NOUNS

KINDS OF NOUNS:

1. Common Nouns – are names of people (e.g. man), things (e.g. books), animals (e.g. monkey) and places (church).

2. Proper Nouns – are special names of people (e.g. George Bush), things (e.g. Financial Times), animals (e.g. King Kong) and places (e.g. Paris). A proper noun begins with a Capital Letter.

3. Abstract Nouns – An abstract noun is the name of something that we can only think of or feel but cannot see (e.g. friendship).

4. Collective Nouns – are names used for a number of people, things or animals together and treated as one. For example: a group of friends, a bunch of bananas, a litter of puppies.

5. Countable and Uncountable Nouns – Countable nouns are nouns which can be counted (e.g. trees). Uncountable nouns are nouns which cannot be counted. (e.g. smoke).

Countable and Uncountable Nouns are used with the following:

Countable Noun Uncountable Nouna, an, a few, several, many, a little, much, some, plenty of,some, plenty of, a lot of, a lot of, a large amount of,a large number of a great deal of

Singular and Plural Nouns

A noun that shows only one person (e.g. a girl), thing (e.g. pencil), animal (e.g. tiger) or place (e.g. market) is called a singular noun).

A noun that shows more than one person (e.g. girls), thing (e.g. pencils), animal (e.g. tigers) or place (e.g. markets) is called a plural noun.

How plural nouns are formed.

By adding –s.

By adding ‘es’ to nouns ending in –ch, –s, –sh and –x.

beach beaches peach peachesbranch branches speech speechesditch ditches watch watches  boss bosses glass glassesbus buses lens lenseschorus choruses pass passes  brush brushes fish fishesbush bushes lash lashesdish dishes wish wishes  box boxes hoax hoaxesfax faxes six sixes

fox foxes tax taxes

By adding ‘es’ to nouns ending in –o.

buffalo buffaloes potato potatoescargo cargoes mosquito mosquitoesecho echoes tomato tomatoes  By adding ‘s’ to nouns ending in –o.

banjo banjos patio patiosbamboo bamboos photo photosradio radios                         video videos  By replacing ‘y’ with –ies.

baby babies lorry lorriesfly flies navy navieshobby hobbies                      puppy puppies  By adding ‘s’ to nouns ending in –y.

boy boys key keysday days toy toysdonkey donkeys                     turkey turkeys  By replaying ‘f’ or ‘fe’ with –ves.

calf calves loaf loaveshalf halves self selveslife lives                           wife wives

By adding ‘s’ to nouns ending in –f or –fe.

chief chiefs hoof hoofsdwarf dwarfs reef reefgulf gulfs                           roof roofs  By changing vowels.      

foot feet louse licegoose geese tooth teethmouse mice                           woman women

Some nouns have same words for plural and singular.

aircraft aircraft music musiccrossroads crossroads series seriesfurniture furniture                    sheep sheep  Exceptional plural.

child children ox oxencrisis crises passer-by passers-by

mouse mice                         radius radii  Exercise

Fill in the correct plural forms of the given words.

singular pluralcountryskyhighwaykilopencilteacherprizenosehalffork

Fill in the correct plural forms of the given words.

singular pluraladultmountaintoothtruckcoinovencalfselfhighwayloaf

Fill in the correct plural forms of the given words.

singular pluralherobusinessstadiumFrenchtruckdeerbabysymphonyparkox

FORMING NOUNSNouns can be formed from nouns, verbs and adjectives. They are formed by adding certain letters to them.

Nouns Nounswidow widowhoodfriend friendshipking kingdom  Verbs Nounsadd additionfail failuregive gift  Adjectives Nounsclean cleanlinesssad sadnessbeautiful beauty

EXERCISE - COMMON NOUNS

Underline the Common Nouns in the following sentences.

1. We arrived early at the station.

2. There are different species of fish.

3. The man was trying to steal his car.

4. They have gone to the zoo.

5. The baby is crying.

6. My mother is in the kitchen.

7. He threw some nuts to the monkeys.

8. The children are playing in the field.

9. That temple was built before I was born.

10. He has bought a new car.

11. My father likes to swim.

12. She won a trophy in a competition.

13. I like to ride on a camel.

14. Do birds eat meat?

15. He went to visit his uncle.

16. My brother wants to play with us.

17. Let me have a look at your puppy.

18. The taxi broke down.

19. The boys are playing noisily.

20. She is hanging out the clothes to dry.

EXERCISE - PROPER NOUNS

Use capital letters for Proper Nouns in the following sentences.

1. paris is the capital of france.

2. william shakespeare is a famous english author

3. ‘war and peace' was written by leo tolstoy.

4. The universities of oxford and cambridge offer degree courses at the highest level.

5. john's two dogs are named rover and boxer.

6. david will travel to france to do a degree course on the french revolution.

7. suez canal joins the red sea and the mediterranean sea.

8. republic of liberia is on the west coast of africa.

9. mick jagger is the lead singer of rolling stones

10. mount kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in africa.

EXERCISE - ABSTRACT NOUNS

Form Abstract Nouns from the following.

Word Abstract Noun Word Abstract Noun Word Abstract Nounman scholar kingknow sell thinklong strong wisebrother lose great

EXERCISE - COLLECTIVE NOUNS

Fill in the blank s with suitable collective nouns.

1. A __________ of birds flew high in the sky.

2. They saw a ___________ of lions at the zoo.

3. The farmer has a __________ of cattle on his farm.

4. He ate a __________ of grapes today.

5. Our friend shows us a _____ of stamps.

6. We saw a _____ of sheep on our way home.

7. Police have arrested a _____ of thieves.

8. She bought a _____ of bananas from the market.

9. The _____ of pupils are listening attentively to their teacher.

10. You can put the _____ of tools in that box.

EXERCISE - COUNTABLE & UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Complete each sentence by choosing the correct word.

1. There is so (many, much) smoke coming out of the chimney.

2. There are (plenty of, a large amount of) fish in the pond.

3. (A little, A few) minutes is all it takes for him to shave.

4. The postman put (a great deal of, a lot of) letters into the bag.

5. He threw (a little, some) nuts to the monkeys.

6. She uses only (a few, a little) cooking oil in her cooking.

7. My hens lay (a large amount of, several) eggs very day.

8. (A great deal of, A large number of) dust has collected on the desk.

9. We saw (a large amount of, many) cows grazing in the field.

10. The butcher sells (a large amount of, a large number of) meat.

EXERCISE - GENDER

Change the nouns in bold from the feminine to the masculine.

1. My aunt visits her niece every week-end.

2. The lady has several mares on her farm.

3. The daughter is more talkative than her mother.

4. Does any actress like to play the role of the princess?

5. Their queen is a widow.

6. The manageress is still a spinster.

7. In the movie, the tigress was killed by the heroine.

8. His daughter-in-law is a postmistress.

9. The countess has one sister.

10. The authoress is writing a book about the empress.

Change the nouns in bold from the masculine to the feminine.

11. The bridegroom thanked the priest.

12. His brother works as a waiter.

13. The dog barked at the milkman.

14. A cock was killed by a fox.

15. The manservant has worked many years for the duke.

16. Her husband is a conductor.

17. He was a postman before he became a postmaster.

18. The lad wants to be a monk.

19. The sultan owns a stallion.

20. Her father-in-law is a landlord.

EXERCISE - FORMING NOUNS FROM NOUNS

Fill in the blanks with abstract nouns from the nouns in brackets.

1. I had a very happy ______ (child).

2. I forgot to renew my _____ (member) in the sailing club.

3. We formed a deep and lasting _____ (friend).

4. He hopes to take over the _____ (leader) of the party.

5. There are lots of nice people in the _____ (neighbour).

6. In the _____ (king) of Thailand, the king commands the respect of every citizen.

7. She seems to be enjoying _____ (mother).

8. He had barely reached _____ (man) when he married.

ADJECTIVES

An adjective is a word that tells us something about a noun, that is, about a person, an animal, a thing or a place.

For example:

She is a pretty girl. A giraffe has a long neck. The table is round. That is an old temple.  

There are various kinds of adjectives:

1. An adjective which tells us about the quality of the noun. For example: the blue sky, a big house, a square table, a cold morning.

2. An adjective which tells us about the quatity of the noun. For example: The zoo has many animals.

The pen has not much ink left.

3. An adjective which tells us about the ownership of the noun. For example: That is my dog.

Those are their bicycles.

4. An adjective which poses question in an ‘interrogative’ manner. For example: Which school do you go to?

Whose car is this?

5. An adjective which specifies a noun. For example: This boy is a member of the club.

That girl is my sister.

6. Adjectives which end in ‘-ing’, e.g. an interesting film, an amazing player, an annoying habit,

7. Adjectives which end in ‘-ed, e.g. the damaged goods, the escaped prisoners, improved version,

Forming adjectivesAdding ‘y’. Drop ‘e’.

Add ‘ful’.* Change ‘y’ to ‘i’.

Add ‘ous’ or ‘ious’. *Drop ‘y’.

Add ‘less’.

anger care mountain aimease* doubt danger endgreed peace industry harmice* beauty* mystery* senseoil pity* glory* use

Add ‘al’. * Drop ‘e’.

Add ‘able’. Add ‘ic’.*Drop ‘y’. Add ‘ive’.

music accept acrobat attractnation comfort artist effectperson enjoy photograph actnature* fashion sympathy* instructagriculture* respect robot progress

Add ‘al’. * Drop ‘e’.

Add ‘able’. Add ‘ic’.*Drop ‘y’. Add ‘ive’.

music accept acrobat attractnation comfort artist effectperson enjoy photograph actnature* fashion sympathy* instructagriculture* respect robot progress

Add ‘al’. * Drop ‘e’.

Add ‘able’. Add ‘ic’.*Drop ‘y’. Add ‘ive’.

music accept acrobat attractnation comfort artist effectperson enjoy photograph actnature* fashion sympathy* instructagriculture* respect robot progress

Adjectives can be formed from Nouns.

Noun Adjectiveaccident accidentaldanger dangerouslength longstar starrywind windy

Adjectives can be formed from Verbs.Verb Adjective enjoy enjoyable

help helpfulobey obedientplay playfultalk talkative

Adjectives can be formed from Adjectives.Adjective Adjectivecomic comicalcorrect correctiveelder elderlyred reddishsick sickly

Comparison of adjectives

A - Comparison with -er/-est

clean - cleaner - (the) cleanest

We use -er/-est with the following adjectives:

1) adjectives with one syllableclean cleaner cleanestnew newer newest

cheap cheaper cheapest

2) adjectives with two syllables and the following endings:

2 - 1) adjectives with two syllables, ending in –y

dirty dirtier dirtiesteasy easier easiesthappy happier happiestpretty prettier prettiest

2 - 2) adjectives with two syllables, ending in –er

clever cleverer cleverest

2 - 3) adjectives with two syllables, ending in –le

simple simpler simplest

2 - 4) adjectives with two syllables, ending in –ow

narrow narrower narrowest

Spelling of the adjectives using the endings -er/-est

large larger largest Leave out the silent -ebug bigger biggest Double the consonant after short

vowelsad sadder saddestdirty dirtier dirtiest Change -y to -i (consonant before -y)shy shyer shyest Here -y is not changed to -i. (although

consonant before -y)

B - Comparison with more - most

difficult - more difficult - (the) most difficult

all adjectives with more than one syllable (except some adjectives with two syllables - see 2 - 1 to 2 - 4)

C - Irregular adjectives

good better bestbad worse worstmuch more most uncountable nouns many more most countable nounslittle less leastlittle smaller smallest

D - Special adjectives

Some adjectives have two possible forms of comparison.

common commoner / more common commonest / most commonlikely likelier / more likely likeliest / most likelypleasant pleasanter / more pleasant pleasantest / most pleasantpolite politer / more polite politest / most politesimple simpler / more simple simplest / most simplestupid stupider / more stupid stupidest / most stupidsubtle subtler / more subtle subtlestsure surer / more sure surest / most sure

Difference in meaning with adjectives:

farfarther farthest distance

further furthest distance ortime

late later latest

latter x

x last

oldolder oldest people and things elder eldest people (family)

nearnearer nearest distancex next order

ExerciseFill in the missing words into the gaps.

Positive Comparative Superlativelongtallgooddifferenthighcleverquietprettyrichfit

Fill in the missing words into the gaps.Positive Comparative Superlative

niceangryfreedifficultfunnysweetcleanpoorhappyboring

Fill in the missing words into the gaps.

Positive Comparative Superlativeclassicalhopefulfrosty

distantmodernfaithfuldifferentbitterdifficulteasy

EXERCISE - COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

Pick the correct words in the brackets.

1. My father is as (strong, stronger, strongest) as his father.

2. She is (pretty, prettier, prettiest) than her sister.

3. You are not as (tall, taller, tallest) as your brother.

4. That pond is the (shallow, shallower, shallowest) in this area.

5. That has to be the (interesting, more interesting, most interesting) film I have seen.

6. Which university offers (the good, the better, the best) degree courses?.

7. This clown is not as (funny, funnier, funniest) as the other one.

8. He is easily the (bad, worse, worst) player in the team.

9. The second half of the play was (little, less, the least) interesting.

10. What is (far, farther, the farthest) distance you have ever run?

ADVERBS

An adverb adds more to the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

.I called you last night. (called=verb; last night=adverb)

Your dress is very beautiful. (beautiful=adjective; very=adverb)

The rain stopped quite suddenly. (suddenly=adverb; quite=adverb)

Types of Adverbs

1. Adverb of Time – This shows when an action or something is done or

happens. It answers the question “When?” It is either placed at the beginning

or at the end of a sentence.

Example: I phoned you yesterday. / I saw her walking along the river last

week.

2. Adverb of Place – This shows where an action or something is done or

happens. It answers the question “Where?” It is placed after the verb.

Example: I live here. / He fell down.

3. Adverb of Degree or Quantity – This answers the questions, “To what

degree?” or “How much?” It is usually placed before the adjective and the

adverb.

Example: It is too dark for us to see anything. / Last night it rained very heavily. 

4. Adverb of Frequency – This answers the question “How often?”

Example: He will never have finished in time. / We always go to school by bus. 

5. Affirmative Adverb (yes) and Adverb of negation (No)

Example: yes, surely, certainly, indeed, by all means, no, not at all, by no

means.

6. Interrogative Adverb (Question) For example: When? Where? How?

Why? How much/often?

7. Relative Adverb: when, where, how, why These words are the same in form

as Interrogative Adverbs; but they are not questions.

Example: The time when he arrived. / The scene where the accident occurred./

He knows how to do it. / The reason why he left. 

COMPARISON OF ADVERBS 

Similar to the comparison of adjectives, adverbs have three degrees of comparison –

the Positive, the Comparative and the Superlative. Most adverbs which end in ‘-ly’

form the Comparative with ‘more’ and the Superlative with ‘most’.

Positive Comparative Superlativecomfortably more comfortably most comfortablyhappily more happily most happilykindly more kindly most kindlyloudly more loudly most loudlynoisily more noisily most noisily

Forming Adverbs  Adverbs can be formed from nouns, adjectives and verbs. Most adverbs end in ‘-ly’.

Nouns Adjectives Verbs Adverbsbeauty     beautifullysuccess     successfully  angry   angrily  foolish   foolishly

    continue continually    know knowingly

EXERCISE - TYPES OF ADVERBS

Choose the most suitable adverb in bold to fill each blank:

angrily, enough, never, outside, yesterday 

1.  She left _____ for the university where she is doing a degree course.

2.  We are standing _____ his house waiting for him.

3.  He told us _____ not to walk on the grass.

4.  I am not strong _____ to help him carry that box.

5.  She will _____ be happy in that job. 

down, last week, often,  quickly, rarely 

6.  _____, I saw him walking to the church.

7.  My father is _____ late for work.

8.  He drove _____ to avoid being late.

9.  I _____ play badminton with my sister.

10. This is the place where he fell _____.

always, just, nearly, online, unusually 

11. It took _____ two hours to get here.

12. They were _____ very friendly.

13. He has _____ strong hands.

14. She has _____ completed her degree course. 

15. This dictionary went _____ in 2003. 

Exercise

Compare the following adverbs.

Example: newly - __________ - __________

Answer: newly - more newly - most newly

Positive Comparative Superlative1. fast2. well3. carefully4. often5. badly6. hard7. clearly8. little9. much10. early

Form adverbs to the given adjectives.

Example: slow - ______

Answer: slow – slowly

Adjective Adverb1) perfect2) quiet3) careful4) regular5) nice6) terrible7) heavy8) good9) hard10) fantastic

Exercises on Adjectives and Adverbs

Fill in the words in brackets as adjective or adverb like in the example.

Example: Peter works ______ (slow).

Answer: Peter works slowly.

1) He ___________ reads a book. (quick)

2) Mandy is a ___________ girl. (pretty)

3) The class is ___________ loud today. (terrible)

4) Max is a ___________ singer. (good)

5) You can ___________ open this tin. (easy)

6) It's a ___________ day today. (terrible)

7) She sings the song ___________. (good)

8) He is a ___________ driver. (careful)

9) He drives the car ___________. (careful)

10) The dog barks ___________. (loud)

Exercise

Fill in the words in brackets as adjective or adverb like in the example.

Example: Peter works ______ (slow).

Answer: Peter works slowly.

1) The bus driver was ___________ injured. (serious)

2) Kevin is ___________ clever. (extreme)

3) This hamburger tastes ___________. (awful)

4) Be ___________ with this glass of milk. It's hot. (careful)

5) Robin looks ___________. What's the matter with him? (sad)

6) Jack is ___________ upset about losing his keys. (terrible)

7) This steak smells ___________. (good)

8) Our basketball team played ___________ last Friday. (bad)

9) Don't speak so ___________. I can't understand you. (fast)

10) Maria ___________ opened her present. (slow)

PRONOUNS A Pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. It refers to a person or thing without giving the name. There are two types of Personal Pronouns: (1) those used as subjects; and (2) those used as objects.

Personal Pronouns

Person Singular Plural Subject Object Subject Object

First Person I Me We Us Second Person You You You You Third Person He

She It

Him Her It

They They They

Them Them Them

Reflexive Pronouns

We use the Reflexive Pronoun when the action of the doer goes back to himself so that the Subject of the sentence is the same person as the object.

Example: He has hurt himself.

Pronouns like ‘himself' are called Reflexive Pronouns. They always end in ‘self '.

Reflexive Pronouns Singular Plural First Person Myself Ourselves Second Person Yourself Yourselves Third Person Himself

Herself Itself

Themselves Themselves Themselves

Relative Pronouns

The Relative Pronouns take the place of Nouns or Pronouns; and they are used to join two sentences about the same person or thing.

Examples of relative pronouns: who, which, that, whom and whose.

In most cases, we use who, whose and whom to make statements about people.

¨ We use who to join two sentences.

Example: "The man is an artist. He drew that picture."

"The man is an artist who drew that picture."

  ¨ We use whose to show possession or relationship.

Example: "That is my uncle whose son is my cousin."

¨ We use which or that in almost the same way as we use who but it refers to

things, not human beings. There is one other difference in the way we use who

and which. After who we put a verb. After which we can put a verb, a pronoun

or a noun.

Example: That is the camera which costs fifty dollars. That is the camera which

he bought. That is the camera which John likes.

¨ We use whom to make a statement about human beings. It is used in place of

who (a) when it is the object of a verb or (b) when it comes after a preposition.

Example: (a) The man whom they caught was sent to prison. (b) The man to

whom you should speak is my uncle.

EXERCISE - PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Fill in the blanks with suitable pronouns.

1. Does _____ (her, she) know that _____ (me, I) was absent.

2. Please tell _____ ( he, him) _____ (I, me) have obtained a degree in Chemistry.

3. I remember that _____ (they, them) bought the fruits from _____ (we, us).

4. Please don't tell ______ (she, her) about _____ (I, me).

5. _____ can swim because _____ has webbed feet.

6. I met Alice yesterday. _____ invited _____ to her house.

7. Jane has a cat; _____ likes to play with _____.

8. When the dog chased John, _____ ran as fast as _____ could.

9. My uncle works in a factory. _____ says _____ is a noisy place.

10. The teacher said to the class, "When _____ finished your work, please pass _____ up to me."

EXERCISE - REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

Fill each blank with a suitable Reflexive Pronoun.

1. He rewarded _____ with an ice-cream.

2. They agreed amongst _____ that they would not tell anyone.

3. I taught _____ to draw.

4. You must explain _____ more clearly.

5. He has a bad temper so he must learn to control _____.

6. We thoroughly enjoyed _____ at the party on Sunday.

7. That monkey is scratching _____.

8. One must defend _____ against bullies.

9. My brother and I bought _____ some apples.

10. She cooks for _____ every day.

EXERCISE - RELATIVE PRONOUNS

Fill in the blanks with ‘which, ‘who', ‘whom' and ‘whose'.

1. The boy, _____ father is a doctor, is my best friend.

2. This is not something _____ we like to do.

3. That man, _____ left leg was amputated, suffers from diabetes.

4. The thief, _____ they caught, was sent to the prison.

5. Our friends, _____ we invited to the party, arrived rather early.

6. The girl, _____ broke the mirror, was scolded by her mother.

7. That is my uncle, _____ car was stolen.

8. That woman, _____ you saw, was my auntie.

9. Kangaroos, _____ use their pouch to carry their babies, are found in Australia.

10. The policeman, ______ caught the thief, is a very brave man.

2) Kevin is clever. (extreme)

3) This hamburger tastes . (awful)

4) Be with this glass of milk. It's hot. (careful)

5) Robin looks . What's the matter with him? (sad)

6) Jack is upset about losing his keys. (terrible)

7) This steak smells . (good)

8) Our basketball team played last Friday. (bad)

9) Don't speak so . I can't understand

you. (fast)

10) Maria opened her present. (slow)