Nouns

Nouns are the names of people, places, things, ideas, actions or qualities. Example – John, Nancy, Paris, Printer, Roof etc.

Types of Nouns : Nouns are classified into following types :

1. Proper Nouns
2. Common Nouns
3. Collective Nouns
4. Abstract Nouns
5. Concrete Nouns
6. Countable Nouns
7. Uncountable Nouns

1. Proper Nouns

The name of a particular person or place is called as Proper Noun. They always begin with a capital letter.

• The names of days of the week and the months of year are proper nouns.
• The names of special days and celebrations are also proper nouns. For example – New Year’s Day, Halloween, Christmas, Diwali.
• The names of famous places, buildings and monuments are proper nouns. For example – Big Ben, The Taj Mahal, The Eiffel Tower.
• The names of people who live in a particular country are also proper nouns. For example – Indians, Russians, Pakistanis, Germans.

    2. Common Nouns

Name given in common to every person or thing of the same class is called as Common noun.
     Examples – Chair, ladder, car, table etc.

• These common nouns are words for animals. For example – dog, cow, puppy, calf, cub, whale etc.
• These common nouns are words for places. For example – Bank, shop, hospital, zoo, temple, office etc.
• These common nouns are words for people who do certain things. For example – Actor, doctor, pilot, plumber, athlete, clerk

     3. Collective Nouns
Some nouns are the names of groups or collections of things. Such nouns are called collective nouns.
     Example – Army, staff, troop, herd, family, class, committee etc.

• A collective noun usually takes a singular verb.

     Example – The herd of cattle is grazing in the field.

• Many group of animals have their own special collective nouns.

A herd of cattle

A brood of chickens

A swarm of bees

A pride of lions

• Some group of things also have their own special nouns

A bunch of bananas

A suite of rooms

A deck of cards

A grove of streets

• Some nouns name the amount or form of something

A bar of soap

A bar of chocolate

A ball of string

 

 4. Abstract Noun

The name of a quality, a state of mind or a stage of life is called an Abstract Noun.
For Example – Childhood is the happiest stage of life

• The names of various fields of study, arts and science are also categorized as abstract noun. For Example- Physics, Poetry, Aeronautics etc.
• Abstract Noun showing emotions/feelings

Love

Pride

Hate

Anger

Anxiety

Fear

Pain

• Abstract Noun showing states/attributes

Chaos

Luxury

Misery

Openness

Peace

Pessimism

• Abstract Noun showing Ideas/Concepts

Thought

Knowledge

Information

Dream

Sacrifice

Wisdom

Curiosity

• Abstract Noun showing Movements/Events

Progress

Education

Trouble

Relaxation

Leisure

• These are names of things we cannot perceive with our senses
• Nouns ending with the following suffixes are often abstract

         -tion

         -ism

        -ity

        -ment

        -acy

        -age

       -ance

-ence

-ness

-ability

-ship

5.  Concrete Nouns

Objects and substances that can be experienced through our senses are referred to as concrete nouns.  That means we can touch, feel, smell, taste or hear them.

Examples – Water, silk, noise,lotion, milk,flower

6.  Countable Nouns

These are the names of separate objects, people, ideas etc. that we can count.

We use numbers  or a/an with these nouns

For example  – two girls, three cats, a chair, an umbrella, an apple etc.

 

7. Uncountable Nouns

These are the names of materials that cannot be counted as separate objects.They have no plurals.

We cannot use an/a or a number with them.

For Example – Music, water, health, information

Some rules related to correct use of nouns:

• Some nouns are always used in the plural and not in singular.

Scissors

Bellows

Tongs

Pincers

Spectacles

Trousers

Clothes

Glasses

Outskirts

Tweezers

Headphones

Binoculars

Jeans

Tights

Knickers

Pyjamas

Pants

Belongings

Congratulations

Earnings

Goods

Likes/dislikes

Stairs

Savings

Premises

Thanks

Surroundings

Arms

Weapons

Annals

Amends

Bowels

Brains

Customs

Earnings

Funds

Manners

Guts

Pains ( to take pains)

Valuables

Alms

Drawers

>Please give alms to the beggar. (not alm)
>Riches has wings (not have)

 

• Some nouns are used in the singular form only. The following are some nouns that belong to this category.

Furniture

Fruit

Hair

Advice

Corn

Grain

Justice

Clothing

Information

Poetry

Scenery

Machinery

• Some nouns are apparently plural in form but are singular in use

News

Economics

Physics

Measels

Mumps

Ethics

Politics

Statistics

Mumps

Billiards

Rickets

Phonetics

>Statistics is a difficult subject
>Billiards is an interesting game
 
 

• When a plural noun denotes a specific amount, length, weight, quantity etc. considered as a whole, the verb must be in singular form.

For Example –

Ten thousand rupees is a big amount.

Four kilometers is not a long distance for a runner like you

 

• Some Nouns have the same form whether singular or plural

Sheep

Deer

Service

Species

Fish

Apparatus

>I saw two sheep in the zoo
>Sheep is my favorite animal.
 

• After the phrases one of/some of/Each of/Either of/ Neither of/Any of /None of, a plural form of a noun is used.

For Example –

One of my Friends wrote a message for me.

Either of the players is not coming for practice.

 

Click on the link below to practice exercises on Nouns

Exercise based on Nouns