Interrogative Adjectives 203

Nominal Adjectives 206

Compound Adjectives 208

Order of Adjectives 211

Degrees of Comparison_ 216

Comparative Adjectives 219

Superlative Adjectives 224

Adverbs 227

Adverbs of Time 232

Adverbs of Place 236

Adverbs of Manner 239

Adverbs of Degree 242

Mitigators 245

Intensifiers 247

Adverbs of Frequency_ 250

Adverbs of Purpose 253

Focusing Adverbs 256

Negative Adverbs 260

Conjunctive Adverbs 265

Evaluative Adverbs 269

Viewpoint Adverbs 272

Relative Adverbs 275

Adverbial Nouns 277

Regular and Irregular Adverbs 279

Degrees of Comparison_ 283

Comparative Adverbs 285

Superlative Adverbs 290

Order of Adverbs 294

Prepositions 298

Prepositional Phrases 301

Categories of Prepositions 305

Common Prepositional Errors 310

Prepositions with Nouns 314

Prepositions with Verbs 320

Prepositions with Adjectives 329

Prepositions in Idioms 335

Idioms that Start with Prepositions 337

Idioms that End with Prepositions 343

Conjunctions 350

Coordinating Conjunctions 352

Correlative Conjunctions 355

Subordinating Conjunctions 359

Other parts of speech_ 363

Particles 364

Articles 366

Determiners 369

Possessive Determiners 377

Gerunds 379

Gerunds as Objects of Verbs 382

Interjections 385

Inflection (Accidence) 389

Conjugation_ 393

Tense 401

Present Tense 408

Present Simple Tense 410

Present Continuous Tense (Progressive) 413

Present Perfect Tense 416

Present Perfect Continuous Tense 420

Past Tense 423

Past Simple Tense 426

Past Continuous Tense 429

Past Perfect Tense 431

Past Perfect Continuous Tense 434

Future Tense (Approximation) 437

Future Simple Tense 439

Future Continuous Tense 442

Future Perfect Tense 445

Future Perfect Continuous Tense 448

Aspect 450

Perfective and Imperfective Aspect 453

Aspects of the Present Tense 456

Aspects of the Past Tense 458

Aspects of the Future Tense 459

Mood_ 461

Indicative Mood_ 464

Subjunctive Mood_ 466

Subjunctive Mood - Expressing Wishes 468

Voice 470

Active Voice 472

Passive Voice 474

Middle Voice 477

Speech_ 479

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech) 483

Grammatical Person_ 487

Declension_ 492

Plurals 497

Gender in Nouns 501

Regular and Irregular Inflection_ 504

Syntax_ 511

Subjects and Predicates 513

The Subject 514

The Predicate 520

Complements 526

Objects 530

Subject Complements 533

Object Complements 535

Adjective Complements 537

Adverbial Complements 539

Modifiers 540

Adjuncts 546

Phrases 549

Noun Phrases 554

Adjective Phrases 559

Adverbial Phrases 562

Participle Phrases 565

Absolute Phrases 568

Appositives 570

Clauses 572

Independent Clauses 575

Dependent Clauses 576

Noun Clauses 579

Relative Clauses 582

Adverbial Clauses 584

Sentences 587

Compound Sentences 591

Complex Sentences 594

Compound-Complex Sentences 596

Declarative Sentences 599

Interrogative Sentences 602

Negative Interrogative Sentences 604

Imperative Sentences 606

Conditional Sentences 608

Major and Minor Sentences (Regular and Irregular Sentences) 612

Quiz answers 616

Index_ 618

About the author

Peter Herring was born in Boulder, Colorado, and grew up with a passion for reading. He attended the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada, where he majored in English Literature. He went on to complete a master’s degree in Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama at University College Dublin in Ireland, where he graduated with honors.

Peter has worked as an editor since 2009, lending his passion for words to scientific research projects, non-fiction publishing, and The Free Dictionary.

He lives in Dublin, Ireland, with his wife and son.

About the editor

Nick Norlen is the managing editor of The Free Dictionary, where he oversees all editorial projects. After graduating with honors from La Salle University in Philadelphia, he worked as a reporter before joining the Farlex team in 2008.

He lives in Newtown, Pennsylvania, with his wife and daughter, whose first word is his favorite word.

Preface

Grammar is without a doubt one of the most daunting aspects of the English language, an area riddled with complexities, inconsistencies, and contradictions. It has also been in a state of flux for pretty much its entire existence. For native speakers of English, as well as for those learning it as a new language, grammar presents a very serious challenge to speaking and writing both accurately and effectively.

Having a single, reliable, go-to reference guide should therefore be indispensable to those trying to learn, improve, or perfect their speech or writing. This book is that guide: a clear, unambiguous, and comprehensive source of information that covers all the relevant topics of English grammar, while still being easy to understand and enjoyable to read.

Every topic in the book has been broken down into basic units. Each unit can be read and understood in its own right, but throughout the book you will find cross-references to other sections and chapters to help make it clear how all the pieces fit together. If you’re having trouble understanding something, try going back (or forward) to other related topics in the book.

Finally, it must be mentioned that, because English is such a flexible, inconsistent language, the “rules” that are often bandied about are usually not rules at all, but rather guides that reflect how the language is used. Accordingly, the guidelines contained within this book are just that—guidelines. They are not intended to provide constrictive or proscriptive rules that confine everyone to a particular way of speaking or writing.

Learning how the English language works will enhance your engagement with speech and writing every day, from the books you read, to the e-mails you write, to the conversations you have with friends and strangers alike.

As such, mastering grammar is not an exercise that is confined to the classroom. While it is certainly important to learn the structures, styles, and rules that shape the language, the key to truly learning English is to read and listen to the way people write and speak every day, from the most well-known authors to the people you talk to on the bus. Take the information you find in this book and carry it with you into the world.

-P. Herring

Editor’s Note

This book is written according to the standard styles and spellings used in American English. While major differences between American and British English are usually addressed, some information in the book might not coincide with the styles, tendencies, or preferences of other English-speaking communities.

Parts of Speech

Definition

The parts of speech are the primary categories of words according to their function in a sentence.

English has seven main parts of speech. We’ll look at a brief overview of each below; continue on to their individual chapters to learn more about them.

Nouns

Nouns are words that identify or name people, places, or things. Nouns can function as the subject of a clause or sentence, an object of a verb, or an object of a preposition. Words like cat, book, table, girl, and plane are all nouns.

Pronouns

Pronouns are words that represent nouns (people, places, or things). Grammatically, pronouns are used in the same ways as nouns; they can function as subjects or objects. Common pronouns include I, you, she, him, it, everyone, and somebody.

Verbs

Verbs are words that describe the actions—or states of being—of people, animals, places, or things. Verbs function as the root of what’s called the predicate, which is required (along with a subject) to form a complete sentence; therefore, every sentence must include at least one verb.

Verbs include action words like run, walk, write, or sing, as well as words describing states of being, such as be, seem, feel, or sound.

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that modify (add description to) nouns and (occasionally) pronouns. They can be a part of either the subject or the predicate. Common adjectives are red, blue, fast, slow, big, tall, and wide.

Adverbs

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or even entire clauses. Depending on what they modify (and how), adverbs can appear anywhere in the sentence. Adverbs are commonly formed from adjectives by adding “-ly” to the end, as in slowly, quickly, widely, beautifully, or commonly.

Prepositions

Prepositions are words that express a relationship between a noun or pronoun (known as the object of the preposition) and another part of the sentence. Together, these form prepositional phrases, which can function as adjectives or as adverbs in a sentence. Some examples of prepositional phrases are: on the table, in the shed, and across the field. (The prepositions are in bold.)

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that connect other words, phrases, or clauses, expressing a specific kind of relationship between the two (or more) elements. The most common conjunctions are the coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet.

Other Parts of Speech

In addition to the seven parts of speech above, there are several other groupings of words that do not neatly fit into any one specific category—particles, articles, determiners, gerunds, and interjections.

Many of these share characteristics with one or more of the seven primary categories. For example, determiners are similar in many ways to adjectives, but they are not completely the same, and most particles are identical in appearance to prepositions but have different grammatical functions.

Because they are harder to classify in comparison to the seven primary categories above, they’ve been grouped together in this guide under the general category Other Parts of Speech.

Nouns

Definition

Nouns are words that indicate a person, place, or thing.

In a sentence, nouns can function as the subject or the object of a verb or preposition. Nouns can also follow linking verbs to rename or re-identify the subject of a sentence or clause; these are known as predicate nouns.

The Subject

The subject in a sentence or clause is the person or thing doing, performing, or controlling the action of the verb. For example:

• “The dog chased its tail.” (The noun dog is performing the action of the verb chase.)

• “Mary reads a book every week.” (The proper noun Mary is performing the action of the verb read.)

Objects

Grammatical objects have three grammatical roles: the direct object of a verb, the indirect object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.

Direct objects

Direct objects are what receive the action of the verb in a sentence or clause. For example:

• “The dog chased its tail.” (The noun tail is receiving the action of the verb chase.)

• “Mary reads a book every week.” (The noun book is receiving the action of the verb read.)

Indirect objects

An indirect object is the person or thing who receives the direct object of the verb. For instance:

• “Please pass Jeremy the salt.” (The proper noun Jeremy is receiving the direct object salt, which receives the action of the verb pass.)

• “I sent the company an application for the job.” (The noun company is receiving the direct object application, which receives the action of the verb sent.)

Objects of prepositions

Nouns are also used after prepositions to create prepositional phrases. When a noun is part of a prepositional phrase, it is known as the object of the preposition. For example:

• “Your backpack is under the table.” (The noun table is the object of the preposition under, which creates the prepositional phrase under the table.)

• “I am looking for work.” (The noun work is the object of the preposition for, which creates the prepositional phrase for work.)

Predicate Nouns

Nouns that follow linking verbs are known as predicate nouns (sometimes known as predicative nouns). These serve to rename or re-identify the subject. If the noun is accompanied by any direct modifiers (such as articles, adjectives, or prepositional phrases), the entire noun phrase acts predicatively.

For example:

• “Love is a virtue.” (The noun phrase a virtue follows the linking verb is to rename the subject love.)

• “Tommy seems like a real bully.” (The noun phrase a real bully follows the linking verb seems to rename the subject Tommy.)

• “Maybe this is a blessing in disguise.” (The noun phrase a blessing in disguise follows the linking verb is to rename the subject this.)

(Go to the section on Subject Complements in the part of the guide that covers Syntax to learn more about predicate nouns.)

Categories of Nouns

There are many different kinds of nouns, and it’s important to know the different way each type can be used in a sentence. Below, we’ll briefly look at the different categories of nouns. You can explore the individual sections to learn more about each.

Common and Proper Nouns

Nouns that identify general people, places, or things are called common nouns—they name or identify that which is common among others.

Proper nouns, on the other hand, are used to identify an absolutely unique person, place, or thing, and they are signified by capital letters, no matter where they appear in a sentence.

Nouns of Address

Nouns of address are used in direct speech to identify the person or group being directly spoken to, or to get that person’s attention. Like interjections, they are grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence—they don’t modify or affect any other part of it. For example:

• “James, I need you to help me with the dishes.”

• “Can I have some money, Mom?”

• “This, class, is the video I was telling you about.”

• “Sorry, Mr. President, I didn’t see you there.”

Concrete and Abstract Nouns

Concrete nouns name people, places, animals, or things that are physically tangible—that is, they can be seen or touched, or have some physical properties. Proper nouns are also usually concrete, as they describe unique people, places, or things that are also tangible. For example:

• table
• rocks
• lake
• countries
• people
• Africa
• MacBook
• Jonathan

Abstract nouns, as their name implies, name intangible things, such as concepts, ideas, feelings, characteristics, attributes, etc. For instance:

• love
• hate
• decency
• conversation
• emotion

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable nouns (also known as count nouns) are nouns that can be considered as individual, separable items, which means that we are able to count them with numbers—we can have one, two, five, 15, 100, and so on. We can also use them with the indefinite articles a and an (which signify a single person or thing) or with the plural form of the noun.

Countable nouns contrast with uncountable nouns (also known as non-count or mass nouns), which cannot be separated and counted as individual units or elements. Uncountable nouns cannot take an indefinite article (a/an), nor can they be made plural.

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are nouns that refer to a collection or group of multiple people, animals, or things. However, even though collective nouns refer to multiple individuals, they still function as singular nouns in a sentence. This is because they still are technically referring to one thing: the group as a whole. For example:

• “The flock of birds flew south for the winter.”

• “The organization voted to revoke the rules that it had previously approved.”

• “The set of tablecloths had disappeared. ”

Attributive Nouns (Noun Adjuncts)

Attributive nouns, also called noun adjuncts, are nouns that are used to modify other nouns. The resulting phrase is called a compound noun. For example:

• “The boy played with his toy soldier.”

In this sentence, toy is the noun adjunct, and it modifies the word soldier, creating the compound noun toy soldier.

To learn more about attributive nouns, go to the section on Adjuncts in the chapter on The Predicate.

Compound Nouns

A compound noun is a noun composed of two or more words working together as a single unit to name a person, place, or thing. Compound nouns are usually made up of two nouns or an adjective and a noun.

• water + bottle = water bottle (a bottle used for water)

• dining + room = dining room (a room used for dining)

• back + pack = backpack (a pack you wear on your back)

• police + man = policeman (a police officer who is a man)

Noun Phrases

A noun phrase is a group of two or more words that function together as a noun in a sentence. Noun phrases consist of a noun and other words that modify the noun. For example:

• “He brought the shovel with the blue handle.”

In this sentence, the shovel with the blue handle is a noun phrase. It collectively acts as a noun while providing modifying words for the head noun, shovel. The modifiers are the and with the blue handle.

Nominalization (Creating Nouns)

Nominalization refers to the creation of a noun from verbs or adjectives.

When nouns are created from other parts of speech, it is usually through the use of suffixes. For example:

• “My fiancée is an actor.” (The verb act becomes the noun actor.)

• “His acceptance of the position was received warmly.” (The verb accept becomes the noun acceptance.)

• “The hardness of diamond makes it a great material for cutting tools.” (The adjective hard becomes the noun hardness.)

• “This project will be fraught with difficulty.” (The adjective difficult becomes the noun difficulty.)

Quiz

(answers start on page 616)

1. A noun can be which of the following?

a) The subject
b) An object
c) Predicative
d) A & B
e) B & C
f) All of the above

2. What category of nouns is used to identify the person or group being directly spoken to?

a) Common nouns
b) Nouns of address
c) Attributive nouns
d) Abstract nouns

3. Identify the type of noun (in bold) used in the following sentence:
“Your indifference is not acceptable.”

a) Proper noun
b) Countable noun
c) Collective noun
d) Abstract noun

4. What category of nouns is used to modify other nouns?

a) Common nouns
b) Nouns of address
c) Attributive nouns
d) Abstract nouns

5. Which of the following is commonly used to create a noun from a verb or adjective?

a) Prefix
b) Suffix
c) Attributive noun
d) Predicative noun

Common and Proper Nouns

Nouns fall into one of two broad categories: common nouns and proper nouns.

Common Nouns

All nouns serve to name a person, place, or thing.

Those that identify general people, places, or things are called common nouns—they name that which is common among others.

For example:

• “He sat on the chair.”

• “I live in a city.”

• “We met some people.”

• “She went into politics.”

• “Our teacher is angry.”

• “Let’s go down to the lake.”

Proper Nouns

Proper nouns, on the other hand, are used to identify a unique person, place, or thing. A proper noun names someone or something that is one of a kind, which is signified by the use of a capital letter, no matter where it appears in a sentence.

Names

The most common proper nouns are names, as of people, places, or events. For example:

• “Go find Jeff and tell him dinner is ready.”

• “I lived in Cincinnati before I moved to New York.”

• “My parents still talk about how great Woodstock was in 1969.”

Brands

Proper nouns are also used for commercial brands. In this case, the object that’s being referred to is not unique in itself, but the brand it belongs to is. For example:

• “Pass me the Hellmann’s mayonnaise.”

• “I’ll have a Pepsi, please.”

• “My new MacBook is incredibly fast.”

Appellations

When a person has additional words added to his or her name (known as an appellation), this becomes part of the proper noun and is also capitalized. (Some linguists distinguish these as proper names, rather than proper nouns.) For example:

• “Prince William is adored by many.”

• “Italy was invaded by Attila the Hun in 452.”

Job Titles and Familial Roles

Many times, a person may be referred to according to a professional title or familial role instead of by name. In this case, the title is being used as a noun of address and is considered a proper noun, even if it would be a common noun in other circumstances. For example:

• “How are you doing, Coach?”

• “I need your advice, Mr. President.”

• "Mom, can you come with me to the playground?”

• “Pleased to meet you, Doctor.”

Quiz

(answers start on page 616)

1. Common nouns identify people, places, or things that are ___________?

a) Especially unique or one-of-a-kind
b) Generic among other similar nouns
c) Addressed by the speaker
d) Uncountable

2. Things referred to by their brand use which kind of nouns?

a) Common nouns
b) Proper nouns

3. Nouns of address are used in the same way as which kind of nouns?

a) Common nouns
b) Proper nouns

Nouns of Address

Definition

Nouns of address (technically called vocatives, but also known as nominatives of address or nouns of direct address) identify the person or group being directly spoken to. Like interjections, they are grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence—that is, they don’t modify or affect any other part of it. Instead, they are used to let the listener or reader know who you are addressing, or to get that person’s attention. For example:

• “James, I need you to help me with the dishes.”

• “Can I have some money, Mom?”

• “This, class, is the video I was telling you about.”

• “Mr. President, I didn’t see you there.”

• “Hey, guy in the red shirt, can you help me?”

Punctuation

Nouns of address are found in the initial, middle, or final position in a sentence. No matter where they occur, they are normally set apart from the rest of the sentence by one or two commas. If they occur in the initial position, they are followed by a comma. If they occur in the middle position, they are enclosed between two commas, and if they occur in the final position, they are preceded by a comma. For example:

• “James, I was wondering if you could help me with the dishes.”
• “I was wondering, James, if you could help me with the dishes.”
• “I was wondering if you could help me with the dishes, James.”

• “Class, this is the video I was telling you about.”
• “This, class, is the video I was telling you about.”
• “This is the video I was telling you about, class.”

Capitalization

Proper nouns

Proper nouns, such as the name or title of a person, are the most frequent nouns of address. These nouns are always capitalized, no matter where they appear in a sentence. If a professional title is used with the name, it is capitalized as well. For example:

• “Can you help me, James?”

• “Thank you, Mrs. Smith, for being here.”

• “It’s so nice to meet you, Doctor Jenner.”

• “Hey, Coach Frank, how are you doing today?”

Common nouns in place of titles

Common nouns can also be used as nouns of address. If the common noun is the title of a job or family member and is used in place of a person’s name, it should always be capitalized. For example:

• “How are you doing, Coach?”

• “I need your advice, Mr. President.”

• "Can you come with me, Mom?”

• “Pleased to meet you, Doctor.”

Compare the examples above to the following cases in which the same titles of jobs and family members are not used to address the person directly, and therefore are not capitalized:

• “Give that football to the coach.”

• “Was the president at the meeting?”

• “Tell your mom to come with us.”

• “Did you call the doctor yet?”

Terms of endearment

When a term of endearment is being used in place of a person’s name, we do not capitalize the word unless it begins the sentence. For example:

• “Would you get me a glass of water, sweetie?”

• “Thanks, pal, I appreciate your help.”

• “Love, please put away your clothes.”

Other common nouns

If they do not act as a professional or familial title, other common nouns should generally remain in lowercase, unless they occur as the first word of the sentence. For example:

• “This, class, is the video I was telling you about.”

• “Can you help me, guy in the red shirt?”

• “Please stand up, boys and girls.”

• “Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated for the duration of the performance.”

Quiz

(answers start on page 616)

1. Nouns of address occur in the ________.

a) initial position
b) middle position
c) final position
d) A & C
e) All of the above

2. Nouns of address are set apart by ________.

a) periods
b) commas
c) hyphens
d) semicolons

3. Which of the following sentences does not contain a noun of address?

a) “Oh, hello, Dad.”
b) “Come with me, Daniel.”
c) “Coach, I thought that was you!”
d) “Give that message to the president, please.”

4. Which of the following sentences is written incorrectly?

a) “I wish you were here, grandma.”
b) “I wish my grandma was here.”
c) “I wish you were here, Grandma.”
d) “Grandma, I wish you were here.”

5. Which of the following sentences is written incorrectly?

a) “Please help us, Doctor Green.”
b) “Doctor Green please help us.”
c) “Please, Doctor Green, help us.”
d) “Doctor Green, please help us.”

Concrete and Abstract Nouns

All nouns serve to name a person, place, or thing. Depending on whether they name a tangible or an intangible thing, nouns are classed as being either concrete or abstract.

Concrete Nouns

Concrete nouns name people, places, animals, or things that are or were physically tangible—that is, they can or could be seen or touched, or have some physical properties. For instance:

• rocks
• lake
• countries
• people
• child
• air
• water
• bread

Proper nouns are also usually concrete, as they describe unique people, places, or things.

• Mary
• The Queen
• Africa
• my MacBook
• a Pepsi

Abstract Nouns

Abstract nouns, as their name implies, name intangible things, such as concepts, ideas, feelings, characteristics, attributes, etc.—you cannot see or touch these kinds of things.

Here are some examples of abstract nouns:

• love
• hate
• decency
• conversation
• emotion
• aspiration
• excitement
• lethargy

Gerunds, verbs that end in “-ing” and function as nouns, are also abstract. For example:

• running
• swimming
• jumping
• reading
• writing
• loving
• breathing

These all name actions as concepts. They cannot be seen or touched, so we know they are not concrete.

Countable Nouns vs. Uncountable Nouns

Both concrete and abstract nouns can be either countable or uncountable, depending on what they name.

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns (also known as count nouns) are, as the name suggests, nouns that can be counted as individual units.

Concrete countable nouns

Many concrete nouns are countable. Consider the following, for example:

• cup
• ambulance
• phone
• person
• dog
• computer
• doctor

Each of these can be considered as an individual, separable item, which means that we are able to count them with numbers—we can have one, two, five, 15, 100, and so on. We can also use them with the indefinite articles a and an (which signify a single person or thing) or with the plural form of the noun. For example:

• a cup – two cups
• an ambulance – several ambulances
• a phone – 10 phones
• a person – many people

Abstract countable nouns

Even though abstract nouns are not tangible, many of them can still be counted as separable units. Like concrete nouns, they can take a or an or can be made plural. For example:

• a conversation – two conversations
• an emergency – several emergencies
• a reading – 10 readings
• an aspiration – many aspirations

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns, on the other hand, are nouns that cannot be considered as separate units. They are also known as non-count or mass nouns.

Concrete uncountable nouns

Concrete nouns that are uncountable tend to be substances or collective categories of things. For instance:

• wood, smoke, air, water

• furniture, homework, accommodation, luggage

Uncountable nouns cannot take the indefinite articles a or an in a sentence, because these words indicate a single amount of something. Likewise, they cannot take numbers or plural forms, because there cannot be multiple units of them. For example:

✖ “I see a smoke over there.” (incorrect)
✔ “I see (some*) smoke over there.” (correct)

✖ “I don’t have furnitures.” (incorrect)
✔ “I don’t have (any*) furniture.” (correct)

(*We often use the words some or any to indicate an unspecified quantity of uncountable nouns.)

However, uncountable nouns can sometimes take the definite article the, because it does not specify an amount:

• “They’re swimming in the water.”

• “The homework this week is hard.”

Abstract uncountable nouns

A large number of abstract nouns are uncountable. These are usually ideas or attributes. For instance:

• love, hate, news*, access, knowledge

• beauty, intelligence, arrogance, permanence

(*Even though news ends in an “-s,” it is uncountable. We need this “-s” because without it, news would become new, which is an adjective.)

Again, these cannot take indefinite articles or be made plural.

✖ “He’s just looking for a love.” (incorrect)
✔ “He’s just looking for love.” (correct)

✖ “She’s gained a great deal of knowledges during college.” (incorrect)
✔ “She’s gained a great deal of knowledge during college.” (correct)

As with countable nouns, though, we can sometimes use the definite article the:

• “I can’t stand watching the news.”

• “Can you believe the arrogance he exhibits?”

Quiz

(answers start on page 616)

1. Which of the following is a distinguishing feature of abstract nouns?

a) They can be seen or touched
b) They cannot be seen or touched
c) They can be counted
d) They cannot be counted

2. Proper nouns are generally _________.

a) concrete
b) abstract

3. Is the following word concrete or abstract?
amazement

a) concrete
b) abstract

4. Is the following word concrete or abstract?
sugar

a) concrete
b) abstract

5. Is the following word concrete or abstract?
Australia

a) concrete
b) abstract

6. True or False: All concrete nouns are countable.

a) True
b) False

Countable Nouns

Definition

Countable nouns (also known as count nouns) are nouns that can be considered as individual, separable items, which means that we are able to count them with numbers—we can have one, two, five, 15, 100, and so on. We can also use them with the indefinite articles a and an (which signify a single person or thing) or in their plural forms.

Countable nouns contrast with uncountable nouns (also known as non-count or mass nouns), which cannot be separated and counted as individual units or elements. Uncountable nouns cannot take an indefinite article, nor can they be made plural.

Concrete vs. Abstract Countable Nouns

Both concrete and abstract nouns can be countable. Concrete nouns name people, places, or things that are tangible—they can be seen or touched. Abstract nouns, on the other hand, name intangible things, such as ideas, concepts, feelings, or attributes.

Concrete countable nouns

Concrete nouns are a bit easier to understand as being countable—after all, they are things that we can see and feel, and so we can usually count them. Consider the following, for example:

• cup
• ambulance
• phone
• person
• eel
• computer
• doctor

Each of these can be considered as an individual item or unit, which means that we are able to count them:

Abstract countable nouns

Even though abstract nouns are not tangible, many of them can still be counted as separable units. Like concrete nouns, they can take a or an or can be made plural.

Consider these abstract nouns:

• conversation
• emergency
• reading
• aspiration
• emotion
• belief

Now let’s see how they can be counted:

Grammar with countable nouns

When we use countable nouns, certain elements in a sentence will change depending on whether the noun is singular or plural.

Third-person singular vs. third-person plural pronouns

If a countable noun is being represented by a third-person pronoun, we must take care to use the correct singular or plural form.

Singular

When a noun is singular and names a person (or, sometimes, a pet) whose gender is known,* then we use the third-person singular he, him, or his (masculine) or she, her, or hers (feminine). For example:

• “The man left early, so I didn’t get a chance to talk to him.” (Man is singular, so it takes the third-person singular pronoun him.)

• “The president has many things that she wants to accomplish in office.” (President is singular, so it takes the third-person singular pronoun she.)

• “We taught our dog to know which bed is his.” (Dog is singular, so it takes the third-person singular pronoun his.)

If the noun names a singular place, thing, or non-domestic animal, then we must use the third-person neuter pronoun it:

• “I hate this computer because it is so slow!”

• “The cow lowed softly as it ate.”

• “Some people dislike this town, but I’ve always loved it.”

Plural

When a noun is plural, we use the same third-person pronouns for people, places, animals, and things: they, them, and theirs*. For example:

• “The parade floats are spectacular! I love watching them go down the street.”

• “Bill and Samantha told me they were coming over later.”

• “Make sure the children know which bags are theirs.”

*Usage Note: “Singular they”

English does not have a way of identifying a single person with a pronoun if his or her gender is not known, so sometimes the third-person plural forms (they, them, etc.) are used as a gender-neutral alternative to the third-person feminine/masculine forms. This is sometimes called “singular they.”

For example:

• “You shouldn’t judge someone until you know what they are really like.”

• “If anyone needs extra help with their studies, they should feel free to see me after class.”

While it is still considered incorrect by some writers and writing guides, especially in American English, “singular they” is gradually becoming accepted as the norm, especially in instances with indefinite pronouns that sound plural but are grammatically singular (like anyone in the example above).

Subject-Verb Agreement

Because countable nouns can be either singular or plural, it is very important to use the correct subject-verb agreement when they are functioning as the subject of a clause.

Subject-verb agreement refers to using certain conjugations of verbs for singular subjects and using other conjugations for plural subjects. This happens most noticeably with the verb to be, which becomes is or was with singular subject nouns and are or were with plural subjects.

For example:

• “My brother is back from college.” (singular present simple tense)

• “The company was in financial trouble.” (singular past simple tense)

• “Many people are getting frustrated with the government.” (plural present simple tense)

• “The computers were rather old.” (plural past simple tense)

For any other verb, we only need to make a change if it is in the present simple tense. For most verbs, this is accomplished by adding an “-s” to the end if it is singular and leaving it in its base form if it is plural. For example:

• “My father runs his own business.” (singular)
• “But his sons run it when he’s away.” (plural)

• “The dog wags his tail when he is happy.” (singular)
• “Dogs sometimes wag their tails when they’re angry or scared.” (plural)

The verbs have and do also only conjugate for singular subjects in the present simple tense, but they have irregular forms for this: has and does. For example:

• “The apple has a mark on it.” (singular)
• “All the apples have marks on them.” (plural)
• “The teacher does not think it’s a good idea.” (singular)
• “The other teachers do not mind, though.” (plural)

Finally, the modal auxiliary verbs will, would, shall, should, can, could, might, and must do not conjugate for singular vs. plural subjects—they always remain the same. For instance:

• “This phone can also surf the Internet!” (singular)
• “Most phones can do that now.” (plural)

• “The president will arrive in Malta next week.” (singular)
• “The other diplomats will arrive shortly after that.” (plural)

Quiz

(answers start on page 616)

1. Which of the following cannot be used with countable nouns?

a) Indefinite articles
b) Definite articles
c) Third-person singular pronouns
d) Plural forms
e) All of the above
f) None of the above

2. True or False: Countable nouns are always concrete nouns.

a) True
b) False

3. How do most verbs conjugate when they have a singular subject?

a) By adding “-d” to the end
b) By adding “-s” to the end
c) They remain in their base form
d) They take an auxiliary verb

4. Which of the following third-person pronouns is used for plural nouns?

a) he
b) she
c) it
d) they

5. Which of the following third-person pronouns is used for non-gendered singular nouns?

a) he
b) she
c) it
d) they

Uncountable Nouns

Definition

Nouns that cannot be divided or counted as individual elements or separate parts are called uncountable nouns (also known as mass nouns or non-count nouns). These can be tangible objects (such as substances or collective categories of things), or intangible or abstract things, such as concepts or ideas. Nouns that can be divided are called countable nouns, or simply count nouns.

Here are some examples of uncountable nouns:

• wood, smoke, air, water
• furniture, homework, accommodation, luggage
• love, hate, beauty, intelligence, arrogance
• news*, access

(*Even though news ends in an “-s,” it is uncountable. We need this “-s” because without it, news would become new, which is an adjective.)

Using articles with uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns cannot take the indefinite articles “a” or “an” in a sentence, because these words indicate a single amount of something. For example:

✖ “Would you like a tea?” (incorrect)
✔ “Would you like tea?” (correct)

✖ “Do you have an information?” (incorrect)
✔ “Do you have (some/any) information?” (correct)

(We often use the words “some” or “any” to indicate an unspecified quantity of uncountable nouns. We’ll investigate this more in a later part of this section.)

However, uncountable nouns can sometimes take the definite article “the,” as in:

• “Have you heard the news?”

• “The furniture in my living room is old.”

However, this is only the case if a specific uncountable noun is being described. For example:

✖ “I am looking for an accommodation.” (incorrect)

✖ “I am looking for the accommodation.” (incorrect)

✔ “I am looking for accommodation.” (correct)

✔ “I am looking for the accommodation listed in this advertisement.” (correct—references specific accommodation)

Uncountable nouns are not plural

Third-person singular vs. third-person plural pronouns

Just as uncountable nouns cannot take the indefinite articles “a” or “an” because there is not “one” of them, it is equally incorrect to use third-person plural pronouns with them, as they are not considered a collection of single things. For example:

• Person A: “Your hair looks very nice today.”

✖ Person B: “Yes, I washed them last night.” (incorrect)

✔ Person B: “Yes, I washed it last night.” (correct)

Note that single hairs become countable. If there are two hairs on your jacket, you can say “hairs” or use the plural pronoun “they.” The hair on your head, however, is seen as an uncountable noun.

Plural forms of the noun

We also cannot make uncountable nouns plural by adding “-s” on the end. Again, they are grammatically regarded as single, collective units. For example:

✖ “We bought new camping equipments.” (incorrect)
✔ “We bought new camping equipment.” (correct)

✖ “The teacher gave us many homeworks.” (Incorrect. We also cannot use the quantifier “many” with uncountable nouns, because it refers to individual things.)
✔ “The teacher gave us a lot of homework.” (Correct. We can use the quantifier “a lot” to indicate a large amount of an uncountable noun.)

Subject-verb agreement

Because uncountable nouns cannot be plural, it is very important to use the correct subject-verb agreement. Subject-verb agreement refers to using certain conjugations of verbs with singular vs. plural subjects. This happens most noticeably with the verb to be, which becomes is or was with singular subject nouns and are or were with plural subjects. Because uncountable nouns are grammatically singular, they must take singular forms of their verbs.

Here are a few examples illustrating this distinction:

✖ “The furnitures in my living room are old.” (incorrect)
✖ “The furnitures in my living room is old.” (incorrect)
✔ “The furniture in my living room is old.” (correct)

✖ “Their behaviors are not good.” (incorrect)
✔ “Their behavior is not good.” (correct)

✖ “The news are good.” (incorrect)
✔ “The news is good.” (correct)

Measurements of distance, time, and amount

A notable exception to the subject-verb rule we just discussed relates to countable nouns that are describing measurements of distance, time, or amount. In this case, we consider the sum as a singular amount, and so they must take singular forms of their verbs. For example:

✖ “$20,000 have been credited to your account.” (incorrect)
✔ “$20,000 has been credited to your account.” (correct)

✖ “I think 50 miles are too far to travel on foot.” (incorrect)
✔ “I think 50 miles is too far to travel on foot.” (correct)

✖ “Wow, two hours fly by when you’re having fun!” (incorrect)
✔ “Wow, two hours flies by when you’re having fun!” (correct)

Making uncountable nouns countable

If we want to identify one or more specific “units” of an uncountable noun, then we must add more information to the sentence to make this clear.

For example, if you want to give someone advice in general, you could say:

• “Can I give you advice?” or;

• “Can I give you some advice?”

But if you wanted to emphasize that you’d like to give them a particular aspect or facet of advice, you could not say, “Can I give you an advice?” Instead, we have to add more information to specify what we want to give:

• “Can I give you a piece of advice?”

By adding “piece of” to the uncountable noun advice, we have now made it functionally countable. This means that we can also make this phrase plural, though we have to be careful to pluralize the count noun that we’ve added, and not the uncountable noun itself. For example:

• “Can I give you a few pieces of advice?”

Using quantifiers with uncountable nouns

As we’ve already seen, certain quantifiers (a kind of determiner that specifies an amount of something) can only be used with uncountable nouns, while others can only modify countable nouns. While we will examine these more in depth in the chapter on Determiners, here are a few examples that cause particular confusion.

Too – Too Much – Too Many

We use “too + adjective” to mean “beyond what is needed or desirable,” as in, “It is too big.”

Too much, on the other hand, is used to modify uncountable nouns, while too many is used with countable nouns—they are not used with adjectives. For example, the following sentences would both be incorrect:

✖ “It is too much big.”

✖ “It is too many big.”

One particular source of confusion that can arise here is the fact that much can be used as an adverb before too to give it emphasis, as in:

• “It is much too big.”

We also must be sure not to use too much with a countable noun, nor too many with an uncountable noun.

✖ “I have too much pieces of furniture.” (incorrect)
✔ “I have too many pieces of furniture.” (correct)

✖ “I have too many furniture.” (incorrect)
✔ “I have too much furniture.” (correct)

Fewer vs. Less

The conventional rule regarding less vs. fewer is that we use fewer with countable nouns and less with uncountable nouns. For example:

✖ “I have less friends than Jill has.” (incorrect)
✔ “I have fewer friends than Jill has.” (correct)

✖ “I have fewer money than he has.” (incorrect)
✔ “I have less money than he has.” (correct)

The rule carries over when we add words to an uncountable noun to make a countable phrase (as we looked at above). We can see this distinction in the following examples:

• “I want less toast.” (toast is uncountable)
• “I want fewer pieces of toast.” (pieces of toast is countable)

• “There is less water in the jug.” (water is uncountable)

• “There are fewer cups of water in the jug.” (cups of water is countable)

Measurements of distance, time, and amount

As we noted above, measurements of distance, time, or amount for nouns that we would normally consider countable (and thus plural) end up taking singular verbs. Likewise, these terms also take the word less, most often in the construction less than. For example:

• “$20,000 is less than we expected to pay.”

• “We walked less than 50 miles to get here.”

• “We have less than two hours to finish this project.”

• “I weigh 20 pounds less than I used to.”

Note, however, that we can’t use less before these kinds of nouns:

✖ “We have less $20,000.” (incorrect)

✖ “I ran less 10 miles.” (incorrect)

Less is also used with countable nouns in the construction one less _____, as in:

• “That is one less problem to worry about.”

Fewer can also be used (albeit less commonly), but the construction usually changes to one ______ fewer, as in:

• “That is one problem fewer to worry about.”

Rule or non-rule?

It is important to note that many grammar guides dispute the necessity of this supposed “rule,” referencing that it was in fact implemented as a stylistic preference by the 1770 grammarian Robert Baker, and that fewer and less had been used interchangeably for countable and uncountable nouns for hundreds of years before that. Specifically, it is considered by some as acceptable to use less with countable nouns, especially in informal or colloquial writing and speech.

As long as the sentence does not sound awkward, it is probably safe to do so. However, many still regard the fewer vs. less rule as indisputable, so it is recommended to adhere to the rule for professional, formal, or academic writing.

Quiz

(answers start on page 616)

1. Which article can be used with uncountable nouns?

a) a
b) an
c) the
d) A & B

2. What verb form is generally used with uncountable nouns?

a) singular
b) plural
c) singular in the past tense only
d) plural in the past tense only

3. Which of the following is an uncountable noun?

a) person
b) friend
c) intelligent
d) news

4. Which of the following is not an uncountable noun?

a) love
b) piece
c) wood
d) water

5. Which of the following sentences is correct?

a) “We are waiting for a news.”
b) “You can never have too many love.”
c) “These homeworks are very hard.”
d) “Could I have less water, please?”

Collective Nouns

Definition

Collective nouns are nouns that refer to a collection or group of multiple people, animals, or things. However, even though collective nouns refer to multiple individuals, they still usually function as singular nouns in a sentence. This is because they still are technically referring to one thing: the group as a whole. Here are some examples of collective nouns:

• group – A group is a single unit that is made up of a number of individuals, whether people or things.
• collection – A collection is a single unit that typically consists of many similar things organized together, such as paintings.
• tribe – A tribe is a single unit that is made up of a group of tribe members.
• fleet – A fleet is a single unit that is made up of several vehicles or vessels, such as ships.
• band – A band is a single unit that consists of a number of different musicians.

Collective nouns are used in sentences to refer to a group of people, animals, or things. Here are some examples of collective nouns being used in sentences:

• “The flock of birds flew south for the winter.”

• “The organization voted to revoke the rules that it had previously approved.”

• “The set of tablecloths had disappeared. ”

Similarity to plural nouns

Collective nouns are very similar to plural nouns. Plural nouns are nouns that refer to multiple people, places, or things, and they primarily (but not always) end in “-s,” “-es,” or “-ies.” They are derived from singular nouns, and so are truly plural in form and function. For example, the following words are all plural nouns:

• dogs
• cities
• tables
• oceans
• sleds

Both plural nouns and collective nouns can refer to multiple things. The difference is that collective nouns refer to a group of individuals in a single unit, whereas plural nouns refer to multiple individuals. To understand the difference, consider the following sentence:

• “The musicians played the song beautifully.”

This sentence contains the plural noun musicians. This word lets the reader know that there are multiple musicians who played the song beautifully. However, consider the following sentence:

• “The orchestra played the song beautifully.”

This sentence contains the collective noun orchestra. This word lets the reader know that there is a group of musicians that played the song beautifully. However, it also lets the reader know that the multiple musicians are arranged into a single group. The plural noun musicians in the first sentence does not do that.

Here are two more examples:

• “The soldiers marched very swiftly.” (plural noun)

• “The platoon marched very swiftly.” (collective noun)

As in the previous examples, both soldiers and platoon indicate multiple people. However, only platoon lets the reader know that the soldiers are organized into a collective unit.

Singular vs. Plural Use

Collective nouns usually function as singular nouns in a sentence, but they are occasionally used as plurals, too. Whether they are used in a singular or plural manner can impact which verbs and pronouns should be associated with the word.

The way we determine in which manner the collective noun should be used is to consider whether the members of the collective noun are being regarded as a single, whole unit, or as multiple individuals. If they are functioning as a whole, then you use singular verb tenses and pronouns; if they are acting individually, then you use plural verb tenses and pronouns.

For example, the following sentence demonstrates singular use of a collective noun:

• “The offense hopes to score a touchdown on its next play.”

Here, the collective noun offense refers to the members of the team’s offensive unit functioning as a whole; therefore, it acts as a singular noun in the sentence. As a result, the verb hopes and the pronoun its are also singular.

Compare this to the next sentence, which demonstrates plural use of a collective noun:

• “The jury eat their lunches before they deliberate.”

In this sentence, the collective noun, jury, refers to the jury members acting individually. As a result, jury functions as a plural noun in the sentence. This means that the plural pronouns they and their are used, as is the plural form of the verb eat.

Finally, it is worth noting that in British English, it is more common for collective nouns to function as plurals in all instances.

Plural-only collective nouns

Certain collective nouns can only be plural, such as “police.” For example:

✖ “The police is investigating the matter.” (incorrect)

✔ “The police are investigating the matter.” (correct)

However, we can make the noun countable by adding more information to the sentence. If we want to specify a single member of the police, we could say:

• “A police officer is investigating the matter.”

Here are some other examples of collective nouns that can only be plural:

• people
• children
• poultry
• vermin
• cattle