Nouns
Noun Definition or What is a Noun?
A noun is the name of a person, place or thing. Gurpreet, girl, book, chair, boy, village, justice, etc.
Kinds of Noun: Also known as Noun Chart
There are five kinds of nouns.
There are five Noun Types. These are:
1.Proper Nouns
2. Common nouns
3. Abstract Nouns
4. Collective Nouns
5. Material Nouns
1. Proper Noun: It is the name of a particular person, place or thing. i.e.
Harpreet, Bimla, Chennai, Chandigarh, Diwali, Baisakhi, etc.
Note: A proper noun begins with a capital letter.
2. Common Noun: A common noun is a name which is common to every person or thing of the same kind or class. i.e.
pen, book, city, boy, girl, teacher, chair, etc.
3. Abstract Noun: An abstract noun is the name of a quality, condition, an action or an idea. i.e.
anger, love, happiness, honesty, joy, boyhood, bravery, etc.
Except these educational spheres are also an abstract noun, i.e.
Physics, Chemistry, Music, Mathematics, etc.
4. Collective Noun: It is the name of a number of similar things taken together and spoken of as one. i.e.
a crowd, a committee, a class, a herd, etc.
5. Material Noun: It is the name of some material of which things are made:
iron, gold, wheat, rice, milk, etc.
Countable and Uncountable Nouns:
All common nouns are either countable or uncountable:
(a)Countable Nouns are those nouns which can be counted:
One chair, three pens, two oranges, six apples, etc.
(b) Uncountable Nouns are those nouns which cannot be counted:
water, milk, rice, gold, coffee, etc.
Note : (i) Countable nouns can be used both as singular and plural. Uncountable nouns are generally used only in the singular.
(ii) We can use the article a or a before a countable noun, but not before an uncountable noun.
(iii) Countable nouns can be qualified by many and a few. Uncountable nouns can be qualified by much and a little.
Size of the Noun:
A word, a phrase or a clause can function as a noun can be a single word; it can be a phrase or it can be a clause:
(a)A word as a noun: A word denoting the name of things, persons, places, qualities, can act as a noun.
Mohan killed the snake with a stick.
Beauty is the truth.
Nehru was a great man.
In the above sentences, the bold words are nouns.
(b)A phrase as a noun: A phrase can function as a noun. Then it is called a Noun Phrase :
To err is human.
I enjoy playing cricket.
She likes reading poetry.
The brave and fearless king killed the snake.
In the above sentences, the bold phrases are working as Nouns.
(c)A clause as a noun: A clause can do the work of a noun. Then it is called a Noun Clause.
What you say is impossible.
I know where he lives
She hopes that she will win a lottery.
Where he has gone is a mystery.
In the above sentence,s the bold words are Noun Clauses.
Noun English grammar Exercises-
Noun Exercise- 1
Noun Exercise- 2