In this lesson, you will learn everything Nouns: Definition, Types, and Functions With Examples.
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What Is a Noun?
Nouns are words used to refer to persons, animals, places, things, ideas, events, etc. Nouns contain most of the words of a language.
- Person – a name that is used for a person such as Ali, Julie, Catherine, Ahmed, Michel, Bob, etc.
- Animal – a name that is used for an animal such as dog, elephant, cat, cow, kangaroo, etc.
- Place – a name that is used for a place such as London, Oslo, Australia, Canada, Jordan, Mumbai, etc.
- Thing – a name that is used for a thing such as a ball, car, chair, door, house, computer, etc.
- Idea – A name that is used for an idea such as devotion, excitement, superstition, happiness, etc.
Types of Nouns with Examples
- Proper Noun
- Common Noun
- Abstract Noun
- Concrete Noun
- Countable Noun
- Uncountable Noun
- Collective Noun
- Compound Noun
Proper Noun: A proper noun is a name that is used to refer only to a single person, place, or thing and there is no common name for it. A proper noun always begins with capital letters in written English.
Examples:
- Oslo (it refers to only one particular city),
- Ali (refers to a particular person),
America
(there is no other country named America; this name is fixed for only one
country).
Common Noun: A common noun is a name that is used for something which is common for many things, persons, or places.
Examples:
- Country (it can refer to any country, nothing in particular),
- City (it can refer to any city like Dubai, Mumbai, London, etc. but nothing in particular).
Therefore,
a common noun is a word that indicates a person, place,
thing, etc.
Abstract Noun: An abstract noun is a word used to refer to something that cannot be seen but is there. It has no physical existence. Generally, it refers to ideas, qualities, and conditions.
Examples: Happiness, sorrow, lies, time, friendship, etc.
Concrete Noun: A concrete noun is that type of noun, which is used as the opposite of an abstract noun. It refers to the things we can see and have physical existence.
Examples: Chair, table, ball, water, money, sugar, etc.
Countable Noun: All nouns that we can count are called Countable Nouns. These types of nouns can take an article: a, an, the.
Examples: Chair, table, ball, dog, etc. (We can say 1 dog, 2 dogs, 3 dogs – so dogs are countable)
Uncountable Noun: The nouns that we can not count in numbers are called Uncountable nouns.
Examples: Water, oil, sugar, salt, etc.
(We
cannot say “1 sugar, 2 sugar, 3 sugar” because sugar is not countable)
Note: Abstract nouns and proper nouns are always uncountable nouns, but common nouns and concrete nouns can be both count and non-count nouns.
Collective Noun: A collective noun is a word that is used for a group of things, people, animals, etc.
Examples: Team, family, jury, cattle, etc. Collective nouns can be both plural and singular. However, Americans prefer using collective nouns as singular, but you can use any one of them, both of the uses are correct.
Compound Noun: Compound nouns are those nouns that are made up of two or three words and act as a singular unit.
Examples: Six-pack, five-year-old, son-in-law, snowball, mailbox, etc.
More Types of Nouns with Examples
1. Singular Noun refers to one, and only one, object, person, animal, or idea
Examples: Cat, Truck, Man, Woman, Child, Fish, etc. Singular Noun in a sentence as the following:
- I have a pet cat.
- That big truck is beside our house.
- He is the man I met yesterday.
- She is the woman you look for.
- Their child is very smart.
- I want that small fish, please.
2. Plural Noun is used to indicate that there is more than one thing, person, animal, idea, etc. It is used to determine more than one element.
Examples: Cats, Trucks, men, women, children, etc. These nouns are examples of Plural nouns. Plural Noun in a sentence as:
- I have pet cats.
- Those big trucks are beside our house.
- They are the men I met yesterday.
- They are the women you look for.
3. Regular Nouns are those nouns that do not change in spelling when changed into plural; only the regular plural suffixes (s or –es) are attached to it according to the grammar and spelling agreement. Here are some examples:
4. Irregular Nouns are those nouns that do not have plural suffixes added to them for their plural form and they monumentally change in spelling. Here are the examples:
5. Possessive Noun is the noun that is used to show possession or belonging or has something in its possession. They usually end with an apostrophe before one “s” to determine the possession of the object(s) that follows. Examples;
- My laptop’s battery needs to change very soon.
- Michael’s wallet is stolen.
6. Verbal Noun is a noun derived from the verb by adding the suffix “ing” to the verb. It often acts as the noun/subject of the sentence instead of posing as a verb and then they become a Verbal Noun. For example:
- Reading is an important area of life.
- Smoking is prohibited.
- Running is a sport.
7. Material Noun is used to refer to materials or substances from which things are made. These are Common Uncountable Nouns by nature because they mostly determine a certain sector type of product. Gold. Silver, Diamond, Cotton, Protein, and Plastic are some examples of Material Nouns. Examples
- We lack the common fascination with gold.
- Protein is critical for energy.
Functions of Nouns with Examples
Nouns can be used as a subject, an object ( direct or indirect object) of a verb. They can also be used as an object of a preposition; and as an adverb or adjective in sentences. Here are the main functions of nouns with examples.
- As a Subject: Ex: The company is making great progress.
- As a Direct object: Ex: I finally bought a new car.
- As an Indirect object: Ex: Erin gave Carol another chocolate.
- As an Object of preposition: Ex: Roses are the flowers of love.
- As an Adverb: Ex: The guest leaves today.
- As an Adjective: Ex: The office building faces our house.
- As a Possession: Ex: My brother’s son is smart.
You can also read about Pronouns in English
