4. The Noun Phrase
The noun phrase is a group of words that ends with a noun. It can contain determiners (the, a, this, etc.), adjectives, adverbs, and nouns. It cannot begin with a preposition. Remember that both subjects and complements are generally noun phrases.
Count and non-count nouns: A count noun is one that can be counted:
book- one book, two books, three books,...
person- one person, two persons,...
It is very important to know if a noun is count or non-count. Students often make mistakes with the following nouns. Be sure that you know the plurals of irregular count nouns. The following list contains some irregular count nouns that you should know.
person - people
foot - feet
child - children
mouse - mice
tooth - teeth
A non-count noun is one that cannot be counted:
milk- you can’t say: one milk, two milks,...
Typical uncountables are:
Materials and substances: plastic, iron, wood, paper, water, air, coffee
Abstract ideas: life, fun, freedom, progress, health, time
Activities: work, travel, sleep, football, help, research
The following words, which are uncountable in English but countable in many other languages: accommodation, advice, behavior, business, cash, equipment, furniture, health, homework, information, knowledge, luggage, money, permission, rubbish, scenery, traffic, weather, work, sand, news, measles, food, soap, mumps, economics, physics, meat, advertising*, mathematics, politics.
*Note: Although advertising is a non-count noun, advertisement is a count noun. If you wish to speak of one particular advertisement, you must use this word:
There are too many advertisements during television shows.
It is possible, however, to count some non-count nouns if the substance is placed in a countable container:
glass of milk- one glass of milk, two glasses of milk,...:
accommodation |
a place to live / stay |
advice |
a piece of advice |
bread |
a loaf / slice / piece of bread, a bread roll |
furniture |
a piece of furniture |
information |
a piece of information |
luggage |
a piece of luggage, a suitcase, bag |
money |
a note / coin, a sum of money |
news |
a piece of news |
traffic |
a car / bus etc. |
travel |
a journey / trip |
work |
a job, a piece of work |
Some non-count nouns, such as food, meat, money, and sand, may be used as count nouns in order to indicate different types:
This is one of the foods that my doctor has forbidden me to eat. (indicates a particular type of food)
He studies meats. (for example, beef, pork, lamb, etc.)
Some words can be countable or uncountable with a change in meaning. The countable meaning is specific and the uncountable meaning is general.
a fish (the animal) |
some fish (a portion of food) |
a business (a company) |
business (in general) |
a noise (a specific noise) |
noise (in general) |
a hair (a single piece) |
hair (all together) |
a painting (one object) |
painting (the activity / hobby) |
a work (a work of art) |
work (in general) |
a loaf (a loaf of bread) |
some bread (in general) |
a coffee (a cup of coffee) |
some coffee (the material) |
a paper (a newspaper) |
some paper (the material) |
a wood (a small forest) |
some wood (the material) |
an iron (for pressing clothes) |
some iron (the material) |
a glass (for drinking) |
some glass (the material) |
The word time can be either countable or non-countable depending on the context. When it means an occasion, it is countable. When it means a number of hours, days, etc., it is non-countable:
We have spent too much time on this homework. (non-countable)
She has been late for class six times this semester. (count)
To decide if a noun that you are not sure of is countable or non-countable, decide if you can say: one___________or a_______. For example, you can say “one book” so it is a count noun. You cannot say “one money” so it is not a count noun. Also, of course, by the very nature of non-count nouns, a non-count noun can never be plural. Remember that, while some of the nouns in the list of non-count nouns appear to be plural because they end in -s, they are actually not plural.
Other problems:
One group of nouns only has a plural form: clothes, contents, feelings, glasses (for your eyes), jeans, stairs, trousers:
My trousers are too tight.
The stairs are very steep.
One group of nouns can be followed by either a singular or plural verb: army, audience, class, company, crowd, family, government, group, public, team:
The Government has / have decided to resign.
The word “police” is followed by a plural verb:
The police are coming.
Some determiners can be used only with count or non-count nouns, while others can be used with either. Memorize the words in the following chart:
with count nouns |
with non-count nouns |
a, the, some, any |
the, some, any |
this, that, these, those |
this, that |
none, one, two, three,... |
none |
many a lot of a large number of a great number of
fewer ... than more than |
much (usually in negatives or questions) a lot of a large amount of
(a) little less ... than more ... than |
Exercise 2: Count and Non-Count Nouns
Identify the following nouns as count nouns or non-count nouns according to their usual meaning.
television atmosphere food cup
car person tooth money
news water soap hydrogen
geography pencil soup minute
Exercise 2.1: Count and Non-Count Nouns
Choose the correct form.
Sue is the woman with blonde hair / hairs who lives opposite.
I’d like some information / informations about hotels in London.
Did you have a good travel / journey from Moscow?
I’ve got a problem and I’d like some advice / advices.
Don’t forget to buy a bread / some bread when you go shopping.
I’d like to find out what’s on TV this evening. Have you got some paper / a paper?
There is / are usually a lot of traffic / traffics in the city at this time of the day.
He’s trying to find a work / job at the moment, but there isn’t / aren’t much work / works available.
Is / are good accommodation / accommodations difficult to find in the city centre?
Exercise 2.2: Count and Non-Count Nouns
Put one word in each space. Put a dash (-) if the space should be blank.
My trousers need ironing. Have you got _____ iron?
Could you go to the baker’s and buy ________ loaf, please?
I’d like _________ information about rains to Paris.
Louise has ____ very good health.
The war ended _____ years ago.
Vanessa bought __________ paper and read it on the bus.
Could you give me _________ advice, please?
Do you know ________ people in this village?
Exercise 2.3: Count and Non-Count Nouns
Choose the best alternative to complete each sentence.
The fire is going to go out. Can you go and get a wood / some wood.
There was / there were money all over the floor.
Lemonade? Sorry, no, we haven’t got some / any.
Peter keeps a chicken / some chicken at the bottom of his garden.
The information we were given were very useful / was very useful.
How many / how much people were there on the bus?
Look at Rita’s hair. It’s green / they’re green.
I’ve called the police and they’re on their way / it’s on its way.
The assembly hall was full of a noise / noise.
Exercise 3: Determiners
Choose the correct determiners in the following sentences.
He doesn't have (many/much) money.
I would like (a few/a little) salt on my vegetables.
She bought (that/those) cards last night.
There are (less/fewer) students in this room than in the next room.
There is (too much/too many) bad news on television tonight.
I do not want (these/this) water.
This is (too many/too much) information to learn.
A (few/little) people left early.
Would you like (less/fewer) coffee than this?
This jacket costs (too much/too many).
Exercise 3.1: Determiners
Choose the correct determiners in the following sentences.
I’ve got a little / little money, so I could lend you some if you want.
I’m sorry, but I’ve got very little / a little money at the moment. I’m afraid I can’t lend you any.
He has very a few / few friends and he gets rather lonely.
She has a few / few friends in London and she’s very happy there.
It’s an extremely poor country. It has a few / few natural recourse and a little / little good agricultural land.
Would you like a little / little more wine? There’s still a little / little left in the bottle.
It won’t take long to drive into town. There’s very a little / little traffic on the road at this time of the day.
I think Peter went out a few / few minutes ago.
It’s a very boring little town. There’s very a little / little to do there.
Exercise 3.2: Determiners
Choose the correct determiners in the following sentences.
There are _______ envelopes on my desk.
much
some
any
a little
There isn’t _________ money in my pocket.
no
some
any of
any
Have you got _______ good computer games?
any
any of
a lot
many of
Do you like Madonna? Have you got ________ her records?
some
every of
any
all
There isn’t _______ time before our flight leaves.
much
many
some
no
I’ve got _______ idea where Mike is.
none
none of
no
any
Do you know ______ people living in England?
much
many
much of
many of
You’ve had ____ interesting experiences.
any
a lot
much
a lot of
Would you like _____ more mil?
little
a little
few
a few
____ my friends want to see the concert.
no
any of
none
none of
A and an: A or an can precede only singular count nouns; they mean one. They can be used in a general statement or to introduce a subject which has not been previously mentioned:
A baseball is round. (general - means all baseballs)
I saw a boy in the street. (We don’t know which boy)
An is used before words that begin with a vowel sound. A is used before words that begin with a consonant sound:
a book, an apple.
Some words can be confusing because the spelling does not indicate the pronunciation:
a house (begins with a consonant sound)
an hour (begins with a vowel sound)
a university (begins with a consonant sound)
an umbrella (begins with a vowel sound)
The following words begin with a consonant sound and thus must always be preceded by a:
house uniform |
home university |
heavy universal |
half union |
The following words begin with a vowel sound and thus must always be preceded by an:
uncle |
umbrella |
hour |
heir |
The initial sound of the word that immediately follows the indefinite article will determine whether it should be a or an:
an umbrella an hour |
a white umbrella a whole hour |
The : The is used to indicate something that we already know about or something that is common knowledge:
The in the corner is my friend. (The speaker and the listener know which boy)
The earth is round. (There is only one earth)
With non-count nouns, one uses the article the if speaking in specific terms, but uses no article if speaking in general:
Sugar is sweet. (general - all sugar)
The sugar on the table is from Cuba. (specific -the sugar that is on the table)
Normally, plural count nouns, when they mean everything within a certain class, are not preceded by the:
Oranges are green until they ripen. (all oranges)
Athletes should follow a well-balanced diet. (all athletes)
Normally a proper noun is not preceded by an article unless there are several people or things with the same name and speaker is specifying one of them:
There are three Susan Parkers in the telephone directory.
The Susan Parker that I know lives on First Avenue.
Normally words such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, school, church, home, and college do not use any article unless to restrict the meaning:
We ate breakfast at eight o’clock this morning.
We went to school yesterday.
Use the following generalizations as a guide for the use of the article the.
Use the with |
don’t use the with |
oceans, rivers, seas, gulfs, plural lakes |
singular lakes |
the Red Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Great Lakes |
Lake Geneva, Lake Erie |
mountains |
mounts |
The Rocky Mountains, the Andes |
Mount Vesuvius, Mount McKinley |
earth, moon |
planet, constellations |
the earth, the moon |
Venus, Mars, Orion |
schools, colleges, universities when the phrase begins with school, etc. |
schools, colleges, universities when the phrase begins with a proper noun |
The University of Florida, the College of Arts and Sciences |
Santa Fe Community College, Cooper’s Art School, Stetson University |
ordinal numbers before nouns |
cardinal numbers after nouns |
the First World War, the third chapter |
World War One, chapter three |
wars (except world wars) |
|
the Crimean War, the Korean War |
|
countries with more than one word (except Great Britain) |
countries with one word |
the United States, the Central African Republic |
China, Venezuela, France |
|
continents |
|
Europe, Africa, South America |
|
states |
|
Florida, Ohio, California |
historical documents |
|
the Constitution, the Magna Carta |
|
ethnic groups |
|
the Indians, the Aztecs |
|
|
sports |
|
baseball, basketball |
|
abstract nouns |
|
freedom, happiness |
|
general areas of subject matter |
|
mathematics, sociology |
|
holidays |
|
Christmas, Thanksgiving |
|
|
Exercise 4: Articles
In the following sentences supply the articles (a, an, or the) if they are necessary. If no article is necessary, leave the space blank.
_________ Jason's father bought him _______ bicycle that he had wanted for his birthday.
_____ Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from _____ France to _____ United States.
Rita is studying ____ English and _________ math this semester.
judge asked ______ witness to tell ______ truth.
Please give me ________ cup of ______ coffee with __________ cream and ___________ sugar.
big books on table are for my history class.
No one in ____________ Spanish class knew _______ correct answer to _________ Mrs. Perez's question.
My _____ car is four years old and it still runs well.
When you go to ________ store, please buy __________ bottle of _________ chocolate milk and _________ dozen oranges.
There are only ___________ few seats left for __________ tonight's musical at _______ university.
John and Marcy went to ____________ school yesterday and then studied in ____________ library before returning home.
Lake Erie is one of _____ five Great Lakes in _______ North America.
On our trip to Spain, we crossed _________ Atlantic Ocean.
________ Mount Rushmore is the site of __________ magnificent tribute to ________ four great American presidents.
What did you eat for _________ breakfast this morning?
Louie played basketball and _________baseball at ________ Boys' Club this year.
Rita plays violin and her sister plays ___________ guitar.
While we were in Alaska, we saw _________ Eskimo village.
Phil can't go to _________ movies tonight because he has to write ______ essay.
David attended ________ Princeton University.
Harry has been admitted to ___________ School of Medicine at _________ Midwestern university.
_____ Mel's grandmother is in _________ hospital, so we went to visit her, _____ last night.
__________political science class is taking trip to ________ United States in __________ spring.
Queen Elizabeth II is ________ monarch of __________ Great Britain.
_________ Declaration of Independence was drawn up in 1776.
Scientists hope to send expedition to ________ Mars during ________ 1980s.
Last night there was ______ bird singing outside my house.
__________ chair that you are sitting in is broken.
_________ Civil War was fought in _______ United States between 1861 and 1865.
________ Florida State University is smaller than ________ University of Florida.
Exercise 4.1: Articles
In the following sentences add the if they are necessary. Examples:
Mrs. Woods goes to church every Sunday.
There is a cemetery behind the church.
Andrews hates ____ exams.
How did you get on in _______ exams yesterday?
Do you take ___ sugar in ________ coffee?
“Where is ________ coffee I bought?” “It’s in _______ kitchen.”
I’m a vegetarian. I don’t eat __ meat or ______ fish.
I’ll put ______ shopping away. Shall I put ____ meat into _________ freezer?
Do you like ______ English beer?
Do you think ______ love is the most important thing in ______ life?
What time does Annie does normally go to _______ school?
They are painting ______ school at the moment.
I went to _ bed at 10 o’clock last night.
I was lying on ______ bed reading a book.
Kate arrives ________ home from _______ work at about 6 o’clock.
Did you go to _____ work by _______ bus or on ________ foot yesterday?
Sue went to _________ prison to visit John last night.
My mother has gone into _________ hospital for an operation.
The ABC cinema is opposite ________ hospital.
I usually have coffee and toast for ________ breakfast.
Exercise 4.2: Articles
Choose the correct answer.
Where’s an / the electric heater? I can’t find it.
What happened at an / the end of a / the film?
David has an / the appointment at a / the optician’s.
An / the old person sometimes feels lonely.
Peter owns a / the largest model plane in a / the world.
Luckily a / the fire brigade soon came and put out a / the fire.
Harry’s mother bought him a / the guitar for his birthday present.
I’m thinking about buying a / the new pair of trousers.
In the end there was a / the war between the two countries.
I didn’t know an / the answer to a / the question, so I left I out.
Other: The use of the word other is often a cause of confusion for foreign students. Study the following formulas:
with count nouns |
with non-count nouns |
an +other +singular noun (one more) |
|
another pencil = one more pencil |
|
the other + singular noun (last of the set) |
|
the other pencil = the last pencil present |
|
other + plural noun (more of the set0 |
other = non-count nouns (more of the set) |
other pencils = some more pencils |
other water = some more water |
the other + plural noun (the rest of the set) |
the other + non-count noun (all the rest) |
the other pencils = all remaining pencils |
the other water = the remaining water |
Note: Another and other are nonspecific while the other is specific. If the subject is understood, one can omit the noun and keep the determiner and other so that other functions as a pronoun. If it is a plural count noun that is omitted, other becomes others. The word other can never be plural if it is followed by a noun:
I don’t want this book. Pleas give me another.
(another = any other book - not specific)
I don’t want this book. Please give me the other.
( the other = the other book - specific)
This chemical is poisonous. Others are poisonous too.
( others = other chemicals - not specific)
I don’t want these books. Please give me the others.
(the others = the other books - specific)
Note: Another way of substituting for the noun is to use other + one or ones:
I don’t want this book. Pleas give me another one.
I don’t want this book. Please give me the other one.
This chemical is poisonous. Other ones are poisonous too.
I don’t want these books. Please give me the other ones.
Exercise 5: Other
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of other:
This pen isn’t working. Please give me ________ (singular)
If you’re still thirsty, I’ll make ______________pot of coffee.
This dictionary has a page missing. Please give me ________. (the last one)
He does not need those books. He needs __________ (all the remaining)
There are thirty people in the room. Twenty are from Latin America and __________ are from ______ countries.
Six people were in the store two were buying meat. _______ was looking at magazines. _________ was eating a candy bar. __________were walking around looking for more food. (notice the verbs)
This glass of milk is sour. _____________ glass of milk is sour too.
The army was practicing its drills. One group was doing artillery practice. ______________was marching; ________was at attention; and ____________ was practicing combat tactics.
There are seven students from Japan. _____________ are from Iran, and ____________ are from _________places.
We looked at four cars today. The first two were far too expensive, but _____________ ones were reasonably priced.
Note: It is also possible to use the demonstrative articles this, that, these, and those as pronouns. It is correct to say this one and that one; however, it is not correct to say these ones or those ones. Simply use these or those as pronouns without adding ones:
This elevator is broken. That one is also broken. (that one = that elevator)
These glasses are dirty. Those are dirty also. (those = those glasses)