Noun

BEHAVIOUR OF THE NOUN

To study the behavior of the Nouns, they may be put in the following two groups : 

Group 1 : This group includes those nouns which are always used in the plural. A list of such.

  1. Riches             2. Premises            3. Spectacles            4. Bowels

  5. Valuables         6. Proceeds            7. Alms                    8. Billiards

  9. Movables        10. Wages             11. Thanks               12. Annals

13. Trousers         14. Goods              15. Socks                16. Shorts

17. Pantaloons      18. Tidings            19. Scissors             20. Stockings

Example :

a) Kindly give me a scissor.      (incorrect)

    Kindly give me a pair of scissors.  (correct)

b) My spectacles have been broken.

Group 2 : This group includes those nouns that look plural but are used Singular. A list of such :

  1. Mathematics      2. Statistics     3. Economics        4. Politics    

  5. Gymnastics

Example : 

a) Mathematics are a difficult subject.   (incorrect)

    Mathematics is a difficult subject.      (correct)

NOTE :

1.  'Cousin' is never followed by 'brother' or 'sister'.

2.  We do not write a man. We write to a man.

3.  'Boarding' is a wrong use. It should be 'boarding house'.

4.  'Poor people' is a slang use. It should be 'the poor'.

5.  Food taken once is 'meal' and not 'meals'. Meals means both 'lunch and dinner' and we cannot take them together.

6.  'Tickets' mean 'the number of tickets'. 'Ticket' means 'the mode of entry'.

7.  'Inning' is no word. The actual word is 'innings' and is always used in the singular in English.

8.  'English Teacher' is slang. It should be 'The teacher of English'.

9.   Noun or pronoun after 'one of' should always be plural.

10. Mankind is not used in the plural sense.

11. The plural of some compound nouns are listed below :

a) Son-in law      Sons-in law          b) Brother-in law     Brothers-in law

c) Passer-by       Passers-by           d) Major-General     Major-Generals

e) Lord-Justice    Lords-Justice        f) Man-servant       Men-servants

12. The use of ('s) is usually limited to living things, 'of' is used in the case of lifeless things, e.g., The girl's leg; but the leg of the table (and not the table's leg).

13. When two nouns indicate common possession, ('s) is added to the later one, when they indicate separate possession,('s) is added to each one of them; e.g.,

a) Mohan and Sohan's father    (one Person)

b) Mohan's and Sohan's father  (Two Persons)

14. Our's, your's, her's, their's is wrong.

      Ours, yours, hers, theirs is correct.

15. The following nouns are always used in Plural :

Alms, arms, annals, Billiards, bowels, breeches, eatables, fetters, goods, measles, movables, premises, proceeds, pantaloons, riches, surroundings, stocks, stockings, spectacles, scissors, shorts, thanks, tidings, tongs, trousers, valuables, wages, police, people, poultry, gentry, public, cattle, clergy, folk. 

16.  The following nouns are always used in Singular :

Athletics, classics, economics, gymnastics, gallows, innings, mathematics, mechanics, news, politics, physics, summons, issue, offspring, abuse, advice, rice, gram, fuel, furniture, stationary, scenery, poetry, information, cavalry, infantry, mischief, alphabet, hair, bunting, bedding.

EXERCISE

Direction : Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical mistake/error in it. The error if any, will be in one part  of the sentence. Mark the letter of the part with error as your answer.

1. The staff of(a)/ that college is not happy(b)/ with their new working conditions.(c)/ No error (d)

2. Kamal always says(a)/ that the acoustics of this room(b)/ is very bad.(c)/ No error (d)

3. He is watching(a)/ some crew who(b)/ has just come on to the deck.(c)/ No error (d)

4. I saw a girl in(a)/ a flowered skirt(b)/ and black stocking.(c)/ No error (d)

5. A gang of customers(a)/ waited for the store(b)/ to open.(c)/ No error (d)

6. This is one of those novel(a)/ that deal with(b)/ the generation gap.(c)/ No error (d)

7. The police officer(a)/ gave some advices(b)/ on crime prevention at the community meeting.(c)/ No error (d)

8. Shobha gave me(a)/ some advices on(b)/ how to study for the examination.(c)/ No error (d)

9. All his family members(a)/ as I have been said(b)/ are lovers of dance and music.(c)/ No error (d)

10. The committee(a)/ do not agree,(b)/ although it is unwilling to reject(c)/ the offer altogether.(d)/ No error (e)

11. In one inning(a)/ our team scored(b)/ two hundred(c)/ runs.(d)/ No error (e)

12. The proceeds of(a)/ this show is being(b)/ donated to(c)/ the National Defence Fund.(d)/ No error (e)

13. The old lady(a)/ who met you(b)/ yesterday is(c)/ my cousin sister.(d)/ No error (e)

14. he has been(a)/ suffering from(b)/ measle since(c)/ Monday(d). No error (e)

15. One of my best friend(a)/ is both novelist(b)/ and poet(c)/ of repute(d). No error. (e) 

ANSWERS

1. B	2. C	3. C	4. C	5. A	6. A	7. B	8. B
9. A	10. B	11. A	12. B	13. D	14. C	15. A