Nouns

A person, place, or thing that performs one of the following functions (pronouns do the same job):

Categories

Number

Numbers related to nouns and pronouns:

• Singular: Refers to one thing.
• Plural: Refers to more than one thing.
• Noncount or mass: Refers to something measured in quantities.

Indefinite articles apply only to singular nouns:

• “An ant”, not “An ants”.

Plural

Regular nouns are nouns that you can use a formula on and get its plural form:

• Nouns that end in a consonant that makes an “s-like” sound usually take an es.
  • boss_es_
  • fax_es_
• Words that end in y usually take an ies:
  • berr_ies_
  • ferr_ies_
• Proper nounds do not change form:
  • We’re meeting the Nelsons.
  • There are two Ryans in this room.
• Words that end in f or fe often drop those letters and replace it with ves:
  • kni_ves_
  • lea_ves_

Count vs noncount

Count nouns have a singular and plural form

• can be introduced with determiners (these, few, many, etc)
• likely to be quantifiable with expressions (pieces of pie, )

Noncount (mass) nouns don’t have a singular and plural form:

• often refer to abstract things
• can be plural when you’re using the name to refer to individual units like servings or varieties

Gender

Gender only comes up when talking about pronouns.

Case

There are three cases in English, which affect the pronoun more than the noun:

Possessive

Shared possessive

If the nouns share possession of the thing, they share just one apostrophy-plus-s:

• Steve and Joe’s party. (Steve and Joe are throwing a party together–a single party.)

If the noun do not share possession, they each get their own apostrophy-plus-s:

• Steve’s and Joe’s parties. (Steve and Joe are each having their own party.)

Of-phrases for possession

Use when you want to put emphasis on the possessor instead of the thing possessed, bc the last word in a sentence or clause can have the biggest impact:

• “Howl of the wolf”, emphasis on wolf. (The wolf’s howl.)
• “Cry of the baby”, emphasis on baby. (The baby’s cry.)

Of-phrase possessives are not genitive. Often a poorer choice because it does not sound as natural.

Double genitive

When you use the apostrophe-plus-s and of-phrase possession:

• A friend of Valerie’s.
• A friend of mine. (mine is possessive)

Some say this is incorrect, but it is idiomatically correct.

Quasi possessives

When there isn’t any clear possession:

• One weeks’ pay.
• Get your money’s worth.
• For goodness’ sake.

Figures of speech, not logical constructions. They are expressions that have become possessives.

Possessive vs attributive

Attributive does not show possession–attributive nouns act as a an adjective:

• Farmer’s market (market belonging to the farmer) vs farmers market (market of type farmer)

To determine whether you should use an apostrophe, reword the phrase with for or an of-phrase:

• If there is an implied for. When you can reword the phrase with a for, then the apostrophe is often omitted:
  • retreat for couples = couples retreat
  • policy for homeowners = homeowners policy
• If you can reword with an of-phrase, then the apostrophe is often included:
  • questions of the students = student’s questions
  • the vacation of the couples = the couples’ vacation

Proper vs common

Proper:

• Capitalize
• Does not usually change in its plural form
• When ending in z, ch, x, sh, and similar sounds, add es: The Cash_es_ are coming for dinner.

Subcategories

Collective

Nouns that clearly refer to more than one person, place, or thing:

• family
• team

There is no rule about how to make these plural.

Attributive

Nouns that modify other nouns and can attribute qualities to another word in the same way that an adjective does:

• We went to the shoe store.
• She called a management meeting.

Verbing of nouns

Come into existence when they are used enough:

• Hammer away.
• The first car dogged the second.
• Beer me.