1. PUNJAB EDUSAT SOCIETY PRODUCTION
SUPERS:
SUBJECT - English
CLASS - IX
CHAPTER - I
MODULE - I (NOUNS)
We cut to MM 1:
Using animation, show any bird or cartoon character or a child reciting a poem. Show the
text of one line at a time while the recitation takes place.
Voice-over
(Recite this poem- no music required)
Nouns are quite interesting,
They could be a person, a place, or a thing
An abstract idea or just a feeling,
A name, an animal or a building,
Nouns are simple and easy
In every sentence, a noun must be!
We cut to the ANCHOR1:
Welcome learners to this special module on NOUNS. I am sure many of you feel comfortable with
as basic a part of speech as a noun. But let’s go through the module and I am sure you will learn
many important aspects towards the correct usage of nouns.
Cut to our hi-tech board on which the following SUPER appears:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
VOICE OVER WITH TEXT ON SCREEN
After this module, students will be able to
• Recall that the names of a person are noun.
• Recall the names of things we have noticed.
• Identify types of things
• Give examples of nouns which appear to be singular but their meaning takes a plural
sense.
• Differentiate between countable and uncountable nouns
• List the different types of nouns which are treated as singular.
• List the different types of nouns which are treated as plural.
• Give examples of nouns which remain the same in singular and plural form both.
• Use the correct auxiliary with different types of nouns depending upon whether they are
used as a singular or a plural entity.
SUPER:
INTRODUCTION
VOICE OVER WITH TEXT ON SCREEN (Show each bullet point one after the another and
synchronise with voice-over)
A noun is a word used to refer to a
• Name of a person (picture of Gandhiji) Reference Image 1
• Name of an animal (picture of a lion) Reference Image 2
• Name of a place (picture of Taj Mahal) Reference Image 3
• Name of a thing (picture of a car) Reference image 4
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2. • Event (picture of dussehra) Reference Image 5
• Feeling (picture of a happy girl ) Reference image 6
• An abstract idea.
Definition of a noun:
The part of speech that is used to name a person, place, thing, quality, or action and can function as the
subject or object of a verb, the object of a preposition, or an appositive is called a noun.
The different types of nouns are:
1. Common noun 2. Proper noun 3. Collective noun 4. Concrete noun 5. Abstract noun
Common nouns are the names of things in general, such as cat, dog, road, city, skirt, color etc. They are not
capitalized. E.g. The city, a policeman.
• A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place or things, such as Kate, Billy,
Manchester, Thames, Rover etc. All Proper nouns start with a capital letter.
• A collective noun is the name given to a group of things, for example a flock of birds or a
herd of cows.
• A concrete noun is a noun which names anything(or anyone) that you can perceive through
your physical senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing or smell. A concrete noun is the opposite of
an abstract noun.
Example are : 1. Can I pet your dog? 2. Please pass the salt 3. Your sweater is made of
fine wool.
• An abstract noun is something you can’t see, hear, touch or taste. These can be emotions
(happiness, grief) or states (peace, quite) for example.
(While the following line is being said, any design graphic can be shown on the screen)
Let us recall further by identifying nouns in the given sentences-
(Show one sentence. After 2 seconds, underline the nouns)
1. Few men wore hats at the meeting.
Ans- men, hats and meeting
2. Both young men answered correctly.
Ans- men
3. More ripe strawberries were found in the other field.
Ans- strawberries, field
4. Every good student was given a reward.
Ans-student, reward
5. Several African elephants were seen at the circus.
Ans-elephants, circus
6. This clown was also at the show.
Ans- clown, show
7. All vegetables contain some vitamins.
Ans-vegetables, vitamins
8. Two wild horses ran through the canyon.
Ans- horse, canyon
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3. 9. Those older children explained the rules of the game.
Ans- children, rules, game
10. Every candidate spoke on that subject.
Ans- candidate, subject
(While the following line is being said, any design graphic can be shown on the screen)
I am sure that now you can easily identify nouns in any given sentence. Here is a small clipping for
you to see-
Cut to MM 2
Reference video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPAOaF-YF_8
Reference Video – This video could be recreated very easily without any copyright issues-
http://video.google.com/videoplay?
docid=7996941049910019166&ei=yqXjSP3CMpSYwgPbyaWaCw&q=nouns&vt=lf
VO- (It can be recorded the same way as the video shown – )
Priya - name of a girl - proper noun Reference image 12
Amit – name of a boy - proper noun Reference image 13
Mother – name of a relation - Common noun Reference image 14
Grandfather – name of a relation - Common Reference image 15
Glasses – Name of a thing - Common noun Reference image 16
Scissors – Name of a thing – Common noun Reference image 17
Temple – Name of a place - Common Reference image 18
Countables – That we can count Show heading
One bike Reference image 20
Two bikes Reference image 20 – show 2
Three bikes Reference image 20 – show 3
Uncountables – That we cannot count Show heading
Milk Reference image 24
Water Reference image 25
Tea Reference image 26
Cut to ANCHOR 2:
Nouns can be classified into different types. In your primary classes, you were taught singular and
plural forms of nouns.
Singular means ‘one’ while plural means ‘many’. For example, we say
- Sonu is eating a toffee.Sonu is eating toffees.
- This is a book. These are books.
- I’ll take this book; you can use those books over there.
- We have one bedroom on the first floor and three more bedrooms on the
second.
Now you have seen that, nouns can be countable or uncountable. A countable noun is a noun that
can be counted. Let’s take some examples -
VOICE OVER WITH TEXT ON SCREEN
(Show the table. Read the singular sentence, then the plural one. All highlighted text must
appear on the screen)
Examples of countable nouns
3

4. Singular Plural
• The girl likes to go for shopping. • Girls like to go for shopping.
• You should clean the glass. • You should clean the glasses.
• A tornado was seen in Bihar. • Many tornados were seen in Bihar.
• I watched as the leaf fell. • I watched as the leaves fell.
Uncountable or a non-countable noun cannot be counted. Let us look at these examples and seek
further understanding.
Examples of uncountable nouns
Tea, sugar, water, air, grass, rice, knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love etc.
We cannot use a/an with these nouns. To express a quantity of one of these nouns, we use a
word or expression like: some, a lot of, a piece of, a bit of, a great deal of……
Examples:
• He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
• They’ve got a lot of furniture.
• I know the importance of learning English.
• I would like the opportunity to study abroad.
• Please check your baggage at the counter.
• Coffee smells best in the morning.
• The fog became very thick.
On board activity
(Display the noun and then show the answer after 2 seconds)
Now here is a little quiz for you. Say whether the following nouns are countable or uncountable.
Noun Answer Noun Answer
Information Uncountable Rice Uncountable
Rules Countable Bottles of Medicine Countable
Sheep Countable Equipment Uncountable
Money Uncountable Traffic Uncountable
Learning Uncountable Stone(material) Uncountable
Cut to ANCHOR3 : (All tables must be shown on the screen for a few seconds)
While it is important to identify types of nouns like countable, uncountable, collectives, abstract
nouns and so many more, it is more important to understand how to correctly use those
nouns.Some nouns are always considered singular, while others are considered plural. Let has
have a look at these categories-
Voice Over with Text on Screen
Uncountable nouns are considered singular. Here are some examples with suffixes age, al, ment,
ship and tion.
4

5. Age Al Ment Ship tion
breakage arrival Agreement Friendship attraction
shortage burial Movement Hardship perfections
marriage trial Payment protection
(a) Some other abstract nouns are also always considered singular. Here are examples-
Belief proof knowledge
bravery shock failure
Pride choice laughter
sight advice Life
(b) Material nouns are singular too. For example,
bread glass Milk soap
Butter gold Oil soup
cement grass paper sugar
Chalk ice Plastic tea
We specify some quantifiers to make an uncountable noun countable. Here are some interesting
examples which you must have been using in your everyday lives-
Examples:-
a loaf of bread a bar of chocolate a piece of chalk a jar of jam
a drop of blood a lump of sugar a punch of salt a gram of rice
We can use numbers and quantities with these words to show the plural form, such as-
Three slices of bread A few grains of rice
A few lumps of sugar Two sheets of paper
The following miscellaneous nouns are also always used in singular form-
baggage equipment Luggage rubbish
clothing information Machinery scenery
VOICE OVER WITH TEXT ON SCREEN
(Show the words in a bubble or any other shape. This part of the screen
remains constant. On the other part, show one question and flash the answer
after two seconds. Then repeat till the last question.)
Exercise 1
5

6. Choose a singular or plural verb from the verbs in the box to fill in the gaps.
leads is
has were
are doesn’t
1. A file of dishes ___________ lying in the sink.
Ans. is
2. A flock of birds’ ___________ flying overhead.
Ans. is
3. The choir__________ sung very well.
Ans. has
4. The gang of robbers’ ________ caught.
Ans. was
5. A group of children __________ walking along the pavements.
Ans. is
6. My string of beads ---------------- broken.
Ans. has
7. The police __________ know who stole the jewels.
Ans. doesn’t
8. The audience________ laughing at the joke.
Ans. is
9. A flight of steps ________ to the tower.
Ans. leads
10. Plastic ------------ quite a cheap material.
Ans. is
We cut to ANCHOR 4:
We have already seen types of nouns that are considered singular. The plural of
nouns is usually formed by adding –s, –es (nouns ending in s, z, x, sh and ch to
a singular noun) and –ves (Some nouns ending in f or fe are made plural by
changing f or fe to –ves). Example:
lamp lamps
cat cats
fork forks
flower flowers
pen pens
moss mosses
buzz buzzes
box boxes
dish dishes
church churches
6

7. Leaf - Sheaf -
Calf - Calves Self - selves Life - lives
leaves sheaves
Loaf - Shelf - Wolf - Knife -
Half -halves
Loaves shelves wolves knives
Now, there are some nouns which are considered plural by themselves. Let us have
a look at these.
VOICE OVER WITH TEXT ON SCREEN
Some nouns are always considered in the plural form-
Shoes sneakers slippers trousers
Chopsticks socks pliers tights
We can add ‘a pair of’ before plural nouns to make them into singular nouns.
a pair of trousers a pair of socks
a pair of jeans a pair of goggles
Here is how you could use them in sentences-
Examples:- 1. This pair of trousers has a hole in it.
2. Here’s a clean pair of pants for you.
3. He owns at least two pair of jeans.
Some miscellaneous words that are always considered plural are-
alms droppings guts savings
belongings funds odds thanks
condolences wares outskirts valuables
contents goods premises wages
Examples
1. The sadhus lived on alms.
2. Wages are earned through hard labour.
3. Ram sent his friend a letter of thanks.
4. Use your brains to solve the sum.
Dear learners, we must also recall here that
some nouns are singular in form but plural in sense. Some examples are-
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8. cattle people cavalry
police clergy gentry
This is how one can use them in sentences-
1. The police are looking for the burglar.
2. The cattle are grazing in the field.
3. The wedding saw elite gentry of the town.
4. There is one species of humans but many species of cats.
5. Newspapers and TV are means of mass-communication.
SUPER
Exercise 2
VOICE OVER WITH TEXT ON SCREEN:
Complete the following sentences with appropriate nouns-
1. My eyes are weak. I need some ___________.
Ans: rest
2. Footballers wear _____________ not shoes when they play.
Ans. sneakers
3. This plant belongs to a rare __________________.
Ans. species
4. Can I borrow your ______________to cut a metre of this cloth?
Ans. scissors
5. We use a _______________ to look at far off objects.
Ans. pair of binoculars
6. The _________________ you bought for me don’t fit me anymore.
Ans. clothes
7. He bought a pair of tennis______________ for himself.
Ans. shoes
8. Many ________________ have given up smoking.
Ans. people
9. This _________________ is not very sharp.
Ans. knife
10. The ____________________wanted to enquire about the robbery last night.
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9. Ans. police
11. Please accept my _________________________ for your timely help in the
hour of need.
Ans. gratitude
12. Give my ________________ to your parents and family.
Ans. regards
Cut to ANCHOR 5:
Exceptional cases are an important aspect to any grammar lesson. In today’s
module, for example, we look at some nouns that appear to be plural but are taken
as singular. Then, there is another type of noun which is taken as singular or plural
depending upon the usage. Again, some nouns do not change their form whether in
singular or plural usage. Confused? Don’t be! Let’s look at more examples-
VOICE OVER WITH TEXT ON SCREEN (Table is for display. Other sentences
are voice-over)
Do you see some nouns written on the screen? Notice that each of these ends in
‘ics’. They appear plural but are taken as singular!
Athletics Physics Politics
Gymnastics Electronics Phonetics
Let’s try making sentences with such nouns-
1. Physics is an interesting subject indeed.
2. Gymnastics have been a part of Olympics games since ancient times.
3. It is important for children to learn phonetics before they begin to read.
4. I study mathematics, which is very difficult.
5. Games are my favourite pastime.
SUPER:
Nouns denoting number/weight
VOICE OVER WITH TEXT ON SCREEN (Table is for display only. All other text
is voice-over)
We think of a ‘sum of money’, a ‘period of time’, etc as a single thing. Therefore, we
use a singular verb with them. Look at the following words that indicate a number or
a weight.
Hundred Million Miles
Score Dozen Quintal
Although we use such nouns as singular, yet when joined with ‘of’, they are taken in
plural form. Consider these examples-
9

10. 1. There are millions of stars in the sky.
2. Dozens of people were killed in the serial blasts.
Quite simple, isn’t it? Let us quickly revise with a little exercise.
SUPER
Exercise
Fill in these blanks with ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘was’, ‘were’.
1. Twenty thousand pounds __________ stolen in the robbery.
Ans. were
2. Four miles _________ a long way to walk every day.
Ans. is
3. The bicycle and car _____________ means of transport.
Ans. are
4. One year __________ a long time to be without a job.
Ans. is
5. There _____________ twenty five different species of birds in the zoo.
Ans. are
To conclude, let us go through a few nouns whose form does not change whether in
singular use or plural.
Deer Sheep Offspring
Poultry Salmon Reindeer
Fish Public Bison
For example, we say-
I saw many fish in the aquarium.
We do not say
I saw many fishes in the aquarium.
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11. Super:
Summary
Cut to ANCHOR 6:
Let us briefly revise the module once again.
A noun is a word used to refer to a person(picture of gandhiji), animal(picture of a
lion), place(picture of taj mahal), thing(picture of a car), event(picture of dussehra),
feeling(picture of a happy girl), or an abstract idea.
• A countable noun is a noun that can be counted.
• Uncountable or a non-countable noun cannot be counted.
• The following types of nouns are always considered singular:
o Uncountable nouns
o Some abstract nouns
o Material nouns
o Nouns ending in ics
• We can convert material nouns into singular by changing it into a phrase,
such as – a slab of granite.
• Some nouns are always considered plural – such as shoes, trousers, and
scissors, etc. We can treat them singular by making the appropriate phrase
such as a pair of trousers.
• Nouns denoting number and weight are given a singular status unless used
with ‘of’. We say ‘five hundred’ not ‘five hundreds’. Alternately, we can say
“There are hundreds of people in the stadium”
• Some nouns remain same whether used in singular or plural forms. Example-
plural of fish is also fish.
End of the episode
Dear children, I hope you have attained clarity upon some important aspects related
to the usage of nouns. Thank you.
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