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After reading this page, you should be able to:
state and identify the different types of nouns
form the plural of nouns
identify countable and uncountable nouns
form compound nouns
state examples of nominalisation
Do you know your nouns?
Listen to the Noun Song first!
It explains the 4 main categories of nouns: common, proper, concrete and abstract nouns.
Reference and further reading:
Section 1: Overview and Vocabulary
Section 1: Overview and Vocabulary
Let's take a look at all the types of nouns.
Credit: https://7esl.com/types-of-nouns/
Section 2: Definition of Types of Nouns
Section 2: Definition of Types of Nouns
Now let's see the meaning of each type of noun!
Concrete nouns are people, places, or things that we can experience with our five senses (taste, touch, sight, hearing, or smell).
Proper noun (kata nama khas) is any noun that refers to a specific thing, person, organization, corporation, team, or place. Proper nouns are to always be capitalized, whether or not they are used at the beginning of a sentence.
Common nouns (kata nama am) are the opposites of the proper nouns. It is not anything, person, or place, in particular. They do not need to be capitalized unless they are the first word of a sentence.
Abstract nouns refer to abstract objects such as ideas, thoughts, or concepts that can not be seen, felt, or held.
Countable nouns are nouns that can become plural and/or be counted. There is most likely to be the words “a” or “an” before the countable noun.
Regular Plural Nouns: Usually we add an '-s' behind the noun to make it plural. However, there are some rules for different nouns (refer below).
Irregular Plural Nouns: We cannot add an '-s' to make the noun plural.
Uncountable nouns are simply nouns that do not have the ability to become plural and/or be counted.
Collective nouns refer to groups of more than one individual or item.
Compound nouns are phrases composed of a noun combined with an adjective, a verb, or another noun.
A possessive noun is a noun that shows possession of something. In most cases, we add an apostrophe and the letter “s”. For pronoun possessive, you DO NOT need to add the apostrophe.
Gerund is the -ing forms of verbs (gerunds) that can also act as nouns.
Credit: https://7esl.com/types-of-nouns/
Section 3: Identifying nouns
Section 3: Identifying nouns
It is not always possible to identify a noun by its form.
However, some word endings can show that the word is probably a noun.
-age
postage, language, sausage
-ance/-ence
insurance, importance, difference
-er/-or
teacher, driver, actor
-hood
childhood, motherhood, fatherhood
-ism
socialism, capitalism, nationalism
-ist
artist, optimist, pianist
-itude
attitude, multitude, solitude
-ment
excitement, argument, government
-ity/-ty
identity, quantity, cruelty
-ness
happiness, business, darkness
-ship
friendship, championship, relationship
-tion/-sion
station, nation, extension
Gerunds
The -ing forms of verbs (gerunds) can also act as nouns.
Smoking is forbidden on all flights.
The City Council does its economic planning every September.
Section 4: Forming the plural of nouns
Section 4: Forming the plural of nouns
Making the plural of nouns depend on the spelling and pronunciation. Let's look at the rules!
Most nouns form their plural by adding -s:
In other cases, the plural depends on how the noun ends.
Here are some common irregular plural nouns. You cannot add an '-s' to them.
*For sheep, fish and deer, the plural has the same form as the singular.
For more information on forming the plural of nouns, go here:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/nouns-form
Section 5: Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Section 5: Countable and Uncountable Nouns
1- Learn the basics of countable and uncountable nouns at the British Council website: https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar/beginner-grammar/countable-uncountable-nouns
2 - Watch Dr. Lee on YouTube as she explains countable and uncountable nouns through a series of videos.
For more information on countable and uncountable nouns, go here: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/nouns-countable-and-uncountable
Section 6: Compound Nouns
Section 6: Compound Nouns
Compound nouns consist of more than one word. These are compound nouns.
Let's see how compound nouns can be formed in different ways.
1) noun + noun
Example: car park, Iceland, shopkeeper, website
2) adjective + noun
Example: blackberry, greenhouse, small talk
3) verb + noun
Example: breakwater, fall-guy, go-kart, runway
How about plurals of compound nouns?
We usually add '-s' to the end of the compound noun (see Section 4: Forming the plural of nouns)
Example:
We saw some large greenhouses with vegetables growing in them.
They’re building two new car parks in town.
Warning:
The compound nouns mother-in-law, brother-in-law, passer-by etc. form their plurals on the first noun:
I’ve got one brother-in-law and two sisters-in-law.
The passers-by tried to help the woman who had fainted on the street.
For more information on compound nouns, go here:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/nouns-compound-nouns
Section 7: Nominalisation
Section 7: Nominalisation
We often form nouns from other parts of speech, most commonly from a verb or an adjective.
We can use a verb or an adjective and change it into a noun. This process is called nominalisation. Nominalisation is common in formal, academic writing (penulisan karya ilmiah).
Nominalisation will:
prevent you from repeating the same verb many times
Make your writing less personal as the focus will be on an action rather than who did it
Your writing will be more creative, varied, and interesting.
Some common examples of nominalisation
For more information on nominalisation, go here:
https://www.grammarwiz.com/nominalisation.html
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