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.
The names given to a
group of noun to identify them as a whole are called Collective Nouns. E.g.: pride of lions, gaggle of geese etc.
Nouns or pronouns can
also modify themselves to show possession of another noun, usually by attaching
's' to the end of the noun. These nouns that show possession are called Possessive Nouns.
Sometimes nouns have
different forms for different genders, although this practice has been largely
abandoned by the people who prefer to use the same noun for both genders. For
example - Actor (male) - Actress (female), but people nowadays refer to women
who act as female actors rather than actresses.
Most nouns can be
converted into plural forms by adding ‘-s’ or ‘-es’ at the end of the word.
E.g.: box-boxes, cat-cats, echo-echoes , etc.
But some nouns require
the last consonant to be modified before adding ‘-es’. For example: the ‘Y’ in
‘city’ changes to ‘I’ to form cities, kitty to kitties and ‘f’ to ‘v’ in dwarf
to dwarves, wharf to wharves, etc.
Some nouns become
plurals irregularly by changing the entire word: mouse- mice, ox - oxen, etc.
Grammarians have
divided nouns into different categories based on their use and purpose.
Learning these divisions within the nouns will help in sentence construction
and vocabulary. The different types of Nouns are -
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 capitalised
as they need to be distinct from other nouns.
- - 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.
- - 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.
- - 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.
- - This neighbourhood is
one of the best in the area. - Hereneighbourhood is the common
noun as there are innumerable neighbourhoods all over the world.
- - She was trying to answer her phone while
buying coffee. - Here we seephone 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.
- - 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.
- - 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.
- - One should learn to be as independent as
possible. – Here, independentdescribes 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
- - I need to buy four new suitcases for
my trip. - Suitcase (s) is a countable noun as adding ‘s’
to it makes it plural.
- - Does anyone want some
oranges? - Here some is being used to count the noun orange(s).
- - 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.
- - The furniture was
damaged in moving out. - Furniture is an uncountable noun
and therefore, we use the singular ‘was’ in referring to it.
- - Is 250gms of sugar enough?
- Here, sugar is an uncountable noun assugar itself
cannot be counted. It can only be weighed.
- - He always answers questions with honesty. - Honesty is an uncountable noun as it has no plural and cannot be counted in physical terms either.
List of Nouns, Noun Examples
Actor
|
Doctor
|
Helmet
|
Match
|
Rose
|
Advertisement
|
Dog
|
Holiday
|
Microphone
|
Russia
|
Afternoon
|
Dream
|
Honey
|
Monkey
|
Sandwich
|
Airport
|
Dress
|
Horse
|
Morning
|
School
|
Ambulance
|
Easter
|
Hospital
|
Motorcycle
|
Scooter
|
Animal
|
Egg
|
House
|
Nail
|
Shampoo
|
Answer
|
Eggplant
|
Hydrogen
|
Napkin
|
Shoe
|
Apple
|
Egypt
|
Ice
|
Needle
|
Soccer
|
Army
|
Elephant
|
Insect
|
Nest
|
Spoon
|
Australia
|
Energy
|
Insurance
|
Nigeria
|
Stone
|
Balloon
|
Engine
|
Iron
|
Night
|
Sugar
|
Banana
|
England
|
Island
|
Notebook
|
Sweden
|
Battery
|
Evening
|
Jackal
|
Ocean
|
Teacher
|
Beach
|
Eye
|
Jelly
|
Oil
|
Telephone
|
Beard
|
Family
|
Jewellery
|
Orange
|
Television
|
Bed
|
Finland
|
Jordan
|
Oxygen
|
Tent
|
Belgium
|
Fish
|
Juice
|
Oyster
|
Thailand
|
Boy
|
Flag
|
Kangaroo
|
Painting
|
Tomato
|
Branch
|
Flower
|
King
|
Parrot
|
Toothbrush
|
Breakfast
|
Football
|
Kitchen
|
Pencil
|
Traffic
|
Brother
|
Forest
|
Kite
|
Piano
|
Train
|
Camera
|
Fountain
|
Knife
|
Pillow
|
Truck
|
Candle
|
France
|
Lamp
|
Pizza
|
Uganda
|
Car
|
Furniture
|
Lawyer
|
Planet
|
Umbrella
|
Caravan
|
Garage
|
Leather
|
Plastic
|
Van
|
Carpet
|
Garden
|
Library
|
Portugal
|
Vase
|
Cartoon
|
Gas
|
Lighter
|
Potato
|
Vegetable
|
China
|
Ghost
|
Lion
|
Queen
|
Vulture
|
Church
|
Girl
|
Lizard
|
Quill
|
Wall
|
Crayon
|
Glass
|
Lock
|
Rain
|
Whale
|
Crowd
|
Gold
|
London
|
Rainbow
|
Window
|
Daughter
|
Grass
|
Lunch
|
Raincoat
|
Wire
|
Death
|
Greece
|
Machine
|
Refrigerator
|
Xylophone
|
Denmark
|
Guitar
|
Magazine
|
Restaurant
|
Yacht
|
Diamond
|
Hair
|
Magician
|
River
|
Yak
|
Dinner
|
Hamburger
|
Manchester
|
Rocket
|
Zebra
|
Disease
|
Helicopter
|
Market
|
Room
|
Zoo
|
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