What are Nouns?
Nouns are naming words. Their function is to name something, this "something" can be any of the follows:
A person
A place
An animal
A thing
A human quality
An experience
An idea
A feeling
Thus, all naming words are nouns. In English, Nouns can be grouped into five broad categories , these categories are mentioned below.
Kinds of Noun in English
Proper Nouns
A proper noun is a noun that names either a particular person, a particular place or a particular thing.
For example:
His name is Alex. ("Alex" is a proper noun because it names a person.)
Delhi is a state. ("Delhi" is a proper noun because it names a place.)
The Hindustan Times is my favourite newspaper. ("The Hindustan Times" is proper noun because it names a thing.)
Common Nouns
Common nouns are used to name a group or a class of people, places or things.
For example:
Alex is a boy.
"Boy" is a common noun as all young males (class of naming people) are called Boys. Thus the word "boy" is used to name all the young males in the world while "Alex" is a proper noun.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert is my favourite book.
"Book" is a common noun as it is used to refer to a written work that is published in print or electronic form (class of naming a thing) while "Big Magic" and "Elizabeth Gilbert" are both proper nouns.
India is a country.
"Country" is a common noun as it is used to refer to any area of land (class of naming places) that has its own government and laws while "India" is a proper noun.
Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are nouns that are used to refer to a collection or a group of people, places or things as one.
For example:
Virat Kohli is the captain of the Indian Cricket team.
"Team" is a word that is being used to name a group of people as one, thus, it is a collective noun.
A huge crowd gather to hear the president's speech.
"Crowd" is a collective noun as it is used to refer to a group of people as one.
She is the smartest of her class.
"Class" is a collective noun as it is used to refer to a group of students as one.
Note: Names used to denote a group of animals of the same type are also collective nouns.
For example:
A flock of sheep.
A school of sharks.
A pack of wolves.
Material Nouns
Words used to name any substance that is eaten, drunk, measured, and weighted but not counted are material nouns.
For example:
Water
Paper
Butter
Bread
Milk
Yoghurt or curd
Sugar
Lunch
Dinner
It should be noted:
We never count water, we do count glasses of water or bottles of water.
We never count paper, we do count sheets of paper.
We never count butter, we do weigh butter or we may count pieces of butter.
We never count bread, we may count pieces of bread.
We never count milk, we may count glasses of milk.
We never count yoghurt, we may count bowls of yoghurt
We never count sugar, we may count spoonfuls of sugar.
We never count lunch, dinner or breakfast. We may list what we ate or how much we ate.
Abstract Nouns
Words used to name anything that cannot be touched or seen, but can only be thought of or felt are called abstract nouns. The can be ideas, experiences or human qualities, etc.
For example:
His honesty is appreciated. ("Honesty" is a human quality that cannot be seen or touched, only thought of or felt.)
Some diseases, if not treated, lead to death. ("Death" is an experience that cannot be seen of touched, only thought of or felt.)
You are very kind. ("Kind" is a human quality that cannot be touched or seen, can only be thought of or felt.)
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