-mind<\/em>ed<\/em>ness<\/em>, rent-a-cop<\/i>,\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0mother-of-pearl<\/i>.<\/li>\r\n \t
              • The open or spaced form<\/strong> consisting of newer combinations of usually longer words, such as distance learning<\/i>, player piano<\/i>, lawn tennis<\/i>, etc.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nHyphens are often considered a squishy part on language. Because of this, you can encounter\u00a0open, hyphenated, and closed forms for the same compound noun, such as the triplets container ship<\/i>\/container-ship<\/i>\/containership<\/i> and particle board<\/i>\/particle-board<\/i>\/particleboard<\/i>.\r\n\r\nIf you're ever in doubt whether a compound should be closed, hyphenated, or open, dictionaries are your best reference.\r\n

                Plurals<\/h3>\r\nThe process of making\u00a0compound nouns plural has its own\u00a0set of conventions to follow. In all forms of compound nouns, we pluralize the chief element of a compound word (i.e., we pluralize the primary noun of the compound).\r\n
                  \r\n \t
                • fisherman<\/strong>\u00a0\u2192 fishermen<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
                • black\u00a0bird<\/strong> \u2192 black\u00a0birds<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
                • passer<\/strong>by\u2192 passers<\/strong>by<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe word hand-me-down<\/em>\u00a0doesn't have a distinct primary noun, so\u00a0its plural is\u00a0hand-me-downs<\/em>.","rendered":"

                  Nouns are a\u00a0diverse group of words, and they are very common in English. Nouns are a category of words defining things<\/strong>\u2014the name of people\u00a0(Dr. Sanders, lawyers), places (Kansas, factory, home), things (scissors, sheet music, book), or ideas (love, truth, beauty, intelligence).<\/p>\n

                  Pluralization<\/h2>\n

                  \"IconEnglish has both regular and irregular plural nouns. Regular plurals follow standard rules, but\u00a0irregular plurals are, well, not regular and don’t follow “standard” rules.<\/p>\n

                  Regular\u00a0Plurals<\/h3>\n

                  Let’s start with regular plurals: regular plural nouns<\/strong> use established\u00a0patterns to\u00a0indicate there is more than one of a thing. As was\u00a0mentioned earlier, we add the plural suffix –s<\/em> or –es<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>to most words (cats<\/em>, zebras<\/em>, classes<\/em>, foxes, <\/em>heroes<\/em>). Remember that\u00a0when words have a foreign origin (e.g., Latin, Greek, Spanish), we \u00a0just add the plural suffix –s<\/em>\u00a0(tacos<\/em>, avocados<\/em>, maestros<\/em>).<\/p>\n

                  When a word ends in y<\/em>\u00a0and there is a consonant before y<\/em>, we change the y<\/em>\u00a0to i<\/em>\u00a0and add –es<\/em>. Thus\u00a0sky<\/em> becomes\u00a0skies<\/em>. However, if the\u00a0y<\/em> follows another vowel, you simply add an –s<\/em>. (donkeys<\/em>,\u00a0alloys<\/em>). When a word ends in –f<\/em> or –fe<\/em>, we change the f<\/em> to v<\/em>\u00a0and add –es\u00a0<\/em>(calves<\/em>,\u00a0leaves<\/em>). However,\u00a0if there are two terminal f<\/em>s or if\u00a0you still pronounce the f<\/em> in the plural, you simply add an –s<\/em> (cliffs<\/em>,\u00a0chiefs<\/em>).<\/p>\n

                  Irregular Plurals<\/h3>\n

                  Irregular plurals<\/strong>, unlike regular plurals,\u00a0don’t necessarily follow any particular pattern\u2014instead, they follow a lot of\u00a0different<\/em> patterns. Because of this, irregular plurals require a lot of memorization. If you’re ever in doubt, the dictionary is there for you.<\/p>\n

                  The first kind of irregular plural we’ll talk about is the no-change<\/strong> or base plural<\/strong>. In these words, the\u00a0singular noun has the exact same form as the plural (sheep<\/em>,\u00a0fish<\/em>,\u00a0deer<\/em>, moose<\/em>). Most no-change plurals are types of animals. The next type of irregular is the mid-word vowel change<\/strong>. This includes words like\u00a0tooth<\/em>,\u00a0man<\/em>, and\u00a0mouse<\/em>, which become\u00a0teeth<\/em>,\u00a0men<\/em>, and\u00a0mice<\/em>.<\/p>\n

                  Note:<\/strong> The plural for a computer mouse (as opposed to the fuzzy animal) can either be mice<\/em> or mouses<\/em>. Some people prefer\u00a0mouses<\/em> as it creates some differentiation between the two words.<\/div>\n

                  We also have the\u00a0plural –en<\/em>.<\/strong> In these words –en<\/em> is used as the plural ending instead of –s<\/em> or\u00a0-es<\/em>.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • child\u00a0\u2192 children<\/li>\n
                  • ox\u00a0\u2192 oxen<\/li>\n
                  • brother\u00a0\u2192 brethren<\/li>\n
                  • sister\u00a0\u2192 sistren<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                    Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Brethren<\/em>\u00a0and sistren<\/em>\u00a0are\u00a0antiquated terms that you’re unlikely to run into in your life; however, since these are the only four words in English that use this plural, all four have been included above.<\/div>\n

                    The last category of irregular plurals is borrowed words. These words are native to other languages (e.g., Latin, Greek) and have retained the pluralization rules from their original tongue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
                    Singular –us<\/em>; Plural –i<\/em><\/th>\ncactus\u00a0\u2192 cacti<\/td>\nfungus\u00a0\u2192 fungi<\/td>\nsyllabus\u00a0\u2192 syllabi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    Singular\u00a0–a<\/em>; Plural –ae<\/em><\/th>\nformula\u00a0\u2192 formulae<\/td>\nvertebra\u00a0\u2192 vertebrae<\/td>\nlarva\u00a0\u2192 larvae<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    Singular –ix<\/em>, –ex<\/em>; Plural –ices<\/em>, –es<\/em><\/th>\nappendix\u00a0\u2192 appendices<\/td>\nmatrix \u2192 matrices<\/td>\nindex\u00a0\u2192 indices<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    Singular –on<\/em>,\u00a0–um<\/em>; Plural –a<\/em><\/th>\nbacterium \u2192 bacteria<\/td>\ncriterion \u2192 criteria<\/td>\nmedium\u00a0\u2192 media<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    Singular –is<\/em>; Plural –es<\/em><\/th>\nthesis\u00a0\u2192 theses<\/td>\nanalysis\u00a0\u2192 analyses<\/td>\ncrisis\u00a0\u2192 crises<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

                    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, formulas<\/em> and\u00a0appendixes<\/em> are accepted words in formal situations. Additionally,\u00a0in informal speech, cactuses<\/em>\u00a0and funguses<\/em>\u00a0are acceptable.<\/p>\n

                    Note:<\/strong>\u00a0Because of the word’s history,\u00a0octopuses<\/em> is preferred to\u00a0octopi<\/em>, but\u00a0octopi<\/em> is an accepted word.<\/div>\n

                    There are a lot of ways to categorize nouns: concrete vs. abstract nouns, common vs. proper nouns, count vs. non-count nouns, and\u00a0compound vs. non-compound nouns. Let’s take a look at each of these kinds of categorization and see exactly what they each mean.<\/p>\n

                    Concrete vs. Abstract Nouns<\/h2>\n

                    Concrete nouns are things you can hold, see, or otherwise sense, like\u00a0book<\/em>,\u00a0light<\/em>, or\u00a0warmth<\/em>.<\/p>\n

                    Abstract nouns, on the other hand, are (as you might expect) abstract concepts, like\u00a0time<\/em> and\u00a0love<\/em>.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • concrete noun: rock<\/li>\n
                    • abstract noun: justice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      Common vs. Proper Nouns<\/h2>\n

                      Common nouns are\u00a0generic words, like tissue<\/em> or\u00a0watch<\/em>. They are\u00a0lower-cased (unless they\u00a0begin a sentence).\u00a0A proper noun, on the other hand, is the name of a specific thing, like the brand name\u00a0Kleenex<\/em> or\u00a0Rolex<\/em>. Proper nouns are always\u00a0capitalized.<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • common noun:\u00a0name<\/li>\n
                      • proper noun: Ester<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                        \n

                        Note:\u00a0<\/strong>This rule also applies to adjectives that are based on proper nouns:<\/p>\n

                          \n
                        • It’s often difficult to understand Shakespearian language.<\/li>\n
                        • After her encounter with Lukas, Elisa\u00a0vowed to hate all Swiss\u00a0men.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                          However, when you’re talking about\u00a0swiss cheese<\/em>,\u00a0pasteurized milk<\/em>, and\u00a0french fries<\/em>, these adjectives lower-cased. They have a non-literal meaning: the cheese isn’t really from Switzerland, Louie Pasteur didn’t treat the milk himself, and\u00a0the fries aren’t really from France.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

                          Count vs. Non-Count Nouns<\/h2>\n

                          A count noun<\/strong> (also countable noun<\/strong>) is a noun that can be modified by a numeral (three chairs<\/em>) and that occurs in both singular and plural forms (chair<\/em>, chairs<\/em>). The can also be preceded by words such as a<\/em>, an<\/em>, or the<\/em> (a chair<\/em>).\u00a0Quite literally, count nouns are nouns which can be counted.<\/p>\n

                          A non-count noun<\/strong> (also mass noun<\/strong>), on the other hand, has none of these properties. It can’t be modified by a numeral (three furniture<\/em> is incorrect), occur in singular\/plural (furnitures<\/em> is not a word), or co-occur with a<\/em>, an<\/em>, or the<\/em> (a furniture<\/em> is incorrect). Again, quite literally, non-count nouns are nouns which cannot be counted.<\/p>\n

                          \n

                          Less or\u00a0Fewer? Many or Much?<\/h3>\n

                          The adjectives\u00a0less<\/em> and\u00a0fewer<\/em> are both used to indicate a smaller amount of the noun they modify. Many<\/em> and\u00a0much<\/em> are used to indicate a large amount of something.\u00a0People often will use these pairs words\u00a0interchangeably; however, the words\u00a0fewer<\/em> and\u00a0many<\/em>\u00a0are used with count nouns, while\u00a0less<\/em> and\u00a0much<\/em>\u00a0are used with non-count nouns:<\/p>\n

                            \n
                          • The pet day care has fewer<\/strong> dogs than cats this week.<\/li>\n
                          • Next time you make these cookies, you should use less<\/strong> sugar.<\/li>\n
                          • Many<\/strong>\u00a0poets\u00a0struggle\u00a0when they try to determine if a poem is complete or not.<\/li>\n
                          • There’s too much<\/strong> goodness in her heart for her own good.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                            You may have noticed that much<\/em> has followed the adverb\u00a0too<\/em> in this example (too much<\/em>). This is because\u00a0you rarely find much<\/em> by itself. You don’t really hear people say things like “Now please leave me alone; I have 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.”\u00a0A lot of<\/em>\u00a0can be used in the place of either many<\/em> or much<\/em>:<\/p>\n

                              \n
                            • A lot of<\/strong>\u00a0poets\u00a0struggle\u00a0when they try to determine if a poem is complete or not.<\/li>\n
                            • There’s a lot of<\/strong>\u00a0goodness in her heart for her own good<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

                              Compound Nouns<\/h2>\n

                              A compound noun<\/b> is a noun phrase made up of two nouns, e.g. bus driver<\/i>, in which the first noun acts as a sort of adjective\u00a0for the second one, but without really describing it. (For example, think about the difference between\u00a0a black bird<\/i> and a blackbird<\/i>.)<\/p>\n

                              \"two<\/p>\n

                              Figure 1. A crow is a black bird, while a blackbird is a specific species of bird.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

                              Compound nouns<\/strong>\u00a0can be made up of two or more other words, but each compound\u00a0has a single meaning.\u00a0There are three typical structures of compound nouns.<\/p>\n

                              Types of Compound Nouns<\/h3>\n

                              Compounds may be written in three different ways:<\/p>\n

                                \n
                              • The solid or closed forms<\/strong> in which two usually moderately short words appear together as one:\u00a0housewife<\/i>, lawsuit<\/i>, wallpaper<\/i>, basketball<\/i>, etc.<\/li>\n
                              • The hyphenated form<\/strong> in which two or more words are connected by a hyphen:\u00a0house-build<\/em>er<\/em>,\u00a0single-mind<\/em>ed<\/em>ness<\/em>, rent-a-cop<\/i>,\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0mother-of-pearl<\/i>.<\/li>\n
                              • The open or spaced form<\/strong> consisting of newer combinations of usually longer words, such as distance learning<\/i>, player piano<\/i>, lawn tennis<\/i>, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                Hyphens are often considered a squishy part on language. Because of this, you can encounter\u00a0open, hyphenated, and closed forms for the same compound noun, such as the triplets container ship<\/i>\/container-ship<\/i>\/containership<\/i> and particle board<\/i>\/particle-board<\/i>\/particleboard<\/i>.<\/p>\n

                                If you’re ever in doubt whether a compound should be closed, hyphenated, or open, dictionaries are your best reference.<\/p>\n

                                Plurals<\/h3>\n

                                The process of making\u00a0compound nouns plural has its own\u00a0set of conventions to follow. In all forms of compound nouns, we pluralize the chief element of a compound word (i.e., we pluralize the primary noun of the compound).<\/p>\n

                                  \n
                                • fisherman<\/strong>\u00a0\u2192 fishermen<\/strong><\/li>\n
                                • black\u00a0bird<\/strong> \u2192 black\u00a0birds<\/strong><\/li>\n
                                • passer<\/strong>by\u2192 passers<\/strong>by<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                  The word hand-me-down<\/em>\u00a0doesn’t have a distinct primary noun, so\u00a0its plural is\u00a0hand-me-downs<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6525,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-953","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":240,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6525"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1297,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/953\/revisions\/1297"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/240"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/953\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=953"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=953"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-english1v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}