What Is a Noun?
Definition: A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.
Concrete nouns name people, places, or things that you can touch, see, hear, smell, or taste.
| Person | Place | Thing |
|---|---|---|
| man | river | dog |
| Mrs. Jones | Paris | book |
| doctor | mountains | sports car |
| Maddie | home | Ferrari |
Abstract nouns name ideas, concepts, or emotions. These nouns are intangible, which means you cannot touch, see, hear, smell, or taste them using your five senses.
| Idea | Emotion |
|---|---|
| love | happiness |
| intelligence | anger |
| justice | excitement |
| religion | fear |
| time | surprise |
Common and Proper Nouns
Definition: Common nouns name any person, place, thing, or idea. They are not capitalized unless they come at the beginning of a sentence. Proper nouns are the names of specific people, places, things, or ideas. Proper nouns should always be capitalized.
| Common | Proper | |
|---|---|---|
| boy | ⇒ | James |
| river | ⇒ | Mississippi River |
| car | ⇒ | Ford |
| doctor | ⇒ | Doctor Jefferson |
| town | ⇒ | Rockledge |
| candy bar | ⇒ | Baby Ruth |
Singular and Plural Nouns 1
Definition: Singular means only one. Plural means more than one.
In order to make a noun plural, it is usually only necessary to add s. However, there are many irregular nouns that add es. The rules for spelling plural nouns are based on the letters at the end of the word. The chart below breaks up the rules into categories so that they are easier to remember.
| Rule | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Most nouns | Add s to form the plural. | cat ⇒ cats truck ⇒ trucks bug ⇒ bugs |
| Nouns that end in s, sh, x, ch, or z | Add es to form the plural. For words that end in z, add an extra z before the es.
| bus ⇒ buses brush ⇒ brushes fox ⇒ foxes beach ⇒ beaches quiz ⇒ quizzes |
| Nouns ending in f or fe | Some nouns ending in f or fe just add s. Sometimes it is necessary to change the f to a v. In that case, always end the word with es.
| roof ⇒ roofs safe ⇒ safes shelf ⇒ shelves wife ⇒ wives |
Singular and Plural Nouns 2
In this lesson you will learn the rest of the rules for spelling plural nouns.
| Rule | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Nouns that end in vowel + y | Add s to form the plural. | donkey ⇒ donkeys highway ⇒ highways |
| Nouns that end in vowel + o | Add s to form the plural. | oreo ⇒ oreos scenario ⇒ scenarios |
| Nouns that end in consonant + y | Change the y to i and add es to form the plural. | family ⇒ families trophy ⇒ trophies |
| Nouns that end in consonant + o | Easy rule: Usually add es except for musical terms. Complicated rule: Some nouns that end in consonant + o add es. Many can be spelled either way. Look in the dictionary if you want to be sure. These nouns always add es: potato, tomato, hero, echo, banjo, embargo, veto, torpedo. Here are the preferred spellings of some plural nouns: buffaloes, dominoes, mosquitoes, volcanoes, tornadoes, ghettos, mangos, mottos, cargos, halos, mementos. | Regular examples: potato ⇒ potatoes dingo ⇒ dingoes piano ⇒ pianos soprano ⇒ sopranos |
The chart below explains some exceptions to the rules.
| Exceptions | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Words from foreign languages, including musical terms | Simply add s. | taco ⇒ tacos kimono ⇒ kimonos aria ⇒ arias |
| Words that are proper nouns | Simply add s. | Eskimo ⇒ Eskimos Picasso ⇒ Picassos |
| Words that are short forms of longer words | Simply add s. | photo (photograph) ⇒ photos kilo (kilogram) ⇒ kilos memo (memorandum) ⇒ memos |
| Hint: If a musical term or proper noun ends in s still add es. | chorus ⇒ choruses Jones ⇒ Joneses | |
- Memorize the short list of words that must end in es.
- Add es to words that end in consonant + o.
- For words that end in consonant + y, change y to i and add es.
- Remember that foreign words usually end in s, not es.
Irregular Plural Nouns
Irregular nouns form plurals in unusual ways. Dictionaries will give you the plural spelling if it is irregular.
| one child ⇒ two children |
| one foot ⇒ two feet |
| one tooth ⇒ two teeth |
| one man ⇒ two men |
Some nouns are spelled the same way whether they are singular or plural.
| one fish ⇒ two fish |
| one sheep ⇒ two sheep |
| one deer ⇒ two deer |
Nouns with Latin and Greek origins form plurals in strange ways. Because Latin and Greek plural endings are so unusual, many people try to follow the English rules by adding s or es. Applying the English rules is acceptable for some nouns, but using the original spelling is usually better. You will notice in the chart below that nouns with the same endings form plurals in the same way every time. Impress your friends and family by knowing the correct forms.
| -a ⇒ -ae | -us ⇒ -i | -is ⇒ -es | -on ⇒ -a and -ie ⇒ -ce |
|---|---|---|---|
| amoeba ⇒ amoebae | alumnus ⇒ alumni | analysis ⇒ analyses | criterion ⇒ criteria |
| antenna ⇒ antennae | cactus ⇒ cacti | axis ⇒ axes | phenomenon ⇒ phenomena |
| alumna ⇒ alumnae | fungus ⇒ fungi | diagnosis ⇒ diagnoses | die ⇒ dice |
| nucleus ⇒ nuclei | hypothesis ⇒ hypotheses | ||
| octopus ⇒ octopi | parenthesis ⇒ parentheses |
Some nouns exist only in the plural form.
| binoculars | pants |
| clothes | pajamas |
| glasses | scissors |
| goggles | shorts |
| jitters | tweezers |
| Note: This is not a complete list. | |
Depending on the style manual you use, there are different rules for making letters, numbers, and abbreviations plural. The information in this lesson is based on the Chicago Manual of Style. Use the shortcuts in this lesson to help you remember the rules.
- In order to make capital letters plural, add a lowercase s. Sometimes it is necessary to use an apostrophe if the plural form could be confused with a word (such as the word As versus the plural A's or the word Is versus the plural I's), but the apostrophe is only necessary if the letter is at the beginning of the sentence.
Shortcut: Capital letter + s
I earned straight As on my report card, but my sister received all Bs.
- To make lowercase letters plural, italicize the letter and add an apostrophe + s. It is important to add the apostrophe because otherwise the letter might be mistaken for a word (for example, a's versus as). Remember that even though the letter itself is italicized, the s is never italicized.
Shortcut: Lowercase italicized letter + apostrophe + s
Why does algebra use so many x's and y's?
- To make an abbreviation plural, simply add a lowercase s. It is not necessary to add an apostrophe before the s.
Shortcut: Abbreviation + s
I used to have a lot of CDs, but now I just listen to my mp3 player.
I've heard that M.D.s go to school for at least 7 years! - One last area that we haven't covered is how to make numbers plural. You can do so by adding a lowercase s without an apostrophe.
Shortcut: Number + s
2s, 3s, and 4s
- Hint:
- Many people think that you have to use an apostrophe + s when making years plural, but most style guides actually suggest that you leave out the apostrophe.
The Industrial Revolution took place between the late 1700s and early 1800s.
I was born in the '90s.
(Notice how the apostrophe in '90s comes before the number. That's because the apostrophe is being used to replace the 19 in 1990s. It has nothing to do with whether the number is plural or not.)
Also remember that people use specific guides for certain types of writing. Some popular guides are the Associated Press Stylebook (also called the AP Stylebook), APA style (from the American Psychological Association), and the MLA style (from the Modern Language Association). When you write essays or research papers, you use MLA or APA style, but when writing a news article, you use the AP Stylebook. If you're not sure which guide to use, just ask your teacher.