ABSTRACT
Nouns are the most numerous word classes in English, but individually they tend not to be as frequent as the grammatical word classes, such as prepositions and determiners. Nouns have a number of interesting features which are not dealt with here: the distinction between singular and plural, the genitive and their formation with certain derivational endings. The most important is whether the noun is 'count' or 'noncount'. Another feature of nouns is that some only occur in the plural form. A third factor focussed on is the sub-class of 'collective nouns'. A final feature of nouns, very different from the different sub-classes identified, is their function in noun phrases. Nouns are typically thought of as the head of noun phrases. But very often they function as a premodifier. When it is count, the noun generally refers to a work of art. It is also common as a verb. As a count noun space refers to a specific empty area.
