Types of Noun

 

Different types of nouns

1) common nouns

Common nouns are nonspecific. They refer to a broad class of people, places, or things (like the generic coffee), so they’re not capitalized.

• common nouns
  
• Examples of common noun as  (profession )lawyer, doctor, teacher, nurse, politician, football player
• Examples of common noun as (Objects) - car, newspaper, boat, potato chip, shoe, house, table, sword.
• Examples of common noun as (Abstract feelings)-Culture, love, democracy, time, hatred, peace, war, empathy, anger, laughter.

Some nouns can be either proper or common depending on the context. For example, a canyon is common, while the Grand Canyon is proper because it’s the name of a specific place.

2) proper nouns

Proper nouns help distinguish a specific person, place, or thing. These words should be capitalized. Some examples are brand names like Starbucks and personal names like Jenny.

• proper nouns:(examples)

• Human noun: John, Carry, Todd, Jenica, Melissa etc.

  
  

  Institution, establishment, institution, authority, university nouns: Saint John High School, Health Association, British Language Institute, Oxford University, New York Governorship etc.

  3. Nation, tribe, religion, sect nouns: British, German, Greek, American, Indian, Russian, Jewish, Christian, Judaism, Christianity etc.

  4. Language nouns: Persian, English, French, Hungarian, Finnish, Tibetan etc.

  5. City, District, District, neighborhood, street, boulevard, street nouns: London, Paris, Seoul, California etc.

  One way you can treat a common noun as a proper noun is by using personification. Personification is giving human attributes to nonhuman objects or ideas. An example of this is in the poem “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson: “Because I could not stop for Death – / He kindly stopped for me.” Here, the poet talks about death as if this concept is a person.

3) singular nouns

Nouns can either be singular or plural. Singular means they refer to just one thing.

• singular nouns:
  house, cat, girl, foot, country,Day,Tax, Taxi, Lady, Mountain

4) plural nouns

A plural noun refers to more than one of something. Many singular nouns just need an S added at the end to make them plural (e.g., bee and bees). For some nouns that already end with an S, you may need to add -es to the end to make their plural forms (e.g., classes and buses).

• regular plural nouns:
  houses, cats, girls, countries
• 
  

Not all nouns follow this pattern. Those that become plural in other ways are called irregular. Some examples are person and people, life and lives, mouse and mice, and tooth and teeth.

• irregular plural nouns:
  person and people
  life and lives
  mouse and mice
  tooth and teeth.

5) concrete nouns

A concrete noun is something that can be perceived through one of the five senses. A cat is something you can see, hear, touch, and smell, so it is a concrete noun.

• concrete nouns:
  apple, table, flower, music, bear, pie, tornado, ranch, colony, milk, Niagara Falls, team, lotion, stars, water, student, fire fighter, pencil, computer, incense, table, tree, fox, bang, cloud, panther, sunset, cinnamon, rain, cookies, car, etc

6) abstract nouns

Abstract nouns are intangible ideas. They’re not things people can see, smell, hear, or touch. Common examples include emotions, social concepts, political theories, and character traits. Here is one example: anger is an emotion that can inspire change.

• abstract nouns: 
  Love, Creativity,Democracy, Beauty, Bravery, Brilliance, Brutality, Calmness, Charity, Coldness, Compassion.

7) collective nouns

A collective noun describes a group of things, and it may be singular or plural, depending on how it’s used. A singular collective noun refers to a group that functions as one unit or performs the same action at the same time. For example: The team plays in the main gym.

• singular collective nouns:
  crowd, flock, committee, a hundred dollars
• People: board, choir, class, committee, family, group, jury, panel, staff.
• Animals: flock, herd, pod, swarm.
• Things: bunch, collection, fleet, flotilla, pack, set.

8) compound nouns

A compound noun combines two words in one. Many of them are connected by a hyphen.

• compound nouns:
  dry-cleaning, toothpaste, haircut, output

  Compound elements	Examples
  noun + noun	bedroom water tank motorcycle printer cartridge
  noun + verb	rainfall haircut train-spotting
  noun + adverb	hanger-on passer-by
  verb + noun	washing machine driving licence swimming pool
  verb + adverb	lookout take-off drawback
  adverb + noun	onlooker bystander
  adjective + verb	dry-cleaning public speaking
  adjective + noun	greenhouse software redhead
  adverb + verb	output overthrow upturn input

9) countable nouns

A countable noun is one that you can count. When you have three books or ten pennies, you are describing a noun that is countable.

• countable nouns;
  
• dog, cat, animal, man, person.
• bottle, box, litre.
• coin, note, dollar.
• cup, plate, fork.
• table, chair, suitcase, bag.
• Apple, orange, mango.

10) uncountable nouns

An uncountable noun (also known as a mass noun) is one that cannot be counted. For example, gases cannot be counted. You can’t say you have one air or three air. So air is an uncountable noun and will always be singular.

• uncountable nouns:
  Advice. .Aggression. .Assistance. Beauty. .Beef. .Bravery. .Bread. .Butter. .Cake. .Cash. Chaos. ..Energy. Enjoyment. .Equipment. .Failure. Faith. .Fame. .Fuel. .Fruit. Gasoline..Grief. Trust. Toast. .Understanding. .Unemployment. Violence. Vision. Warmth. Water. .Wealth. Weather.

Nouns make up the majority of the English language. More nouns appear every year as people come up with new ideas, media, and technologies. However, a noun’s basic function never changes. It is a person, place, or thing, and it may be proper, common, possessive, abstract, or collective.

Exercise- 1

1.

"LAKSHMI loves to climb a MOUNTAIN every SUNDAY." - Which kind of nouns are the words in capitals?

A) Proper, Common, Collective

B) Collective, Common, Proper

C) Abstract, Common, Proper

D) Proper, Common, Proper

2.

"My FAMILY is going to BANGALORE next MONTH." - Which kind of nouns are the words in capitals?

A) Collective, Proper, Abstract

B) Collective, Common, Abstract

C) Common, Collective, Abstract

D) Common, Proper, Collective

3.

"His WEALTH is the ENVY of his FRIENDS." - Which kind of nouns are the words in capitals?

A) Collective, Abstract, Collective

B) Abstract, Abstract, Plural

C) Abstract, Concrete, Collective

D) Proper, Abstract, Countable

4.

"The TABLECLOTH was soiled and the WAITER removed it from the TABLE." - Which kind of nouns are the words in capitals?

A) Compound, Common, Common

B) Compound, Proper, Collective

C) Abstract, Plural, Uncountable

D) Concrete, Common, Proper

5.

"The GROUP of friends fell into the WATER of the RIVER." - Which kind of nouns are the words in capitals?

A) Proper, Common, Common

B) Collective, Uncountable, Common

C) Common, Collective, Countable

D) Common, Common, Common

6.

"The HISTORY of the CITY is recorded in a BOOK." - Which kind of nouns are the words in capitals?

A) Abstract, Abstract, Abstract

B) Abstract, Proper, Abstract

C) Common, Collective, Abstract

D) Abstract, Common, Common

7.

"Her FEAR was his BELIEF in RELIGION." - Which kind of nouns are the words in capitals?

A) Abstract, Abstract, Abstract

B) Collective, Abstract, Abstract

C) Abstract, Collective, Abstract

D) Abstract, Abstract, Collective

8.

"MONKEYS swing on the BRANCHES of TREES." - Which kind of nouns are the words in capitals?

A) Plural, Abstract, Common

B) Plural, Collective, Plural

C) Collective, Collective, Collective

D) Plural, Plural, Plural

9.

"The CAT drank the MILK from the SAUCER." - Which kind of nouns are the words in capitals?

A) Abstract, Common, Common

B) Proper, Common, Common

C) Common, Uncountable, Common

D) Common, Compound, Common

10.

"She said 'Your HAPPINESS is most important to your HUSBAND and MOTHER-IN-LAW'." - Which kind of nouns are the words in capitals?

A) Collective, Common, Compound

B) Abstract, Common, Compound

C) Abstract, Concrete, Plural

D) Countable, Proper, Proper

Answers

1) D

2) A

3) B

4) A

5) B

6) D

7) A

8) D

9) C

10) B

Exercise -2

Pick out the Nouns in the following sentences and say whether they are Proper, Common, Material, Collective or Abstract.

1. Raman is a good boy.
2. One should believe in truth.
3. A soldier is respected for his bravery.
4. Ornaments are made of gold and silver.
5. Mumbai is a big city.
6. The team won the match.
7. Blindness is the greatest curse.
8. Wisdom is better than strength.
9. This table is made of steel.

Answer:

Proper Nouns	Common Nouns	Material Nouns	Collective Nouns	Abstract Nouns
Raman, Mumbai	boy, one, soldier , ornaments, city, table	gold, silver, steel	bench, team	truth, bravery, blindness, wisdom, strength