Monday, 26 September 2016

Use of Nouns in constructing sentences

Possessive Nouns
Possessive nouns are used to indicate ownership.

Possessive nouns usually are formed by adding an apostrophe (') and s.
  • John's book
  • Kerry's car
  • Grandma's mirror
When a noun is plural and ends in s, just add an apostrophe (').
  • The kids' toys
  • My parents' house
  • The teachers' lounge
If two people own one thing, add the apostrophe and s to the second person only.
  • John and Mary's new house
  • David and Sue's wedding
  • Tom and Doug's car
If two people own separate things, add the apostrophe and s for each person.
  • Susan's and Beth's books
  • Jean's and Dan's pants
  • Ben's and Jim's offices

Count nouns Vs Non count Nouns.

Can be counted as one or more.
  • Pen, computer, bottle, spoon, desk, cup, television, chair, shoe, finger, flower, camera, stick, balloon, book, table, comb, etc.
Take an s to form the plural.
  • pens, computers, bottles, spoons, desks, cups, televisions, chairs, shoes, fingers, flowers, cameras, sticks, balloons, books, tables, combs, etc.
Work with expressions such as (a few, few, many, some, every, each, these, and the number of).
  • a few pens, a few computers, many bottles, some spoons, every desk, each cup, these televisions, the number of chairs, a few shoes, a few fingers, many flowers, some cameras, every stick, each balloon, these books, the number of tables, many combs, etc.
Work with appropriate articles (a, an, or the).
  • a pen, the computer, a bottle, the spoon, a desk, the cup, a television, the chair, a shoe, the finger, a flower, the camera, a stick, the balloon, a book, the table, a comb, etc.
Do NOT work with much (for example, you would never say much pens or much computers).

Non-count nouns

Cannot be counted. They usually express a group or a type.
  • Water, wood, ice, air, oxygen, English, Spanish, traffic, furniture, milk, wine, sugar, rice, meat, flour, soccer, sunshine, etc.
Generally cannot be pluralized.
Work both with and without an article (a, an, or the), depending on the context of the sentence.
  • Sugar is sweet.
  • The sunshine is beautiful.
  • I drink milk.
  • He eats rice.
  • We watch soccer together.
  • The wood is burning.
Work with expressions such as (some, any, enough, this, that, and much).
  • We ate some rice and milk.
  • I hope to see some sunshine today.
  • This meat is good.
  • She does not speak much Spanish.
  • Do you see any traffic on the road?
  • That wine is very old.
Do NOT work with expressions such as (these, those, every, each, either, or neither).


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