Nouns and Determinatives

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Proper nouns and common nouns Countable and uncountable nouns Concrete nouns and abstract nouns

A proper noun is a noun representing unique entities (the names of particular people, places, or things)

For example: London, Jupiter, Larry, Toyota.

Common nouns describe a class of entities.

For example: city, planet, person, car.

Concrete nouns refer to physical entities that can, in principle at least, be observed by at least one of the senses.

For example: pineapple, pen, table.

Abstract nouns, on the other hand, refer to abstract objects; that is, ideas or concepts.

For example: love, friendship, justice.

Countable nouns are nouns that can take a plural, can combine with numerals or quantifiers (e.g., one, two, several, every, most), and can take an indefinite article (a or an).

For example: a chair, the chair, two chairs.

Uncountable nouns are nouns which we cannot count. They do not have different plural forms and do not go with a, an, one, two, etc. They can be used alone or with some/any/ much, etc.

For example: milk, history, music.

Abstract words: courage, education, loneliness, music, time

Activities: cooking, exploring, farming, reading, sailing

Fields of study: astronomy, geography, history, mathematics

Foods: corn, chocolate, fish, pasta, rice, meatGases: air, helium, oxygen, smoke, steamLiquids: water, lemonade, milk, gasolineMaterials: cotton, plastic, nylon, silkParticles: dust, sand, sugar, saltNatural phenomena: cold, electricity, weather, rain,

thunder

Some common uncountable nouns do not fit into the above categories. You must memorize nouns such as the following:

adviceequipment furniture garbage homework mailinformationjewelry luggage moneynewswork

a piece of cake/paper/news/ advice/information/ furniture a glass/bottle of water/lemonade/soda a jar of jam / honey a packet of rice/tea a loaf/slice of bread a pot of yoghurt/honey/tea a cup of tea/coffee a kilo of meat/cheese a bar of chocolate/soap a tube of toothpaste a can of soda a carton of milk a bowl of sugar/soup a bit of cheese a drop of water/liquid a lump of sugar/coal a pile of rubbish/wood

SOME NOUNS CAN BE USED AS COUNTABLE OR UNCOUNTABLE, WITH A DIFFERENCE IN MEANING.

a) I'd like a glass of orange juice, please. She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes,

(spectacles) The chandelier is made of glass, (material) b) I enjoy reading the Sunday paper. (newspaper) Can I have a few pieces of paper from your notebook?

(writing material) с) / found a beautiful iron bed at the antiques market

(material) Is the iron hot yet? (for ironing clothes) d) What time did you say the concert starts? I've been to London on business four times this year,

(occasions)

Article

A(an) (definite article)

The (indefinite article)

Zero article

Indefinite article

Происходит от указательного местоимения that. Часто переводится словами этот, эта, это, эти.

Употребляется перед существительными как в единственном, так и во множественном числе.

Where is the pen? ;What is the highest mountain in the world? ;the North ;in the morning

Definite article

Происходит от числительного one и означает один из многих, какой-то, любой.

Перед существительными в единственном числе.

This is an apple.

Zero article

Если существительное употребляется в самом обобщённом значении.

Перед именами собственными. Перед названиями времён года,

месяцев и дней недели. В случаях, когда речь идет о приеме

пищи, использовании транспорта, а так же, если речь идет о местах.

Crime is a problem in most big cities.; England ;I go home by bus.

Singular/Plural Verb Forms We use singular verb forms with:

› nouns which refer to school subjects (e.g. economics, physics, mathematics/maths, etc.), sports (e.g. gymnastics, athletics, etc.), games (e.g. billiards, dominoes, darts, etc.), illnesses (e.g. measles, mumps, etc.) and with the word news.

For example: The physics test was very difficult. The news is on TV at six o'clock.

› plural nouns when we talk about an amount of money, a period of time, weight, distance, etc.

For example: Three thousand miles is the distance from here to Montreal.

› group nouns such as jury, family, team, group, crew, crowd, class, audience, committee, council, army, club, press, government, company, etc., when we think of them as a single unit.

 

We use plural verb forms with:› nouns such as: clothes, people, police, stairs,

(good) looks, surroundings, outskirts, premises, earnings, wages, cattle, poultry, etc.

For example: Her earnings are quite high.

› nouns which refer to objects which consist of two parts, such as: trousers, binoculars, shorts, shoes, gloves, pyjamas, tights, glasses, earrings, socks, scissors, etc. 

We do not use a/an or a number with these words. We use the phrase a pair of... instead.

Affirmative Interrogative Negative

Countable/Uncountable

some any no/not any

People someone/somebody anyone/anybody no one/not anyone nobody/not anybody

Things something anything nothing/not anything

Places somewhere anywhere nowhere/not anywhere

We use so:› with adjectives and adverbs.The restaurant is so popular (that) you have to book a

table a week in advance.It was snowing so heavily (that) I couldn't see where I

was going.› with much/little + uncountable nouns and many/few +

countable nouns in the plural.There was so much noise (that) I couldn't study.There was so little space for my car (that) I couldn't

park it.There were so many books to read (that) I didn't know

where to start.There were so few hotels in the village (that) we had to

go somewhere else.› before an adjective which is not followed by a noun.The car was so expensive (that) I decided not to buy it.

We use such before:› a(n) + adjective + singular countable noun.It was such a funny story (that) everyone

laughed.› adjective + plural noun/uncountable noun.It was such bad news (that) she started

crying.› a lot of + plural noun/uncountable noun. There was such a lot of snow (that) we

couldn't get out of the house.

Much and many are normally used in questions and negations. Much is used with uncountable nouns and many is used with plural countable nouns.

There isn't much coffee in the jar. Have you got many books?

How much and how many are used in questions.

How much + uncountable noun -> amount How many + countable noun -> numberHow much sugar do we need? Not much. How many people came to the party? Twenty.

We use few (= not many, almost none)/a few (= some/not many) with plural countable nouns.

Few people liked the performance. (= almost none) I've got a few oranges. (= a small number, not many)

We use little (= not much, almost none)/a little (= some/not much) with uncountable nouns.

There is little milk left. (= almost none) I'd like a little sugar in my coffee, please. (= not much)

References

«Enterprise. Grammar book» Virginia Evans and Jenni Dooley