Page 5
7. He told us all about the battle.
8. He was only a yard off me.
9. Suddenly one of the wheels came off.
10. Mohammedans fast in the month of Ramzan.
11. He kept the fast for a week.
12. He is on the committee.
13. Let us move on.
14. Sit down and rest a while.
15. I will watch while you sleep.
16. They while away their evenings with books and games.
A work from S. CHAND & COMPANY LTD.
CHAPTER 5
THE NOUN: KINDS OF NOUNS
19. A Noun is a word used as the name of a person, place or thing.
Note: The word thing is used to mean anything that we can think of.
20. Look at the following sentence:
Asoka was a wise king.
The noun Asoka refers to a particular king, but the noun king might be applied to any
other king as well as to Asoka. We call Asoka a Proper Noun, and king a Common Noun.
Similarly:
Sita is a Proper Noun, while girl is a Common Noun.
Hart is a Proper Noun, while boy is a Common Noun.
Kolkata is a Proper Noun, while city is a Common Noun.
India is a Proper Noun, while country is a Common Noun.
The word girl is a Common Noun, because it is a name common to all girls, while Sita is
a Proper Noun because it is the name of a particular girl.
Def. - A Common Noun is a name given in common to every person or thing of the same
class or kind.
[Common here means shared by all.]
Def. - A Proper Noun is the name of some particular person or place,
[Proper means one's own. Hence a Proper Name is a person's own name.]
Note 1 - Proper Nouns are always written with a capital letter at the beginning.
Note 2 - Proper Nouns are sometimes used as Common Nouns; as,
1. He was the Lukman (= the wisest man) of his age.
2. Kalidas is often called the Shakespeare (= the greatest dramatist) of India.
Common Nouns include what are called Collective Nouns and Abstract Nouns
Page 6
21. A Collective Noun is the name of a number (or collection) of persons or things taken
together and spoken of as one whole; as,
Crowd, mob, team, flock, herd, army, fleet, jury, family, nation, parliament, committee.
A fleet = a collection of ships or vessels.
An army = a collection of soldiers.
A crowd = a collection of people.
The police dispersed the crowd.
The French army was defeated at Waterloo.
The jury found the prisoner guilty.
A herd of cattle is passing.
22. An Abstract Noun is usually the name of a quality, action, or state considered apart
from the object to which it belongs; as.
Quality - Goodness, kindness, whiteness, darkness, hardness, brightness, honesty,
wisdom, bravery.
Action - Laughter, theft, movement, judgment, hatred.
State - Childhood, boyhood, youth, slavery, sleep, sickness, death, poverty.
The names of the Arts and Science (e.g., grammar, music, chemistry, etc.) are also
Abstract Nouns.
[We can speak of a brave soldier, a strong man, a beautiful flower. But we can also think
of these qualities apart from any particular person or thing, and speak of bravery,
strength, beauty by themselves. So also we can speak of what persons do or feel apart
from the persons themselves, and give it a name. The word abstract means drawn off.]
23. Abstract Nouns are formed:
(1) From Adjectives; as,
Kindness from kind; honesty from honest.
[Most abstract nouns are formed thus.]
(2) From Verbs: as,
Obedience from obey; growth from grow.
(3) From Common Nouns; as,
Childhood from child; slavery from slave.
24. Another classification of nouns is whether they are “countable” or “uncountable”.
Countable nouns (or countables) are the names of objects, people, etc. that we can count,
e.g., book, pen, apple, boy, sister, doctor, horse.
Uncountable nouns (or uncountables) are the names of things which we cannot count,
e.g., milk, oil, sugar, gold, honesty. They mainly denote substances and abstract things.
Countable nouns have plural forms while uncountable nouns do not. For example, we say
“books” but we cannot say “milks”.
Exercise in Grammar 3
Point out the Nouns in the following sentences, and say whether they are Common,
Proper, Collective or Abstract:
Page 7
1. The crowd was very big.
2. Always speak the truth.
3. We all love honesty.
4. Our class consists of twenty pupils.
5. The elephant has great strength.
6. Solomon was famous for his wisdom.
7. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
8. We saw a fleet of ships in the harbour.
9. The class is studying grammar.
10. The Godavary overflows its banks every year.
11. A committee of five was appointed.
12. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India.
13. The soldiers were rewarded for their bravery.
14.Without health there is no happiness.
15. He gave me a bunch of grapes.
16. I recognized your voice at once.
17. Our team is better than theirs.
18. Never tell a lie.
19. Wisdom is better than strength.
20. He sets a high value on his time.
21. I believe in his innocence.
22. This room is thirty feet in length.
23. I often think of the happy days of childhood.
24. The streets of some of our cities are noted for their crookedness.
25. What is your verdict, gentlemen of the jury?
Exercise in Composition 4
Write the Collective Nouns used to describe a number of
(1) Cattle;
(2) Soldiers;
(3) Sailors.
Write the qualities that belong to boys who are
(1) Lazy;
(2) Cruel;
(3) Brave;
(4) Foolish.
Exercise in Composition 5
Form Abstract Nouns from the following Adjectives:
Long,
young,
humble,
decent,
cruel,
bitter,
strong,
true,
short,
prudent,
dark,
deep,
wide,
wise,
good,
vacant,
sweet,
human,
broad,
free,
proud,
brave,
novel,
quick,
high,
poor,
just,
vain,
sane,
ignorant.
Form Abstract Nouns from the following Verbs:
Laugh,
obey,
live,
expect,
excel,
know,
steal.
Believe,
Serve,
Hate,
Please,
Act,
Starve,
Occupy,
Choose,
Move,
Conceal,
Seize,
Flatter,
Depart,
Persevere,
Defend,
Think,
Protect,
Advise,
Punish,
The,
Succeed,
Free,
See,
Judge,
Pursue,
Relieve,
Converse,
Discover.
Form Abstract Nouns from the following Common Nouns:
King,
man,
thief,
woman,
bankrupt,
infant,
owner,
rogue,
regent,
author,
mother,
agent,
hero,
beggar,
coward,
priest,
boy,
bond,
pirate,
pilgrim,
friend,
caption,
rascal,
patriot,
glutton.
Page 8
CHAPTER 6
THE NOUN: GENDER
25. You know that living beings are of either the male or the female sex. Now compare
the words in the following pairs:
Boy (Lion, Hero, Cock-sparrow)
Girl (Lioness, Heroine, Hen-sparrow)
What do you notice?
The first word of each pair is the name of a male animal.
The second word of each pair is the name of a female animal.
A noun that denotes a male animal is said to be of the Masculine Gender. [Gender comes
from Latin genus, kind or sort.]
A noun that denotes a female animal is said to be of the Feminine Gender.
26. A noun that denotes either a male or a female is said to be of the Common Gender; as
Parent, child, friend, pupil, servant, thief, relation, enemy, cousin, person, orphan,
student, baby, monarch, neighbour, infant.
27. A noun that denotes a thing that is neither male nor female (i.e., thing without life) is
said to be of the Neuter Gender; as,
Book, pen, room, tree.
[Neater means neither, that is, neither male nor female]
It will be thus seen that in Modern English the Gender of a noun is entirely a matter of
sex or the absence of sex. It has nothing to do with the form of a noun, which determines
its gender in many other languages, e.g., in Urdu where bagiche is masculine and lakri is
feminine.
28. Objects without life are often personified, that is, spoken of as if they were living
beings. We then regard them as males or females.
The Masculine Gender is often applied to objects remarkable for strength and violence;
as,
The Sun, Summer, Winter, Time, Death,
The sun sheds his beams on rich and poor alike.
The Feminine Gender is sometimes applied to objects remarkable for beauty, gentleness,
and gracefulness; as,
The Moon, the Earth, Spring, Autumn, Nature, Liberty, Justice, Mercy, Peace, Hope,
Charity.
The moon has hidden her face behind a cloud.
Spring has spread her mantle of green over the earth.
Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war.
This use is most common in poetry but certain nouns are personified in nrose too. A shin
is often spoken of as she; as,
The ship lost her boats in the storm.
Page 9
Ways of Forming the Feminine of Nouns
29. There are three ways of forming the Feminine of Nouns:
(1) By using an entirely different word; as
Male - Female
Bachelor -- maid, spinster
Boy -- girl
Brother -- sister
Buck -- doe
Bull (or ox) -- cow
Bullock -- heifer
Cock -- hen
Colt -- filly
Dog -- bitch
Drake -- duck
Drone -- bee
Earl -- countess
Father -- mother
Gander -- goose
Gentleman -- lady
Hart -- roe
Horse - sea
Husband -- wife
King -- queen
Lord -- lady
Man -- woman
Monk (or friar) -- nun
Nephew -- niece
Dad Mom
Ram - yes
Sir -- madam
Son -- daughter
Stag -- hind
Uncle -- aunt
Wizard -- witch
(2) By adding a syllable (-ess, -ine, -trix, -a, etc) as,
Male - Female
Author -- authoress
Baron -- baroness
Count -- countess
Giant -- giantess
Heir -- heiress
Host -- hostess
Jew -- Jewess
Lion -- lioness
Manager -- manageress
Mayor -- mayoress
Patron -- patroness
Peer -- peeress
Poet -- poetess
Priest -- priestess
Prophet -- prophetess
Shepherd -- shepherdess
Steward -- stewardess
Viscount -- viscountess
[Note that in the following -ess is added after dropping the vowel of the masculine
ending]
Male - Female
Actor -- actress
Benefactor -- benefactress
Conductor - conductress
Enchanter -- enchantress
Founder -- foundress
Hunter -- huntress
Instructor -- instructress
Negro -- negress
Abbot -- abbess
Duke -- duchess
Emperor -- empress
Preceptor - preceptress
Prince -- princess
Songster -- songstress
Tempter -- temptress
Seamster -- seamstress
Tiger -- tigress
Traitor - traitress
Waiter -- waitress
Master -- mistress
Murderer -- murderess
Sorcerer -- sorceress
Note:- The suffix -ess is the commonest suffix used to form feminine nouns, from the
masculine, and is the only one which we now use in forming a new feminine noun.
Page 10
Male - Female
Hero -- heroine
Testator -- testatrix
Czar -- czarina
Sultan -- sultana
Mrs. Madam
Fox -- vixen
(3) By placing a word before or after; as,
Male - Female
Grandfather -- grandmother
Greatuncle - greataunt
Manservant -- maidservant
Landlord -- landlady
milkman -- milkwoman
peacock -- peahen
salesman -- saleswoman
washerman -- washerwoman
CHAPTER 7
THE NOUN: NUMBER
30. Notice the change of form in the second word of each pair:
Tree (Box, Fox, Man)
Trees (Boxes, Oxen, Men)
The first word of each pair denotes one thing, the second word of each pair denotes more
than one.
A Noun that denotes one person or thing, is said to be in the Singular Number; as,
Boy, girl, cow, bird, tree, book, pen.
A Noun that denotes more than one person or thing, is said to be in the Plural Number;
as,
Boys, girls, cows, birds, trees, books, pens.
Thus there are two Numbers in English-the Singular and the Plural.
A work from S. CHAND & COMPANY LTD.
How Plurals are Formed
31. (i) The Plural of nouns is generally formed by adding -s to the singular ; as,
boy, boys;
pen, pens;
girl, girls;
desk, desks;
book, books;
cow, cows.
(ii) But Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch (soft), or -x form the plural by adding -es to the
singular; as,
class, classes;
kiss, kisses;
dish, dishes;
brush, brushes;
match, matches;
watch, watches;
branch, branches;
tax, taxes;
box, boxes.
(iii) Most Nouns ending in -o also form the plural by adding -es to the singular ; as,
buffalo, buffaloes;
mango, mangoes;
hero, heroes;
potato, potatoes;
cargo, cargoes,
echo, echoes;
negro, negroes;
volcano, valcanoes.
(iv) A few nouns ending in -o merely add -s; as,
Page 11
dynamo, dynamos;
alone, alone;
ratio, ratios;
how much, how many;
memento, mementos;
bedroom, bedrooms;
piano, pianos;
photo, photos;
stereo, siereos.
kilo, kilos;
logo, logos;
commando, commandos
(v) Nouns ending in -y, preceded by a consonant, form their plural by changing -y into -i
and adding -es; as,
baby, babies;
lady, ladies;
city, cities;
army, armies;
story, stories;
pony, ponies.
(vi) The following nouns ending in -f or -fe form their plural by changing -for -fe into v
and adding -es ; as,
thief, thieves;
wife, wives;
wolf, wolves;
life, lives;
calf, calves;
leaf, leaves;
loaf, loaves;
knife, knives;
shelf, shelves,
half, halves;
elf, elves;
self, selves;
sheaf, sheaves.
The nouns dwarf, hoof, scarf and wharf take either -s or -ves in the plural.
dwarfs or dwarves;
hoofs or hooves;
scarfs or scarves;
wharfs or wharves
Other words ending in -for -fe add -s; as,
chief, chiefs;
safe, safes;
proof, proofs
gulf, gulfs;
cliff, cliffs;
handkerchief, handkerchiefs
32. A few nouns form their plural by changing the inside vowel of the singlar; as,
man, but;
woman, women;
foot, feet;
tooth, teeth;
goose, geese;
mouse, mice;
louse, lice.
33. There are a few nouns that form their plural by adding -en to the singular; as, ox,
oxen; child, children.
The plural offish is fish or fishes. The form fishes is less usual.
34. Some nouns have the singular and the plural alike; as,
Swine, sheep, deer; cod, trout, salmon; aircraft, spacecraft, series, species.
Pair, dozen, score, gross, hundred, thousand (when used after numerals),
I bought three dozen oranges.
Some people reach the age of three score and ten.
The sari cost me five thousand rupees.
Stone, hundredweight.
He weighs above nine stone.
Twenty hundredweight make one ton.
35. Some nouns are used only in the plural.
(1) Names of instruments which have two parts forming a kind of pair; as,
Bellows, scissors, tongs, pincers, spectacles.
Page 12
(2) Names of certain articles of dress; as,
Trousers, drawers, breeches, jeans, tights, shorts, pyjamas.
(3) Certain other nouns; as,
Annals, thanks, proceeds (of a sale), tidings, environs, nuptials, obsequies, assets, chatels.
36. Some nouns originally singular are now generally used in the plural; as,
Alms, riches, eaves.
Riches do many things.
37. The following nouns look plural but are in fact singular:
(1) Names of subjects
mathematics, physics, electronics, etc.
(2) The word news
(3) Names of some common diseases
measles, mumps, rickets
(4) Names of some games
billiards, draughts
Mathematics is his favourite study.
No news is good news.
India won by an innings and three runs.
Measles is infectious.
Billiards is my favourite game.
‘Means’ is used either as singular or plural. But when it has the meaning of ‘wealth’ it is
always plural; as,
He succeeded by this means (or, by these means) in passing the examination.
His means are small, but he has incurred no debt.
38. Certain Collective Nouns, though singular in form, are always used as plurals; as,
Poultry, cattle, vermin, people, gentry.
These poultry are mine.
Whose are these cattle?
Vermin destroy our property and carry disease.
Who are those people (= persons)?
There are few gentry in this town.
Note:- As a Common Noun 'people' means a 'nation' and is used in both singular and
plural; as,
The Japanese are a hard-working people.
There are many different peoples in Europe.
39. A Compound Noun generally forms its plural by adding -s to the principal word; as,
Singular plural
Commander-in-chief -- commanders-in-chief
Coat-of-mail -- coats-of-mail
Son-in-Law -- sons-in-law
Page 13
Daughter-in-law -- daughters-in-law
Step-son -- step-sons
Step-daughter -- step-daughters
Maid-servant -- maid-servants (but man-servant, plural men-servants)
Passer-by -- passers-by
Looker-on -- lookers-on
Man-of-war -- men-of-war.
We say spoonfuls and handfuls, because spoonful and handful are regarded as one word.
Note that the Proper Nouns Brahman and Mussulman are not compounds of man;
therefore their plurals are Brahmans and Mussulmans.
40. Many nouns taken from foreign languages keep their original plural form; as,
Form Latin-
Erratum, errata; -- formula, formulae (or formulas):
index, indices; -- memorandum, memoranda;
radius, radii; -- terminus, termini (or terminuses).
From Greek-
Axis, axes; -- parenthesis, parentheses;
crisis, crises; -- hypothesis, hypotheses;
basis, bases; -- phenomenon, phenomena;
analysis, analyses; -- criterion, criteria.
From Italian-
Bandit, banditti, (or bandits)
From French-
Madam (madam), ladies; Mister Misters.
From Hebrew-
Cherub, cherubim (or cherubs); seraph, seraphim (or seraphs).
41. Some nouns have two forms for the plural, each with a some what different meaning.
Singular plural
Brother -- brothers, sons of the same parent.
brethren, members of a society or a community.
Cloth -- cloths, kinds or pieces of cloth, clothes, garments.
Die -- dies, stamps for coining, dice, small cubes used in games.
Index -- indexes, tables of contents to books, indices, signs used in algebra.
Page 14
Penny pennies, number of coins, pence, amount in value.
42. Some nouns have two meanings in the singular but only one in the plural.
Singular plural
Light: (1) radiance, (2) a lamp -- Lights: lamps.
People: (1) nation, (2) men and women -- Peoples: nations.
Powder: (1)dust, (2) a dose of medicine in fine grains like dust -- Powders: doses of
medicine.
Practice: (1) habit (2) exercise of a profession -- Practices: habits.
43. Some nouns have one meaning in the singular, two in the plural.
Singular plural
Colour: hue. -- Colours: (1) hues, (2) the flag of a regiment.
Custom: habit. -- Customs: (1) habits, (2) duties levied on imports.
Effect: result -- Effects: (1) results, (2) property.
Manner: method. -- Manners: (1) methods, (2) correct behaviour.
Moral: a moral lesson. -- Morals: (1) moral lessons, (2) conduct
Number: a quantity. -- Numbers: (1) quantities, (2) verses.
Pain: suffering. -- Pains : (1) sufferings, (2) care, exertion.
Premise: proposition -- Premises: (1) propositions; (2) buildings.
Quarter: fourth part. -- Quarters: (1) fourth parts; (2) lodgings.
Spectacle: a sight. -- Spectacles: (1) sights; (2) eye-glasses.
Letter: (1) letter of the alphabet; (2) epistle -- Letters: (1) letters of the alphabet; (2)
epistle; (3) literature.
Ground: (1) earth; (2) reason -- Grounds: (1) enclosed land attached to house. (2) reason;
(2) reasons; (3) dregs.
44. Some nouns have different meanings in the singular and the plural.
Singular plural
Advice: counsel. -- Advices: information.
Air: atmosphere. -- Airs: affected manners.
Good: benefit, well-being. -- Goods: merchandise.
Compass: extent, range. -- Compasses: an instrument for drawing circles.
Respect: regard. -- Respects: compliments.
Page 15
Physic: medicine. -- Physics: natural science.
Iron: a kind of metal. -- Irons: fetters.
Force: strength. -- Forces: troops.
45. Letters, figures and other symbols are made plural by adding an apostrophe and s; as,
There are more e's than a's in this page.
Dot your i's and cross your t's.
Add two 5's and four 2's.
46. It is usual to say-
The Miss Smiths. (Singular, Miss Smith.)
47. Abstract Nouns have no plural. They are uncountable.
Hope, charity, love, kindness.
When such words do appear in the plural, they are used as countables; as
Provocations = instances or cases of provocation.
Kindnesses = acts of kindness.
Names of substances are also uncountables and are not therefore used in the plural.
Copper, iron, tin, wood.
When such words are used in the plural, they become countables with changed meanings;
as,
Coppers = copper coins; irons = fetters; tins = cans made of tin; woods = forests.
A work from S. CHAND & COMPANY LTD.
CHAPTER 8
THE NOUN: CASE
48. Examine these sentences:-
1. John threw a stone.
2. The horse kicked the boy.
In sentence 1, the noun John is the Subject. It is the answer to the question, “Who threw a
stone?”
The group of words threw a stone is the Predicate.
The Predicate contains the verb threw.
What did John throw?-A stone. Stone is the object which John threw. The noun stone is
therefore called the Object.
