Part 6: Identifying Grammar Errors

Grammar: Nouns

Nouns are the names of conditions, events, people, places, things, etc. Sounds simple enough, right? But let's look at a few finer points which you may encounter on the test.

Some nouns, usually called common nouns, refer to things in general:

country, dog, man, plastic

while some nouns, called proper nouns, refer to specific things:

Japan, Jeannie, John, Noryl®.

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Proper nouns start with a CAPITAL letter. But, be careful. The first word of a sentence always starts with a capital and there are certain nouns that appear to be proper nouns but are common nouns:

china (porcelain or ceramic goods)	nick (a scratch or cut)
japan (a kind of black enamel)	pat (tap gently)
mike (microphone)	turkey (a large North American bird), etc.

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Unlike some languages, gender is indicated for only a few words.

In some cases, there is a distinct word for each gender. Just a few examples:

husband/wife, king/queen, widower/widow.

In other cases, a suffix is added:

actor/actress, aviator/aviatrix, god/goddess.

While this is hotly argued by some, chairman and postmaster are still acceptable and correct for women who hold these posts.

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Another problem area is with countable and uncountable nouns.

Although count nouns usually form their plural by adding -s or -es, there are many important exceptions, for example:

datum/data, die/dice, knife/knives, mouse/mice.

Please be careful when using singular nouns which end in an Œs¹, especially concerning articles, verb agreement, etc. Study the following list:

acoustics	economics	mechanics	physics
aeronautics	hydrostatics	mnemonics	politics
athletics	linguistics	molasses	pyrotechnics
billiards	mathematics	news	statistics
dynamics	measles	optics	woods

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Generally, when referring to one item, a or an is used:

Please write me a check.

An imperialist is a dominant figure.

Plural and uncountable nouns require no article:

I like hot springs.

I wish I had hair.

Both singular and plural count nouns require the when dealing with a particular object:

The teacher handed the tests to the class.

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A/B

Note: Noryl® is the Registered Trademark of G.E. Plastics

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TOEIC is the registered trademark of Educational Testing Service.