Lesson 1 – NOUNS: Singular And Plural Count And Non-Count Nouns Quantifiers

Formation of Plural Nouns

1. Regular Plural Noun

Singular Nouns Plural Nouns Rule or Pattern to form plural

-value -values – add s

2. Irregular Plural Noun

Singular Nouns Plural Nouns Rule or pattern to form plural

-shelf -shelves – change –f or –fe to –ves

Non-Count Nouns

These are two types of non-count nouns: mass and abstract as follows:

1. Mass Nouns cannot easily be counted or divided. They are always singular.		• Please pass the milk. • Buffalo had two feet of snow.

Category	Nouns	Sample Sentence
1. Liquids	wine, beer, milk, water, coffee ,tea, etc.	• I bought some milk for breakfast.
2. Food-These can be solid or granular.	sugar, salt, pepper, rice, flour, etc. cheese, meat, butter, bread, yogurt, etc.	• Pass the salt please. • I’d like to buy some bread.
3. Natural Elements These include terms relating to the weather and also to natural resources.	weather, rain, snow, hail, ice, wind, heat, etc. wood, oil, gold, iron, petroleum, copper, uranium, etc.	• We didn’t have much snow or rain this year. • The fog is beautiful in San Francisco. • A lot of wood for construction comes from Canada. • Uranium is valuable resource.
4. Problem Non-counts. These non-counts often cause problems for students. Study them carefully.	advice, clothing, equipment, furniture, hair, homework, mail, information, jewelry, luggage, money, news, slang, travel, vocabulary, work	• Can you give me more advice about marriage? • I bought a lot of furniture yesterday. • Have you learned a lot of vocabulary this week? • The factory sold its outdated equipment. • I just washed my hair.

2. Abstract Nouns refer to general concepts and ideas. They are always singular.		• McDonald’s uniformity and quality are important. • Kroc was fanatical about cleanliness.
Category	Nouns	Sample Sentence
1. Concepts & ideas	democracy freedom socialism	• Most Americans believe in democracy. • Some Americans take freedom for granted.
2. Emotions	anger, fear, sadness, joy, happiness, love, hate	• Great love can erase anger and hate. • Both sadness and joy can cause a person to cry.
3. Qualities & Traits	wealth, poverty, beauty, luck, intelligence, trust, patience	• Wealth is often considered a sign of success. • Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Quantifiers

Meaning	Count Noun Quantifiers	Non-Count Noun Quantifiers
1. A sufficient or great amount of something.	The following quantifiers can be used with both count and non-count nouns. (Note that ideas is a count noun and information is a non-count noun.)
	• some ideas/information
	• a lot of ideas/information
	• lots of ideas/information
	• plenty of ideas/information
	Note which quantifiers are used with count and non-count nouns.
	• many ideas	• much information
	• several ideas	• a little information
	• a couple of ideas	• quite a bit of information
	• (quite) a few ideas
2. Expressions for a sufficient or great amount.	Formal Expression
	• a great number of ideas	•much information
	• a large number of ideas	•a little information
	• a great many ideas	•quite a bit of information
	Slang Expressions
	• millions of ideas	•a great amount of information
	• tons/loads of ideas	•a great deal of information
	• a bunch of ideas

3. An insufficient amount; emphasis is on negative.	The following quantifiers may be used with both count and non-count nouns.
	• a lack of ideas/information
	• hardly any ideas/information
	• not all (the) ideas/information
	• almost none of the ideas/information
	Note which quantifiers are used with count and non-count nouns:
	• (very) few ideas	• (very) little information
	• not many ideas	•not much information