business english 2e by mary chapter 03

3
Nouns

MARY ELLEN GUFFEY AND CAROLYN M.
SEEFER

BUSINES
S
ENGLISH
12e

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LEARNING
OUTCOMES

Level 1
▶ Distinguish between proper
and common nouns.
▶ Make regular and irregular
nouns plural.
▶ Spell correctly the plural
forms of nouns ending in y, f,
and o; proper nouns;
surnames; compound nouns;
and numerals, letters,

abbreviations, and
acronyms.

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2


Noun Classes


Nouns name:
Persons Places Things
Qualities FeelingsConcepts
Activities Measures



Nouns may be grouped into two classes:
Common Nouns
Proper Nouns

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3


Examples of Noun Classes


Common Nouns:
actor
automobile
restaurant

capital city
tablet computer politician



Proper Nouns:
Chris Pine
Ford Fusion
Chipotle Baton Rouge
iPad Air
Margaret Thatcher

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4


Noun Plurals—Regular
Plural nouns: name two or more things
Regular nouns: form the plural with the
addition of s or es

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5


Making Regular Nouns
Plural
Add s to
most regular
nouns

office, offices
manager,
managers

Add es to
regular nouns
ending in s, x, z,

ch, or sh

loss, losses
box, boxes
klutz, klutzes
bench, benches
brush, brushes
Exception: quiz,
quizzes

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6


Making Irregular Nouns
Plural
 A few plural nouns change form.
Examples:
man, men
foot, feet
mouse, mice
child, children

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7


TRY YOUR
SKILL

How would
you make
these nouns
plural?

business
coin
house

quiz
tax

     businesses
     coins
     houses
     quizzes
     taxes
     viruses

virus

     wishes

wish

     porches

porch

     women

woman

     mice

mouse

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© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a

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8


Nouns Ending in y
 When y is preceded by a vowel
(a, e, i, o, u), add s only.
attorney, attorneysholiday,
holidays
turkey, turkeys
valley, valleys

 When y is preceded by a consonant,
change the y to ies.
baby, babies
company, companies
luxury, luxuries secretary,
secretaries
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9


Nouns Ending in f, f, or fe
 For nouns ending in f, add s.
tariff, tariffs

cliff, cliffs

 For nouns ending in f or fe, no
standard rule is followed. Study
these examples and use a dictionary

when in doubt.
Add s
surf, surfs
safe, safes

Change to ves
knife, knives
shelf, shelves

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10


Nouns Ending in o
 When o is preceded by a vowel, add
s only.
curio, curios studio, studios
ratio, ratios portfolio, portfolios

 When o is preceded by a consonant,
no standard rule applies. add s or es.
Add s
auto, autos
memo,
memos

Add es
potato, potatoes
veto, vetoes

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11


Nouns Ending in o
 Musical terms ending in o are always
made plural by adding s only.
alto, altos

soprano, sopranos
piano, pianos banjo, banjos
solo, solos
cello, cellos
radio, radios
stereo, stereos

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12


Proper Nouns and
Surnames

 Most proper nouns are made plural
by adding s. When the appears
before a surname, the name is
always
plural.
Avila, the Avilas
Kennedy, the
Kennedys
Pagano, the Paganos
Guffey, the Guffeys
Miller, the Millers
Petty, the Pettys
October, Octobers
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13


Proper Nouns and
Surnames
 Proper nouns ending in s, x, z, ch, or
sh are made plural by adding es.
Williams, the
Williamses
Rex, the Rexes

Gomez, the Gomezes
Lynch, the Lynches
Bush, the Bushes
March, Marches
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14


Compound Nouns
 If a compound noun is written as a
single word, make the final element
plural.
bookshelf, bookshelves
workman, workmen

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15


Compound Nouns
 If a compound noun is written as
separate words, make the principal
word plural.
editor in chief, editors in chief
account payable, accounts
payable
board of directors, boards of
directors
bill of sale, bills of sale

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16


Compound Nouns
 If a compound noun is hyphenated,
make the principal word plural.
father-in-law, fathers-in-law
runner-up, runners-up

 If a compound noun has no principal
word, make the final element plural.

data processor, data
processors
start-up, start-ups
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17


Numerals, Alphabet
Letters, and Isolated Words


Generally, add s only.
the 1980s
9s and 10s
pros and cons Cs and Ds



Isolated lowercase letters and
the capital letters A, I, M, and U
require
’s for clarity.
A’s and Bs

cross your t’s

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18


Abbreviations and
Acronyms
 Usually add s to the singular form of
abbreviations, acronyms, academic
degrees, and measurements.
wk., wks.
MD, MDs
PIN, PINs

MBA, MBAs
lb. or lbs. (either plural form is
acceptable)
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19


TRY YOUR
SKILL

How would
you make
these nouns
plural?

father-in-law
copy
CPA
editor in chief
knife

     fathers-in-law
     copies
     CPAs
     editors in chief
     knives
     p’s and q’s

p and q

     Sundays

Sunday

     1990s

1990

     tomatoes

tomato

     radios

radio

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20


LEARNING
OUTCOMES

Level 2
▶ Follow three steps in applying
the apostrophe to show
possession.
▶ Distinguish between
descriptive nouns and

possessive nouns.
▶ Create correct possessive
forms of compound nouns,
names, and abbreviations
while also avoiding awkward
possessives.

© 2017 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a
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21


Showing Possession
 Apostrophes are used to show the
following:
Ownership

Kim’s book

Origin

Dr. Moss’s prescription

Authorship

Hemingway’s works

Measurement

ten years’ experience

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22

Showing Possession
How do we
know where
to place
apostrophes?

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23


Three Steps in Using the
Apostrophe to Show
Possession













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24


Three Steps in Using the
Apostrophe to Show
Possession
 Reverse the nouns. Use the second
noun to begin a prepositional phrase.
book of Kim

playground of the children
schedule of the waitress
experience of ten years

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management
for classroom
use. ©
certain
product or service
or otherwise
onora service
password-protected
website
or school-approved
learning
management system
for classroom
use.system
© Larysa
Ray/Shutterstock
Larysa Ray/Shutterstock

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