Basic English

• Singular noun


  Noun referring to one person, animal, place, or thing
• Using a/an with singular nouns

  • Use a before words beginning with consonants
  • Use an before words beginning with vowels (a, e, i, o, u)
  • Some words don't follow this rule (e.g. use a before words beginning with u like uniform, university)
• Use a or an before singular nouns
• Use an before words beginning with vowels (a, e, i, o, u)
• Use a before words beginning with consonants
• Some words don't follow the a/an rule (e.g. use a before words beginning with u like uniform, university)
• Singular noun


  A noun that refers to one person, animal, place, or thing
• Use a or an before singular nouns


  • Use an before words beginning with vowels (a, e, i, o, u)
  • Use a before words beginning with consonants
• Some words don't follow the a/an rule, e.g. use a before words beginning with u like uniform and university
• Plural noun


  A noun that refers to two or more people, animals, places, or things
• How to form plural nouns


  • Add -s at the end
  • Add -es when the singular noun ends in ch, sh, s, ss, or x
  • Change y to i and add -es when the singular noun ends in y
• If the singular noun ends in a vowel before y, just add -s to form the plural
• Often nouns that end in -f just need -s to form the plural, but some change f to v and add -es
• Nouns that end in -o usually add -s to form the plural, but some add -es
• Some plural nouns don't follow the -s rule and change form instead
• Some plural nouns are the same as the singular noun
• Collective noun


  A word for a group of people, animals or things
• Examples of collective nouns


  • an orchestra
  • a family
  • a crew
  • an audience
  • a gang
  • a band
  • a group
  • a choir
  • a team
  • a class
• Some collective nouns always take a plural verb
• More examples of collective nouns


  • a band of musicians
  • a brood of chickens
  • a flight of steps
  • a school of fish
  • a team of players
  • a bunch of keys
  • a class of pupils
  • a collection of books
  • a deck of cards
  • a fleet of ships
  • a flock of sheep
  • a gaggle of geese
  • a gang of robbers
  • a herd of cattle
  • a litter of cubs
  • a pod of whales
  • a pack of wolves
  • a pride of lions
  • a set of stamps
  • a swarm of bees
  • a troupe of actors
• Masculine noun


  A word for a man or boy, or a male animal
• Feminine noun


  A word for a woman or girl, or a female animal
• Examples of masculine and feminine nouns


  • boy/girl
  • man/woman
  • prince/princess
  • steward/stewardess
  • waiter/waitress
  • lion/lioness
  • rooster/hen
  • king/queen
• Nouns ending in -ess and -ress often belong to the feminine gender
• Common-gender noun


  A noun that can be used for both males and females
• Examples of common-gender nouns


  • dancers
  • doctors
  • hairdressers
  • scientists
  • accountants
  • parents
  • artists
  • managers
  • designers
  • engineers
  • lawyers
  • teachers
  • pupils
  • singers
• Neuter noun


  A noun for something that is neither male nor female
• Examples of neuter nouns


  • bench
  • leaves
  • mirror
  • fire
  • waterfall
  • ball
  • forest
  • building
  • gymnasium
  • broom
  • playground
  • cake
  • rock
  • computer
  • sky
  • card
  • socks
  • floor
  • wind
• Personal pronoun


  A word that takes the place of a noun and is used as the subject of a sentence
• Examples of personal pronouns


  • I
  • you
  • he
  • she
  • it
  • we
  • they
• Object pronoun


  A personal pronoun that takes the place of a noun and is used as the object of a sentence
• Examples of object pronouns


  • me
  • you
  • him
  • her
  • it
  • us
  • them
• First person pronoun


  A pronoun that refers to the speaker (I, me, we, us)
• Second person pronoun


  A pronoun that refers to the person being spoken to (you)
• Third person pronoun


  A pronoun that refers to someone or something other than the speaker or the person being spoken to (he, she, it, they, him, her, them)
• Lucky


  A good dog
• Good morning, children! You may sit down now.
• My family and I live in a big city. We have an apartment.
• Pronouns


  Words like me, you, him, her, it, us and them that take the place of nouns
• The words me, you, him, her, it, us and them are also personal pronouns. They also take the place of nouns.