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Types of Nouns

Types of Nouns 

17th May 2021 CHALLA Comments Off

Types of Nouns: 

Types of Nouns

Introduction to Types of Nouns:

The noun is one of the eight parts of speech and it plays a very significant role in English Grammar. The verb is the first most important part of speech and the noun is the second.

In this article, you are going to learn every aspect of a Noun like what a Noun is, the uses of a Noun, the Types of Nouns, Noun Gender, Noun Number, Noun Cases with all possible examples and exercises.

 

Definition of a Noun:

A Noun is a word used as the name of a person, an animal, a place, a thing, an idea or an event. (To simply put it ….A noun is a naming word)

For Example:

  • Mr. Snehith Reddy is a senior engineer at Amazon
  • He leads a team of software employees
  • He received a bunch of awards for his dynamism and leadership.
  • He does regular exercise with weights made of iron and takes a glass of milk.

 

If you observe the above sentences, the words in bold italics are called nouns which also indicate different types of nouns such as:

  • Mr. Snehith Reddy, Amazon  are Proper Nouns
  • Engineer, employees, awards, weights, glass  are  Common Nouns
  • Team, a bunch are  Collective Nouns.
  • Iron and milk are Material Nouns.
  • Dynamism and leadership are Abstract Nouns.

 

Types of Nouns:

Primarily, the Nouns can be divided into two kinds 

CONCRETE NOUNS – The Nouns that are physical in nature and we can see and touch them.

Examples: man, spectacles, doll, chair, keys, ice, car, etc.,

ABSTRACT NOUNS – The Nouns that we cannot see and touch. Abstract nouns are ideas, concepts and feelings.

Examples: friendship, love, youth, ethics, honesty, happiness etc.,

 

Further, the CONCRETE NOUNS can be subdivided into four types. 

  • Proper Nouns
  • Common Nouns 
  • Collective Nouns and
  • Material Nouns

 

PROPER NOUN:

When a noun refers to a particular person, place or thing, it is called a Proper Noun. Any word that comes under this category begins with a capital letter regardless of where they appear in a sentence.

Examples: 

Abdul Kalam, Shakespeare, Monday, Ricky, India, Kashmir, Mt.Everest, Ford Freestyle, etc.,

Examples sentences:

  • Shakespeare wrote 37 unique dramas.
  • I will get my parcel on Monday.
  • Kashmir is the liveliest place in India.
  • I have recently purchased a Ford Freestyle car.
  • Ricky is good at abstract painting.

Learn More about Proper Nouns

 

COMMON NOUN:

When a noun refers commonly to any person, place or thing of the same kind or class, we call it a common noun.

Most of the nouns are common Nouns and they are different from Proper Nouns. They are not written with a capital letter at the beginning unless we start sentences with them. 

Examples:  

PROPER NOUNS COMMON NOUNS
Abdul Kalam scientist
Shakespeare dramatist
Monday day
Ricky student
India country
Kashmir city
Mt.Everest peak, mountain
Ford Freestyle car

 

Example Sentences:

  • Kalam is a great scientist.
  • Ricky is a clever student.
  • India is a great country with beautiful mountains, cities and towns.
  • The car that I have recently purchased is Ford Freestyle.

Learn more about Common Nouns

 

MATERIAL NOUN:

They are the names of materials or substances out of which things are made. Material nouns are countable nouns, we cannot count them as they are in the forms of liquid, semi-liquid or solid. 

Examples:

gold, silver, coal, sand, clay, rock, silk, wool, leather, cotton, rubber, wood, steel, brass, bronze, copper, aluminum, lead, diamond, glass, fibre, etc 

Example Sentences:

  • Most of my dresses are of cotton.
  • She gave my baby 10 grams of gold as a gift.
  • Diamond is a precious metal.
  • Calcium is highly necessary for bones.
  • Plastic has been banned in several countries.
  • How useful is Iron metal!
  • My brother drinks a glass of milk every day.

Learn more about Material Nouns

 

COLLECTIVE NOUN:

When a noun refers to the individuals or things as an undivided single unit, it is called a Collective Noun. It is generally used for a group of people or things. Since the noun is considered a single unit, the verb we use must be singular.

Examples:

Class, crowd, bunch, team, flock, herd, army, group, staff, library, pack, nation, committee etc.,

Collective Nouns are the names given to a collection of persons, animals or things, taken together, and spoken of as one whole.

For example:

  • A group of sheep is called – A FLOCK
  • Group of soldiers is called –  AN ARMY
  • A group of relatives is called – A FAMILY
  • Group of cricket players is called –  A TEAM
  • A group of houses is called – AN APARTMENT 
  • Group of fish is called – A CATCH.
  • A group of flowers is called – A BOUQUET.

Example Sentences:

  • Physics class has been arranged for the students today.
  • Our school team is strong enough to face the opponents.
  • My family lives in a remote village.
  • The crowd has been dispersed by the police.

Learn more about Collective Nouns

 

To find more lists of collective nouns click the following links.

 

A LIST OF PARTITIVES:

The Uncountable Nouns are the Nouns that cannot be counted.  But these Nouns can be made countable by the use of partitives.

For example:

Gold is an Uncountable Noun.  But we can measure or count it by the use of a bar of / a gram of gold.

Here is a list of such partitives for your ready reference.

 

NOUNS OF MULTITUDE:

When a Collective Noun denotes individual members or things of the group, it is called a Noun of Multitude.

Examples: 

Committee, team,  syndicate, faculty, audience, public, company, Congress, orchestra, firm, and Parliament, government, jury, Ministry, army, group, party, crowd, flock, generation, mob, staff, department, family, crew, clergy, herd, etc.,

Example Sentences:

  • The team were all given badges to wear at the event.
  • The committee were asked to submit their investigation report.
  • The police are interrogating the villagers about the recent incident.

Learn more about Nouns of Multitude

 

ABSTRACT NOUN:

When a noun refers to an idea, a concept, a feeling, a quality, a state or a condition, it is called an Abstract Noun. It is intangible and does not have a physical existence. 

An Abstract Noun is the one that names something which we cannot see or touch like friendship, love, youth, death, anger etc., Since they have no physical existence, we can not see, hear, touch, taste, or smell them. We can only feel or conceptualize them. In other words, I can say that Concrete Nouns are like the hardware of a computer and Abstract Nouns are like software of a computer.

We can see a person who has got the knowledge, a picture that has beauty, a child full of intelligence but the Abstract Nouns knowledge, beauty and intelligence cannot be seen all alone.

Examples:

Abstract Nouns that indicate quality – goodness, kindness, whiteness, darkness, hardness, brightness, honesty, wisdom, bravery, beauty, intelligence, generosity, cleverness, obedience, courage, softness etc.,

Abstract Nouns that indicate action – laughter, theft, movement, judgment, hatred etc.,

Abstract Nouns that indicate state – childhood, boyhood, youth, slavery, sleep, sickness, death, poverty etc.,

Example Sentences:

  1. Ricky has the ability to motivate his team members.
  2. I don’t understand why he has expressed his anger towards me.
  3. A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
  4. Communication among the students in the class should be encouraged.
  5. With great confidence, I came forward to speak before a large audience..
  6. He received his early education in his village.
  7. My friend never loses his enthusiasm for the sport.
  8. Failure is the stepping stone to success.
  9. Friendship is an invisible ship that sails between two souls.
  10. Honesty is the best policy.

Learn more about Abstract Noun

 

COUNTABLE NOUNS:

Countable Nouns refer to the names of objects, people, etc. that we can count. These nouns are also called count-nouns. These nouns can have singular and plural forms. Most Countable Nouns take ‘s’ in the plural form.

Examples:

  • A Book – two books
  • A Pen – some pens
  • An Apple – six apples
  • One student – many students
  • One Sister -two sisters
  • A Doctor – several doctors

Example Sentences:

  • I want to purchase a new mobile.
  • My grandma used to tell me beautiful stories.
  • My friend has recently donated ten lakh rupees to the old age home.
  • I saw a teacher sitting all alone in the staff room.

Learn more about Countable and Uncountable Nouns

 

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS:

Uncountable nouns refer to the names of things that we cannot count. These nouns are also called non-count or mass nouns. These nouns are seen as a whole or mass and cannot be separated or counted. They have only a singular form. There is no plural form for Uncountable Nouns. 

Examples:

  • Abstract Nouns (ideas and experiences)  such as  honesty, knowledge, wisdom  advice, information, progress, luck, fun, work etc.,
  • Material Nouns (materials and substances) such as milk, oil, sugar, gold, water, rice etc., 
  • Collective Nouns (groups or collections of things) such as  furniture, equipment, rubbish, luggage etc.,
  • Nouns related to subjects such as  Chemistry, Economics, Maths, Science, French, English, History, etc.
  • Nouns ending in “-ism” such as feminism, optimism, and patriotism, vegetarianism, impressionism, industrialism etc.,

Example Sentences:

  • We donated ten bags of rice to the orphanage.
  • They have received a large amount of money from the shareholders.
  • She wants to purchase two pairs of trousers.
  • Can you give me a slice of cake? In turn, I can give you a bar of chocolate.

Learn more about Countable and Uncountable Nouns

 

COMPOUND NOUNS:

Compound nouns are nouns that are made from two or more words. They are combined to create a new meaning.  Each Compound Noun acts as a single unit and can be modified by adjectives and other nouns.  In this combination, we usually find two parts where one is a noun and the other word can be a noun, an adjective, a verb or a preposition. We also find some other combinations. (List is given below)

There are three types of Compound Nouns: 

  • Open Compound Nouns (with spaces)  – ice cream, root beer, coffee table, fish tank, swimming pool, full moon, roller coaster, bus stop, sleeping bag, first aid, Christmas card, bomb squad, case study, death rate, shock wave, street smarts etc.,

 

  • Closed Compound Nouns (without spaces) – shotgun, housework, eyelid, toothpaste, schoolhouse, bedroom, rollback, restroom, classroom, breakfast, needlepoint, slingshot, deathtrap, eyewitness, fingerprint, pickpocket, wheelchair etc.,

 

  • Hyphenated Compound Nouns (with hyphens) – baby-sitter, laughing-gas, father-in-law, four-door, daughter-in-law, six-pack, sister-in-law, passers-by, jack-in-the-box, state-of-the-art, shout-out, mind-set, seven-year-old,  by–product,  no–brainer, plea–a bargain, self–defense, stretcher-bearer, president-elect, ex-partner, great-grandmother, a two-year-old, self-esteem, step-granddaughter, step-great-granddaughter,  etc.

Learn more about Compound Nouns

 

POSSESSIVE NOUNS:

When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we use the Possessive Nouns. These nouns can be singular or plural. It is easy to identify a possessive noun as every possessive noun contains an apostrophe.

Possessive Nouns are nouns that indicate ownership or possession. 

Examples:

When a car belongs to my friend, we say 

My friend’s car

When a mobile belongs to Ravan, we say 

Ravan’s mobile

When the room belongs to the teachers, we say 

The teachers’ room

When the property belongs to the Birlas, we say 

The Birlas’ property

If a park is for the children, we say

The children’s park

 

We generally show the possession by adding an apostrophe () to a plural noun and an apostrophe + the letter s (‘s) to a singular noun.

For Example:

  • The girl’s paintings (one girl)
  • The Girls’ High School (school for many girls)

In sentence 1 above, the paintings belong to a single girl, so an apostrophe and s are used.

In sentence 2 above, the school belongs to several girls, so only an apostrophe is used.

Learn more about Possessive Nouns

 

THE GERUND: (VERBAL NOUN)

The form of the Verb ending in ‘-ing’ used as a Noun is called Gerund or Verbal Noun.

The form of the Present Participle and Gerund is the same but the usage is different.

Gerund has the force of a Verb and Noun. It is a Verbal Noun. 

Examples:

  • Seeing is believing.
  • I like playing chess.
  • Teaching is my profession.

Learn More about Gerund

 

 AN APPOSITIVE:  (A NOUN IN APPOSITION)

When we use two Nouns or Noun Phrases together to refer to the same person or thing in a clause, the second is said to be the Appositive of the first. So the second Noun or Noun Phrase is called an Appositive or Noun in Apposition.

The word appositive is derived from the Latin phrases ad and positio meaning “near” and “placement.”

Examples:

  • Sandesh Reddy, my younger son, is good at painting. (Sandesh Reddy and my younger son refer to the same person)
  • Snehith Reddy, my elder son, is working for Amazon in the US. (Snehith Reddy and my elder son refer to the same person)
  • My Physics teacher is an Anglo-Indian. (Predicate Noun)
  • Meet my Physics teacher, the Anglo-Indian. (Appositive Noun or Noun in Apposition)

Learn more about an Appositive

 

SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS:

There are two types of nouns in English Grammar. One refers to the singular noun and the other refers to the plural noun.  

These two nouns are also otherwise called singular and plural numbers. 

 

Singular Noun Definition:

When a noun refers to one person or thing, it is said to be in the Singular Noun/Number. 

Examples: 

singer, dancer, artist, photographer, magician, driver, bank, airport, continent, country, state, city, town, village, ruler, chair, mobile, dictionary, carpet, lawnmower, bus, computer etc.,

 

Plural Noun Definition:

When a noun refers to more than one person or thing, it is said to be in the Plural Noun/Number.

Examples:

rooms, tables,  computers, pieces of chalk, students, teachers, parents, books, pens, stories etc.,

Learn more about Singular and Plural Nouns

 

GENDER OF THE NOUN:

The word ‘Gender’ comes from the Latin word ‘genus’ which means ‘kind’ or ‘type’. A Gender is a noun that shows whether the noun is Masculine, Feminine, Common or Neuter.

Thus, there are four types of Genders in English Grammar.

 

Kinds of Genders:

Masculine Gender: A noun that denotes a male person or animal is said to be of the Masculine Gender. 

Examples:

Boy, man, father, son, brother, husband, lion, actor, poet, manager, prince, policeman, nephew, hero etc,,

Feminine Gender: A noun that denotes a female person or animal is said to be of the Feminine Gender.

Examples:

Girl, woman, mother, daughter, sister, wife, lioness, actress, poetess, manageress, princess, policewoman, niece, heroine etc.,

 

Common Gender: A noun that denotes either a male or a female is said to be of the Common Gender.

Examples:

Parent, child, friend, pupil, servant, thief, enemy, cousin, person, orphan, student, baby, monarch, neighbour, infant etc.,

 

Neuter Gender: A noun that denotes a thing that is neither male nor female is said to be of the Neuter Gender.  It expresses the inanimate things that do not have life, like human beings.

Examples:

Book, pen, room, table, tree, bike, car, chair, house, computer, mobile, etc.,

Learn more about Gender of the Noun

 

THE NOUN – CASE: 

A grammatical case indicates the function of nouns and pronouns in regards to their relationship with other words in a sentence.

 

Definition:

The case of a noun tells us about the position of that noun in a sentence. 

 

The Noun – Case types:

There are five cases in English Grammar. 

They are:

  • Nominative case (Subjective Case)
  • Objective case (Accusative case)
  • Possessive case (Genitive case)
  • Vocative case (Nominative of Address)
  • Dative case (Refers to Indirect Object)

 

Nominative case:  If a Noun or Pronoun is used as the subject of a verb, it is said to be in the Nominative Case.

 Examples: 

  • Mr. Reddy taught us English.
  • The flower gives us fragrance.

 

Accusative case: If a Noun or Pronoun is used as the object of a verb, it is said to be in the Objective or Accusative Case.

Examples: 

  • Mr. Reddy taught us English.
  • The flower gives us fragrance.

 

Possessive case: If a Noun denotes possession or ownership, it is said to be in the Possessive or Genitive Case.

Examples:

  • This is Mr. Madhav’s car. (It meant that the car belongs to Mr. Madhav)
  • This is a very big children’s park in the city. (It means that a very big park belongs to the children)

 

Vocative case: If a noun is used to name or call a person or thing addressed, it is said to be in the Vocative Case. This is also called the Nominative of Address. (Generally, it is used to get the attention of a person or thing) 

Examples:

  • Boys, don’t go there.
  • Ricky, please close the door.
  • Fetch me a piece of chalk, Rajan.
  • Sir, May I come in?

Dative case: If a noun is used as an Indirect Object of the verb in a sentence, it is said to be in the Dative Case.

Examples: 

  • Mr. Reddy taught us English.
  • Venkat has given Susan some amount.
  • The management supplied the staff‘ extra resources.
  • Vanitha offered me a cup of coffee.
  • The teacher asked the girls several questions.

Learn more about The Noun – Case

 

Apart from types of nouns, also refer to the grammar topics related types of nouns:

Types of Nouns PDF Worksheet