Nouns

A noun is the name of anything.

What is a noun?

Look around you. What do you see? You see people, places, animals, birds, fishes, things, etc. Everything you see has a name. In grammar, this name is called nouns.

Here are some examples:

  • Names of people: teacher, father, John, Rosy
  • Names of places: Paris, park, school, road
  • Names of animals: cat, cow, bird, fish
  • Names of things: pen, book, boat, salt
  • Names of ideas: love, freedom, anger, vice

Types of Nouns

There are many types of nouns. Some of them are: 

1. Proper Nouns: These are the specific names of a people, places and pet animals. They are opposite of common nouns.

Examples of proper nouns:

  • Mr. Smith, New York City, United States, Canada, Australia

REMEMBER!

A proper noun always begins with a capital letter even if it is in the middle of the sentence. 

Wrong: 'Man and Superman' was written by george bernard shaw.
Right: 'Man and Superman' was written by George Bernard Shaw.

2. Common Nouns: These are general names of people, places, animals or things. They are opposite of proper nouns. Common nouns are used to refer to general or non-specific entities within a category. 

Examples of common nouns:

  • Teacher, friend, school, park, ball, book,  dog, cat, bird, fish

REMEMBER!

A common noun begins with a small letter unless it is at the beginning of a sentence.

Wrong: Bob is a Teacher.
Right: Bob is a teacher.

3. Collective Nouns: A collective noun is the name of a group or collection of people, animal or things. Here are some examples of collective nouns:

  • A herd of cattle.
  • A flock of birds.
  • A class of students.
  • A bouquet of flowers.
  • A library of books.

4. Nouns of Multitude: When a collective noun takes plural verb, it is called noun of multitude. This happens when the members of the group are divided in their opinion or work.

Examples:

  • The class is sitting in the class. (Collective noun)
  • The class are playing in the field and reading in the library. (Noun of multitude)

5. Material Nouns: A material noun is a type of noun that refers to a substance or material from which things are made.  It is a type of common noun.

  • The ring is made of gold. 
  • I need some flour, milk and sugar to make a bread.

6. Concrete Nouns: A concrete noun is the name of things which have physical existence. In other words, a concrete noun is the name of things which we can see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. It is opposite of abstract noun. 

  • The cow gives us milk.
  • I need some rice.

7. Abstract Nouns: An abstract noun is the name of things which have no physical existence. In other words, an abstract noun is the name of things which we cannot see, cannot hear, cannot touch, cannot smell or cannot taste. Abstract nouns refer to concepts, ideas, emotions, qualities, and states.

  • He felt a deep love for his family.
  • His honesty earned him respect.

8. Countable Nouns: Countable nouns are the names of things which can be counted. They have both singular and plural forms. Here are some examples of countable nouns:

  • There are three cats in the yard.
  • I bought a book for the library.

9. Uncountable Nouns: An uncountable noun is the name of things which cannot be counted. It is also called mass noun or non-count noun. 

  • Sugar: Sugar is added to a recipe by the spoonful; you don't count "sugars."
  • Love: Love is an emotion and cannot be counted as individual instances.

10. Compound Nouns: A compound noun is the noun that is formed by combining two or more words together. Here are some examples of compound nouns:

  • The classroom was filled with eager students.
  • His mother-in-law visited for the weekend.
  • We enjoyed some delicious ice cream for dessert.

11. Possessive Nouns: Possessive nouns are used to show ownership or possession of an object, person, or concept. They are typically formed by adding an apostrophe and an "s" ('s) to the end of a singular noun, or just an apostrophe ('), for plural nouns that already end in "s." Here are some examples of possessive nouns:

  • My friend's house is painted blue.
  • The students' textbooks were left on the desk.

12. Occupation Nouns: Occupation nouns, also known as professional nouns or job nouns, are a category of nouns that specifically refer to people's professions or occupations. 

  • Teacher: a person who teaches.
  • Actor: a person who acts.

⬆Back to Top

13. Online Quiz