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Commonly Used Nouns |
From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.
Imagine you hear a mother or father talking to a child.
The parent wants the child to do well in school, but the
child does not like to read books.
The exchange might sound something like this:
A: To get a good grade, the first thing you have to do
is read books.
B: Why do people always tell me to read books? I don't
think books are fun.
A: Lots of people don't read books – that's why they do
badly in school. The last thing you want is a bad grade!
Today's Everyday Grammar program is not about reading
books, nor is it about how Americans lecture their
children. In fact, our report is about something very
different: commonly used nouns.
Today we are going to explore two of the most commonly
used nouns in American English: people and thing.
What are nouns?
A noun is traditionally defined as a word that names a
place, object, or person. Nouns can be plural -- meaning
more than one -- or possessive, or they can be both
plural and possessive.*
You can read more about these words in an Everyday
Grammar program called "Understanding Noncount Nouns."
You can find it and other stories on our website,
learningenglish.voanews.com.
Are nouns common in conversation?
Sometimes words take the place of nouns. These words are
called pronouns. Examples include I, us, that, it and so
on.
In American English, speakers use pronouns much more
often than they use nouns. This information comes from
Susan Conrad and Douglas Biber, two experts on English
grammar.
Conrad and Biber say that Americans generally use
pronouns more when speaking because they understand the
activities and things that the pronouns represent.
This is not to say that nouns are never heard in
everyday conversation! In fact, a few nouns are often
used in conversation. Two such words are people and
thing.
People
The noun people is a plural noun. It does not generally
suggest a specific group of individuals. Instead,
American often use people when they mean everyone.
Conrad and Biber say that people is the most commonly
used noun when Americans are speaking with one another.
They generally use this word to make a general statement
about life.
For example, you might hear someone say "Lots of people
make the same mistake," or "Why do people always
criticize me?"
This use of people is considered polite and acceptable
in formal and informal speech. You will hear it at
school, at restaurants, in the workplace, and even in
political speeches.
Thing
According to Conrad and Biber, the noun thing is almost
as common in American English as the noun people.
The word thing can suggest an object, but this meaning
is rare in conversation.
Instead, the word thing has several meanings.
#1 Thing refers to an event or
activity
First, thing can mean an event or activity.
For example, imagine you are traveling to a city and
your friend wants to make a suggestion. He or she could
say "After you arrive, the first thing you should do is
eat a hamburger."
#2 Thing refers to a speech or some
kind of communication
Second, thing can suggest a statement or some kind of
communication.
For example, you might hear students talking quietly
after school: "The last thing I heard was that Tommy
asked Laura to the dance."
In this sentence, thing refers to some kind of
communication – in this case, a rumor – about two people
going to a dance together.
#3 Thing refers to a general situation
Third, the word thing can refer to a general situation.
In many cases, the speaker will give a general opinion
about the situation by using an adjective.
For example, you might hear a person say "It's a good
thing you bought an umbrella. I think it's going to rain
today!"
The speaker is showing that they have a good opinion
about the other person's decision to buy an umbrella.
Think back to the conversation
Now, think back to the exchange at the beginning of our
program.
A: To get a good grade, the first thing you have to do
is read books.
B: Why do people always tell me to read books! I don't
think books are fun.
A: Lots of people don't read books – that's why they do
badly in school. The last thing you want is a bad grade!
You will notice several uses of people and thing in this
conversation.
The word people is used to make a general statement
about life.
The word thing, in the example, is used to suggest a
general situation in which the speaker expresses their
opinion.
Our goal here is not to give you a list of all of the
meanings of people and thing. Instead we want to tell
you about the most common meanings of these common
nouns.
Learning how these two words are used will not only help
you understand Americans when they speak. Using these
words will also help you sound more natural to an
American.
The next time you are watching an American film or
television show, try to listen to how the speakers use
the nouns people and thing.
Try to use what you know about the situation to
understand the meaning.
These definitions are difficult to learn, but the most
important thing is that you do not give up.
I'm John Russell.
And I'm Jill Robbins.
John Russell wrote this story for Learning English.
George Grow was the editor.
* Nouns in English are called either count or noncount.
We will not study the difference between these nouns in
this report, but if you want to learn more about them,
you can read our earlier Everyday Grammar program,
called "Understanding Noncount Nouns" |
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