American Accent 3 : Nouns

A noun is an entity that refers to a person, location, or object. Nouns can often be visually represented. In the nine-grid story, the initial and concluding words of the opening sentence are nouns. You will also engage with fundamental modifiers (such as "a," "the," "this," "that," "these," "those," "some," "many," "most," "all," "my," "your," "his," "her," "our," numbers, etc.) when changing nouns to pronouns in this section.



A or An
Write "a" or "an" for general terms or when introducing a noun. Use "an" before a vowel.

This is_____ bike.                   This is a bike.
This is_____ apple.                  This is an apple.

1. Here is   car.
2. There is   egg.
3.   dog is   animal
4. Sam is   honest man.
5. It is   nice day today.

Plural Rule: Add an S

One of the appealing aspects of the English language is that, typically, you merely append an "S" to denote the presence of multiple items. These are referred to as plurals.

There are a few exceptions to the -s rule.



Woman is pronounced wum'n and women is wimmen.

Pronunciation of the Final S

The concluding "S" takes on the sound of a "Z." "Dogs" is pronounced like "dogz." Even if you append a "Z" at the end of a word that concludes with a "T," "K," "P," or "F," the proper "S" sound remains: "eatz," "lookz," "popz," "laughz."

If a word ends in "S," "SS," "SH," "ZH," "CH," "X," "Z," "J," or "0," add "-es." It will sound like "az."

If a word ends in "Y," the "Y" transforms into "I," and you attach "-es" (e.g., "party/parties").

Note: This does not apply to words ending in "-ey," "-ay," or "-oy," such as "key," "play," or "toy."



A Thing, Two Things
Listen to the audio and repeat the phrases.




                                          Singular                  Plural

                                           a dog                          some dogs
                                          one dog                      three dogs
                                          a book                        some books
                                          a hat                           some hats
                                          a dish                          all dishes
                                        one watch                    two watches
                                        one car                        three cars
                                        a person                      some people

A Thing, Two Things -Intonation - Pronunciation
Listen to the audio and repeat the phrases, stressing the nouns and focusing on the pronunciation.






A Thing, Two Things - Plurals

Make these plural by adding a final S in the spaces. Some sound like S, some sound like Z.

                                          Pronunciation                                   Pronunciation
1. a chair      two chairs~ too chairz              6. a pill two pill   too pillz
2. an egg two egg    too'w)eggz    7. a lamp two lamp  too lremps
3. a day two day   too dayz             8. a hair two hair    too hehrz
4. a week two week too weeks       9. a letter two letter too ledderz
5. a desk two desk too desks           10. a pencil two pencil  too pens'lz

Rule: No Naked Nouns
In English, you usually require a word preceding the noun, like "a book," "my book," "this book." If someone says "I want book" or "Book is good," it sounds primitive, akin to a caveman. This adheres to the No-Naked-Nouns Rule. Keep in mind, the first instance uses "a," the subsequent one uses "the." Both are pronounced as "a."

A and The
Utilize "the" for particular or distinctive terms, or when the noun has been previously mentioned or introduced.

1.   sun is bright.                          6.   car is expensive.
2. He is   doctor.                           7. Where is   bathroom?
3. Where is   kitchen?                  8. Is this   mistake?
4. It is   falling star.                      9. He is   president.
5. There is mistake here.             10. She is child.

This and That
This and these are close by you, and that and those are farther from you.
This and that are singular, and these and those are plural.
This Thing, These Things

Listen to the audio and repeat the phrases




                      Singular                        Plural
                         the dog                          the dogs
                         this dog                        these dogs
                         that dog                        those dogs
                         the book                      the books
                        the hat                          the hats
                        the dish                        the dishes
                       this watch                    these watches
                       that car                        those cars

This Thing, These Things - Pronunciation
Carefully listen to the audio and vocally echo the phrases, emphasizing the nouns and concentrating on precise pronunciation, especially the initial "Th" sound. Ensure the tip of your tongue is pressed against the back of your upper teeth.

Here or There
Fill in the blank with this, that, these, those. Then check the Answer Key.

1. This car is near me.
2.   car is over there.
3.  cars are over there.
4.  cars are near me.
5. dogs are close to us.
6. books are near you.
7. books are far from you.
8. shoes are near you.
9. shoes are far from you.
10. dog is not close to us.