Nouns and Articles - Class 8 English Revision Notes

• Nouns
  • Categorization of Nouns
  • Countable and Uncountable Nouns
• Articles
  • Generic Statements
• Subjective Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives
  • Possessives

Nouns

Nouns can be singular or plural.
SINGULAR: banana
PLURAL: bananas

Vowels: a, e, i, o, u
Consonants: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z

Categorization of Nouns

Nouns are words that represent people, places, things, or ideas.

• Person
  John went to the new theater last week with his father.
  examples: brother, mailman, chef, assistant, friend, king
• Place
  We met our neighbors at the arcade.
  examples: beach, zoo, home, Spain, woods, work, school
• Thing
  I found the keys under the sofa.
  examples: eraser, chain, picture, door, pen, tractor, stick
• Idea
  Happiness is very important.
  examples: sadness, freedom, fun, love, anger

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Nouns can be either countable or uncountable.

Countable nouns represent things that can be counted as individuals. Use a, many, few, or numbers

• I bought eleven CDs and a new book.
• We saw many cars and a few vans. before countable nouns.

Countable nouns: apple, ant, bag, book, cat, chair, donut, friend, house, jacket, map, neighbor, page, question, raft, stove

Uncountable nouns represent things that cannot be counted as individuals. Use much, little, some or any* (for negatives and questions) before uncountable nouns.

• I had some soup before dinner.
• I didn’t have any coffee.
• Did you have any fun at the zoo?
• Yes, we had some fun at the zoo.

Uncountable nouns: bread, cheese, coffee, food, fruit, furniture, homework, mail, meat, milk, music,
paper, rice, soup, water

NB: Some and any can also be used with countable nouns. Any is used for questions and negatives. Some is used when the exact number is not known or is not important.
Example: Do you have any apples? Yes, we have some apples in the fridge

Articles

Articles are a, an, and the. Sometimes no article is used.

• A baby cries.
• An alligator swims.
• The teenagers whisper.
• Apples are delicious.

A is for singular nouns. It goes in front of consonant sounds.

• A zebra has stripes.
• Nick eats a sandwich.

An is for singular nouns. It goes in front of vowel sounds.

• An iris is a flower.
• John sees an airplane.

The is for singular or plural nouns. It goes in front of consonant or vowel sounds. 
The is used for things that are already known or introduced. The is also used when the noun it precedes is the only one of its kind

• Nick eats a sandwich. The sandwich is delicious.
• John sees an airplane. The airplane is in the sky.
• The moon is in the sky. (There is only one moon and one sky.)
• Some apples are in the fridge. (Most people only have one fridge in their homes.

Words beginning with u often have a y(ju) sound. In this case, a is used.
Y SOUND: A unicorn has a horn.
U SOUND: Amy has an umbrella.
H is often silent when it begins a word. In this case, an is used.
SILENT: An hour is a long time.
SPOKEN: Sarah has a hamster

Generic Statements

Generic statements are sentences that provide information that is true most or all of the time.
Generic statements often use the verb Be.

• I am a student.
• She is tall.
• They are my parents

Some generic statements use the verb Have.

• Insects have six legs.
• He has blue eyes.

Other generic statements use verbs that describe a state or condition.

• Candy tastes sweet.
• Feathers feel soft.

Other state or condition verbs: look, smell, taste, sound, like, love, hate, think, believe

Subjective Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives

Subject Pronouns refer to nouns. They replace subjects. 

I, you, he, she, it, we, they

• John plays basketball. He is athletic. (He = John)
• Lisa and Tom play musical instruments. They take lessons. (They = Lisa and Tom)

Possessive Adjectives show ownership or relationship. They often go before nouns.

My, your, his, her, its*, our, their

• My hair is brown.
• Amy and her brother have a pet rabbit.
• Their rabbit eats lettuce

NB:Its is a possessive adjective. It’s = It is

Possessives

Possessives show who or what an object belongs to.

Usually, ‘s is added to the end of a noun to show ownership of the noun coming after it.

• I like John‘s haircut.
• My mother‘s car broke down.

For plural nouns that end in -s, only the apostrophe is added to show ownership.

• The girls’ gym is over there.
• The boys’ hockey team plays tomorrow

When showing ownership for more than one noun, only the last noun takes the ‘s or the apostrophe.

• Sam, Dawn, and Kim’s teacher was absent from school yesterday.
• The lions and tigers’ cages are always cleaned on Mondays.

For proper nouns (names) that end in -s, ‘s is added to show ownership.

• James‘s bike is blue.
• Julius‘s house is near the river

Of can also be used to show ownership. In this case the noun representing the owned thing comes first.*

• The father of the student (= the student’s father)
• The king of Spain (= Spain’s king)

NB:This form is usually used when the owner is a place or thing, not a person.