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1. 

   Which Letters Really Need Accent Marks?

   Fancy? Fundamental? Or just plain frustrating to deal with? Accent marks draw a mixed reaction from people.  So, do we really need them? Let’s take a look.  What is an accent mark, anyway? Accent marks are diacritic marks, which are added to a letter or character to set them apart from others and “give it a particular phonetic value, to indicate stress, etc.” That makes sense, …

2. 

   “Burnt” vs. “Burned”: The Answers To Your Burning Questions About Their Difference

   Does burnt always mean the same thing as burned? Is it burnt out or burned out? And why do some verbs form their past tense by adding a -t at the end? In this article, you’ll get the answers to these and all your burning questions about burned and burnt. Both burned and burnt can be used as the past tense and past participle forms …

3. 

   Where Does The “Shrove” In “Shrove Tuesday” Come From?

   For many Christians around the world, Shrove Tuesday is one of the most significant Tuesdays on the calendar. The rest of us are wondering: What is Shrove Tuesday? And what even is shrove, for that matter? Shrove Tuesday occurs on the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. Perhaps you’re more familiar with another name for the same date: Mardi Gras. Regardless of whether …

4. Nouns refer to the many people, places, and things around us. There are many different types of nouns that we use when talking about everything we see or experience. Sometimes, we are talking about one thing. For example, you may have only one pet, one sister, one house, one last slice of pizza, or one idea for a funny knock-knock joke. One is the loneliest number, so let’s try to cheer it up by introducing the term for the type of noun we use to refer to single objects: the singular noun.

   [article-nav-item jump_link="What's A Singular Noun?"]What is a singular noun?[/article-nav-item]

   The word singular, when used in grammar, means “noting or pertaining to a member of the category of number found in many languages that indicates that a word form has one referent or denotes one person, place, thing, or instance.” A singular noun is a noun that refers to one, and only one, object or person. For example, the word girl is a singular noun but the word girls is not a singular noun because it refers to more than one person. Girls is a plural noun. While singular nouns are usually simple to understand, sometimes things can get tricky. A collective noun, for example, is a singular noun that refers to a group of people or things as a single unit. Words like team, family, and pile are collective nouns. Even though these words refer to multiple people or things, they are still singular nouns because they refer to a single, distinct unit. Also, some English words like to be difficult and sometimes function as singular nouns. Words like data, fish, and measles may or may not be singular nouns, so be careful! Don’t be surprised if you see some people use these words with a plural verb as in The data are showing a growth in sales or My fish swim really fast. Names and titles also like to be sneaky, so you will need to carefully use nouns like Bahamas and Star Wars. (Countries can be singular or plural depending on the sentence.) [article-callout-link href="https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/noun/"]Who knew nouns could be so complicated? It might help to visit this review of what a noun can be in more detail.[/article-callout-link]

   [article-nav-item jump_link="Examples"]Singular noun examples[/article-nav-item]

   Of all of the different types of nouns we use, singular nouns are relatively easy to use. There aren’t any special capitalization or punctuation rules you need to remember when using them. The one thing you must remember is that singular nouns use singular verbs such as is, was, or does. Simply remember that a singular noun is a noun that refers to one person, place, or thing. Let’s take a look at examples of singular nouns.

   People and animals 

   Singular nouns are used to refer to one person or one animal. Both generic and specific people and animals can be referred to with singular nouns.

   • People: man, woman, firefighter, waiter, hero, Batman, Queen Elsa
   • Animals: dog, cat, bird, bug, lion, tiger, bear, Mickey Mouse, Koko the Gorilla

   Places

   Just as before, we use singular nouns to refer to one place.

   • beach, city, neighborhood, town, island, country, Mexico, France, China, Australia

   Things 

   You can use singular nouns to refer to a lot of stuff you experience with your five senses.

   • chair, computer, apple, cinnamon, trash, hat, wind, rain, Google, Twitter, Amazon

   Ideas

   We also use singular nouns to refer to ideas, emotions, philosophies, concepts, and other intangible things you can’t detect with your five senses.

   • hunger, sadness, time, disease, government, religion, peace, science, Friday, October

   List of singular nouns

   Many of the other types of nouns can also be singular nouns. Let’s look at some examples of different types of nouns used as singular nouns.

   Common nouns: kangaroo, clock, banana, backyard, baseball, toy Proper nouns: Abraham Lincoln, Texas, Nintendo, Buddhism Concrete nouns: desk, house, dirt, cake, monkey, lake, moon Abstract nouns: war, happiness, confusion, poverty, unemployment Countable nouns: cookie, cup, hat, hamster, cloud Uncountable nouns: doubt, sand, music, entertainment, furniture

   

   [article-nav-item jump_link="Singular Vs. Plural Nouns"]The difference between singular and plural nouns[/article-nav-item]

   To recap, a singular noun refers to one person, place, or thing. The type of noun that refers to more than one person, place, or thing is known as a plural noun. Singular nouns always use singular verbs (such as is, was, and walks) while plural nouns use plural verbs (such as are, were, and walk). Only singular nouns can use the articles a and an. Plural nouns can be tricky to tell apart from singular nouns. Many plural nouns are created by simply adding the letter S to a singular noun as in the words cats, hamburgers, or ideas. However, many plural nouns do not follow this rule, so you need to keep an eye out. Always remember the rule that a singular noun is a noun that only refers to one person, place, or thing. Here are examples of the different ways that we use singular and plural nouns:

   • A lady (singular noun) bought a dress (singular noun) from the store (singular noun).
   • My brother (singular noun) collects stamps (plural noun).
   • Math (singular noun) gives me headaches (plural noun).
   • The shark (singular noun) had sharp teeth (plural noun).
   • Chris didn’t meet the required criteria (plural noun!) for being a dancer (singular noun).
   • I caught a really big fish (singular noun).
   • Octopuses (plural noun) sometimes eat many fish (plural noun).

   [article-nav-item jump_link="Grammar Coach Helps!"]All the nouns, none of the errors[/article-nav-item]

   Did you know that singular also means “extraordinary, remarkable”? And you too can be a singular writer with the help of Thesaurus.com’s Grammar Coach™. This writing tool uses machine learning technology uniquely designed to catch grammar and spelling errors. Its Synonym Swap will find the best nouns, adjectives, and more to help say what you really mean, guiding you toward clearer, stronger, writing. Whether you’re writing about a person, place, or thing, perfect grammar has never been easier! [gravityform id="3" title="true" description="true"]

   How, Where, Why: What Adverbial Phrases Will Tell You

   An adverbial phrase is a group of words that refines the meaning of a verb, adjective, or adverb. Similar to adverbs, adverbial phrases modify other words by explaining why, how, where, or when an action occurred. They may also describe the conditions of an action or object, or the degree to which an action or object was affected. Consider the following sentence: “He drove the …

5. 

   Why Is “Ain’t” Such A Controversial Word?

   What’s all the fuss over ain’t about? Is it “bad English”? Is it really a word? What does ain’t even stand for? Let’s break down this controversial—but very misunderstood—term. What does ain’t mean? Ain’t is a contraction that can mean am not, are not, and is not. It can also mean have not, has not, do not, does not, or did not. We ain’t joking: …

6. 

   6 Types Of Adverbs Used In The English Language

   Adverbs are a major part of speech that we use to modify verbs, adjectives, clauses, and even other adverbs. If you’ve studied grammar, you probably know that words like calmly, everywhere, and soon are examples of adverbs. But did you know that there are different types of adverbs? It’s true, and we are going to learn how versatile adverbs can be by learning more about …

7. 

   The Difference Between Predicate Nominative vs. Predicate Adjective

   In general, a predicate completes a sentence by providing information about what the subject is or does. The subject of a sentence is who or what is doing the action. The predicate explains the action. There’s often a linking verb (like is or became) in between the two. A predicate nominative is a noun that completes the linking verb in a sentence. Predicate adjectives complete …

8. 

   Colon vs. Semicolon: What’s The Difference?

   The colon and semicolon are two punctuation marks with similar names that often cause a lot of confusion. Because they aren’t used as often as some other punctuation marks, it can be hard to know when you should use one or the other. In this article, we will explain what colons and semicolons are and how they are used, give tips on how to remember …

9. 

   12 Types Of Diacritical Marks And How To Type Them

   Protégé. Señorita. Coup de grâce. What do all of these words have in common? No, it isn’t some weird logic puzzle. All of these words have strange lines and symbols above at least one of the letters. The non-linguists among us may know these lines and shapes as accent marks, but their true name is diacritical marks or diacritics. That’s nice and all, but you …

10. 

    What Is An Indefinite Article? Definition & Examples

    Would you like a cookie? How about an orange? Or maybe an ice cream scoop with a cherry on top? Unfortunately, snack time will have to wait, because we need to learn about articles. We use articles to point out that a noun is a noun, and all of our tasty sentences used a type of article called an indefinite article. If you’re a bit …

11. 

    What Is A Determiner? Types & Examples

    What is a determiner? That … is actually a really good question. So buckle up—because the answer can be a little complicated. (And here you thought commas were the toughest of the grammar bunch!) To start, determiners can be many things. Depending on who you ask, they’ll say some adjectives function as determiners or determiners are a type of adjective. The articles the, a, and …

12. 

    “Smelled” vs. “Smelt”: How To Sniff Out The Difference

    Chances are, you use the word smelled somewhat frequently. But what about smelt? Is it a word? And, if so, does it mean something different than smelled? In this article, we’ll answer all of these questions and more until your brain knows the difference without a whiff of confusion. Both smelled and smelt can be used as the past tense and past participle forms of …