The different types of nouns

The Different Types of Nouns

Interactive Test ONLINE https://www.grammarmonster.com/lessons/nouns_different_types.htm

 

The different types of nouns.

There are several different types of nouns. These include:

·         Common Nouns (e.g., abstract nouns, collective nouns, 

compound nouns, concrete nouns, non-countable nouns, 

gender-specific nouns, verbal nouns)

·         Proper Nouns

·         Pronouns (despite pronouns being classified as a 

different part of speech)

As covered in the lesson nouns, nouns are naming words. 

There are several different kinds of nouns. This page describes

 the most common types.

Common Nouns

A common noun is the word used for a class of person, place 

or thing.

Examples:

·         car

·         man

·         bridge

·         town

·         water

·         metal

·         ammonia

Note: Common nouns are capitalized only when they start a 

sentence.

Common nouns are further classified into:

·         Abstract nouns – things you cannot see or touch 

(e.g., bravery, joy)

·         Collective nouns – words to describe groups 

(e.g., team, choir)

·         Compound nouns – nouns made up of more than one word 

(e.g., court-martial, pickpocket, water bottle)

·         Concrete nouns – things you can see or touch 

(e.g., tree, cloud)

·         Non-countable nouns (mass nouns) – things you cannot

 count (e.g., food, music)

·         Gender-specific nouns – words which are definitely male

 or female (e.g., vixen, actress)

·         Verbal nouns – nouns derived from verbs

 (e.g., a building, an attack)

·         Gerunds – nouns that represent actions 

(e.g., running fast, guessing a number)

Proper Nouns

A proper noun is the name of a person, place or thing 

(i.e., its own name). A proper noun always starts with a capital 

letter. For example:

·         Michael

·         Africa

·         Peking

·         Dayton Peace Accord

·         United Nations

·         The Tower of London

·         Uncle George

(Uncle is written with a capital letter because it is part of 

his name.)

·         My favourite auntie is Auntie Sally. 

(In this example, the first auntie is a common noun, but the 

second Auntie is part of a proper noun.)

·         The Red Lion

Read more about using capital letters for proper nouns but not common nouns.

Collective Nouns

A collective noun is the word used for a group of people or things. 

For example:

·         Choir

·         Team

·         Jury

·         Shoal

·         Cabinet (of ministers)

·         Regiment

The big question with collective nouns is whether they should 

be treated as singular or plural. The answer is: They can be 

treated as singular or plural depending on the sense of your sentence.

Read more about treating collective nouns as singular and plural.

Pronouns

A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun.

Pronouns are one of the eight parts of speech which are 

adjectives, adverbs
conjunctions, interjections, nouns, prepositions, pronouns, 

and verbs.

Even though they are classified as a different part of speech to

nouns, pronouns are nouns. They always play the role of a noun 

in a sentence.

·         James is the first choice for the post. He has applied for it 

twice already.

(He is a pronoun. In this example, it replaces the proper noun James.)
(It is a pronoun. Here, it replaces the common noun post.)

·         Some / Who / This

(The term pronoun covers lots of words, and all three words 

above are classified as pronouns. There is whole section 

dedicated to pronouns.)

Gerunds

Gerunds are formed from verbs. They end -ing. They are a type 

of common noun. 

·         I love baking.

(baking – the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb to bake.)

·         Thinking is required to solve this problem.

(thinking – the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb to think.)

Gerunds are different from other nouns because they can take an 

object or be modified with an adverb.

·         I love baking bread.

(Here, bread is the object of the gerund baking.)

·         Thinking laterally is required to solve this problem.

(Here, the gerund thinking has been modified by the adverb

 laterally.)

Compound Nouns

Compound nouns are nouns made up of two or more words. 

Some compound nouns are hyphenated, some are not, and 

some combine their words to form a single word. For example:

·         Mother-in-law

·         Board of members

·         Court-martial

·         Forget-me-not

·         Manservant

·         Pickpocket

·         Paper-clip

Read more about hyphens in compound nouns.

See Also

What are adjectives?What are adverbs?What are conjunctions?What are interjections?What are nouns?What are prepositions?What are verbs?What are pronouns?The different types of pronounsAbstract nounsCollective nounsCompound nounsConcrete nounsNon-countable nouns (mass nouns)Gender-specific nounsGerundsVerbal nounsNoun clausesNoun phrases

Buy Our Book

"Smashing Grammar" (2019)
Written by the founder of Grammar Monster, 

"Smashing Grammar" includes a glossary of grammar

 essentials (from apostrophes to zeugma) and a chapter

 on easily confused words (from affect/effect to whether/if). 

Each entry starts with a simple explanation and basic 

examples before moving to real-life, entertaining examples. 

All entries conclude with a section highlighting why the grammar 

point is relevant for a writer and top-level bullet points 

summarizing the entry. [More…]

"Grammar for Grown-ups" (2011)
Vocational rather than academic, "Grammar for Grown-ups" 

is packed with real-life examples and keeps you engaged with 

a wealth of great quotations from Homer the Greek to Homer 

the Simpson. Straight talking and methodical, Craig Shrives 

draws on his years compiling Grammar Monster and as an 

army officer to present a comprehensive but light-hearted 

and easily digestible grammar reference guide. [More…]

Free Help

Everything on Grammar Monster is free.

Grammar Glossary

Common Grammar Errors

Punctuation Lessons

Tests

More free grammar help...

Twitter (daily tips)

Facebook (daily tips)

YouTube

Email tips (weekly)

...or join our group and ask a grammar question.

Software (Not Free)

A smart grammar checker

Beware

No Capital Letters for Common Nouns

A common noun does not start with a capital letter 

(unless it starts a sentence or is part of a title). 

It is a common mistake to capitalize a common noun 

that is an important word in a sentence.

·         He disobeyed a direct Order. 

(The word order is a common noun. It should not 

be written with a capital letter.)

·         It is the largest Church in Birmingham. 

(The word church is a common noun. It should not

 be written with a capital letter.)

Read more about capital letters for proper nouns but not common nouns.

Only Capitalize the Principal Words in Titles

When names contain words such as the, of, an or in 

(i.e., articles and prepositions), these words are not 

usually given capital letters.

·         I must visit the Tower of London. 

(The word of is not a principal word. Therefore, 

it is not given a capital letter.)

·         Have you seen Day of the Jackal? 

(The words of and the are not principal words. 

Therefore, they are not given capital letters.)

This is called Title Case.

Read more about capital letters with Title Case.

Singular or Plural?

Writers are sometimes unsure whether to treat a 

collective noun as singular or plural. In fact, a 

collective noun can be singular or plural depending on 

the sense of the sentence. For example:

·         That team is the worst in the league. 

(Here, team is treated as singular.)

·         The team are not communicating among themselves. 

(Here, team is treated as plural.)

When the group is considered as one unit, it is singular. 

When the individuals of the group are considered, it is plural.

Read more about treating collective nouns as singular and plural.

Forming the Plural of Compound Nouns

To form the plural of a compound noun, pluralize the 

principal word in the compound. When there is no 

obvious principal word, add s (or es) to the end of the 

compound. For example:

·         Mothers-in-law 

(Pluralize the principal word mother.)

·         Paper-clips 

(Pluralize the principal word clip.)

·         Forget-me-nots 

(Here, there is no principal word, so add s to the end.)

Words like spoonful, plateful, and cupful are exceptions

 to this rule. They form their plurals by adding an s to the end, 

even though the principal words are spoon, plate, and cup.

Read more about forming the plurals of compound nouns.

Interactive Test

Take the test on abstract nouns, collective nouns, compound nouns, and gerunds.

………………………………………………….

What Is an Abstract Noun?

Instructor: Margaret Stone

Margaret has taught both college and high school English and has a 

master's degree in English.

Abstract nouns name a quality or an idea. These words cannot be 

experienced with the five senses; instead, these nouns symbolize 

abstract concepts such as charity, hatred, and justice.

What Is an Abstract Noun?

An abstract noun names a quality or an idea. Abstract nouns are 

nouns that name abstract concepts, or concepts that cannot be 

experienced with the senses. In contrast, concrete nouns name

 things that we can know by our senses (mosquito, grass, bacon, etc.)

We can think of an abstract noun as being similar to an abstract painting. 

Both abstract nouns and abstract art represent ideas instead of concrete objects.

Examples of Abstract Nouns

Examples of abstract nouns include liberty, anger, freedom, love, generosity, charity, and democracy. Notice that these nouns express ideas, 

concepts, or qualities that cannot be seen or experienced. We cannot 

see, hear, touch, taste, or smell these concepts.

If we return to the comparison of abstract nouns to abstract art, 

you can see that it would be difficult to paint an abstract concept 

like liberty. We might be able to paint something that represents liberty, though.

Usage

Like other nouns, abstract nouns can be used as the subject or 

object in a sentence. For example, the word anger is an abstract noun 

used as the subject of the following sentence:

Anger is a not a productive response to criticism.

In the following sentence, the abstract noun hope functions as the direct object:

We must never lose hope.

Capitalization of Abstract Nouns

Abstract nouns are typically not capitalized when they occur within a sentence.

 Notice that the abstract noun liberty is not capitalized

 TEST ON ABSTRACT NOUN ONLINE

https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-an-abstract-noun-definition-examples.html