How do I distinguish a head noun from a ''noraml'' noun?

Question

If I understand this correct the head noun describes weather I should use a plural or singular verb, correct? But I don't know how to distinguish a head noun from a ''normal'' noun... Can you explain this to me? Thanks.

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jonchantIf I understand this correct the head noun describes whether I should use a plural or singular verb, correct? But I don't know how to distinguish a head noun from a normal noun... Can you explain this to me? Thanks.

Your vocabulary is a bit muddled.
It's the subject of a sentence that determines if the verb must be singular or plural.

The "head word" is the word in a phrase that determines the syntactical nature of the phrase.

For example, the head word in a noun phrase is a noun.
This is a noun phrase:
the tall furry black leather hat on my father's head

It contains four nouns (leather, hat, father, head)
There is one head word.
The head word is a noun.
That word is "hat."

The subject of a sentence must be a noun or noun phrase.
If we use the above example noun phrase as the subject of a sentence, then the head word of that phrase becomes the word that governs the agreement of the verb:

The tall furry black leather hat on my father's head was suddenly caught by the wind.

http://grammar.about.com/od/fh/g/headterm.htm

How do I distinguish a head noun from a ''noraml'' noun?

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