Nouns

Nouns - are simply the names we give to everything around us, whether it be a person, an event, a place or an object, etc. Every particular name used to define something is a noun. E.g. : Amsterdam, Anita, Blackberry, Honesty, Waiter, etc.

Types of

Nouns

PROPER NOUNS

These nouns are the names of specific people and places. These nouns also refer to the names of the days of weeks and months, and also the various names for religions, organizations, institutions, etc. Proper nouns basically refer to the names that are specific to that particular noun. These nouns are always capitalized as they need to be distinct from other nouns.

Examples:

William Shakespeare was a playwright.

- Proper noun that is the name of a specific person.

I will be visiting New York next month.

- Proper noun that is the name of a specific place.

Examples:

Everyone dislikes Monday mornings.

- The names of days are proper nouns.

The holy book of Islam is the Koran.

- Name of a religion and religious text.

COMMON NOUNS

These are the nouns that are used to denote a general category of people, places or things. They are capitalized only when they are at the beginning of a sentence. Common Nouns don’t refer to something specific rather they are a general term used for every noun of a particular kind or type.

Examples:

The boys went to play cricket.

(Both boys and cricket are common nouns as they can refer to any boy or any cricket match. There is nothing specified by these nouns.)

Examples:

This neighborhood is one of the best in the area.

(Here neighborhood is the common noun as there are innumerable neighborhoods all over the world.)

Examples:

She was trying to answer her phone while buying coffee.

(Here we see phone and coffee that both are general indicators of the object and the drink.)

ABSTRACT NOUNS

These nouns are the names of things that we cannot perceive through our five senses of touching, smelling, seeing, hearing and tasting. These nouns can also refer to medical conditions related to the mind and are also used to express thoughts.

Examples:

She screamed with great delight.

(Delight is an abstract noun as it tells about the state of a person’s mind and any actual physical thing.)

Examples:

His bravery in the war won him a medal.

(The abstract noun bravery is used to name the motivation behind certain actions made by people.)

Examples:

One should learn to be as independent as possible.

(Here, independent describes a state or a way of being, hence it is an abstract noun.)

COUNTABLE NOUNS

The nouns that fall under this category are the ones that have both singular and plural forms. They can be counted either relatively or completely, and form plurals to associate with plural verbs in a sentence. They can also be expressed in numerical terms.

Examples:

I need to buy four new suitcases for my trip.

(Suitcase (s) is a countable noun as adding ‘s’ to it makes it plural.)

Examples:

Does anyone want some oranges?

(Here, some is being used to count the noun orange(s).)

Examples:

She had a pet dog.(Dog is also a countable noun as its plural is dogs.)

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

These nouns are the exact opposite of Countable Nouns. These nouns are the names of things that cannot be counted and have only a singular form. These nouns use singular verbs in a sentence.

Examples:

The furniture was damaged in moving out.

(Furniture is an uncountable noun and therefore, we use the singular ‘was’ in referring to it.)

Examples:

Is 250 grams of sugar enough?

(Here, sugar is an uncountable noun as sugar itself cannot be counted. It can only be weighed.)

Examples:

He always answers questions with honesty.

(Honesty is an uncountable noun as it has no plural and cannot be counted in physical terms either.)

COLLECTIVE NOUNS

Collective noun is the name we give to a group of nouns to refer to them as one entity. The most common method of doing this is by using words like group or bunch that can be applicable to most of the nouns in the language today. But there are some specific names given for certain groups of nouns to make things more interesting and funny.

These collective nouns are commonly used under the category of people.

A class of students.

An army of soldiers.

A choir of singers.A crew of sailors.

A band of musicians.

A bunch of crooks.

A gang of thieves.A group of dancers.

A team of players.A pack of thieves.


A crowd of people/spectators.A troupe of artists/dancers.

An audience of listeners.A staff of employees.

A regiment of soldiers.


A tribe of natives.An audience of listeners.

A panel of experts.A gang of laborers.A flock of tourists.

A board of directors.

The following collective nouns are used for animals.

A catch of fish.An army of ants.A flight of birds.A flock of birds.A school of fish.

A hive of bees.A litter of cubs.

A host of sparrows.

A team of horses.A flock of sheep.


A troop of lions.A pack of wolves.

A murder of crows.A kennel of dogs.A pack of hounds.


A herd of deer/cattle/elephants/goats/buffaloe

s.


A zoo of wild animals.A litter of puppies/kittens.

A swarm of bees/ants/rats/flies.A team of horses/ducks/oxen.

The following collective nouns are used for things.

A group of islands.

A galaxy of stars.

A wad of notes.A forest of trees.A stack of wood.

A hedge of bushes.

A library of books.

A basket of fruit.A bowl of rice.

A pack of cards.


A pair of shoes.A bunch of keys.

A chest of drawers.A pack of lies.

A cloud of dust.


An album of stamps/autographs/photographs.


A fleet of ships.A string of pearls.

A bouquet of flowers.A range of mountains.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS

Collective nouns are endless and these are just a list of those used more often. As you continue to work on improving your English, you will stumble across many more. Be sure to add them to your list and use them as frequently as you can.

POSSESSIVE NOUNS

Possessive nouns are those nouns that show possession. Possessive Nouns are used to show ownership.

POSSESSIVE NOUNS

A noun is possessive only when a phrase can be modified to say that an idea or commodity belongs to something or someone. Possessive nouns are an integral part of learning English, use them as often as you can to gain confidence.

Here are some rules to help you use possessive nouns

Rule 1: In singular nouns (person, place, thing or idea), we add apostrophe and ‘s’ after the noun.


For example:

Ron’s car is in the garage. (Car belonging to Ron is in the garage)


Note that the possessive noun always comes before what the person or a thing owns or has. In this case, the car belongs to Ron and hence the singular noun ‘Ron’ is placed before ‘car’ that he owns.


Rule 2: In singular nouns ending with ‘s’, we add an apostrophe and ‘s’ to the noun.


For example:

1.) Tejas’s notebook is lying on the table. (Notebook of Tejas is lying on the table)

2.) Suhas’s wife is a doctor. (Wife of Suhas is a doctor)


Rule 3: In singular nouns ending with ‘s’ followed by a word starting with 's', we just add an apostrophe to the noun. This is to avoid a hissing sound.


For example:

1.) Tejas’ school is in Malviya Nagar.

2.) Suhas’ sister is a teacher.


Rule 4: In plural nouns (ending with ‘s’), we add apostrophe after ‘s’.


For example:

1.) Students’ report cards are ready.

2.) Girls’ dance classes have been postponed.


In the first one, the plural of ‘student’ is ‘students’. To show that the report cards belonging to the students are ready, we simply add apostrophe after ‘s’.


Similarly, in the second sentence, the plural of ‘girl’ is ‘girls’. To show that the dance classes which the girls attend have been postponed, we add apostrophe after ‘s’.


Rule 5: In irregular plural nouns (men, children) we add apostrophe and ‘s’ to show possession.


For example:

1.) Children’s clothes are expensive. (Clothes of children are expensive)

2.) People’s mindset needs to be changed. (Mindset of people needs to be changed)


In the first example, plural of ‘child’ is ‘children’. To show that the clothes belonging to the children are expensive, we add apostrophe and ‘s’ after children. The same rule applies to the second example as well.

Here are some more examples to show you other possible cases.

Alex and Philip’s shop. (Two nouns are used closely and showing joint possession; Here, the apostrophe will be used with the second noun)

Here are some more examples to show you other possible cases.

Shakespeare’s and Wordsworth’s works. (Two nouns are used together yet separate possession is implied thus the apostrophe is used with both nouns)

Exercises 1.1

Direction: Determine what type of Noun are the following.

1.) herd 6.) Ms. Pathupats

2.) boys 7.) squadron

3.) love 8.) happiness

4.) The Bible 9.) teacher

5.) marble 10.) sand

Exercises 1.2

Direction: Show the possessive form of the following Nouns.

1.) child clothing

2.) men wear

3.) student desk

4.) Jesus cloth

5.) Anne and Miguel table

Exercises 1.3

Direction: Identify the following.

________ 1.) are simply the names we give to everything around us, whether it be a person, an event, a place or an object, etc.

________ 2.) are the names of specific people and places.

________ 3.) These nouns are the names of things that we cannot perceive through our five senses .

Exercises 1.3

Direction: Identify the following.

________ 4.) is the name we give to a group of nouns to refer to them as one entity.

________ 5.) These nouns are the exact opposite of Countable Nouns.

End

Nouns

Education

Transcript of Nouns