we forgot). Derivational (for common nouns) The most common noun-forming suffixes in English are -tion, -ism, -ity, and -ness. For example, the verb activate + -tion becomes the noun activation. English nouns can also be formed by conversion (no change, e.g., run [verb] → run [noun]) and compounding (putting two bases together, e.g., grand + mother → grandmother). There are also many prefixes that can be attached to English nouns to change their meaning. A small list of examples include anti-, bi-, dis-, hyper-, mega-, non-, & re- (e.g., re- + vision → revision). Semantics of nouns and noun phrases English noun phrases typically inherit the denotation of the head noun. On top of this, they may have many other semantic characteristics including definiteness, reference, specificity, number, quantification, gender, and person. Denotation and reference English nouns prototypically denote entities. The denotation of an expression is its literal meaning, such as those meanings listed within monolingual dictionaries. For example, one of the things that apple denotes is "a common, round fruit produced by the tree Malus domestica, cultivated in temperate climates." English noun phrases can also refer to entities. A noun phrase is referential if it is used to pick out an entity that is distinguished by properties other those inherent in the meaning of the noun phrase itself. For instance, the noun phrase his dog in Sam found his dog picks out a particular entity (a dog) that is distinguishable by properties not expressed in the meaning of dog (such as breed, color, and the like). Not all noun phrases refer. In fact, some kinds of noun phrases are inherently non-referential. These include negative, interrogative, and bare role noun phrases as well as noun phrases with either or each functioning as a determinative. The underlined NPs in the following examples do not refer: Negative: Nobody came. Interrogative: Who likes ice cream? Bare role: She was elected president. Either as determinative: Either team might win the game. Each as determinative: She interviewed each child in turn. Dummy pronoun: It's raining. Existential there: There's a problem. Countability and number Common nouns may be divided into count nouns and non-count nouns. English nouns typically have both count and non-count senses, though for a given noun one sense typically dominates. For example, apple is usually countable (two apples), but it also has a non-count sense (e.g., this pie is full of apple). When discussing