Countable and uncountable Nouns
Countable nouns are those nouns which have singular & plural forms. The singular form is used to refer to one person or thing, and the plural form is used to refer to more than one person or thing. For example:
Book – books
Boy – boys
There are certain nouns which refer to general things like material, mass, a quality, or an abstract idea. Such nouns are called uncountable nouns. Uncountable nouns have only one form. i.e., the singular form. Examples: Gold, water, air, tea, milk, fire etc. We don’t normally use a/an before an uncountable noun.

Exercise (Elementary)

Underline the noun and mention whether it is countable/uncountable.
1. He is a good player.
2. I want some tea.
3. We stayed in a hotel.
4. He bought some coffee.
5. She is a student.
6. Agriculture is very important for us.
7. The bell is ringing.
8. I have bought some coal.
9. English is an interesting subject.
10. History is an interesting subject.
11. We have bought some coal.
12. There are four dogs.
13. Gold is a precious metal.
14. I need some milk.
15. He lit the fire with a match.

Exercise (Elementary)

Rewrite the following sentences using the plural forms of the countable nouns. Make necessary changes wherever required.
1. The book is in the bag.
2. I bought a pen yesterday.
3. There is a temple in the village.
4. She has a book.
5. A boy is playing outside.
6. A soldier loves his country.
7. The girl was upset.
8. This book is expensive.
9. The child is naughty.
10. He wants to buy a car.
11. That boy is very intelligent.
12. There is a mango in your bag.
13. This horse runs fast.
14. The dog barks always.
15. There is a monkey in the garden.

Uncountable Nouns

There are uncountable nouns, which refer to general things like qualities and processes rather than to individual items or events. Happiness, Money, Time, Health, Love, Beauty, Poverty, Wind, Air, Height, Mercy, Youth The uncountable nouns can not have a / an in front of them. They cannot be changed into their plural forms.

Quantifying uncountable nouns.

We can use expressions of quantity such as piece, item, slice, before uncountable nouns to quantify them.
1. A drop of water.
2. A slice of bread.
3. A cup of tea.
4. A pinch of salt.
5. A piece of paper.
6. A loaf of bread.

Exercise (Advanced)

Use the noun given in brackets with a / an + singular noun if it is countable noun, or an expression of quantity if it is an uncountable noun:
1. I met ___________yesterday (smart boy)
2. He put ___________ in his scooter. (Oil)
3. There is ___________ lying on the floor. (Paper)
4. I bought ___________ yesterday. (Pen)
5. There is ___________ lying on the floor. (Book)
6. Ravi bought ___________ from the bakery. (bread)
7. She wants ___________ milk.
8. You have ___________ to do this work. (water)
9. I request you to give me ___________ (water)
10. My sister gave me ___________(apple)

Proper Nouns

Proper nouns are usually names of specific people, places, months, days, festivals etc.
A proper noun always begins with a capital letter. Proper nouns do not take any articles before them.

Collective Nouns

There are certain nouns like government board, army which can be treated both as singular or plural nouns. Collective nouns can be followed by either singular or plural verbs –
1. The team has been practicing for one year.
2. The team have been practicing for the last month.

There are some collective nouns which have singular forms but are followed by plural verbs. This mean they have singular forms but have plural sense. For example police, people, military, cattle.

Nouns with Plural Forms only.

There are certain nouns referring to clothes & tools which are usually used in the plural forms. For example scissors, trousers, glasses, belongings, jeans, Pyjamas, binoculars, shorts etc. These nouns can combine with a pair of (two) pairs of.
1. He bought a pair of jeans yesterday.

Exercise (Elementary)

Use ‘a pair of’ before the noun within brackets ______.
1. He bought __________ yesterday (laces)
2. You need __________ (shorts)
3. My mother got __________ (scissors)
4. He gave me __________(trousers)
5. We should have bought __________ (spectacles)
6. Rakesh needs __________ (classes)
7. You must keep __________ with (Pliers)

Exercise (Advanced)

Fill in the blanks with appropriate verbs:
1. These trousers __________ good.
2. Where __________ my glasses.
3. Your Jeans __________ new.
4. His new glasses __________ made of plastic lenses.
5. Your trousers __________ lying on your bed.
6. The clothes __________ been ironed well.
7. His shorts __________ rather worn out.
8. Your trousers __________ been given to the tailor.
9. Are you looking for the scissors?
It__________ lying on the table.
10. This scissors __________ expensive.

Noun Possessive

We show possession in English by using the possessive form of a noun.
We use the apostrophe + s (‘s) for possessive after the nouns that refer to people, animals, and after proper nouns.
1. I am Ashok’s Friend.
2. Don’t pull the dog’s ear.
We add only the apostrophe (‘s) if the plural noun ends in – s.
1. He was cleaning the soldiers’ guns.
2. This is boys’ Hostel.
We add the apostrophe (‘) if the Plural noun doesn’t end in – s.
1. He likes children’s car.
We don’t use apostrophe+s (-s) after nouns that name things, a place etc. We use ‘of’ with these nouns.
Delhi is the Capital of India. (Not India’s Capital)

Exercise (Elementary)

Write down the correct possessive forms of the following phrases:
1. The ear of the dog.
2. The shop of Amit
3. The paw of the cat.
4. The purse of Sunita.
5. The big ears of the elephants.
6. The legs of man.
7. The car of Raju.
8. The shirt of Mohit.
9. The plays of Shakespeare.
10. The poetry of Kalidas.

Genders of Noun

Some nouns in English have masculine and feminine forms and thus they may be referred to by the pronouns he or she.
Boy – he
Girl – she
There is a large class of nouns in the neuter gender which can be referred to by he / she depending upon the sex of the person: adult, child, cousin, doctor, officer, reader, scientist, teacher etc.

Exercise (Intermediate)

Fill in the blanks with either he / or she.
1. My friend is a teacher ________ gets up early and makes breakfast for her family.
2. Mr. Sharma is a good doctor. __________ works whole day.
3. Mrs. Kapoor is our English teacher. __________ teaches very well.
4. Ravi is a good singer. __________ has sung thousand of songs.
5. My English professor told us to read English as much as we can. __________ always carries a lot of books with him.
6. There was a visitor looking for you. __________ has left his visiting card for you.
7. Your guest has left. __________ has forgotten his purse here.
8. The writer of this story is very intelligent. __________ has shown her talent in this story.
9. The Cook will not come today. __________has gone out with his family.
10. This person does not listen without ear – machine. __________ is not carrying his ear machine with him today.
 

Quotes of life

Intelligence is like a river. The deeper it is, the less noise it makes.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow

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