Nouns Part.

Plural Noun
Most nouns can change from singular to plural with the simple addition of
an -s or an -es at the end of the noun. However, some nouns choose to be
difficult, and can have a wide range of different endings when changed to
their plural form! These are called irregular nouns.
Read on to learn more about irregular plural nouns and to familiarize
yourself with some of these common rule-breakers.

A regular noun can be made plural by simply adding -s or -es to the end of
the word. For example, a regular noun like pickle becomes plural by adding
an -s to the end of the word, creating the plural noun pickles.
It would make live as writer so much easier if all nouns followed this
simple rule, but some nouns like to be rebels, especially irregular nouns.
An irregular plural noun is a noun that becomes plural in a way other than
adding -s or -es to the end. For example, an irregular noun like mouse
changes into the plural noun mice.
Tip #1. If the noun ends in -us, change the ending to -i to make an irregular plural
noun
 For example, a biologist might compare the nuclei of several different cells
rather than a single nucleus.
 Or, when you graduate from high school, you are considered an alumnus, but
everyone in your graduating class as a group would be referred to as alumni.

Tip #2. If the noun ends in -f or -fe, change the ending to -ves to make an irregular
plural noun
 For example, a single leaf may fall from the tree in your front yard, but there are
still several leaves attached to the tree’s branches.
 Or, a chef may have several knives in his kitchen, but he has one
particular knife that he prefers to use most often.
 Unfortunately, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, the plural
of chief becomes chiefs, not chieves. Remember these exceptions so that they
do not trip you up in your writing.

Tip #3. If the noun ends in -um or -on, change the ending to -a to make an irregular
plural noun
 For example, there is a difference between witnessing one
natural phenomenon and several natural phenomena.
 In the picture below, a town is being hit simultaneously by both a tornado and a
bolt of lightning, or two natural phenomena.
 Also, did you know that bacteria actually refers to a collection of
individual bacterium?
 Or that a collection of information is called data while one piece of information
is called a datum?
 These are both examples of irregular nouns with unusual plural forms.

Tip #4. Some nouns change vowels when they become irregular plural nouns
 For example, the names of several animals change vowels in their plural form,
such as mouse/mice or goose/geese.
 Likewise, one man joined by another becomes two men, while
one woman becomes two women in the plural form.

Tip #5. Some nouns do not change at all when they become irregular plural nouns
 Nouns like rice, deer, sheep, or moose look exactly the same whether they are in
their singular or plural form. Therefore, writers have to use other context clues
in their sentences to communicate which form is being used.
 For example: Suzanne had her name written on a grain of rice at last week’s fair.
 We are able to figure out that the singular form of rice is being used in this
sentence because the singular form of the regular noun, grain, gives us that
clue.
Possessive Noun
A possessive noun is a noun that possesses something—i.e., it has something. In
most cases, a possessive noun is formed by adding an apostrophe +s to the noun,
or if the noun is plural and already ends in s, only an apostrophe needs to be
added. In the following sentence, boy’s is a possessive noun
modifying pencil: The boy’s pencil snapped in half. It is clear that the pencil
belongs to the boy; the ’s signifies ownership.
Simply put, a possessive noun is a noun indicating ownership (or possession) by
ending 's or just an apostrophe.

Examples of Possessive Nouns

Here are some examples of possessive nouns (shaded):
 a dog's bone
 a man's jacket
 a lion's mane
The examples above are obviously about possession (i.e., ownership). They
refer to "the bone of the dog," "the jacket of the man," and "the mane of the
lion." However, possessive nouns are not always so obviously about
possession. Look at these examples of possessive nouns:
 a book's pages
 a day's pay
 a week's worth
 the stone's throw
Sometimes, possessive nouns are clearly not about possession. Look at these
examples:
 The Children's Minister
(This is a minister for children's affairs. The minister does not belong
to the children.)
 Rembrandt's paintings
(These are paintings by Rembrandt. He does not own them.)
So, in order to say that possessive nouns indicate possession, you have to
accept a broad scope for the word "possession."

Using Apostrophes to Form Possessive Nouns

You will notice that all of the examples above end 's. However, not all
possessive nouns end this way. Here are the basic rules for creating a
possessive noun with an apostrophe:
:
Example Possessive
Type Comment
of Type Noun

singular dog dog's dinner Add 's for a singular possessor (in this case, a
noun dog's dinners dog).
(NB: It is irrelevant how many things are
owned. So, it is irrelevant if the dog has one
dinner or a hundred dinners. Only the number
of possessors is important.)

plural dogs dogs' dinner Add ' for a plural possessor

noun dogs' dinners

singular Chris Chris' hat Add 's or ' for a singular possessor that ends -s.
noun or You have a choice.
ending -s Chris's hat

plural People People's rights Add 's for a plural possessor that does not end
noun not –s.
ending -s
Noun as Modifiers in Noun Phrase
A noun can modify another noun that follows it. As a modifier, the first
noun gives specific information about the following noun. In nearly all
cases, the noun that acts as the modifier is in singular form.

 They do not have vegetable soup, but they do have chicken soup and
tomato soup.

In the sentence, the nouns vegetable, chicken and tomato are modifiers.
They modify soup. Without the modifiers, we would not know what soup
they have or do not have, and all we would know is they have soup.

Count and Noncount Nouns / Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable nouns refer to items that can be counted, even if the number
might be extraordinarily high (like counting all the people in the world, for
example). Countable nouns can be used with articles such as a/an and the or
quantifiers such as a few and many.
Uncountable nouns are nouns that come in a state or quantity that is
impossible to count; liquids are uncountable, as are things that act like liquids
(sand, air). Abstract ideas like creativity or courage are also uncountable.
Uncountable nouns are always considered to be singular, and can stand alone
or be used with some, any, a little, and much.
Non-countable nouns don't have a plural form (do not change from the root
words). They usually fall into one of the following categories:

Category Example

Concept bravery, honesty, intelligence

Activity homework, playing, reading

Food bread, butter, milk

Gas air, helium, smoke

Liquid petrol, water, wine

Material chalk, cloth, concrete

Item clothing, furniture, luggage

Natural Phenomenon gravity, humidity, sunshine

Particles dust, flour, salt

Double Nouns

Some nouns can be both count and noncount. When they change from a count to a
noncount noun, the meaning changes slightly. In the noncount form, the noun refers to
the whole idea or quantity. In the count form, the noun refers to a specific example or
type. When the noun is countable, it can be used with the indefinite article "a" or "an" or
it can be made plural.
Check the published literature in your field of study to determine whether specific nouns
are used in a countable or an uncountable way. Sometimes, a noun that is generally
countable becomes uncountable when used in a technical way.
Here are a few examples:

 life
o
Life is a gift. (noncount)
o
She leads a very fulfilling life. (count = This specifies the type of life. It
could be a boring life, a dangerous life, and so on.)
 cheese
o I like cheese. (noncount)
o The cheeses of France are my favorite. (count = This specifies the type of
cheese.)
 language
o The study of language is called linguistics. (noncount)
o English is often considered an international language. (count)

Quantity Words

Quantity words are used to add information about the number or amount of the noun.
Some quantity words can only be used with countable singular nouns (e.g., computer,
pen, and crayon), some can only be used with countable plural nouns (e.g., printers,
flashdrives, and keyboards), some can only be used with uncountable nouns (i.e., paper,
ink), and some can be used with both plural countable nouns and with uncountable
nouns.
With countable singular nouns (e.g., computer, pen, crayon):

 each
o each computer
 every
o
every computer
 another
o another computer

With countable plural nouns (e.g., printers, flashdrives, and keyboards):

 several
o several printers
  a large/small number of
o a large number of printers
o a small number of printers
 (not/too) many
o not many printers
o too many printers
o many printers
 a few*
o a few printers
 (very) few*
o very few printers
o few printers
 fewer
o fewer printers

With uncountable nouns (e.g., paper or ink):

 a great deal of
o a great deal of paper
 a large/small amount of
o a large amount of paper
o a small amount of paper
 (not/too) much
o not much paper
o too much paper
o much paper
 a little*
o a little paper
 (very) little*
o very little paper
o little paper
 less
o less paper

With countable plural nouns and with uncountable nouns (e.g., printers, flashdrives,
keyboards; paper, or ink):

 some
o some printers
o some ink
 any
o any printers
o any ink
 a lot of
o a lot of printers
o a lot of ink
 hardly any
o hardly any printers
o hardly any ink
 (almost) all
o (almost) all printers
o (almost) all ink
  no
ono printers
ono ink
 none of
o none of the printers
o none of the ink
 not any
o not any printers
o not any ink
 other
o other printers
o other ink

Note the difference between "few/little" (almost none) and "a few/a little" (some, but not
many/much). "Few/little" tend to have a negative connotation. "A few/a little" tend to be
more positive.

 There are few solutions. (There are not many solutions.)

 There are a few solutions. (There are some solutions.)

 He received little education. (He did not receive much education.)

 He received a little education. (He received some education.)