English Grammar Noun Rules

Noun Rule 1:

Besides being the name of anything, a noun can play the role of a subject. The subject usually does the action.

Example : Sunil is happy. ?Here, Sunil is the subject. 



Noun Rule 2:

A noun can play the role of a direct object as well as an indirect object. 

A direct object follows the verb and receives its action. It answers the question ‘what’ or ‘whom’. 

Example: Mohan threw the ball. (Threw what?) (ball) 

Example: Tomorrow morning David will meet your sister. (Meet whom?) (sister) 

An indirect object follows the verb and answers to/for whom. 

Example: Pallav gave me the money. (to whom?) (me) 

Example: bought Ravi a motor cycle. (for whom?) (Ravi)



Noun Rule 3:

A noun can also be used as a subject complement as well as an object complement.

Example: Rajib is an engineer. Here, engineer is a subject complement. 

Example: now declare you husband and wife. Here, husband and wife are object complements. 



Noun Rule 4:

A noun can also be used as appositive. (An appositive is a word or phrase that comes after another word. It explains, identifies or gives information about that word. The appositive is set off in the sentence by one or two commas.)

Example: Our teacher, Mr. Saxena, taught us English. Here, Mr. Saxena is an appositive. 

English-grammar-pronoun-rules

Noun Rule 5:

A predicate noun or nominative follows the verb and renames the subject.

Example: Shekhar is a student. Here, Shekhar (noun) is renamed as student (subject).



Noun Rule 6:

Abstract nouns refer to things that are not concrete; they cannot be seen, felt, heard, smelled or tasted. They refer to emotions, ideas, concepts, traits, experiences or a state of being. Common nouns are also used as Abstract nouns as they express qualities.

Examples: love, hatred, trust, deceit, culture, curiosity, maturity, sympathy, democracy, patience and peace. 

Question: Judge in him (1)/ prevailed upon the father (2)/ and he sentenced his son to death (3)./ No error (4)
Answer: (1) Sometimes, Common Nouns are used as Abstract nouns as they express qualities. In this situation, we use ‘the’ before them. Hence, ‘The Judge in him’ should be used. 



Noun Rule 7:

Collective nouns or group words are followed by singular verbs when we are talking of the group as a whole. They take plural verbs when we are talking about the individual members of the group.

Example: The jury is in the court room. (Here, we use a singular verb ‘is’ because we are talking of the group as a whole.) 

Example: The jury are still debating the case. (Here, we use a plural verb ‘are’ because it is the individual members of the group who are debating the case.) 

Question: band have been (1)/ performing at many cause oriented concerts (2)/ to encourage people to come forward and (3)/ lend their support to the noble cause.(4)/ No error (5).
Answer: (1) The band has singular sense. It will take a singular verb i.e. The band has been should be used.


Noun Rule 8:

There are some nouns which are always used in their singular forms.

Furniture – She bought new furniture last week.

Luggage – The porter is carrying several pieces/items of luggage on his head.

Jewellery – The woman has bought a set of new diamond jewellery. 

Fruit – Would you like some fruit?

Hair – Your hair looks lovely.

Deer – The red deer is one of the largest deer species.

News – Good evening. Here is the news.

Physics – Physics is our first lesson on Monday morning.

Progress – Progress was made in developing technologies.

athletics, billiards, crossroads, economics, gymnastics, maths, politics, series, mumps, etc.

Homework – My maths homework was not easy.

Information – For further information, please call at …

Knowledge – His knowledge of English is excellent.

advice, damage, work, wheat, happiness, scenery, bread, cattle etc. 

The word ‘population’ means – all the people who live in a particular area, city or country; the total number of people who live there. ‘Population’ is used both in singular and plural. 

Example: One-third of the world’s population consumes/consume two-thirds of the world’s resources.

Example: The entire population of the town was at the meeting.

Question: What kind of noun is ‘FAMILY’ (1)Common noun (2)Collective noun (3)Proper noun (4)Material noun
Answer: (2) Family = a group consisting of one or two parents and their children.

Question: Some of his (1)/ luggages were lost (2)/ in the train (3)./ Noerror (4)
Answer: (2) Luggage is an uncountable noun. Its plural is not luggages. Hence, luggage was lost … should be used here. 

Question: will get (1)/ all the informations (2)/ if you read this booklet carefully (3)/ No error (4).
Answer: (2) Informations should be replaced by information. 

Question: paintings of natural sceneries (1)/ are selling (2)/ like hot cakes (3)./ No error (4)
Answer: (1) The word ‘scenery’ has no plural. Hence, The paintings of natural scenery … should be used.

Question: There are (1) / no poetries (2) / in my book (3). / No error (4)
Answer: (2) Words like poetry, scenery, machinery, jewellery, etc. are used in singular. Hence, no poetry …. should be used. 

Question: The cattles (1)/ are grazing(2) in the fields (3)/ No error (4)
Answer: (1) Cattle – is a plural word. Its plural is not ‘cattles’. 

Question: When I was passing through the forest (1)/ I happened to see (2)/ a number of deers (3)./ No error (4)
Answer: (3) Here, a number of deer…. should be used. The plural of ‘deer’ is not ‘deers’. 

Question: There are many (1)/ beautiful furnitures (2)/ in the room. (3)./ No error (4)
Answer: (2) furnitures should be replaced by pieces of / items of furniture. If there is a singular verb, only furniture can be used.


Noun Rule 9:

Nowaday always takes –s with it. Nowadays means ‘these days’.

Example: Nowadays he is well off. Nowadays the prices are shooting up.


Noun Rule 10:

There are some nouns which always have plural forms.

Example: These scissors are for cutting paper.

Example: Your clothes are dirty.

Example: Have you seen my glasses?

Example: Here are your scissors.

Example: The table of contents should not contain any pictures.

Example: I live on the outskirts of the city.

Some of these nouns are often used with the expression, a pair of, as they refer to things made up of two parts : a pair of trousers, a pair of jeans, a pair of shoes, a pair of slippers, a pair of glasses, a pair of gloves, a pair of ear-rings, a pair of goggles, a pair of binoculars, etc.

Question: My father gave me (1)/ a pair of binoculars (2)/ on my birthday (3)./ No error (4)
Answer: (4) Binoculars is a plural word. ‘A pair of binoculars’ shows singular sense and agrees with a singular verb. 

Question: Rahul gave me an old scissor.(1)an old scissors (2)a pair of old scissors (3)a pair of old scissor (4)No improvement
Answer: (2) Some inseparable plural nouns are: scissors, shears, shoes, trousers, etc. A pair of scissors/shears/shoes/trousers conveys a singular sense and hence takes a singular verb. Look at the sentences: My scissors are sharp. A pair of scissors has been purchased. 

Question: pair of shoes have been purchased by me. (1)has been (2)has being (3)would been (4)No improvement.
Answer: (1) A pair of shoes will agree with a singular verb while shoes will agree with a plural verb.

Noun Rule 11:

Some nouns are always followed by plural verbs, such as binoculars, scissors, spectacles, glasses, knickers,  tongs, shears, trousers, etc.

Some nouns have typical plural forms, i.e. radius → radii, phenomenon → phenomena, child → children.

It is wrong to say ‘a binocular’ or ‘a spectacle’. If the singular aspect is to be expressed, we use the expression ‘a pair of’, like a pair of trousers, a pair of tongs, etc.

Question: Plural of ‘Phenomenon’ is ​(1)​Phenomenons ​(2)​Phenomena ​(3)​Phenomenas ​(4)​Phenomenans
Answer: (2) Phenomena is the plural of Phenomenon

Question: She always fed (1)/ her childrens (2)/ before she fed her dog. (3)/ No error (4)
Answer: (2) Child ⇒ children (plural). Here, her children should be used.



Noun Rule 12:

If the construction in like that :
Noun + Preposition + Noun (Noun + Preposition + that Noun), there will be a singular noun on either side of the preposition.

Example:
row upon row (not, rows upon rows)
day by day (not, days by days)
step by step (not, steps by steps)



Noun Rule 13:

When a singular noun and a plural noun are connected by ‘or’, the verb agrees with the nearest noun.

Example: Grapes or a mango is suitable. (Here we use a singular verb ‘is’ because the nearest noun (mango) is singular in number.)

Example: A mango or grapes are necessary. (Here we use a plural verb ‘are’ because the nearest noun (grapes) is plural in number.)



Noun Rule 14:

When two singular nouns are joined by ‘or’, a singular verb is used.

Example: Jam or butter was not available in the store.



Noun Rule 15:

A plural noun with a singular verb is used after ‘one of’, ‘none of’, ‘each of’ and similar expressions.

Example : One of the boys is intelligent. It is wrong to say – One of the boys are intelligent.

Example: One of our students has won a prize. It is wrong to say – One of the students have won a prize.

Question: One of the important lesson (1)/ he taught me was to save (2)/ at least thirty percent (3)/ of my gross income. (4)
Answer: (1) One of is followed by a plural Noun/Pronoun. ​Hence, one of the important lessons ...should be used.

Question: One of the disadvantage (1)/ of fixed deposit schemes (2)/ is that banks offer (3)/ low rates of interest. (4)/ No error (5)
Answer: (1) ‘One of’ is followed by a plural noun/ pronoun. Hence, ‘One of the disadvantages’ will be the correct usage.

Question : One of the smallest mobile service provider (1)/ in India by number of subscribers,  (2) / the company is giving up to 40% increment (3)/ including bonuses in the current financial year. (4)/ No error (5).
Answer: (1) ‘One of’ is followed by a plural noun/pronoun. Hence, one of the smallest mobile service providers …. should be used here.

Question : One of the terrorists (1)/ of the Kashmir valley​(2)​are shot dead (3)./ No error (4)
Answer: (3) ‘One of the terrorists’ signifies a singular subject. Therefore, ‘was’ should be used in place of ‘are’.

Question : He is one of those few port-colonial writer who believe (1)/ that this talk about colonialism has gone too far​(2)​and turned into a cliche (3)./ No error (4)​
Answer: (2) Writer should be replaced by ‘writers’ because one of the is always followed by a plural noun.



Noun Rule 16:

A compound noun contains two or more words which join together to make a single noun. Compound nouns can be words written together
closed form: baseball, toothpaste.
hyphenated:  six-pack, son-in-law.
open form: post office, upper class.



Noun Rule 17:

Countable nouns are used for things we can count using numbers. They have a singular and a plural form. The singular form can use the determiner ‘a’ or ‘an’. If you want to ask about the quantity of a countable noun, you ask ‘How many?’ combined with the plural countable noun.
Example: She has three pens. 
Example: I own a car.
Example: How many friends do you have?

Question: He has telephoned yesterday to (1)/ ask how much of the youth  (2) / who attend our classes would be (3)/ interested in working for a textile company (4)/ No error (5).
Answer: (2) Before countable nouns/pronouns, ‘how many’ should be used. Hence, replace ‘ask how much of the youth’ by ‘ask how many of the youth’.

Question: Every state has been asked to nominate (1)/ a fixed number of city as (2)/ ‘smart cities’, keeping in mind (3)/ certain guidelines and criteria. (4)/ No error (5).​
Answer: (2) Here, a certain/fixed number of cities (plural) as ... should be used.

Question: As the gains from one set of (1)/ reforms gradually disappear, a country needs (2)/ to initiate another sets of reforms (3)/ to take its economy to the next level. (4)/ No error (5).
Answer: (3) Here, to initiate another set of reforms should be used.

Question: As a chairperson one has to (1)/ work hard to set (2)/ the right agenda so that all member (3)/ of the board can add value to discussions. (4)/ No error (5).
Answer: (3) Here, the right agenda so that all members (Plural) should be used.

Question: In cities people don’t (1)/always have the time to (2)/catch up with old friends or (3)/spend times with their family. (4)/ No error (5)
Answer: (4) Time is an uncountable noun. Hence, spend time with their families ...... should be used here.



Noun Rule 18:

Uncountable nouns are used for things that we cannot count with numbers. They may be the names for abstract ideas or qualities or for physical objects that are too small or too amorphous to be counted (liquids, powders, gases, etc.). Uncountable nouns are used with singular verbs. They usually do not have plural forms, like: furniture (singular) – furniture (plural).

Remember that we cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of an uncountable noun, use a word or expression like some, a lot of, much, a bit of, a great deal of , or else use an exact measurement like a cup of, a bag of, 1kg of, 1L of, a handful of, a pinch of, an hour of, a day of. If you want to ask about the quantity of an uncountable noun, you ask ‘How much?’

Example: There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.

Example: He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.

Example: Can you give me some information about the robbery?

Example: He did not have much sugar left.

Question: It is necessary that we take any steps to reduce pollution soon. ​
(1)​we should take every ​
(2)​we have taken no ​
(3)​us to take any ​
(4)​we take some ​
(5)​No correction required
Answer: (4) Here, ‘we take some’ is the correct option. In positive sentences, ‘some’ is usually used instead of ‘any’.

Question: A milk (1)/ can provide protein​(2)​for nutritionally balanced diet (3)./ No error (4)
Answer: (1) It is not proper to use an article before an uncountable noun (Proper/Material/Abstract). Hence, the use of ‘a’ before ‘milk’ is wrong.

Question: Of the billions of stars in the galaxy, (1)/ how much are (2)/ suitable for life (3)./ No error (4)
Answer: (2) ‘How much’ is used for expressing quantity (uncountable). Stars are countable nouns. Hence, ‘how many’ should be used.

Question: I (1)/ have (2)/ many works to do (3)./ No error (4)
Answer: (3) Here, ‘a lot of/much work to do’ should be used. ‘Work’ is an uncountable noun.

Question: Being able to (1)/ remember a lot of informations is (2)/ not the same as (3)/ being able to think. (4)/ No error (5)
Answer: (2) Here, remember a lot of information… should be used. The plural of information is information (uncountable), not informations.



Noun Rule 19:

Remember that nouns and pronouns can display case according to their function in the sentence. They can be subjective or nominative (which means they act as the subject of independent or dependent clauses), possessive (which means they show possession of something else), or objective (which means they function as the recipient of action or are the object of a preposition).

Except for the possessive forms (usually formed by the addition of an apostrophe and letter s), nouns do not change form. Pronouns, however, do change form when they change case; these changes could be found among the personal pronouns.

Example: It is between he and I. — Incorrect. It is between him and me. — Correct

Question: All doubts are cleared (1)/ between (2)/ you and I (3)./ No error (4)
Answer: (3) After ‘between’, the Nouns/Pronouns joined by ‘and’ are used in Objective Case, not in Nominative Case. Therefore, ‘you and me’ should replace ‘you and I’.

Question: The table’s legs  (1) / have been  (2) / elaborately carved (3). / No error (4)
Answer: (1) The possessive case of a non-living noun is not formed by adding apostrophe ‘s’ but by adding ‘of’. Therefore, it is called of-genitive. Hence, ‘The table’s legs’ should be replaced by ‘The legs of the table’.



Noun Rule 20:

Apostrophe ’s is used is some special circunstances for keeping the expresions short and concise.

Example: The ship's departure.
Example: The train's departure.