Nouns name persons (aviator, child), places (lake, library), things (truck, suitcase), or concepts (happiness, balance). Proper nouns, which are capitalized, name specific persons, places, things, or concepts: Bill, Iowa, Supreme Court, Buddhism. Collective nouns (40d) name groups: flock, jury.

Most nouns change from singular (one) to plural (more than one) when you add -s or -es: horse, horses; kiss, kisses. Some nouns, however, have irregular plural forms: woman, women; mouse, mice; deer, deer. Noncount nouns (38a) cannot be made plural because they name things that cannot easily be counted: dust, peace, prosperity.

The possessive form of a noun shows ownership. Possessive forms add an apostrophe plus -s to most singular nouns or just an apostrophe to most plural nouns: the horse’s owner, the boys’ department.

Nouns are often preceded by the article (or determiner) a, an, or the: a rocket, an astronaut, the launch (38c).

For Multilingual Writers: Count and noncount nouns