Chapter 1 – Noun

NOUN

The name of a person, place or thing is called a noun. There are 5 types of nouns:

• Common Noun: Eg- Boy, City, Girl, Country, Town, Teacher, etc
• Proper Noun: Eg- Delhi, Jaipur, Priya, Raman, Somalia, California, etc.
• Collective Noun: Eg- Jury, Team, Army, Committee, Crowd, Fleet, Flock, Mob, etc.
• Material Noun: Eg-  Sand, Gold, Silver, Rock, Cotton, Coffee, Wood, Air, etc.
• Abstract Noun: Eg- Strength, Innocence, Love, Hate, Fear, Excitement, Birth, Death, Gluttony, etc.

IMPORTANT RULES

1- Proper Nouns are always written with a capital letter at the beginning.

Incorrect: The capital of bihar is patna.

Correct: The capital of Bihar is Patna.

2- Proper Nouns are sometimes used as Common nouns.

Incorrect: Satish is Gandhiji of our class.

Correct: Satish is the Gandhiji of our class.

3- A Collective Noun usually takes a singular verb and is substituted by a singular pronoun.

Incorrect: The jury have given their decision.

Correct: The jury has given its decision.

4- A Collective Noun takes a plural verb and is substituted by a plural pronoun when the members of the group are divided and behaves as an individual.

Incorrect: The jury was divided in its opinion.

Correct: The jury were divided in their opinion.

5- A Material noun does not take an article{a, an, the} before it.

Incorrect: The coffee is a cash crop.

Correct: Coffee is a cash crop.

6- Collective nouns, even when they denote living beings, are considered as a neuter gender.

Incorrect: Gautam had a herd of cows. He kept a herdsman to look after her.

Correct: Gautam had a herd of cows. He kept a herdsman to look after it.

7- Lower animals and young children are also referred to as the neuter gender.

Incorrect: The baby loves his toys.

Correct: The baby loves its toys.

8- When objects without life are personified, they are considered of:

(i)  The Masculine Gender if the object is remarkable of strength and violence. Eg: Time, Death, Sun, Summer, Winter, etc.

(ii) The Feminine Gender if the object is remarkable of being gentle and graceful. Eg: Nature, Earth, Moon, Spring, Mercy, etc.

Incorrect:  The sun came from behind the clouds and with her brilliance tore the veil of darkness.

Correct: The sun came from behind the clouds and with his brilliance tore the veil of darkness.

9- Units of counting like pair, dozen, score, gross, hundred, thousand, etc, when used after numbers retain their singular form. But if ‘of’ is used with them, such nouns are used in plural form.

Incorrect: My friend bought three dozens eggs.

Correct: My friend bought three dozen eggs.

Incorrect: Hundred of people came to see the fair.

Correct: Hundreds of people came to see the fair.

10- Material nouns and abstract nouns are not used in the plural.

Incorrect: Cares of the old are necessary.

Correct: Care of the old is necessary

Incorrect: A book is printed on papers.

Correct: A book is printed on paper.

11- When a noun consists of several words, the possessive sign{apostrophe’} is attached only to the last word.

Incorrect: The Queen’s of England reaction was important in the Diana episode.

Correct: The Queen of England’s reaction was important in the Diana episode

12- When two nouns are in apposition, the possessive sign is put to the latter only.

Incorrect: I am going to Stephen Hawking’s the scientist’s country.

Correct: I am going to Stephen Hawking the scientist’s country.

13- When two or more nouns show joint possession, the possessive sign is put to the latter only.

Incorrect: Amitabh and Ajitabh are Bachchanji’s sons. So Bachchanji is Amitabh’s and Ajitabh’s father.

Correct: Amitabh and Ajitabh are Bachchanji’s sons. So Bachchanji is Amitabh and Ajitabh’s father.

14- Each of the two or more connected nouns implying separate possession must take the possessive sign.

Incorrect: The audience listened to Javed and Vajpayee’s poems.

Correct: The audience listened to Javed’s and Vajpayee’s poems.

15- The possessive case is chiefly used with the names of living things. However, if non-living things are personified, they are used in possessive cases.

Incorrect: The cart’s wheel was broken.

Correct: The wheel of the cart was broken.

Incorrect: If you are a fortune favourite, you might escape suffering while others suffer.

Correct: If you are fortune’s favourite, you might escape suffering while others suffer.

16- The possessive case is also used with the nouns denoting time, space, and weight.

Incorrect: His house is at the throw of a stone from here.

Correct: His house is at a stone’s throw from here.

17- Nouns like a teacher, child, advocate, worker, student, writer, leader, author, musician, artist, etc are common gender nouns. Thus, for such nouns {his, him, he} is used when used in the singular.

Incorrect: A teacher should practise what it preaches.

Correct: A teacher should practise what he preaches.

18- If a preposition comes after a noun and the same noun is repeated, the noun should be used in the singular form.

Incorrect: Town after town were devastated.

Correct: Town after town was devastated.

19- Hyphenated noun does not have a plural form.

Incorrect: He gave me four hundred-rupees notes.

Correct: He gave me four hundred-rupee notes.

20- Cattle, Cavalry, Infantry, Poultry, Peasantry, Children, Gentry, Police, People are certain nouns that are singular in form but plural in meaning. Hence they take a plural verb.

‘s’ is never used with these nouns.

Note- ‘people’ means ‘a number of person’ while ‘peoples’ means ‘people of different races and countries.

Incorrect: Cattle is grazing in the field.

Correct: Cattle are grazing in the field.

21- News, Innings, politics, Summons, Physics, Mathematics, Ethics, Economics, Mumps, Measles, Rickets, Shingles, Billiards, Athletics, Linguistics are certain nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning. Hence, they take a singular verb.

Incorrect: Politics are a dirty game.

Correct: Politics is a dirty game.

22- Deer, Sheep, Series, Species, Fish, Team, Jury, Aircraft, Counsel are certain nouns that are used in both singular and plural forms. If used in singular form, they take a singular verb and if used in the plural sense, they take a plural verb.

Incorrect: A sheep are grazing in the field.

Correct: A sheep is grazing in the field.

Incorrect: Two sheeps are grazing in the field.

Correct: Two sheep are grazing in the field.

23- Scenery, Poetry, Furniture, Advice, Information, Hair, Business, Mischief, Bread, Stationery, Crockery, Luggage, baggage, Postage, Knowledge, Wastage, Jewellery, Breakage, Equipment, Evidence, Work, News, Percentage, Dirt, Dust, Traffic, Music, Electricity, pottery, Bakery, Fuel, Cost, Word, Behaviour are uncountable nouns and hence will take a singular verb. These nouns will not take articles{a, an}, many, few, ‘number of’ and ‘plural form’.

Incorrect: The sceneries of Kashmir has enchanted us.

Correct: The scenery of Kashmir has enchanted us.

Incorrect: The mischiefs committed by him are unpardonable.

Correct: The mischief committed by him is unpardonable.

24- Scissors, Pliers, Pincers, Tongs, Pants, Bellows, Trousers, Goggles, Jeans, Shorts, Spectacles, Binoculars, Fangs, Sunglasses, Gallows, Amends, Alms, Arrears, Archives, Auspices, Embers, Congratulations, Outskirts, Lodgings, Fireworks, Regards, Particulars, Proceeds, Remains, Riches, Proceeds, Surroundings, Savings, Troops, Tactics, Thanks, Valuables, Braces, Wages, Belongings are certain nouns that exist in plural form only. These nouns always take plural verbs with them.

Incorrect: Where is my pant?

Correct: Where are my pants?

Incorrect: The ember of the fire was still burning.

Correct: The embers of the fire were still burning.

25- ‘s’ is used with anybody/ nobody/ everybody/ somebody/ anyone/ someone/ no one/ everyone. But if ‘else’ is used with anybody/ nobody/ everybody/ somebody/ anyone/ someone/ no one/ everyone, etc, ‘apostrophe’ will be used.

Incorrect: Everyone concern is no one concern.

Correct: Everyone’s concern is no one’s concern.

Incorrect: I can rely on your words, not somebody’s else.

Correct: I can rely on your words, not somebody else’s.