名词是表示人或物的名称的词，可分为普通名词和专有名词两大类。普通名词由表示某一类人或物的个体的个体名词、表示由若干个体组成的集合体的集体名词、表示无法分为个体的实物的物质名词、以及表示性质、行为、状态、感情等抽象概念的抽象名词组成；专有名词则是个人、地方、机构、组织等所专有的名称。
1.1 可数名词与不可数名词(Countable nouns and uncountable nouns)
从词的形式来看，英语名词分为可数名词与不可数名词。可数与不可数是英语名词的最基本类别。一般说来，个体名词是可数名词；物质名词、抽象名词和专有名词是不可数名词；集体名词则有的可数， 有的不可数。
1.1.1 可数名词与不可数名词(Countable nouns and uncountable nouns)
a. 可数名词有单、复数形式，单数形式可用a/ an; 不可数名词没有复数形式，单数形式前不用a/ an，但可用the或不用。例如：
Tom is a little boy.
There are 20 boys in our class.
Fish and poultry are usually not called meat.
I'll pay for the meat.
b. 名词的数影响句子中与之有关的谓语动词、限定词等。例如：
There are many/ some/ a lot of/ (a) few people in the park.
There are not many/ any people in the park.
There is much/ some/ a lot of/ (a) little/ a great deal of/ a fair
amount of water.
There is not much/ any water.
c. 下列名词常用作不可数名词：
accommodation, advice, baggage, behavior, bread, cash, cloth,clothing, coal, equipment, fun, furniture, grass, harm, information, ink, knowledge, labour, laughter, leisure, luck, lightning, living, luggage, machinery, meat, money, news, paper, permission,
popularity, progress, rice, scenery, soap, sugar, tea, traffic, travel, trouble, thunder, weather, work等。
1.1.2 可数名词与不可数名词之间的相互转化(Conversion of uncountable into countable and countable into uncountable) 可数名词与不可数名词在一定条件下可以相互转化。
a. 物质名词一般是不可数的，但用来表示具体、个别事物，或表示各种不同品种时，通常是可数的，如different coffees,
various soaps。再看以下例子：
Do you care for tea?
Long-jing is a well-known tea.
We were not allowed to buy wine at lunch time.
I like wines.
b. 抽象名词一般是不可数的，但当它前后有修饰语表示"某一种"或"某一方面"的抽象概念时，其前可加a/ an。例如：
A good map would be a help.
It was a relief to sit down.
He had a good knowledge of mathematics.
c. 某些物质名词或抽象名词用作复数时，词义往往起变化。例如：
Light（光）travels faster than sound.
The lights（灯）are on.
He is a teacher of five years' experience（经验）.
He is relating to us his experiences（经历）as an explorer.
d. 有些集体名词，如audience, committee, class, couple, crew,
family, team, government, jury, party, public等，既可作单数，
又可作复数。把集体视为一个整体时，用作单数；指该集体
的各个成员时，用作复数。例如：
The audience is enormous.
The audience are enjoying every minute of the play.
His family is small.
My family are all doctors.
1.2 复数(Plural)
1.2.1 英语名词的复数构成(Formation of the plural of English nouns)
a. 英语可数名词的规则复数形式，是在词尾加-s。例如：
desks, maps, lakes, workers, fields, days, miles, pages, horses
b. 如词尾为ch, sh, ss或x，在词尾加-es。例如：
church→churches, bush→bushes, class→classes, box→boxes
c. 如词尾为-f或-fe，一般变为-ves; 有的加-s即可；而有的
则既可变为-ves，又可只加-s。例如：
calf→calves, half→halves, knife→knives, leaf→leaves,
life→lives, loaf→loaves, self→selves, shelf→shelves,
thief→thieves, wife→wives, wolf→wolves;
belief→beliefs, chief→chiefs, roof→roofs, safe→safes,
handkerchief→handkerchiefs；
hoof→hooves/ hoofs, scarf→scarves/ scarfs,
wharf→wharves/ wharfs
d. 如词尾为-y，则变y为i，再加-es。例如：
party→parties, factory→factories, family→families
e. 如词尾为o，有的加-es；有的加-s；有的则既可加-es，又可只加-s。例如：
echo→echoes, hero→heroes, potato→potatoes,
tomato→tomatoes;
radio→radios, piano→pianos, photo→photos, zoo→zoos;
buffalo→buffalo(e)s, cargo→cargo(e)s, mosquito→mosquito(e)s,
volcano→volcano(e)s
f. 表示字母、数字及其它词类的复数时，词尾常加-'s，有时只加-s。例如：
Her J's look like T's.
Since the beginning of the 90's, the town has changed a lot.
Don't interrupt me with your buts.
g. 一些不规则变化的名词复数形式：
child→children, foot→feet, goose→geese, man→men,mouse→mice, ox→oxen, tooth→teeth, woman→women
h. 有些以-s结尾的名词通常只有复数形式：
scissors, goods, trousers, clothes, pants, spectacles;belongings, findings, savings, surroundings;contents, mumps, measles, stairs
i. 有些集体名词用作复数：
cattle, police, people, militia, poultry
1.2.2 源自希腊文或拉丁文的外来词(Words of Greek or Latin origin)
一些外来词有以下的复数变化形式：
a. 词尾-is变成-es: analysis→analyses, basis→bases,crisis→crises
b. 词尾-um变成-a:
curriculum（课程）→curricula, datum（资料，数据）→data, medium（媒体）→media
c. 词尾-on变成-a:
criterion（标准）→criteria/ criterions , phenomenon→phenomena
d. 词尾-us变成-i:
nucleus→nuclei, stimulus→stimuli, syllabus（教学大纲）→syllabi
e. 词尾-a变成-ae:
antenna（天线）→antennae/ antennas,
formula（准则，公式）→formulae
f. 词尾-ix/ -ex变成-ices:
appendix（附录）→appendices, index（索引）→indices/ indexes
1.2.3 具有两种不同意义的复数形式(Two forms of the plural with
differentiated meaning)
有些名词的复数具有两种不同意思，一个与单数的意思相同，另一个则为别的意思。例如：
arms手臂（复数）；武器
customs习惯（复数）；关税
minutes 分钟（复数）；记录
1.2.4 单数形式(Singular form)
a. 有的名词单复数同形：
Chinese, Japanese, deer, sheep, means, series, species，以及jin
(斤）、li（里）、yuan（元）等汉语译名。例如：
one sheep/ two sheep
b. 有些以-s结尾的学科名词或国名，作单数用：
phonetics（语音学），physics，optics（光学），politics;
the United States, the United Nations, the Netherlands等。
c. 有些和数词连用的名词，表示复数时仍保持单数形式：
a ten-pound baby, a twelve-foot pole, two dozen eggs,
three million dollars
1.2.5 复合名词(Compound nouns)
a. 句法复合名词的复数形式：
1）词尾加-s: bedrooms, bookcases
2）前后两个名词均需变为复数：
manservant→menservants, woman doctor→women doctors
3）少数复合名词可在第一或第二个词后加-s:
attorney general→attorneys general/ attorney generals
4）名词后加-s:
looker-on→lookers-on, son-in-law→sons-in-law
5）词尾加-s: grown-up→grown-ups,sit-in→sit-ins
6）动词-ing形式后加-s: coming-in→comings-in
b. 衔头、称谓的复数形式：
the two Browns, Drs.William and Henry Brown
1.3 单位名词(Unit nouns)
单位名词用来表示不可数名词的个体性，即使之能以个数计算；也能与可数名词搭配表示"一双"，"一群"等意义。除了搭配能力很强的piece和bit以外，还有表示形状、容积、重量以及表示成双、成群的单位名词。例如：
a piece/ bit of advice/ bread/ information/ news；
a bar of chocolate/ a cake of soap/ a loaf of bread/ a pack of cigarettes；
a bag of flour/ a basket of fruit/ a pound of butter/ a yard of fabric；
a couple of players/ a flock of birds/ a pair of shoes/ a swarm of bees等。
1.4 名词属格(Genitive nouns)
英语名词有两种属格：-'s属格和of-属格。例如：
What is the school's name?
What is the name of the school?
1.4.1 -'s属格和of-属格(-s genitive and of genitive)
a. 两种属格表示的意义
1）所有关系：
Mr Brown's suitcase (相当于Mr Brown has a suitcase.)
the trunk of an elephant (相当于An elephant has a trunk.)
2）主谓关系：
Dr Smith's answer (相当于Dr Smith answered---)
the claim of the buyers (相当于The buyers claimed---)
3）动宾关系：
the boy's punishment (相当于--- punished the boy.)
the occupation of the Island (相当于--- occupied the island.)
4）事物的来源：
the girl's story (相当于a story told by the girl)
the laws of Newton (相当于the laws advanced by Newton)
5）事物的类别：
a doctor's degree (相当于a doctoral degree)
women's magazines (相当于magazines for women)
6）同位关系：
the city of New York (相当于New York is a city.)
the pleasure of meeting you (相当于Meeting you is a pleasure.)
7）其它：
10 days' absence/ an absence of 10 days
(相当于The absence lasted 10 days.)
parts of the problem
(相当于The problem is divisible into parts.)
b. -'s属格的使用：
1）主要用于表示有生命的名词，如women's clothes, the horse's
mouth等。
2）用于国家机关、社团及一些地理名称，如the government's
plan, Europe's future等。
3）用于交通工具等，如the ship's bell, the car's engine 等。
4）用于表示时间、距离、价值和重量的名词，如a moment's
thought, seven hours' walk, six dollars' worth, two tons' weight
等。
5）常用于一些习惯用语中，如in my mind's eye, in life's
struggle等。
c. of-属格的使用：
主要用于表示无生命的名词，如the events of the decade, the
door of the hut等。
d. -'s属格的省略：
-'s属格后的名词有以下情况可以省略：
1）被修饰名词在句中已出现过，例如：
His car is faster than his father's (car).
2）被修饰名词表示某人的家，例如：
The doctor's (house) is on the other side of the street.
3）被修饰名词表示教堂、学校等公共建筑物，例如：
Joe lives near St. Paul's (Cathedral) in London.
4）被修饰名词表示某家店铺，例如：
Pickled vegetables are available at the grocer's.
1.4.2 双重属格(Double genitive)
兼有两种属格结构的后置修饰语叫做双重属格。
a. 双重属格用来表示的所有关系是人，不是物。例如：
a/ any friend of mine (=one/ any of my friends)
some daughters of Mrs Green's
(=some of Mrs Green's daughters)
two novels of Dickens' (=two of Dickens' novels)
上面的例子说明，双重属格可用a, any, some 及数词等修饰of
短语前面的名词，但不能用the，如不能说" the daughters of
Mrs Green's"。
b. 双重属格还常用this，that，these 和those 修饰of短语前面的名词， 以表示爱憎褒贬等情感。例如：
this idea of yours
that remark of David's
these shoes of my sister's
those dirty hands of Peter's
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