Noun As An Adjective

January 7, 2014 by Bret Tutor

Noun As An Adjective

As you have probably already learned a noun is a person, place or thing, while an adjective is a word used to describe the noun:

Adjective	Noun
blue	sweater
fast	car
old	bread

However, sometimes a noun is used to describe another noun, and when this happens the first noun is acting as an adjective. In most cases the combination of the words can also be referred to as a compound noun. For example:

Noun as Adjective	Noun
cashmere	sweater
car	collection
banana	bread

Order of Adjective and Subject

As long as you remember the simple rule that first noun is the adjective, you will know which one is the subject. Here are a few examples:

a hat box is a box for hats
a TV show is a show for TV
a love letter is a letter about love
a pocket knife is a knife sized for a pocket
an art display is a display of art
a Christmas show is a show celebrating Christmas

Adjective Noun Is Singular

Similar to the use of adjectives, a noun being used as an adjective remains in the singular form and does not vary.

Right		Wrong
Love story	Love stories	NOT loves story or loves stories
Container ship	Container ships	NOT containers ship, containers ships
Car hood	Car hoods	NOT cars hood or cars hoods
Care package	Care packages	NOT cares package or cares packages

Only the noun acting as a noun accepts the plural form.
Some nouns appear to be in a plural, but we address them as singular (for example the news). When these nouns act as adjectives they do not change. For example:

an economics report, four economics reports
one news article, three news articles
a gymnastics athlete, two gymnastics athletes

Exceptions:
Some nouns are used in the plural form when they are used as adjectives. Some examples include sports, clothes, accounts, etc.

clothes dryer, clothes department
sports arena, sports magazines
accounts payable, accounts receivable
customs officers, customs forms

Writing A Noun As Adjective

When we use the noun as an adjective there are several ways we can write it. Again, these are also known as compound nouns so they have the same structure.

two separate words (banana bread)
two hyphenated words (world-class)
one word (shoelace)

Unfortunately, there is no easy way of knowing which of the three ways is best. There are even words that you can write in more than one way (for example world class, world-class).

Pronouncing A Noun As Adjective

In pronouncing the noun as an adjective we usually stress the first word:

world-class
year-end
nightcap

Number Of Nouns As Adjectives

In the same way, we can have many adjectives together, we can also have more than one “noun as adjective” together. For example, film sales forecast refers to the features of editing a film.

Noun as Adjective	Noun as Adjective	Noun
		forecast
	sales	forecast
Film	sales	forecast

Senior school newspaper editor: this refers to the person who is highly ranked and is the editor of a newspaper in a school.

Noun as Adjective	Noun as Adjective	Noun as Adjective	Noun
			editor
		newspaper	editor
	school	newspaper	editor
Senior	school	newspaper	editor

Note: In Senior school newspaper editor you should be able to spot another “noun as adjective.” Look at newspaper, this word is made up of two nouns, news + paper.

National highway patrol: this is the group of officers who help keep our highways safe.

Noun as Adjective	Noun as Adjective	Noun
		patrol
	highway	patrol
national	highway	patrol

It is common to read many nouns stringed together in newspapers in order to convey a headline without using too much space. For example, Moon Landing Expensive Endeavor.
In order to make it easier to read these kinds of headlines try reading from right to left.
Also, you can use an adjective in the same structure that you would use a “noun as adjective”:

full refrigerator drawer
corrupt government official
impressive Hollywood production
reliable roof repairman
stellar volleyball coach

[slickquiz id=8]

Compound Nouns

January 7, 2014 by Bret Tutor

Compound Nouns

A type of noun we use a lot are compound nouns. These are usually made of two nouns or an adjective plus a noun. When looking at compound nouns one needs to remember that they act as a single word and are modified by other adjectives and nouns.

The three forms for writing compound nouns are:

open or spaced – there is a space between the two words ( bowling ball )
hyphenated – hyphen between the two words ( world-class )
closed or solid – no space or hyphen between the two words (landscape)

Here are a few of the combinations of types of words used to create compound nouns:

noun	+	noun	Haircut	Is this a nice haircut for me?
			Bathroom	The bathroom is on the right.
			Drumstick	Do you want to eat the drumstick?
adjective	+	noun	Black Market	There is always a black market for luxury item replicas.
			Smartboard	A smartboard is a great tool in the classroom.
			Hotplate	A hotplate will be very useful when we go camping.
verb	+	noun	Stop gap	Jack put in a stop gap to prevent the leaking.
			Running partner	My running partner helps me keep up my training.
			Bowling ball	I brought my own bowling ball.
noun	+	verb	Air-conditioning	The air-conditioning system is working well.
			Rainfall	The rainfall has not stopped.
			Sidekick	The hero’s sidekick is funny.
verb	+	preposition	take-out	We can have take-out for dinner.
preposition	+	verb	input	The input he entered was incorrect which caused an error.
preposition	+	noun	Bystander	A bystander ended up being the main witness.
noun	+	adjective	Snow white	Her dress was snow white.

Pronunciation

Generally speaking, when pronouncing compound nouns one tends to stress the first word. This pronunciation is key in helping the listener understand what one is talking about. For example, if you say the words “greenhouse” with equal emphasis on both of the words, this emphasizes a house painted green. If you emphasize or stress the word “green” the listener knows you are talking about a special building used to grow plants.

Plural Forms of Compound Nouns

In most cases the plural of a compound noun is made by changing the most relevant word to a plural. For example:

singular	plural
One rooftop	Four rooftops
A school principal	Two school principals
One haircut	A few haircuts
A football coach	Eight football coaches
A shoelace	Five shoelaces
A toothbrush	Two toothbrushes
A high-roller	Three high-rollers
A hitchhiker	Six hitchhikers
A star-struck lover	Two star-struck lovers

As the English language has evolved there have been some changes in the way some words are used. For example, older styles demand that the plural of spoonful and truckful be written as spoonsful and trucksful, however, it is more common now to say spoonfuls and truckfuls. Both are acceptable, but remaining consistent in your usage is key. Here are some examples:

	old style plural (very formal)	new style plural
teaspoonful	2 teaspoonsful of flour	2 teaspoonfuls of flour
truckful	2 trucksful of toys	2 truckfuls of toys
bucketful	5 bucketsful of milk	5 bucketfuls of milk
cupful	3 cupsful of water	3 cupfuls of water

In some cases, the plural of a compound noun is not intuitive. In this case, you should always consult a dictionary to find the plural. For example:

higher-ups
also-rans
go-betweens
has-beens
good-for-nothings
grown-ups

One guideline you should always remember is that in compound nouns made of two nouns the first one behaves as an adjective which is why it usually does not become a plural. Instead, when you have a compound noun of the noun+noun kind, it is the second noun that takes the –s to make it plural. See the examples below:

long plural form becomes >	plural compound noun[noun + noun]
200 bottles of wine	200 wine bottles
5,000 students of philosophy	5,000 philosophy students
50 makers of films	50 film-makers
30 cans of beer	30 beer cans
80 coaches of football	80 football coaches

[slickquiz id=9]

Possessive Nouns

January 7, 2014 by Bret Tutor

Possessive Nouns

Possessive nouns show that something belongs to another person or thing. We typically add an apostrophe followed by an ‘s’ to singular nouns and only an apostrophe to plural nouns. Here are some examples of possessive nouns:

the chair’s legs (one chair)
the chairs’ legs (two or more chairs)

In this instance the number of chairs does not matter, the apostrophe is dictated by the possessor (who owns it, in this case the chair) and not the possessed (in what is owned, in this case the legs). See another example below:

	one orange	more than one orange
one student	the student’s orange	the student’s oranges
more than one student	the students’ orange	the students’ oranges

The structure can be used for a whole phrase:

the dog collar’s size (the size of the collar of the dog)
the President’s daughter’s phone (the phone of the daughter of the president)

One would think that of is enough to show possession, but in reality it is more common to use ‘s to show possession. This can be confusing for Spanish speakers since of is commonly used in their language. Below you will see two phrases that are both correct, but the second one is more common:

the sister of his neighbor
his neighbor’s sister

Proper Nouns (Names)

Possessive is regularly used with proper nouns, such as names, as illustrated below:

Hold John’s phone.
Find Sally’s purse.
Do you like Jaime’s new haircut?
Is that Harold’s gift?

If a person ends with an s we still use the ‘s to indicate possession. It follows the rules for other singular nouns:

Search for Louis’s car.

Irregular Plurals

For nouns that have irregular plurals (those that form a plural without adding an s) we treat them as singular noun by adding ‘s to create the possessive.

singular noun	plural noun
the child’s	the children’s
the person’s	the people’s
the woman’s right	the women’s right
the foot’s size	the feet’s size
The tooth’s decay	The teeth’s decay

[slickquiz id=7]

Proper Nouns

January 7, 2014 by Bret Tutor

Proper Nouns

Proper Nouns (Names)

Proper nouns are specific names for a person, place or entity. The most common example of a proper noun is a person’s first name, such as Alexandra or Jaime. Another example is the name of a country such as China, Spain and Brazil. Companies such as Apple, IBM and Google are also proper nouns.

Common Noun	Proper Noun
Computer tablet	Ipad, Nook
Street, avenue	Main Street, Elm Street
Man, boy	John, Samuel
Organization	Smithsonian, Toshiba
Retail shop	Target, Wal-Mart
Month, day of the week	July, Tuesday
Publication	Miami Herald, Tuesdays with Morrie

Proper Nouns without using the in front

When we use the names of people we do not use “the” before the name. For example:

first names	Barack (not *the Barack)
	Steve
surnames	Obama
	Jobs
full names	Steve Jobs

If you are writing about names of companies you do not use “the” in front. Here are a few examples:

Macy’s, Target, Wal-Mart
Disney, American Airlines, Epson
Skes, Florsheim, Prada

Businesses named after a person usually do not need “the” before their names. This is also the case for shops, banks, restaurants, etc. Here are a few examples:

shops	Sears, Macy’s, Loehmann’s
banks	Barclay’s Bank
hotels, restaurants	Mario’s, Ruth Chris Steakhouse, Houston’s
churches, cathedrals	St. Peter & Paul, St. Raymond’s, Church of the Little Flower

Names of places do not usually require “the” either. Here are a few examples:

cities	San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami
states	Florida, West Virginia
countries	Spain, Portugal, Germany
continents	South America, Europe
islands	Elba
mountains	Mount Rushmore

When using designations such as President, Doctor, Mr. or Mrs. we do not use “the” unless we are using it as a common noun. For example:

the president, the king	President Obama
the principal, the doctor	Principal Smith, Doctor Grey
the nun, the professor	Sister Mary, Professor Adams
the teacher, the grandmother	Mrs. Marti, Grandma Thompson
Mr., Mrs., Ms.	Ms. Swift, Mr. Timberlake

Below are some examples in sentences:

She wants to speak to the principal.
He wants to speak to Principal Lovett.
Did the senator replace Senator Clinton?

When speaking about lakes and mountains we do not use the:

the lake	Lake Titicaca
the mount	Mount Rushmore

For example:

I like to travel to the mountains and have been to Mount Rushmore many times.

Streets and roads do not warrant the word “the” either. This includes avenues, parks, roads, etc.

streets etc.	Main Street, Elm Street, Fourteenth Terrace
squares etc.	Times Square, Columbus Plaza, United Nations Square
parks etc.	Fair-child Park, Salvadore Park

Some significant structures have names of two or more words, where the first word is in honor of a person (for example the Reagan Library). When this is the case we do not use the word “the.” For example:

person	Bush Library, St. Peter’s Basilica, John Wayne Airport
places	Madison Station, Vizcaya Gardens

Proper Nouns using the in front

If the name of the country indicates that it is a collection of states or other items you will need to use “the” in front of it.

states	the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates
kingdom	the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
others	the French Republic, the Dominican Republic

Bodies of water such as canals, oceans and seas also use “the” in front of them:

canals	the Panama Canal
rivers	the Orinoco River, the Rio Grande
seas	the Adriatic Sea, the Baltic Sea
oceans	the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific

When expressing the plural of names of people and places we use “the”:

people (families, for example)	the Smiths
countries	the United States
island groups	the Galapagos
mountain ranges	the Andes

For example, read the following sentences:

She called the Smiths last week and asked them to come.
The Galapagos has an incredible amount of diversity.
Many types of potatoes grow near the Andes.

There are exceptions to the rules above when it comes to banks, restaurants, buildings, etc.:

hotels, restaurants	the Four Seasons, the Mandarin
banks	the Bank of America
cinemas, theaters	the Coral Gables Cinema
museums	the Smithsonian, the Met
buildings	the Empire State Building, the Twin Towers
newspapers	the Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Times
organizations	the League of Nations, the International Monetary Fund

Those names that include “of” as part of the name also ask for “the”. For example:

the Statue of Liberty
the Bank of London
the Strait of Gibraltar
the Gulf of Mexico
the Peninsula of Florida

Proper Nouns Capitalization

Do not forget that you always capitalize the first letter of a proper noun. There are no exceptions to this rule.

[slickquiz id=6]

Count and Non-count Nouns

January 7, 2014 by Bret Tutor

Count and Non-count Nouns

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns can be easily spotted and are usually tangible. They can be used in a plural form by adding an “s” or “es”. For example: apples, dogs, cars and chairs. Here are more examples:

Boy, girl
Man, woman (Irregular – Men, women)
Chair, table, desk
Pound, inch, foot
Grape, cookie, watermelon
Bed, shirt, belt, tie

Countable nouns can be expressed in either singular or plural:

His friend is visiting.
His friends are visiting.

Countable nouns are commonly used with the definite article “the” and indefinite article “a”:

A dolphin is a mammal.
She would like an apple.
It is on the table.

Words like a, the, my, this, and an are necessary when using a single countable noun:

She wants a raise.
Which is his car?

However, a plural countable noun can be used on its own:

He likes musicals.
Computers are useful.

The words some and any are commonly used with countable nouns. They are also used with uncountable nouns as well. Here are a few examples with countable nouns:

He has some stamps.
Does she have any siblings?

The words a few and many are also commonly used with countable nouns. They are not used with uncountable nouns.

She has a few relatives.
He doesn’t have many friends.

Uncountable Nouns

In contrast to countable nouns, uncountable nouns are those that we cannot separate and count on their own. Time, for example, can not be counted. The same is true for water. We can count glasses of water, but not the water itself. We can also count time by minutes, seconds, hours, days, etc. See more examples below:

Love, hate, sadness
Companionship, knowledge, health
Milk, salt, wine
Leverage, power, energy

Uncountable nouns are treated as singular, which is why we use a singular verb with them. For example:

His power is remarkable.
The salt melts the snow.

Uncountable nouns typically do not use the indefinite articles “a” or “an”. There are exceptions, but you should avoid its use. We usually do not say “a milk” or “an energy”. We can use an article if you use a container word(quantifier) before the uncountable noun.

a gallon of milk
a bit of leverage
a great deal of joy

The words some and any can be used with uncountable nouns.

She has some pride.
Did they have any wine?

The words a little and much are also used with uncountable nouns. These cannot be used with countable nouns.

She has a little fear.
They haven’t got much energy.

Below there are more examples of different countable and uncountable nouns:

Countable	Uncountable
pesos	currency
bowl	rice
gallon	milk
spoonful	sugar
tank	gas
handbag	baggage
story	news
trip	experience
task	employment
tears	sadness
joke	laughter

If you are going to speak with native English speakers you really do need to understand the different countable and uncountable nouns.

Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable

Some nouns can be countable and uncountable depending on the context. In these cases, the word may actually change its meaning.

Countable		Uncountable
She has visited here many times.	time	What time is it?
Bring me three coffees.	coffee	I have three bags of coffee left.
She loves to eat tropical fruits.	fruit	Eat at least one piece of fruit a day.
That was one of the greatest works of art.	work	He likes to work on the weekend.

[slickquiz id=5]