Kinds of Nouns (Basic)

 WHAT IS A NOUN? 

 A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing or animal in a sentence. A noun can function as a subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, object complement, appositive, adjective, or adverb.

 Noun Gender

In English, many nouns are not gender-sensitive. Examples of some non-gender-specific nouns include teacher, author, doctor, or nurse. Some nouns can be gender specific. Examples of some gender-specific nouns include actor/actress, waiter/waitress, or steward/ stewardess.

 Noun Plurals

One would pluralize a noun to indicate a number more than one. Most nouns change to form a plural by simply adding –s or –es to the end of a noun. 

  Each grade has at least five classes because there are so many students. 

 My neighbor has two dogs, and both like to run back and forth along the fence.

  Note: Some nouns are pluralized in different ways. 

For example, nouns that end in “f” drop the “f” and add “ves,” while nouns that end in “y” drop the “y” and add “ies.” 

  In the fall, I love to watch the leaves fall from the trees. 

 Traveling has become Susan’s new passion, and her goal now is to travel to as many countries as she is able. 

  Note: Some nouns are pluralized irregularly.

 Some examples of these are Mouse > Mice Die > Dice Goose > Geese Ox > Oxen

 A.  Proper Noun:

Proper nouns are those that represent the name of a specific person, place, or thing. A proper noun is indicated by using a capital letter. Some examples of proper nouns are names of people, cities, countries, days of the week, months, institutions, religions and holy texts, and organizations. 

Proper nouns are usually singular, not plural since they’re talking about one specific noun.

• Have you asked Lita about the lunch order?
• I’ve never visited Ireland in the summer.
• My dog, Bart, doesn’t like thunderstorms.
• The kids ate all the Oreos.

Examples of Proper Nouns for People and Pets

The first, middle, and last names of people and pets are always proper nouns. If you use a title in front of their name (such as Honorable. or President,) it should also be capitalized.

• Ben and Ted took their dog Buck for a walk.
• I hope Mrs. Bautista is my teacher next year.
• My favorite cartoon character is SpongeBob.
• When is Dr. Peralta returning to the office?

Examples of Proper Nouns for Places

The specific names of places, such as streets, cities, states, countries, museums, amusement parks, or zoos are proper nouns. When you’re talking about a specific geographic landmark, that’s a proper noun as well. 

(Notice that some proper nouns use the definite article before their name; unless it’s an official part of their name, the isn’t capitalized.)

• Have you ever been to Davao?
• Brazil is the largest country in South America.
• We saw Bohol on our road trip.

Examples of Proper Nouns for Days, Months, and Holidays

The days of the week, the names of months and the official names of holidays are all proper nouns. However, the words week, month, and holiday are not.

• I must work on Monday.
• This Sunday is the fourth.
• Come to my house in December for the party.
• Is your birthday in May?

B.  Common Noun

A common noun is any noun that refers to a general person, place, or thing in a class or group. Unlike proper nouns, a common noun is not capitalized unless it either begins a sentence or appears in a title. Common nouns can be concrete (perceptible to the senses), abstract (involving general ideas or qualities), or collective (referring to a group or collection).

Common noun examples

Common nouns are easy to understand. Let’s quickly look at a bunch of different types of common nouns to see how we use them to refer to the things around us.

People and animals

Remember, common nouns refer to generic things. The word dog is a common noun but the word Shih Tzu is not. Here are some examples of common nouns that refer to people and animals:

• people: woman, child, brother, wife, friend, firefighter, magician, burglar, crook, judge, captain, boss, accountant, hero, author, reader, teacher, actress, queen.
• animals: dog, cat, horse, bird, bug, spider, fish, monkey, lion, tiger, elephant, alligator

Places

We still use common nouns to refer to generic places. The word country is a common noun but the word Ireland is not. Here are more common nouns that refer to places:

• island, city, beach, backyard, uptown, jungle, nowhere, front, end, kitchen, bedroom, cave

Things

Common nouns can refer to many different things. We still only use them to refer to generic items and not things with names. For example, the word car is a common noun but the word Toyota is not. Here are just some examples of common nouns that refer to things.

Ideas

Common nouns can also refer to emotions, ideas, concepts, philosophies, and other intangible things that we can’t detect with our five senses. Even in this case, we only use common nouns to refer to generic ideas. For example, the word religion is a common noun but the word Judaism is not. Here are some more examples of common nouns that refer to intangible things:

• government, chaos, friendship, life, death, happiness, sadness, anger, greed, bravery, hunger, sleep, insomnia, depression, loneliness, hate, love, logic, reason, justice, science, crime

List of common nouns

Let’s put everything together and list a wide variety of common nouns. As you read these words, think if you can come up with some more common nouns related to them.

• apple, bank, chef, doubt, entertainment, farm, goal, hotel, investigation, jury, kangaroo, library, mountain, neighbor, orangutan, paint, question, rage, student, toaster, umpire, vampire, waitress, xylophone, year, zoo

 C.   Concrete Noun

What is a concrete noun?

A noun is a word that describes a person, place, or thing. A concrete noun is a noun that can be physically experienced through one of the five senses: taste, touch, sight, hearing, or smell. They are also known as proper nouns. Nouns are an important part of a sentence, along with verbs and adjectives.

Concrete noun examples

Sight:

• Flower
• Bridge
• Sky
• Building
• Traffic Light

Smell:

• Bread
• The sea
• Burgers
• Perfume
• Sweat

Taste:

• Pizza
• Medicine
• Apple
• Sweets
• Cakes

Hearing:

• Alarm
• Rain
• Singing
• Television
• Thunder

Touch:

• Skin
• Fur
• Leather
• Chair
• Money

 D.   Abstract Noun

What Are Abstract Nouns? 

An abstract noun is a noun that refers to an intangible concept such as an emotion, a feeling, a quality, or an idea. In other words, an abstract noun does not refer to a physical object.

 It is sometimes helpful to think of an abstract noun as a word that names something that you cannot see, hear, touch, smell, or taste (i.e., something you cannot perceive with one of your five senses). 

For example:

• consideration, parenthood, belief, anger

More Examples of Abstract Nouns

Here are some more examples of abstract nouns:

anger, anxiety, beauty, beliefs, bravery, brilliance, chaos, charity, childhood, comfort, communication, compassion, courage, culture, curiosity, deceit, dedication, democracy, determination, energy, failure, faith, fear, freedom, friendship, generosity, gossip, happiness, hate, honesty, hope, imagination, information, integrity, intelligence, joy, justice, justice, kindness, knowledge, liberty, life, love, loyalty, luxury, misery, motivation, opportunity, pain, patience, peace, perseverance, pleasure, pride, relaxation, sacrifice, satisfaction, skill, strength, success, sympathy, talent, thought, trust, truth, warmth, and wisdom

 E.   Collective Noun

What Are collective nouns? 

A collective noun is used when naming a group of things, animals, or persons. It is important to recognize when a collective noun is used (versus a singular noun) to maintain the correct subject-verb agreement. 

 Collective nouns are words for single things that are made up of more than one person, animal, place, thing, or idea. 

 You can’t have a team without individual members; even so, we discuss a team as a single entity. Remember that nouns are words naming people, animals, places, and things. Collective nouns are in a class all their own.

 Collective Noun Examples

Remember that nouns are words naming people, animals, places, and things. Collective nouns are in a class all their own. Once you’ve read these examples, you’ll find it much easier to recognize collective nouns when you see them.

• Our class took a field trip to the natural history museum.
• The herd of bison ran across the prairie, leaving a massive dust cloud in its wake.
• We waited anxiously for the jury to come to a verdict.
• This year’s basketball team includes three players who are over six feet tall.
• Napoleon’s army was finally defeated at Waterloo.
• The town council has approved plans to create a new park.
• He comes from a huge family: he’s the oldest of eleven kids.
• The rock group has been on tour for months.
• Everyone in the audience applauded loudly when Elvis appeared on stage.

List of Common Collective Nouns

This list of common collective nouns contains words that describe groups of animals, people, or things. These words are sometimes interchangeable, and English writers and speakers often use them to describe different things. For example, the word swarm is usually used to discuss a group of insects such as ants, flies, or bees, but many writers use it to talk about a very busy crowd of people. Once you are familiar with these words, you’ll notice that they are used in a variety of situations.

• Herd– A group of herbivore animals
• Pack– A group of canine animals such as wolves or dogs; also used to describe playing cards and packages containing multiple objects
• Flock– A group of birds; also used to discuss small-hooved animals such as sheep or goats
• Swarm– A group of insects
• Shoal– A group of fish
• Group – A very general term used to describe people, places, things, and animals
• Crowd – Usually used to describe a group of people
• Gang – Usually used to describe a group of criminals; also used to describe a group of workers, particularly sailors or dock workers
• Mob – Normally used to describe an angry or unruly group of people; also used to describe a group of kangaroos
• Staff – A group of people who work in the same place
• Crew – Usually used to denote a group of workers; also used to describe aircraft and ships personnel
• Choir – A large, organized group of singers
• Orchestra – A large, organized group of instrumentalists, led by a conductor
• Panel – A group of experts
• Board – A group of people, usually professionals, who take on an advisory role
• Troupe – A group of actors or acrobats; also used to describe a group of monkeys
• Bunch – Usually a group of smallish objects such as grapes, flowers, keys, or bananas
• Pile – An untidy collection of items such as rubbish
• Heap – A mounded collection of items; used interchangeably with “pile”
• Set – A tidy group of matched objects such as dishes; also used to describe rules or a social group of people
• Stack – A group of items neatly laid one on top of another, i.e., a stack of books
• Series – Used to discuss movies, books, or events that follow one after another, i.e., Star Trek or Harry Potter
• Shower – Usually used to describe rain, although it can be used to describe gifts or compliments
• Fall – Often used to discuss the weather, such as rain, snow, or hail