15 Most Important English Grammar Noun Rules for SSC Exams

We'll go through all of the relevant rules of the noun in this article. The aim of this article is to explain the rules of the noun in English grammar. It will help applicants not only fetching the extra brownie points but also in developing their English communication skills in everyday situations.

Important English Grammar Noun Rules for SSC Exams 2023

Rule 1: Uncountable nouns are used in singular forms only.

• They are not used with the plural form of verbs. 
• Indefinite articles are not used with these verbs

Uncountable nouns like advice, hair, luggage, business, mischief, scenery, vacation, evidence, abuse, employment, baggage etc. are used in singular forms. 

Example: 

• The Spy passed on an information to the Intelligence Agency. (Incorrect)
• The Spy passed on information to the Intelligence Agency. (Correct)
• Explanation: Here, "an information" is wrong as "information itself is a singular noun.

Rule 2: To use Uncountable Nouns (mentioned in Rule 1) as plural, we use "some" or "much" in place of "many". 

Example: 

• There is many milk kept in the fridge. (Incorrect)
• There is some milk kept in the fridge. (Correct)
• Explanation: Here milk is an uncountable noun. So, we will use 'some' in place of 'many'. 

The following set of words can be used with these uncountable nouns to denote the plurality. 

• Much/some information 
• A lot of/many pieces of information or advice
• words of abuse

Rule 3: There are some Collective nouns, which are used as a singular as well as plural depending on the usage. 

Collective nouns such as committee, board, staff, team, police, audience, mob, crowd, jury, ministry, family etc. 

• Case 1: When they are referred to as one collective body, they are considered singular and so are used with a singular verb. 
• Example: Jury has chosen actress Kangana Ranaut for the Best Actress Award. 
• Explanation: Here, Jury has been referred to as one body. 
• Case 2: When the noun is used to refer to the different members or individuals, they are considered plural and are used with the plural verb.
• Example: The ministry are divided on the farm bills and hence the decision is still pending.
• Explanation: The above example describes that members were having differences in their opinion. Here "Jury" is used for members and not to the body as a whole. Therefore, we will use the plural form of the verb, i.e. 'are'

Rule 4: Some Collective nouns which give an impression of singular but actually are plural and are used with a plural verb. 

Nouns like: Cattle, clergy, people, majority, folk, gentry, peasantry, are plural and to be used with the plural verbs. 

Example:

• Cattle were being driven along the road from the village. 
• Explanation: Cattle is a collective noun that is plural. 

Rule 5: Some of the nouns, having s/es in the end, are used with singular verbs. 

Nouns like branches of learnings, disease, titles of books, Descriptive names of countries etc are to be used with singular verbs. 

• Branches of Learning: physics, mathematics, Economics etc
• Titles of books: Three Musketeers, Five Point Someone etc.
• Diseases: Mumps, Measles, Rickets etc.
• Descriptive names of countries: the United States, United Arab Emirates etc.

Explanation: In the above examples, all of the nouns have s/es in the end but it does not mean that they are the plural form. They are singular as they are referring to the single body.

Rule 6: Some confusing Singular and Plural form of nouns. 

There are some nouns when we add 's' or 'es' in their end their meanings get changed completely. 

Rule 7: Nouns such as articles of dresses, name of instruments etc. that are often used as plural and take plural verbs. 

• Articles of dresses: shorts, jeans, trousers etc
• Instruments: scales, spectacles, scissors etc. 
• Other nouns: credentials, contents, riches, refreshments, requirements etc. 
  Explanation: In the above examples, all the words are plural in nature. 

To use them with a singular verb as given in the following example: 

Example: 

• I bought a pair of jeans from the market. 
• Like this, we can use a pair of shorts, a pair of scissors etc. 

Rule 8: When a compound noun is used as an adjective then it is not considered as plural. 

Example:

• We went to the Maldives for a 5-Day vacation. 
•  Ram is a 10-year-old boy who goes to the temple daily. 

Explanation: In the above examples, '5-Day vacation' and '10-year-old' are compound nouns that have been used as adjectives as they are describing the 'vacation' and 'boy' respectively.
Please Note: In the example, the numbers given are not singular, still we will use singular verbs as vacation and boy both are singular.

Rule 9: Nouns expressing numbers are used as singular with numerical adjectives. 

Example:

• Each student got five hundreds rupees (Incorrect)
• Each student got five hundred rupees (Correct)
• Explanation: Here 'Hundred' is a noun expressing a number, i.e. 100. 'Hundred' is being used as a singular noun that has a numerical adjective, i.e. five. 

Rule 10: When two adjectives denote different meanings and qualify the same noun, they are taken as plural. The plural verb should be used with them.

Example:

• The Economical and Social life in India are changing.
• Explanation: In the above example, the words 'economical' and 'social' both are different in meaning but referring to the two different quality of life. Therefore, we will use the plural verb. 
• Summer and Winter vacation are mandatory in our school.
• Explanation: In the above example, two different types of vacation are considered. Therefore, we will use the plural verb.

Rule 11: When a noun gets repeated after prepositions, it is considered singular. 

Example:

• Siya listened to everything her father said and repeated it word for word to her mom
• Explanation: In the given example, "word for word" means repeating something exactly. "Word" word is repeated. 

Rule 12: When two or more singular nouns are joined by ‘either or’,  ‘neither nor’, and ‘or’, the singular pronoun is used.

Example:

• Neither Priya nor Arshi will give their chocolates (Incorrect)
• Neither Priya nor Arshi will give her chocolates (Correct)
• Explanation: 'Priya' and 'Arshi' both are singular noun connected by 'neither - nor'. Therefore, we will use the singular pronoun, i.e. 'her' and not the plural pronoun 'their'.

Rule 13: Two nouns in the possessive case denote plural form. 

Example: 

• Ryan's and Rohit's fathers have attended the annual meet. 
• Explanation: Here both the nouns, i.e. Ryan and Rohit, have been used in their possessive case. Here, they both have different fathers and do not confuse it with the common father. That's why we would use the plural form of the verb. 

Rule: 14: When apostrophe s ('s) is added in one of the nouns, it expresses the singular form

This rule is the continuation of Rule 13. When only one noun is in the possessive case, it denotes the singular meaning. 

Example:

• Ryan and Rohit's father has attended the annual meet. 
• Explanation: Here, Ryan and Rohit both are nouns and apostrophe s ('s) implies that they both have a common father and not different. We will use the singular verb in this case.

Rule 15: Use of apostrophe is not correct with the non-living things. It is restricted to living things, time, weight, distance amount or personified nouns. 

One thing that is to be kept in mind while using an apostrophe with the noun, is that it should not be used with non-living things except time, weight, distance amount or personified nouns.

Example:

• The table's wood has deteriorated (Incorrect)
• One-Kilometre's journey (Correct)
• Explanation: 
• In the first example, 'table' is a non-living thing. We do not use an apostrophe with non-living things. That is why the first example is incorrect. 
• In the second example, 'One-Kilometre' is a distance. We can use an apostrophe with the distance. Therefore, the second example is correct.  

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