Types of Nouns

Types of Nouns

Common and Proper Nouns

Common Nouns: 

Common nouns are names of general things. They are shared with a large class of persons, places, or things.

          As: Boy, girl, student, country, etc.

Proper Nouns: 

Proper nouns are names of particular things. They are personal names.

As: Pakistan, Ali, The University of Peshawar, etc. 

 

Abstract and Concrete Nouns

Abstract Nouns: 

Abstract nouns are names of things that have no physical shape. Generally, they refer to ideas, qualities, and conditions.

Examples: Truth, Lies, happiness, sorrow, time, friendship, patriotism, etc.

Concrete Nouns: 

Concrete nouns are the opposite of abstract nouns. They refer to the things which have physical existence.

Examples:  pen, table, bat, water, money, sugar, etc.

 

Countable and Non- countable Nouns

Countable Nouns: 

Nouns that we can count easily or nouns which have plural forms are called countable nouns.

Singular	Plural
house	houses
book	books
bird	birds
Man	Men

 

Non-countable Nouns: 

Nouns that we can’t count easily or nouns that don’t have plural forms are called non-countable nouns.

Ex: Rice, Salt, Water, etc.

Most uncountable nouns relate to:

·         Liquids ( milk, water)

·         Abstract ideas (advice, chaos, motivation)

·         Powder, grain (rice, wheat, sand)

·         Mass nouns ( furniture, hair, transportation)

·         Natural phenomena ( sunshine, snow, rain, weather)

·         State of being ( stress, childhood)

·         Feelings (anger, happiness, enthusiasm, courage)

·         Gas ( Oxygen, air)

·         Things made of flour (bread)

·         Semi-solid items ( paste, jelly) 

 

Singular and Plural Nouns

Singular Nouns: 

By singular, we mean one. A singular noun is the name of one thing. 

Examples: Book, Chair, Table, Computer, Pen

Plural Nouns: 

Plural means more than one. A plural noun is a name that refers to more than one thing. 

Examples: Books, Chairs, Tables, Computers, Pens

There are some rules for making plural nouns from singular nouns.

• Generally, we add ‘S’ to the noun to make its plural form.
• If a noun ends in S, SH, CH, X, or Z*, then we add "ES" to the noun. *Sometimes Z is doubled.*
• If a noun ends in a VOWEL + Y, we add "S" to the noun to make its plural form.
• If a noun ends in a CONSONANT + Y, we change "Y" into I and add "ES" to the noun.
• If a noun ends in "F" or ‘FE’, we change "F" or "EF" into "V" and add "ES" to the noun. There are some exceptions.
• If a noun ends in a CONSONANT + O, we add "ES" to the noun. There are some exceptions. 
• There are irregular nouns that don’t follow these rules. You need to memorize them.
• There are some nouns in English which are the same in the singular and the plural.
• When a noun ends in 'IS', we change it to "ES". These words usually have Greek roots.
• If a noun ends in "US", we change it to 'I'. These words usually have Latin roots.

 

Collective Nouns

Collective Nouns: Collective nouns are names of groups of things of the same kind.

For example:

 Herd, Crowd, Bunch, Family, Team, Nation, Cabinet, Class

Compound Nouns

Compound Nouns: Compound nouns are names which are made of more than one noun.

Examples: 

Bus driver, blackboard, daylight, downstairs, haircut, handwriting, toothpaste, weekend, lipstick, keyboard

Possessive Nouns

Possessive Nouns: Possessive nouns are names that show possession. Possession means belonging to a noun.

For example:

Ali’s shoes are there. (The shoes belong to the noun “Ali”)

A teacher’s ability has effects on students. (The teacher possesses ability)

How to make possessive nouns?

1.    We add an apostrophe and ‘S’ when a noun is singular.

Ex: Tom’s cell phone / School’s bus

2.    When a noun is plural, then we add an apostrophe after ‘S’.

Ex: Boys’ toys / Students’ notebooks

3.    We add an apostrophe and ‘S’ with irregular plurals.

Ex: Men’s rights

Related topics:

                            Nouns and Functions of Nouns