NOUNS
What is a Noun?
The simplest definition of a noun is a thing and nouns are the basic building blocks of sentences. These things can represent a person, animal, place, idea, emotion – almost any thing that you can think of. Dog, Sam, we, love, phone, Chicago, courage and spaceship are all nouns. The more nouns you know in a language, the better you will be able to communicate your ideas. Here, we’ll take a closer look at what makes a noun a noun, and we’ll provide some examples of how nouns are used.
Noun examples: respect, faith, apple, seashore, peanut, motorcycle
Noun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
- The boy and girl were holding hands as they crossed the bridge to on the way to town.
- I love watching my cat play with the pink yarn.
- It is raining! Everyone, grab your umbrella and rain hat and watch out for the puddles!
Categories of Nouns
There are several categories of nouns, and there can be an overlap across the categories. For example, there are common and proper nouns, and concrete and abstract nouns, yet some nouns are both concrete and common, or concrete and proper. It will become clear as you read on.
Common nouns are the words that refer to most general things: country, evening, laughter, puppy, umbrella
Common noun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
- Cathy loves the weekends in the country.
- We enjoy swimming after breakfast.
- The cup fell and broke.
Proper nouns are the name that identifies someone or something, a person or a place. Proper nouns are capitalized. John is a proper noun, since the word John represents a particular, single example of a thing, John.
Proper noun examples: Mary, Jimmy, Aunt Audrey, Honda, Philadelphia
Proper noun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
- Emily loved spending time with her Aunt Nancy in Paris.
- Buick and Jeep are two important carmakers.
- We visited Lake Erie, which separates the United States and Canada.
Concrete nouns represent a thing that is real and tangible: pig, person, rock, smell, air, soup, Larry are all concrete nouns.
Concrete noun examples: cup, computer, diamond, rollercoaster, shampoo, Debby
Concrete noun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
- The person threw the rock across the yard.
- My dog, Oreo, jumped in the air and caught the ball!
- Can you smell the soup, John?
An abstract noun represents a thing that is more like a concept or idea: love, integrity, democracy, friendship, beauty, knowledge are examples of abstract nouns.
Abstract noun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
- Love and friendship are equally important.
- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
- Your mind can know a million things.
Nouns can also be categorized as countable or uncountable.
A countable noun is a thing can be numbered or counted: airplane, sock, bowl, noodle, teacher, as in two airplanes, three socks, 1000 noodles.
Countable noun examples: peach, horse, shirt, telescope
Countable noun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
- There are five dogs in the street.
- I bought three tons of coal.
- Margaret has six pairs of blue sandals.
Uncountable nouns can have a quantity or amount but cannot be actually counted: water, music, clothes, understanding. In the second example above, tons is a countable noun, but coal is not. Coal is referred to as an uncountable noun.
Uncountable noun examples: hate, confidence, attractiveness, wisdom
Uncountable noun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
- Love is in the air.
- The four elements are air, earth, fire and water.
- Her humor knows no bounds.
Collective nouns refer to a group of people or things: audience, team, bunch, family, class. When speaking of collective nouns, Americans consider them as singular, using singular verbs with them, such as the group dances happily. When speaking British English, both singular verbs and plural verbs might be used, as in the group dance crazily before the Queen.
Collective noun examples: government, jury, team, bunch, school, class, and room (the people in the room or building)
Collective noun examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
- The team threw confetti when it was over.
- Steve buys the band some sandwiches.
- Meredith told the class she was getting married.