COLLECTIVE NOUNS

Collective nouns are words for groups of people or things. The typical collective noun is a body made up of individual people:
the air force , the army , an audience , a band
Although these collective nouns are singular , they often used with a plural verb , especially when you are thinking of the group as several individual people. When you think of the group more as a unit than as several people, you usually use a singular verb . For example , you can say :
* My family comes from Hong Kong.
* My family were pleased to see me again .
* The staff consists of a manager and four sales assistants .
* The staff are pleased with their pay rise .
* Our team has a good chance of victory.
* Our team have been practicing hard .
* The public rarely gets a say .
* The public are admitted on weekdays .
* The committee is too large .
* The committee are considering further action.
In American English collective nouns usually have a singular verb:
* The orchestra was tuning up .
If you use a singular verb, you usually refer to the body as it ; if you use a plural verb , you refer to the body as they:

NOUNS USED WITH ZERO ARTICLE

Quite a lots of nouns , many of them countable, are used without the articles a\ an or the in certain situations . For example:
* What did you learn at school today ?
* Is Dad back from work yet ?
* We are a long way from home.
* Are you going into town ?
* You ' ll end up in prison !
* Helen is still at college.
Dropping the article is like calling them by their own name.
Nouns used with zero article include the following:
* standard places and institutions , typically used with prepositions , especially to, from, at :
* Few folk go to church nowadays.
* I start university in the autumn.
* Hi ! I ' m phoning from work.
* I never learnt much at school.
The use of zero article indicates general rather than specific reference. You use articles when you are being specific .
WITH ZERO ARTICLE                                                     WITH AN ARTICLE
* I never liked school.                                                        * I went to a good school.
* Jim was sent to prison.                                                     * The work is very demanding.
* I usually walk to work.( = my office or place of work )
In British English you are at school when you are attending a school , but in American English you are in school

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

 We noticed that countable nouns are items (floor , ceiling , door , window , and so on ). By contrast , uncountable nouns , cannot be regarded as items .
Uncountable nouns are typically nouns that do not form plurals. They can be divided into two main types: concrete uncountable nouns and abstract uncountable nouns.
1  ) Concrete uncountable nouns
   Concrete uncountable nouns represent types of food or material ; here are some examples :
    air  , bread , cheese, grass , dust , ink rain , scenery, water  
It is quite helpful to think of these kinds of material and food as mass nouns. Some grammarians actually use the term mass nouns for all countable nouns .
2 ) Abstract uncountable nouns
Abstract uncountable nouns represent qualities or concepts , for example :
 advice , anger , harm , haste , glory sleep , luck , lust etc.
As a general rule , you do not use a | an with uncountable  nouns. You do not say , for example , a milk or an anger.
Nor , again as a general rule, do you make uncountable nouns plural. you do not say , for example, happinesses or rices.
How uncountable nouns are used
1 ) Uncountable nouns are used in general statements :
   * I don' t like cheese.
2 ) They can be used with some in specific situation ; some takes the place of the a | an you use with countable nouns:
* There is some cheese in the fridge and a knife on the table .
3 ) They can be used with the when it is clear what you are referring to :
* Put the cheese back in the fridge.
4 ) They can be used with other determiners , quantity words and possessive forms :
* That cheese is quite delicious !
* I do not eat much cheese .
* My hair needs a wash .
*Granddad 's health is deteriorating.








   

   










   
   
   
   

COUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable nouns are used with the indefinite article a or an if the noun begins with a vowel . When the noun is mentioned for the first time. Countable nouns used in general observations are also used with a / an ( eg Never take a risk unnecessarily) .
When a countable noun is mentioned a second time , it is typically used with the because listeners and readers know which thing or person is meant . The is used with a countable noun if there is one thing or person that the speaker or writer could be referring to.
As well as a / an and  the , you can use determiners such as possessives, demonstratives and quantifiers with countable nouns , and with possessives formed from proper nouns with 's.
Countable nouns can be made plural , and most plurals are formed by adding s ( or es ). Some nouns are used in the plural only( eg clothes , trousers , ) , and some plural forms ( eg people ) don't end in s.
Adjectives can be used before countable nouns , and they typically come between the article ( or determiner) and the noun.
When you use a superlative adjective with a countable noun , you use the before it.
Using the with countable nouns
* you use the  with countable noun when there is only one such thing or person in existence , or only one that you could possibly mean :
* Look at the moon!
* The 

GRAMMAR HELP

Certain proper nouns ( that is nouns with capital letters ) are uncountable. For example
* A person of a certain nationality such as German , is a countable noun.
* The language of certain country such as German , is an uncountable noun .
* Beliefs such as Communism are uncountable nouns.
* The trade names of certain products, such as Coca- cola , are uncountable nouns .
There are some exceptions to the a + consonant and  an + vowel rule :
* You u put an ( not a ) before words begin with an h that is not pronounced as in the following words:
    an heir , an heiress, an heirloom, an honor , an hour
*  You put a ( not an ) before words that begin with a u that sounds like the word you.
*  a uniform , a unicorn , a union, a unit , a university , a user , a utensil , a U- turn

THE FUNCTION OF A NOUN IN A SENTENCE

Nouns can have several different grammatical functions. They can act as the subject or object of a verb , the object of a preposition , the complement of a linking verb , the object complement after a transitive verb, and an adjective used before another noun .
NOUNS AS SUBJECTS
A noun can be the subject of a verb :
* The students were all reading quietly .
* Is that light switch faulty .
* Mum and Dad usually get up about 6 am .
NOUNS ACT AS OBJECTS
A noun can be the object of a verb:
* Have you fed the cat ?
* Please don't interrupt the speaker .
* Did you enjoy the movie ?
NOUNS AS OBJECTS OF A PREPOSITION 
Remember that a preposition always has an object :
* I walked into the sitting room .
* He was working at his desk .
* You are standing on my toe .
NOTE : The preposition can be separated from its object .
*  What gods do they believe in ?
* Which region are you from ?
Two nouns may be joined by a conjunction such as and or, and share the grammatical function of subject of a verb , or object of a verb or a preposition:
* Gales and rain showers will develop tonight .
* Please don ' t leave your coats and bag here .
* I wiped the dust off the tables and chairs .
NOUNS AS COMPLEMENTS AFTER LINKING VERBS
A noun can be a complement after a verb such as be or become:
* I feel a fool  .
* Be a man .
* I became an actress quite by an accident ,
NOTE: A verb that takes a complement , such as be or become is called a linking verb .
NOUNS AS OBJECT COMPLEMENTS AFTER TRANSITIVE VERBS
A noun  can also be a complement after  a transitive  verb , a verb that takes an object . The complement is attached to the object:
* She called { transitive verb } me { object ] a fool [complement ]
NOTE : A verb that takes a complement after an object is called a complex transitive verb .
Verbs such as  elect , vote , make , which take an object complement , can be used actively or passively:
* We voted her the winner. [ active]
* She was voted the winner .[passive]
NOUNS USED ADJECTIVELY 
Frequently in English you find a noun used as adjective before another noun ; the first noun describes or defines the second noun:
* Rain clouds were approaching .
* An internet search will give you the answer .
* We are planning to review the school curriculum .
NOTE : A lot of compound nouns are formed from two nouns , where first noun defines or describes the second :
* bookcase , dining room , keyboard , coffee cup , 

NOUNS

Nouns are what you talked about . Nouns are words for people , animals or things.
FORMS OF NOUNS:
* Singular or plural
* with an article ( a, an , the )
*  with a determiner
* with zero article
* phrase
* compound
USES:
* SUBJECT OF A VERB
* OBJECT OF VERB
* OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION
* COMPLEMENT AFTER A LINKING VERB
* OBJECT COMPLEMENT
* ADJECTIVAL BEFORE  ANOTHER NOUN
TYPES OF NOUNS:
* PROPER NOUNS
* names of particular people , animals , places , objects, buildings
COUNTABLE  NAMES eg Germans , Muslims
* UNCOUNTABLE   NAMES  eg Mandarin , Coca- cola , Christianity
* COMMON NOUNS :
* COUNTABLE = CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT
* UNCOUNTABLE = CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT
* COLLECTIVE NOUNS
* COMMON - GENDER NOUNS
* MASCULINE NOUNS
* FEMININE NOUNS
* NEUTER NOUNS
Nouns can consist of two or more words :
Mrs Jones , swimming pool , the great wall of China, school uniforms
A noun such as swimming pool or school uniform or hair - dryer , made up of two words ( often two nouns) , is called a compound noun.
Nouns can be used with articles , possessives and other determiners
We use the articles a / an and the with nouns:
eg , a newspaper , a journalist , the news
* used with possessives : my brother , his friends , their concerns
* used with determiners:
 this room , these cups , that chair
A proper noun is the name of a particular person, animal , place ,or thing , for example:
  September ,Taipei , Reader 's Digest
A common noun is a word for a person , animal , place or thing , for example :
    teenager , butcher , hyena , station , candle , enjoyment
Noons can be singular or plural
The noun is singular when it refers to one item :
  a carpet , the door  , the floor , a wall
The noun is plural when it refers to more than one item :
   windows , curtains , cushions
NOUNS  made plural by adding s , are called countable nouns .
Nouns act as the subjects and objects in sentences
For example:
 The stranger [ subject ] rang the doorbell [object ]
NOUNS ARE WHAT YOU TALK ABOUT 
You may have noticed that most of the words in any general English dictionary are nouns.
* A spider is an animal , not an insect .
* Do we need milk and bread ?
Nouns as abstract things  ( that you can' t see or touch )
 beauty , idea , hope , belief , truth , friendship , silence
Nouns as concrete things :
This include things that you can see or , touch :
 arm , face , knife fork , spoon , paper , pencil
NOUNS for people :
 brother , child , lawyer , libration , manager