Nouns-shortcut rules for easy identification of error location in grammar.

 If you're having trouble finding errors in your grammar, try using these shortcut rules to help you identify where the problem might be. By focusing on nouns, you can quickly eliminate a lot of potential mistakes.

What are nouns?

Nouns are one of the most basic parts of speech, and they are very important in grammar. Nouns are words that represent people, places, things, or ideas. They can be used as the subject or object of a sentence, and they can also be used as adjectives. There are many different types of nouns, and they can be categorized in different ways. Here are some of the most important things to remember about nouns:

Rules for identifying nouns

One of the most difficult things about grammar is trying to identify which words are nouns. This can be especially tricky with words that can be both nouns and verbs, like "run" or "read." However, there are some shortcuts you can use to help you figure out whether a word is a noun or not.

One way to tell if a word is a noun is to think about whether it could be the subject or object of a sentence. If the answer is yes, then chances are the word is a noun. Another way to tell if a word is a noun is to see if it has any articles or determiners before it. Articles and determiners are words like "a," "an," "the," and "my." If there's an article or determiner before a word, that's another good indication that the word is a noun.

Of course, these aren't foolproof methods, but they can be helpful when you're trying to figure out whether a word is a noun or not. Just remember that if you're unsure, you can always consult a dictionary to double-check.

How to use the rules to identify errors in grammar

One of the most difficult things about proofreading and editing your own writing is trying to identify where you made a mistake in grammar. This is especially true if you're not sure what the error is, or if there are multiple errors in a single sentence. However, there are some shortcut rules that you can use to help you quickly identify the location of errors in your grammar.

One rule of thumb is to look for nouns when you're trying to find a mistake. This is because nouns are often the focus of a sentence, so errors tend to stand out more when they're present. Additionally, you can often find errors by looking for words that end in "-ing" or "-ed". These are typically verbs, which means that they'll be important parts of the sentence. If you see an error with one of these words, the mistake is likely located nearby.

Another helpful tip is to read your sentence aloud. This will help you to catch errors that you might not have noticed otherwise. Additionally, it can be helpful to read your sentence backward, word by word. This can help you to catch errors that you might have missed when reading forwards.

Shortcut Rule 1: The words that follow can't be counted and are only ever used singularly. It is not appropriate to use the definite article "A or An" with them. They do not have plural tenses. They were not preceded by "A/An."

For example, Luggage, Baggage, Breakage, Advice, Furniture, Information, Scenery, Poetry, Work, Soap, Food, Bread, Fish, Paper, Machinery, etc.

The Sceneries of Kashmir is very beautiful. ☓
The Scenery of Kashmir is very beautiful. ✔
I know that he has many informations. ☓
I know that he has much information / a lot of information. ✔
They gave me a good advice. ☓
They gave me a piece of good advice. ✔
I want a Soap/Bread. ☓
I want a piece of Soap/Bread. ✔

Shortcut Rule 2: Words like "News," "Math," "Ethics," "Politics," "Phonetics," "Economics," "Statistics," "Measles," "Mumps," "Ricketts," "Billiards," and "Innings" appear to be plural nouns but have singular meanings. As a result, they use verbs in the singular form.

Mathematics is a difficult subject. ✔
But say "His Mathematics is very weak". ✔

Rule: When a possessive adjective comes in front of a noun, the noun will take a plural verb.
Billiards are an interesting game. ☓
Billiards is an interesting game. ✔
The news are not reliable. ☓
The news is not reliable. ✔

Shortcut Rule 3: Some nouns have the same form in both the singular and plural.

Words like, Sheep / Deer / Service / Series / Series / Species /Fish / Apparatus etc.

He saw two sheeps in the zoo. ☓

He saw two sheep in the zoo ✔

A series of lectures are to be delivered tomorrow. ☓

A series of lectures is to be delivered tomorrow. ✔

Shortcut Rule 4: Only the plural form of the following nouns may be used: cattle, people, police, electorate, poultry, trousers, scissors, eyeglasses, binoculars, crackers, swine, gentlemen, and clergy. These are all used with verbs that have plural forms.

The police is coming towards us now. ☓

The police are coming towards us now. ✔

The scissor is very sharp. ☓

The scissors are very sharp. ✔

Shortcut Rule 5: To create a compound noun plural, add the letter "S" to the primary word.

Sister-in-Law, the plural form is Sisters-in-Law, not Sister-in-Laws.
Brother-in- Law, the plural form is Brothers-in-law, not Brothers-in- Laws.

Shortcut Rule 6: When a compound noun is in the possessive case, the final word is followed by the letter "S."

Father-in-Law, Father-in-Law's property.
Sister-in-Law, Sister-in-Law's property.

Shortcut Rule 7: A noun's plural form is used after the expressions One of, Some of, Each of, Either of, None of, Any of, and None of.

One of my best friends (not One of my best friend) 
One of the biggest cities (not One of the biggest city) 
Each of the boys is (not Each of the boys are) 
Either of the teachers is (not Either of the teachers are)

Shortcut Rule 8: Singular form should be used for nouns with numerals. "A Dozen eggs / Two Dozen Oranges". 

But say Hundreds of eggs / Houses / A hundred rupees / Two hundred rupees.

Shortcut Rule 9: Either the singular or plural form of the verb is used after collective nouns.

The team is strong (here, we are treating the TEAM as a UNIT) ✔
The team are fighting among themselves (Here, we are saying about the players of the team) ✔

Shortcut Rule 10: When referring to living things, just the "Apostrophe" and "S" should be used to denote possession.

The table's legs were broken. ☓(This is wrong because the table is a non-living thing).

We can say "The legs of the table were broken" ✔

Shortcut Rule 11: Say, "A ten rupee note", " A six-mile walk."

Shortcut Rule 12: Say "The members of the family / he or she is my cousin" rather than "family members / cousin brother or cousin sister."

Shortcut Rule 13: When two nouns are closely linked and united by "and," the last noun should be given an apostrophe.

For example, Kareena's and Saif's house ☓

(if you think they are wife and husband then this sentence is wrong).

Kareena and Saif's house (as they live in a SINGLE house) ✔

But you can say "India's and Pakistan's population" ✔

By following these simple tips, you can quickly and easily identify errors in your grammar so that you can correct them. With a little practice, using these shortcut rules will become second nature and will help you write error-free sentences with ease!

Conclusion

If you're ever unsure about whether or not you're using a noun correctly, these shortcut rules can help you quickly identify the error in your sentence. By taking the time to learn and memorize these rules, you can save yourself a lot of time and frustration when it comes to proofreading your work. Do you have any other tips for identifying grammar errors? Share them with us in the comments below!