There are many things and concepts around us that have a name. The name is used so that the thing or person can be identified. Everyone in the world has a name. This name is called Noun. In this post, we are going to learn about what is a noun, how can you identify a noun and various types of nouns.
What is a noun?
A noun is a word that works as a name. It can be the name of living beings such as a person, tree, or animal, and other objects such as place, thing, feeling, or idea. That’s why a noun is also called a naming word.
For example, Ram is playing football.
Here in this sentence, “Ram” is the noun which is the name of a person, and “football” is the noun which is the name of a thing.
Let us look at this definition in detail to understand better what a noun is.
Here are some examples of nouns.
Noun as person’s name: Ram, Laxmi, John, Rohit, student, teacher, CEO, manager, officer, male, female, teen, junior, senior, youth, Robert, etc.
These names refer to a specified person or their groups.
Nouns as places name: Names such as Paris, Bhopal, India, Pakistan, Mumbai, Bengaluru, East, West, North, South, heaven, and hell are examples of place-related nouns.
Nouns as thing’s name: There are many things around you such as a chair, table, lamp, book, pen, pencil, geometry box, mixer, refrigerator, cupboard, banana, apple, etc.
Nouns as the name of animals and other living beings: tiger, goat, cat, plant, tree, lion, fox, cow, dog, parrot, etc.
Nouns as the name of feelings and ideas: anger, fear, happiness, joy, sadness, love, satisfaction, impression, thought, truth, etc.
How many types of nouns are there?
There are many types of nouns such as proper nouns, common nouns, concrete nouns, collective nouns, compound nouns, countable nouns, non-countable nouns, and abstract nouns.
1. Proper Noun
A noun that has a specific name is called a special noun or proper noun. The proper noun identifies the name of a particular person, place, or thing.
Example: Ricky is playing.
Ricky is the name of a boy and it is a proper noun.
New Delhi is the capital of India.
In this sentence, “New Delhi” is the name of a city, and “India” is the name of a country. Both “New Delhi” and “India” are proper nouns.
Examples of proper nouns
Person: Ram, Rahul, Kavita, Kanchan, Salman, Shahrukh
City: Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, New York, London, Dubai, Hong Kong, etc.
Country: India, Russia, France, China
Days and months: Sunday, Monday, January, February, etc.
2. Common Noun
A common noun is a name that is given to people, places, or things in general.
Examples of common nouns are car, man, water, sand, boy, woman, bike, company, etc.
Kavita is a girl.
Kavita is a proper noun whereas “girl” is a common noun.
3. Concrete nouns
A concrete noun is a noun that refers to people and things that can be seen, touched, smelled, and heard. It has physical existence.
Concrete nouns Examples: dog, car, bike, building, tree, coffee, etc.
The building is very tall.
Here “building” is the concrete noun.
Car cost is very high.
Here, “car” is the concrete noun because you can see and touch it.
4. Abstract nouns
An abstract noun is a word that names an idea, quality, thought, or feeling. It has no physical reality. It refers to conditions that can not be seen or touched.
Abstract noun examples: Truth, Danger, Happiness, emotion
Truth always wins.
Here “truth” is the abstract noun.
5. Collective nouns
Some common nouns have a special name when they are in a group. A collective noun refers to a word used to name a group of people, animals, or things.
Examples: audience, family, group, council, crowd, team, etc.
A swarm of flies.
Here “swarm” is the collective noun used to refer to the group of flies.
A band of musicians
Here “band” is the collective noun used to refer to a group of musicians.
Read the examples of collective nouns.
6. Countable Nouns
A countable noun can be written with a number. It refers to something that can be counted. It has singular and plural forms.
For Example pen, chairs.
There are four chairs.
I have a pen.
Here “four chairs” is the countable noun.
7. Uncountable Nouns:
An uncountable noun refers to those things which can not be counted. The uncountable noun does not have a plural form. It can not be written with a number before it.
Examples of uncountable nouns: are sugar, rice, oil, water, etc.
There is a little water in the glass.
9. Compound Nouns:
A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more nouns to form a single noun. The compound noun is usually a noun + noun or adjective + noun. But there are other combinations.
Example: Blackboard, gentleman
