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Nouns, an Introduction

Nouns require attention for several reasons.
  • Some nouns have irregular plurals.
  • Some nouns have unusual possessive forms. 
  • Gerunds (verbs acting as nouns) sometimes require the possessive when many people do not expect it.
  • You must treat some proper nouns as trademarks or substitute a generic term.

Plurals of Some Words from Latin

Some irregular plurals are part of everyday speech: child, children; woman; women.

Other irregular plurals are troublesome enough to need review:
  • medium, media
    • AP style uses "media" as the plural, as in "Local media are providing coverage." 
    • "Medium" is the singular: His favorite medium is radio. 
    • Do not use "media" with a singular verb. "The media is are reporting on his campaign."
  • criterion, criteria
    • A criterion is a standard. "The board set several criteria for schools. The criterion specifying passing rates was the most controversial."
  • datum, data
    • "Datum" is the rare singular form of "data."
    • In most cases, "data" is plural: "The data have been collected." Such data are individual units of information, which makes them plural.
    • "Data" can, however, be used as a collective noun, as in "The data is persuasive" -- meaning, the entire body of data, considered as a single unit, is persuasive. 
  • alumnus and alumna
    • An alumnus is a male graduate. An alumna is a female graduate. Here is how they form plurals:
    • alumnus, alumni
    • alumna, alumnae
      • The alumnae brought their husbands. 
      • The alumni brought their wives. 
      • One alumna brought her Jack Russell terrier. 
      • One alumnus brought his special barbecue sauce.
(Notice the AP spelling of barbecue.)

Plurals of Numbers and Letters

Everything here is regular except for the plurals of single letters.
So make a note of this exception:
  • She made two A's and two B's. Mind your p's and q's.
Plurals of other numbers and letters are regular. You just add s:
  • the 1990s, her ABCs, the VIPs, two 747s, a high in the 80s
  • We are out of size 4. We have three size 5s. 
  • No ifs and buts, no maybes, no nos. 
    • Speak only yesses (note the -es on a word ending in -s.)

Plurals of Compound Nouns

Some compound nouns occur as a single word. In AP style, they form the plural by adding s at the end:
  • cupful, cupfuls
  • spoonful, spoonfuls
Some compound nouns are separate words or hyphenated words:
  • attorney general
  • court martial
  • deputy sherriff
  • assistant attorney
  • brother-in-law
  • editor-in-chief
  • deputy chief of staff
In these cases, you form the plural by making the most important word plural:
  • attorneys general
  • courts martial
  • deputy sherriffs
  • assistant attorneys
  • brothers-in-law
  • editors-in-chief
  • deputy chiefs of staff

Plurals of Proper Names

The main problem here comes with names ending in -s, -es, or -z.

For most names, just add s:
  • the Smiths, the Debrunners, the Lesters, the Patels, the Youngs
But watch out for these:
  • Names ending in  -s, es or -z -- add -es:
    • Gunnels family: the Gunnelses
    • Deas family: the Deases
    • Gonzalez family: the Gonzalezes
    • Jones family: the Joneses
    • Jowers family: the Jowerses
    • Richards family: the Richardses
    • Tomikiewicz family: the Tomikiewiczes
  • Names ending in y -- just add s:
    • the Haleys, the Careys, the McCoys
    • Exceptions: 
      • The Rocky Mountains: the Rockies
      • The Allegheny Mountains: the Alleghenies

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns name a group of things, but name them as a single unit, e.g.:
  • committee
  • army
  • class
  • company
  • jury
  • team
  • audience
Each collective noun has members, but, as a collective noun, it names the group.

Here's why you want to know this:

A collective noun normally takes a singular verb.
  • the committee is meeting tomorrow
  • the army has deployed
  • the class takes the exam Tuesday
  • the jury delivers its decision
If you ever see British TV or newspapers, you'll know they use plural verbs with collective nouns. Americans say "the news is..." while British say "the news are..."

Some plurals can become singular.
Some expressions are plural when they refer to units but singular when they refer to the group. This is a common situation, as the following examples show:

Thirty students is a large class. (A unit: the whole group.)
Thirty students are attending the class. (Individuals.)

The data is sound. (All the data as a unit.)
The data have been validated. (Individual items of data.)

A number of walnuts are ready to fall. (Individual walnuts.)
The number of walnuts is greater than I have ever seen it. (A unit: the whole collection of walnuts.)

 
Exception: Sports Teams Always Take Plural Verbs
Even though a few names appear to be collective singular nouns, AP style treats all sports teams as plural:
  • The Celtics are playing their first game tonight. So are the Jazz.
  • The Jazz kept up their furious pace. (Not its.)
  • The Avalanche were ahead when last looked. So were the Hawks.
  • Have the Magic kept their magic? Has the team kept its magic? 
Hint: If in doubt, use the same verb and pronoun that would match a team name ending in -s, as in the Celtics example above.

Note: When you get to pronouns, you'll be reminded that pronouns must agree with collective nouns, just as verbs must.

Possessives of Nouns

The basic rule, of course, is to add apostrophe-s:
  • the boy's hat, the man's arm
  • the fox's den, Schultz's memory, Marx's legacy, Xerox's copiers
If a plural noun ends in s, form the possessive by adding an apostrophe:
  • two boys: the two boys' hats (apostrophe only)
  • two cars: the two cars' horns (apostrophe only)
  • the 1960s: the 1960s' legacy (apostrophe only)
Follow the same rule to form the possessive of a proper noun that ends in s:
  • Texas' highways
  • Jesus' parables
  • Achilles' shield
  • Socrates' questions
  • Kansas' seasons
Note that you follow the same rule, even when the following word starts with s: Socrates' students.

If a plural noun does not end in an s, form the possessive by adding apostrophe-s:
  • two men: the two men's arms (apostrophe-s)
  • two children: the two children's books (apostrophe-s)
  • two alumnae: the two alumnae's visits (apostrophe-s)
If a singular noun looks plural (but isn't), form the possessive by adding only an apostrophe:
  • mathematics' rules
  • statistics' challenges
  • measles' symptoms
  • the United States' tax laws
  • General Dynamics' contracts
(OK, OK, in real life those would be "the rules of mathematics," "the symptoms of measles," and "the challenges of statistics," but this is a grammar exercise!)

If a noun stays the same in singular and plural, form the possessive as if they were plural:
  • one deer: the deer's tail
  • two deer: the deer's tails
  • one corps: the corps' flag
  • two corps: the corps' flags
Here's a problem area: Some singular nouns end in ss, such as:
  • hostess
  • witness
  • business
  • heiress
Usually, you form the possessive in the normal way by adding apostrophe-s:
  • the hostess's plans
  • the witness's testimony
  • the business's profits
  • the heiress's account
Exception: If the following word starts with s, you use only an apostrophe:
  • the hostess' seat
  • the witness' story
  • the business' standards
  • the heiress' son
This rule makes a kind of sense, doesn't it? It avoids piling up four s's in a row.

Joint and Individual Possession

Once you see this rule, it's easy.

Some things come in pairs, such as a husband and wife: Tom and Julie.

Sometimes the pair possesses something jointly: Tom and Julie's house.

Sometimes the parts of the pair possess things individually: Tom's and Julie's favorite desserts.

For joint possession, they get one apostrophe-s at the end. For individual possession, they each get one.
Of course, remember that some proper names need only an apostrophe: Charles' and Kay's jobs. Kay and Charles' house.

Descriptive Phrases (weird!)

One of the strangest rules in the AP stylebook insists that certain things are not possessives (even though they look like possessives) but are "descriptive."

As such, they do not deserve apostrophes.

Such as it is, here's the logic behind the rule:
  • students handbook
    • It's a handbook for students, not a handbook belonging to students
  • teachers college, writers guide
    • The same twisted logic applies
Here are other examples from the stylebook. Notice the absence of apostrophes:
  • citizens band radio
  • a Cincinnati Reds infielder
In some other languages, the distinction between "a teachers college" and "a teacher's car" would be clarified by putting "teacher" in a different case in each example. English long ago lost most of its cases. 

This weird rule has a weird exception that produces surprisingly normal results:
You DO need the apostrophe-s when you have:
  • a descriptive phrase
  • in the plural
  • that does not end in s
(got all that?)

The stylebook examples are comfortingly normal:
  • a children’s hospital
  • a people’s republic
  • the Young Men’s Christian Association
What do you need to remember about this? Remember the examples from the stylebook. These are the ones most likely to appear on tests of AP style.

Remember that the following do NOT contain apostrophes:
  • citizens band radio
  • a Cincinnati Reds infielder
  • a teachers college
  • a Teamsters request
  • a writers guide
 

Quasi Possessives (weirdly normal)

In spite of the name, these are normal expressions that take the normal form of a possessive -- such as:
  • a day’s pay
  • at arm's length
  • two weeks’ vacation
  • three days’ work
If you really think about them, you'll realize these are NOT possessives. So don't think about them, and you'll get them right.

A Friend of Mine

A fairly common expression involving nouns employs an obscure construction called (ahem) the double possessive:
  • a friend of his
    • (both "a friend of" and "his" are possessives -- hence it's a double possessive)
  • They named the organization Friends of Bill. Most editors would have named it Friends of Bill's. 
  • Is she a friend of yours? (This is a good example to remember. You would not say, "Is she a friend of you?" -- would you?)
[Warning: Grammar humor] Why stop with double possessives? How far can we push this? How about a triple possessive:

a friend of his's car

You know, we could keep going with this: Some friends of his's car's seat's cushions' hissing noises (note the onomatopoeic effect). -- But at some point, we have to start divesting ourselves of some of our possessives and living more simply.

Try those on your teacher (as long as that's not me). 

Possessive with a Gerund

[Serious mode: ON] You need to know this one.

Some verb forms can be used as nouns, notably the present participle. They are then called gerunds:
  • Eating is my favorite form of exercise
  • Sleeping is what Chubb does best.
Gerunds like "singing" require attention in situations like this:
We were disturbed by his singing.

Why "his" and not "him"? Look at these sentences that have comparable grammar:
We were disturbed by loud singing.
We were disturbed by exuberant singing.
We were disturbed by celestial singing.
We were disturbed by endless singing.

The word before "singing" has to be a modifier that functions as an adjective, thus:
We were disturbed by his singing.

Ah, yes, there are obscure situations where "him" would be correct (nobody promised grammar would be logical or consistent). But on tests of grammar and AP style, if you see a gerund like singing, banging, playing, running, etc., preceded by a choice -- always choose the possessive: his, her, its, our, their, etc. You'll be right almost all the time.

Nouns as Trademarks

Some nouns are registered (and practically owned) by corporations, and you get to use them only with permission. These are called trademarks, and to use them, you have to attach the proper symbol to indicate that it is registered or trademarked.

So, avoid using trademarks unless they are specifically required by the story. If the trademarked name is not absolutely essential, use a generic term composed of words that are not trademarked.

Here are some of the many trademarks addressed in the AP Stylebook, along with possible generic terms that name the kind of product without naming a particular brand:
  • Dumpster -- trash bin
  • Jacuzzi -- whirlpool bath
  • Life Saver -- hard candy
  • Pepsi -- cola drink
  • Teflon -- nonstick coating
The stylebook's rule is: See the stylebook entry on trademark and entries on individual trademarks. Or search "trademark" on apstylebook.com (requires a subscription).

practice
Nouns 1
Nouns 2

For details on nouns, in the AP Stylebook see possessives, plurals, collective nouns, and the entries for individual words. For other items, consult Webster's New World College Dictionary.
All original material on this site is copyrighted © by Gerald Grow 2008.
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