TOIEC Grammar - Nouns

8/9/2019 TOIEC Grammar - Nouns

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TOEIC Grammar GLOBAL EDUCATION VIETNAM

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cousin teenager teacher doctor

cook student parent friend

relation colleague partner leader

Mary is a doctor. Sheis a doctor

Peter is a doctor. Heis a doctor.

Arthur is my cousin. Heis my cousin.

Jane is my cousin. Sheis my cousin.

It is possible to make the distinction by adding the words 'male'or 'female'.

Example:

a femalestudent; a malecousin

For professions, we can add the word 'woman'

Example:

a womandoctor; a womanjournalist.

In some cases nouns describing things are given gender.

Examples:

I love my car. She(the car) is my greatest passion.

France is popular with her(France's) neighbours at the moment.

I travelled from England to New York on the Queen Elizabeth, she(the Queen Elizabeth) is a great

ship.

3. The plural of nouns

Most nouns form the plural by adding -sor -es.

Example:

Singular (S t) Plural (S nhiu)

boat boats


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hat

house

river

hats

houses

rivers

A noun ending in -ypreceded by a consonant (ph m) makes the plural with -ies.

Example:


a fly

a nappy

a poppy

a city

a lady

a baby

flies

nappies

poppies

cities

ladies

babies

There are some irregular (bt quy tc) formations for noun plurals. Some of the most common ones are

listed below.

Examples of irregular plurals:


woman

man

child

tooth

foot

person

leaf

half

women

men

children

teeth

feet

people

leaves

halves


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knife

wife

life

loaf

potato

cactus

focus

fungus

nucleus

syllabus

analysis

diagnosis

oasis

thesis

crisis

phenomenon

criterion

datum

knives

wives

lives

loaves

potatoes

cacti

foci

fungi

nuclei

syllabi/syllabuses

analyses

diagnoses

oases

theses

crises

phenomena

criteria

data

Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural.

Examples:


sheep

fish

species

aircraft

sheep

fish

species

aircraft


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Some nouns have a plural form but take a singular verb.

Examples:

news The news ison at 6.30 p.m.

athletics Athletics isgood for young people.

linguisticsLinguistics isthe study of language.

dartsDarts isa popular game in England.

billiardsBilliards isplayed all over the world.

Some nouns have a plural form and take a plural verb.

Examples:

trousers My trousers aretoo tight.

jeansHerjeans areblack.

glasses Those glasses arehis.

others include:

savings, thanks, steps, stair, customs, congratulations, tropics, wages, spectacles, outskirts, goods,

wits.

4. Countable and uncountable nouns

Countable nouns (danh t m c) are for things we can count

Example: dog, horse, man, shop, idea.

They usually have a singular and plural form.

Example: two dogs, ten horses, a man, six men, the shops, a few ideas.

Uncountable nouns (danh t khng m c) are for the things that we cannot count

Example: tea, sugar, water, air, rice.

They are often the names for abstract ideas or qualities.

Example: knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love.

They are used with a singular verb. They usually do not have a plural form. We cannot say sugars, angers,

knowledges.


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Examples of common uncountable nouns: money, furniture, happiness, sadness, research, evidence,

safety, beauty, knowledge.

We cannot use a/anwith these nouns. To express a quantity of one of these nouns, use a word or expression

like: some, a lot of, a piece of, a bit of, a great deal of...

Examples:

There has been a lot of researchinto the causes of this disease.

He gave me a great deal of advicebefore my interview.

They've got a lot of furniture.

Can you give me some informationabout uncountable nouns?

Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. Some of the most common of these

are:

accommodation

advice

baggage

behaviour

bread

furniture

information

luggage

news

progress

traffic

travel

trouble

weather

work

BE CAREFUL with the noun 'hair'which is normally uncountable in English:

She has long blonde hair.

It can also be countable when referring to individual hairs:

My father's getting a few grey hairs now

5. Compound noun:

Formation (Cu to)

Words can be combined to form compound nouns (danh t ghp). These are very common, and new

combinations are invented almost daily. They normally have two parts. The second part identifies the object


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or person in question (man, friend, tank, table, room). The first part tells us what kind of object or person it

is, or what its purpose is (police, boy, water, dining, bed):

What type/ What purpose What or who

police

boy

water

dining

bed

man

friend

tank

table

room

The two parts may be written in a number of ways :

1. as one word.

Example: policeman, boyfriend

2. as two words joined with a hyphen.

Example: dining-table

3. as two separate words.

Example: fish tank.

There are no clear rules about this - so write the common compounds that you know well as one word, and the

others as two words.

The two parts may be: Examples:

noun + noun bedroom

water tank

motorcycle

printer cartridge

noun + verb rainfall

haircut

train-spotting


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noun + adverb hanger-on

passer-by

verb + noun washing machine

driving licence

swimming pool

verb + adverb lookout

take-off

drawback

adjective + noun greenhouse

software

redhead

adjective + verb dry-cleaning

public speaking

adverb + noun onlooker

bystander

adverb + verb output

overthrow

upturn

input

Compound nouns often have a meaning that is different from the two separate words. Stress (trng m) isimportant in pronunciation, as it distinguishes between a compound noun (e.g. greenhouse) and an adjective

with a noun (e.g. green house).

In compound nouns, the stress usually falls on the first syllable (m tit th nht):

a 'greenhouse= place where we grow plants (compound noun)


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a green 'house= house painted green (adjective and noun)

a 'bluebird= type of bird (compound noun)

a blue 'bird= any bird with blue feathers (adjective and noun)

* Many common compound nouns are formed from phrasal verbs (verb + adverb or adverb + verb).

Examples: breakdown, outbreak, outcome, cutback, drive-in, drop-out, feedback, flyover, hold-up,

hangover, outlay, outlet, inlet, makeup, output, set-back, stand-in, takeaway, walkover.

6. Use of capital letter with nouns

Capital letters(ch vit hoa) are used with:

Names and titles of people

a. Winston Churchill

b. Marilyn Monroe

c. the Queen of England

d. the President of the United States

e. the Headmaster of Eton

f. Doctor Mathews

g. Professor Samuels.

Note: The personal pronoun 'I' is always written with a capital letter.

Titles of works, books etc.

a. War and Peace

b. The Merchant of Venice

c. Crime and Punishment

d. Tristan and Isolde

Months of the year

January

February

March

July

August

September


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April

May

June

October

November

December

Days of the week

Monday

Tuesda

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Seasons

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Holidays

Christmas

Boxing Day

EasterMay Day

New Year's Day

Thanksgiving Day

Geographical names...

names of countries and continents

America

China

Africa

England

Peru

Europe

Scotland

Albania

Asia

names of regions, states, districts etc.

Sussex California Queensland


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Provenc

Florida

Tuscany

Costa

Vaud

Brava Tyrol

names of cities, towns, villages etc.

London

Florence

Vancouver

Cape Town

Bath

Wellington

Rome

Wagga Wagga

Peking

names of rivers, oceans, seas, lakes etc.

the Atlantic

Lake Leman

the Rhine

the Dead Sea

Lake Victoria

the Thames

the Pacific

Lake Michigan

the Nile

names of geographical formations

the Alps the Himalayas the Sahara

adjectives relating to nationality nouns

France - French music

Australia - Australian animals

Germany - German literature

Arabia - Arabic writing

Indonesia - Indonesian poetry

China - Chinese food

names of streets, buildings, parks etc.

Park Lane

George Street

Hyde Park

Central Avenue

Sydney Opera

the Empire State

Pall Mall

House Central Park

Building Wall Street


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7. Nationalities

a. Country: I live in England.

b. Adjective: He reads Englishliterature.

c. Noun: She is an Englishwoman.

COUNTRY ADJECTIVE NOUN

America

Argentina

Austria

Autralia

Bangladesh

Belgium

Brazil

Britain

Cambodia

Chile

China

Colombia

Croatia

the Czech Republic

Denmark

England

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

American

Argentinian

Austrian

Australian

Bangladesh(i)

Belgian

Brazilian

British

Cambodian

Chilean

Chinese

Colombian

Croatian

Czech

Danish

English

Finnish

French

German

Greek

an American

an Argentinian

an Austrian

an Australian

a Bangladeshi

a Belgian

a Brazilian

a Briton/Britisher

a Cambodian

a Chilean

a Chinese

a Colombian

a Croat

a Czech

a Dane

an Englishman /Englishwoman

a Finn

a Frenchman/Frenchwoman

a German

a Greek


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Holland

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Jamaica

Japan

Mexico

Morocco

Norway

Peru

the Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Rumania

Russia

Saudi Arabia Saudi

Scotland

Serbia

the Slovak Republic

Sweden

Switzerland

Dutch

Hungarian

Icelandic

Indian

Indonesian

Iranian

Iraqi

Irish

Israeli

Jamaican

Japanese

Mexican

Moroccan

Norwegian

Peruvian

Philippine

Polish

Portuguese

Rumanian

Russian

Saudi Arabian

Scottish

Serbian

Slovak

Swedish

Swiss

a Dutchman/Dutchwoman

a Hungarian

an Icelander

an Indian

an Indonesian

an Iranian

an Iraqi

an Irishman/Irishwoman

an Israeli

a Jamaican

a Japanese

a Mexican

a Moroccan

an a Norwegian

a Peruvian

a Filipino

a Pole

a Portuguese

a Rumanian

a Russian

a Saudi/ a Saudi Arabian

a Scot

a Serb

a Slovak

a Swede

a Swiss


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Thailand

The USA

Tunisia

Turkey

Vietnam

Wales

Yugoslavia

Thai

American

Tunisian

Turkish

Vietnamese

Welsh

Yugoslav

a Thai

an American

a Tunisian

a Turk

a Vietnamese

a Welshman/Welshwoman

a Yugoslav

Note: We use the + nationality adjective ending in -eseor -ishwith a plural verb, to refer to all people of

that nationality:

The Chineseare very hard-working.

The Spanishoften go to sleep in the afternoon.

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TOIEC Grammar - Nouns