THE NOUN
definition and examples
Nouns refer to persons, animals, places, things, ideas, or events, etc. Nouns encompass most of the words of a language.
Noun can be a/an –
- Person – a name for a person: – Max, Julie, Catherine, Michel, Bob, etc.
- Animal – a name for an animal: – dog, cat, cow, kangaroo, etc.
- Place – a name for a place: – London, Australia, Canada, Mumbai, etc.
- Thing – a name for a thing: – bat, ball, chair, door, house, computer, etc.
- Idea – A name for an idea: – devotion, superstition, happiness, excitement, etc.
Different Types of Noun:
| proper noun | common noun |
| A proper noun is a name which refers only to a single person, place, or thing and there is no common name for it. In written English, a proper noun always begins with capital letters. Example of Proper Noun: Nick is a wonderful player. He plays for Red Sox. He was born in England. He moved to New York when he was young. He lives in Bucharest. | A common noun is a name for a type of thing, person, species, or etc. which denotes a general name for something. Example of Common Noun: Nick is a wonderful player. He was not born in this country. New York is the city he lives in. He is a man of dream. He plays football with intensity. He has a house across the river. |
Abstract Noun:
An abstract noun is a word for something that cannot be seen but is there. It has no physical existence. Generally, it refers to ideas, qualities, and conditions.
Example: Truth, lies, happiness, sorrow, time, friendship, humor, patriotism, etc.
Concrete Noun:
A concrete noun is the exact opposite of abstract noun. It refers to the things we see and have physical existence.
Example: Chair, table, bat, ball, water, money, sugar, etc.
Countable Noun:
The nouns that can be counted are called countable nouns. Countable nouns can take an article: a, an, the.
Example: Chair, table, bat, ball, etc. (you can say 1 chair, 2 chairs, 3 chairs – so chairs are countable)
Non-countable Noun:
The nouns that cannot be counted are called non-countable nouns.
Example: Water, sugar, oil, salt, etc. (you cannot say “1 water, 2 water, 3 water” because water is not countable)
Abstract nouns and proper nouns are always non-countable nouns, but common nouns and concrete nouns can be both count and non-count nouns.
Collective Noun:
A collective noun is a word for a group of things, people, or animals, etc.
Example: family, team, jury, cattle, etc.
Collective nouns can be both plural and singular. However, Americans prefer to use collective nouns as singular, but both of the uses are correct in other parts of the world.
Compound Noun:
Sometimes two or three nouns appear together, or even with other parts of speech, and create idiomatic compound nouns. Idiomatic means that those nouns behave as a unit and, to a lesser or greater degree, amount to more than the sum of their parts.
Example: six-pack, five-year-old, and son-in-law, snowball, mailbox, etc.
Functions of Nouns
Nouns can be used as a subject, a direct object, and an indirect object of a verb; as an object of a preposition; and as an adverb or adjective in sentences. Nouns can also show possession.
Subject: The company is doing great. Roses are the flowers of love.
Direct object: I finally bought a new mobile.
Indirect object: Max gave Carol another chocolate.
Object of preposition: Roses are the flowers of love.
Adverb: The train leaves today.
Adjective: The office building faces the mall.
Possession: The lion’s cage is dangerous. My brother’s daughter is adorable.