Overview
This lecture focused on the proper use of nouns, their types, and the rules for capitalization, pluralization, quantifiers, and determiners, with activities to reinforce these concepts in the context of Teacher’s Day appreciation posts.
Types of Nouns
- Nouns are names of people, animals, places, things, or ideas.
- Common nouns refer to general items (e.g., teacher, dog), while proper nouns are specific names (e.g., Anna, Santa Rosa National High School).
- Singular nouns refer to one item; plural nouns refer to more than one.
- Concrete nouns are tangible (e.g., mug); abstract nouns are intangible (e.g., love, happiness).
- Countable nouns can be counted (e.g., card, pen); uncountable nouns cannot (e.g., ink, juice).
- Collective nouns refer to groups (e.g., bouquet, army).
Proper Use of Nouns
Capitalization
- Capitalize the first letter of proper nouns: names, specific titles, days, months, holidays, publications, languages, nationalities, companies, and brand names.
- Common nouns are not capitalized unless at the start of a sentence or part of a title.
- Example: teacher (common), Teacher's Day (proper).
Pluralization Rules
- Add -s to most regular nouns (e.g., flower → flowers).
- Add -es to nouns ending in s, x, z, ch, or sh (e.g., dish → dishes).
- Change -f or -fe to -ves for some nouns (e.g., wife → wives), but exceptions exist (e.g., roof → roofs).
- Change -y to -ies if preceded by a consonant (e.g., puppy → puppies); just add -s if preceded by a vowel (e.g., boy → boys).
- Add -es to some nouns ending in -o (e.g., potato → potatoes), but some just add -s (e.g., piano → pianos).
- Some nouns do not change in plural form (e.g., sheep → sheep; series → series).
- Irregular nouns have unique plural forms (e.g., child → children; mouse → mice).
Quantifiers
- Use 'many' with countable nouns; 'much' with uncountable nouns.
- 'A lot of' can be used for both but is informal.
- 'A few' is for countable nouns; 'a little' for uncountable nouns.
- Use 'some' in positive sentences; 'any' in negatives and questions.
Determiners
- Articles 'a/an' are for non-specific items; 'the' is for specific items.
- Use 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds (e.g., a pen, an egg, an honor).
- Demonstratives: 'this/these' for items close to the speaker, 'that/those' for items far.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Noun — a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.
- Proper Noun — specific name of a person, place, or organization; always capitalized.
- Common Noun — general name for a type of person, place, or thing.
- Concrete Noun — noun that can be experienced with the senses.
- Abstract Noun — noun referring to an idea, quality, or state rather than a concrete object.
- Countable Noun — nouns that can be counted.
- Uncountable Noun — nouns that cannot be separated or counted individually.
- Collective Noun — a word for a group of people or things.
- Quantifier — a word or phrase indicating quantity (e.g., many, few).
- Determiner — a word placed in front of a noun to clarify what the noun refers to (e.g., a, the, these).
Action Items / Next Steps
- Write an appreciation post for your teachers using proper noun usage.
- Submit a screenshot of your post (with profile picture) on any social media to your tutors.