A noun is a word, it is used as the name of a person, animal, place, bird, idea, emotion or thing.
For example boy , girl, table, chair, peacock, honesty, happiness, wisdom, book etc.,
e.g.
| Person | David, Sister, Woman, Brother |
|---|---|
| Place | Chennai, London, Delhi, Maxico |
| Animal | Tiger, Elephant, Lion, Deer |
| Bird | Parrot, Crow, Swan, Peacock |
| Emotion | Happiness, Sadness, Thought, Toy |
| Thing | Pen, Book, Computer, Pencil |
NOUNS ARE NAMING words. They identify people, things or place in our world. Nouns come in six different forms: proper, common, abstract, concrete, collective, and compound.
Further, the nouns can be classified into two major types as : countable and uncountable nouns.
A common noun is a name given in common to every person or thing of the same class of kind.
These common nouns are words for things.
e.g.
| chair | bicycle | television |
| hammer | ladder | computer |
| axe | calculator | cooker |
| saw | crayons | book |
| courage | ruler | printer |
| laziness | lawnmower | dictionary |
These common nouns are words for animals.
e.g.
| cat | kitten | lion |
| dog | puppy | tiger |
| horse | foal | elephant |
| goat | kid | whale |
| frog | tadpole | kangaroo |
| sheep | lamb | bear |
These common nouns are words for places.
e.g.
| airport | hostel | temple |
| university | hotel | mosque |
| stadium | bank | school |
| park | library | college |
| farm | theater | post office |
| zoo | mall | police station |
These common nouns are words for people who do certain things.
e.g.
| artist | teacher | police officer |
| singer | headmaster | plumber |
| dancer | manager | driver |
| director | doctor | writer |
| magician | lawyer | farmer |
| artist | clerk | friend |
A proper noun is the name of some particular person, place, thing, particular event, or group. This proper noun begins with a capital letter. If the noun is nonspecific, that is, the noun refers to a general idea and not a specific person, place, or thing, it is usually not a proper noun, so it it not capitalized.
e.g.
| Specific | Nonspecific |
|---|---|
| World war II | A war |
| English class | A class |
| The American Bar Association | The association |
These people’s names are proper nouns.
e.g.
| Aladdin | Muhammad Ali | Dad |
| Harry Potter | George Washington | Mom |
| Mahatma Gandhi | Hitler | Granny |
| Santa Claus | Nelson Mandela | Uncle David |
| Confucius | Jayalalitha | Miss Park |
| Alex Rodriguez | Jacky chan | Mr.Raj |
The names of the days of the week and the months of the year are proper nouns.
e.g.
| days of the week | months | |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | January | August |
| Monday | February | September |
| Tuesday | March | October |
| Wednesday | April | November |
| Thursday | May | December |
| Friday | June | |
| Saturday | July | |
The names of special days and celebrations are also proper nouns.
e.g.
| New Year’s Day | Dewali |
| Valentine’s Day | Ramadan |
| Independece Day | Christmas |
| Labour Day | Memorial Day |
| Falg Day | Thanksgiving |
| Republic Day | Veteran’s Day |
The names of famous places, buildings and monuments are proper nouns.
e.g.
| The Taj Mahal | The Statue of Liberty |
| The Eiffel Tower | Chaco Canyon Pueblo |
| The Golden Gate Bridge | the Leaning Tower of Pisa |
| The Great Wall of China | Buckingham Palace |
The names of people who live in a particular country are also proper nouns.
e.g.
| Country | People |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Afghans |
| Australia | Australians |
| Britain | The British |
| Germany | Germans |
| USA | Americans |
| India | Indians |
i) A collective noun is a name of a number (collection) of persons or things taken together and spoken of as one whole as:
Crowd, mob, team, flock, herd, army, fleet, jury, family, nation, parliament, committee.
ii) Nouns that refer to a specific group of persons or things are called Collective Nouns.
These are nouns for groups of people. Here are some collective nouns for groups of people.
e.g.
| a family | a committee |
| a community | a company |
| a band | a gang |
| a choir | the government |
| an audience | the army |
Many collective nouns can be used with a singular or plural verb.
e.g.
Here are more collective nouns we can use for groups of people.
e.g.
| A crowd of people | An army of soldiers |
| a panel of judges | A tem of players |
| a class of schoolchildren | a company of actors |
| a gang of thieves | a band of musicians |
Many groups of animals have their own special collective nouns.
e.g.
| a brood of chickens | a litter of puppies | a school of fish |
| a flock of birds | a pack of wolves | a swarm of bees |
| a drove of sheep | a pride of lions | a troop of monkeys |
| a herd of cattle | a pod of dolphins | a gaggle of geese |
Some groups of things also have their own special collective nouns.
e.g.
| a bunch of bananas | a deck of cards | a fleet of vehicles |
| a bunch of flower | a cluster of grapes | a suite of rooms |
| a bunch of keys | a grove of trees | a suite of furniture |
| a bouquet of flower | a fleet of ships | a set of tools |
Some nouns name the amount or form of something.
e.g.
| a loaf of bread | a bar of soap | a bar of chocolate |
The words a piece of mean a single serving or part of something.
e.g.
| a slice/piece of bread | a slice/piece of cheese | a sheet/piece of paper |
| a piece/square of chocolate | a piece of chalk | a piece of advice |
An abstract noun is usually the name of a feelings, ideas, action, state and characteristics, or qualities considered apart from the object to which it belongs as.
Most abstract nouns end with these suffixes:
e.g.
| -ism | -ment | -ity |
|---|---|---|
| nationalism | argument | personality |
| -tion | -ship | -ence |
| aggravation | friendship | silence |
This abstract noun cannot be seen, heard, touched or tasted but it can only be felt by our sense. The abstract noun is not visible.
e.g.
| Quality | wiseness, goodness, kindness, whiteness, darkness, honesty, wisdom, bravery |
|---|---|
| Action | quarreling, jog, laughter, theft, movement, judgement, hatred |
| State | poverty, childhood, boyhood, manhood, youth, slavery, sleep, death |
For example, we cannot be 'happiness' but we can feel that in our heart or mind. The names of the subject of study (e.g. grammar, music, chemistry, etc.) are also Abstract Nouns.
in opposite to abstract noun, the concrete nouns can be seen or touched by us.
e.g.
| building | iron | steel | gold |
(countables) are the names of objects, people, etc. that we can count. And they have their own singular and plural forms.
e.g.
| book | apple | doctor | horse |
| books | apples | doctors | horses |
(uncountables) are the names of things which we cannot count, e.g. milk, oil, sugar, gold, honesty.
The uncountable nouns generally refer to
e.g.
| drinks | coffee, tea | materials | wood, glass, gold, silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| liquids | milk, oil, petrol | games | cricket, tennis, football |
| gases | air, oxygen |
Countable nouns have plural forms while uncountable nouns do not. Even the abstract nouns are also uncountable nouns.
For example, we say boys but we cannot say oils.
There are the raw elements or objects existing in nature.
e.g.
| Iron | Gold | Stones | Brass |
| Aluminium | Mercury | Plastic | Mat |
Non-defining relative clause
Non-defining relative clauses are placed after nouns which are definite already.
The adjective clause which does not define the noun before it but gives additional information about the noun is called the non-defining relative clause.