| 词组 | Nouns |
| 释义 | Nouns ◊ GRAMMAR A noun is used to identify a person or thing. Nouns can be classified into six main grammatical types: count nouns, uncount nouns, singular nouns, plural nouns, collective nouns, and proper nouns. ◊ count nouns Nouns referring to things which can be counted are called count nouns. They have two forms, singular and plural. The plural form usually ends in 's'. For full information on how to form plurals, see entry at Plural forms of nouns. The singular form of a count noun is always preceded by a determiner such as 'a', 'another', 'every', or 'the'. They left the house to go for a walk after tea. When you use a singular form as the subject of a verb, you use a singular verb form. My son likes playing football. The address on the letter was wrong. The plural form of a count noun can be used with or without a determiner. You do not use a determiner if you are referring to a type of thing in general. You use a determiner such as 'the' or 'my' if you are referring to a particular group of things. You use a determiner such as 'many' or 'several' when you are indicating how many things there are. Does the hotel have large rooms? The rooms at Watermouth are all like this. The house had many rooms and a terrace with a view of Etna. When you use a plural form as the subject of a verb, you use a plural verb form. These cakes are delicious. Count nouns can be used after numbers. ...one table. ...two cats. ...three hundred pounds. ◊ uncount nouns Nouns which refer to things such as substances, qualities, feelings, and types of activity, rather than to individual objects or events, are called uncount nouns. These nouns have only one form. I needed help with my homework. The children had great fun playing with the puppets. ◊ WARNING Some nouns which are uncount nouns in English are count nouns or plural nouns in other languages. advice, baggage, equipment, furniture, homework, information, knowledge, luggage, machinery, money, news, traffic Uncount nouns are not used with 'a' or 'an'. They are used with 'the' or possessive determiners when they refer to something that is specified or known. I liked the music, but the words were boring. Eva clambered over the side of the boat into the water. She admired his vitality. When you use an uncount noun as the subject of a verb, you use a singular verb form. Electricity is dangerous. Food was expensive in those days. Uncount nouns are not used after numbers. It is possible to refer to a quantity of something which is expressed by an uncount noun by using a word like 'some', or a phrase like 'a piece of'. See entry at ↑ I want some privacy. I pulled the two pieces of paper from my pocket. ◊ WARNING Some uncount nouns end in '-ics' or '-s' and therefore look like plural count nouns. Mathematics is too difficult for me. Measles is in most cases a harmless illness. These nouns usually refer to: • subjects of study and activities acoustics, aerobics, aerodynamics, aeronautics, athletics, classics, economics, electronics, ethics, genetics, gymnastics, linguistics, logistics, mathematics, mechanics, obstetrics, physics, politics, statistics, thermodynamics • games billiards, bowls, cards, checkers, darts, draughts, skittles, tiddlywinks • illnesses diabetes, measles, mumps, rabies, rickets, shingles ◊ mass nouns A mass noun is a noun referring to a substance which is usually used as an uncount noun but which can be used as a count noun to refer to quantities or types of the substance. For example, you can ask for 'three coffees', meaning 'three cups of coffee', or talk about 'different cheeses', meaning 'different types of cheese'. We asked for two coffees. ...profits from low-alcohol beers. ...the use of small amounts of nitrogen in making certain steels. ◊ singular nouns There are some nouns, and some particular meanings of nouns, which are only used in the singular form. Singular nouns are always used with a determiner and take a singular verb. The sun was shining. He's always thinking about the past and worrying about the future. They were beginning to find Griffiths' visits rather a strain. There was a note of satisfaction in his voice. ◊ plural nouns Some nouns have only a plural form. For example, you can buy 'goods', but not 'a good'. Other nouns have only a plural form when they are used with a particular meaning. Take care of your clothes. The weather conditions were the same. ◊ WARNING Plural nouns are not usually used after numbers. For example, you do not say 'two clothes' or 'two goods'. Some plural nouns refer to single items that have two linked parts: things that people wear or tools that people use. These plural nouns are: glasses, jeans, knickers, pants, pyjamas, shorts, tights, trousers binoculars, pincers, pliers, scales, scissors, shears, tweezers You use 'some' in front of these words when talking about one item. I wish I'd brought some scissors. You can also use 'a pair of' when talking about one item, and 'two pairs of', 'three pairs of', and so on when talking about more than one item. I was sent out to buy a pair of scissors. Liza had given me three pairs of jeans. Many plural nouns lose their '-s' and '-es' endings when they are used in front of other nouns. ...my trouser pocket. ...pyjama trousers. However, some plural nouns keep the same form when used in front of other nouns. arms, binoculars, clothes, glasses, jeans, sunglasses ...arms control. ...clothes pegs. ◊ collective nouns Some nouns, called collective nouns, refer to a group of people or things. army, audience, committee, company, crew, enemy, family, flock, gang, government, group, herd, navy, press, public, staff, team The singular form of these nouns can be used with a singular or plural verb form, depending on whether the group is seen as one thing or as several things. Our family isn't poor any more. My family are perfectly normal. When referring back to a collective noun, you usually use a singular pronoun or determiner if you have used a singular verb. You use a plural pronoun or determiner if you have used a plural verb. The government has said it would wish to do this only if there was no alternative. The government have made up their minds that they're going to win. However, plural pronouns and determiners are sometimes used to refer back to a collective noun even when a singular verb has been used. This is done especially in a separate clause. The team was not always successful but their rate of success far exceeded expectations. His family was waiting in the next room, but they had not yet been informed. Names of organizations and groups such as football teams also behave like collective nouns. Liverpool is leading 1-0. Liverpool are attacking again. ◊ WARNING Although you can use a plural verb after the singular form of a collective noun, these singular forms do not behave exactly like plural count nouns. Numbers cannot be used in front of them. For example, you cannot say 'Three crew were killed'. You have to say 'Three of the crew were killed' or 'Three members of the crew were killed'. Most of the collective nouns listed above have ordinary plural forms, which refer to more than one group. However, 'press' (meaning 'newspapers' or 'journalists') and 'public' (meaning 'the people of a country') do not have plural forms. ◊ proper nouns Names of people, places, organizations, institutions, ships, magazines, books, plays, paintings, and other unique things are proper nouns and are spelled with initial capital letters. A proper noun is sometimes used with a determiner but normally has no plural. See entries at ↑ ...Mozart. ...Romeo and Juliet. ...the President of the United States. ...the United Nations. ...the Seine. ◊ compound nouns Compound nouns are made up of two or more words. Some are written as separate words, some are written with hyphens between the words, and some have a hyphen between the first two words. His luggage came sliding towards him on the conveyor belt. There are many cross-references to help you find what you want. It can be cleaned with a spot of washing-up liquid. Some compound nouns are written in several ways. A Cobuild dictionary will tell you how you should write each compound noun. For information on compound nouns ending in 'ing', see entry at ↑ ◊ abstract and concrete nouns An abstract noun is a noun which refers to a quality, idea, or experience rather than something that can be seen or touched. ...a boy or girl with intelligence. We found Alan weeping with relief and joy. I am stimulated by conflict. Abstract nouns are usually uncountable. However, abstract nouns referring to a particular instance of something are countable. Russia had been successful in previous conflicts. A concrete noun is a noun which refers to something that can be seen or touched. Nouns referring to objects, animals, and people are usually countable. ...a broad highway with shady trees. A few nouns that refer to groups of objects, such as 'furniture' and 'equipment', are uncountable. See section above on uncount nouns. Nouns referring to substances are usually uncountable. There is not enough water. However, nouns which are being used to refer to a particular quantity or variety of a substance are countable. See section above on mass nouns. ◊ nouns followed by prepositions Some nouns, especially abstract nouns, are often followed by a prepositional phrase to show what they relate to. There is often little or no choice about which preposition to use after a particular noun. I demanded access to a telephone. ...his authority over them. ...the solution to our energy problem. The following nouns usually or often have 'to' after them: access, addiction, adherence, affront, allegiance, allergy, allusion, alternative, answer, antidote, approach, aversion, contribution, damage, devotion, disloyalty, exception, fidelity, immunity, incitement, introduction, preface, prelude, recourse, reference, relevance, reply, resistance, return, sequel, solution, susceptibility, threat, vulnerability, witness The following nouns usually or often have 'for' after them: admiration, appetite, aptitude, bid, craving, credit, cure, demand, desire, disdain, dislike, disregard, disrespect, hunger, love, need, provision, quest, recipe, regard, remedy, respect, responsibility, room, substitute, sympathy, synonym, taste, thirst The following nouns usually or often have 'on' or 'upon' after them: assault, attack, ban, comment, concentration, constraint, crackdown, curb, dependence, effect, embargo, hold, insistence, reflection, reliance, restriction, stance, tax The following nouns usually or often have 'with' after them: affinity, collusion, dealings, dissatisfaction, familiarity, identification, intersection, sympathy The following nouns usually or often have 'with' or 'between' after them: collision, connection, contrast, correspondence, encounter, intimacy, link, parity, quarrel, relationship Many other nouns are usually or often followed by a particular preposition. The following list indicates which preposition follows each noun. authority over, control over, departure from, escape from, excerpt from, foray into, freedom from, grudge against, insurance against, quotation from, reaction against, relapse into, safeguard against As you can see from the lists given above, it is often the case that words with a similar meaning are typically followed by the same preposition. For example, 'appetite', 'craving', 'desire', 'hunger', and 'thirst' are all followed by 'for'. For full information on prepositions used after nouns, see the Collins Cobuild Guide to Prepositions. |
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