Noun – In this Post we read about Noun. What is noun? noun meaning and noun examples and types of noun like : proper noun, collective nouns, abstract noun, abstract noun, possessive etc. We also read about every noun noun examples. However, noun is not a semantic category, so it cannot be characterized in terms of its meaning. Thus, actions and states of existence can also be expressed by verbs, qualities by adjectives, and places by adverbs. Linguistically, a noun is a member of a large, open part of speech whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition. Many different types of nouns exist, including proper and common nouns, collective nouns, mass nouns, and so forth.

Noun Meaning

The noun is referred to names of persons, animals, places, things, ideas, or events, etc.
OR
A noun is a part of speech that names that is used to mention the name of a person, animal, place, thing. The thing we see or talk about is comprised of a word that names it. The noun is called the ‘naming word’.

In simple words, a noun is the name of a person, place or thing. This is the simplest form of definition of a noun and in order to understand it better, some examples of nouns are : Anderson, Maria, New York, Waiter, Apple, Mango, City, Range Rover, Amazon and so on.

Noun maybe Represent –

A Person –
A name for a person – Georgia, Juliet, Lily, Olive, Emmett, Miles, Oscar, William etc.

An Animal –
a name for an animal – dog, cat, cow, elephant etc.

A Place –
a name for a place – New York, California, Illinois, Texas, Mumbai, Opera House etc.

A Thing –
a name for a thing – bat, ball, chair, door, house, Mobile, etc.

An Idea –
A name for an idea – Angry, superstition, happiness, excitement, rules, love, emotion, happiness etc.

Types of Nouns

There are 5 types of noun. Types of noun given below –

• Proper Noun
  Name of anything unique

• Common Noun
  Name of anything generic

• Abstract Noun
  Name given to things that cannot be heard or seen

• Collective Noun
  A common identity given to a group of similar common nouns

• Material Noun
  Name given to materials

Proper Noun

A proper noun is a name that identifies a particular person, place, title or thing, e.g. Steven, Africa, London, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Monday. In written English, proper nouns begin with capital letters.
There is usually just one instance of this kind of noun (London, Africa) but there could be many instances of Peter (all the men named Peter). Another example is university is a common noun, but Sydney University is a proper (compound) noun.
A proper noun is a noun that classifies a single entity and is used to mention that entity.

So now that we know what a proper noun is, it’s time to look at the rule of proper nouns:

• A word that is a proper noun always starts with a capital letter.
• This is the easiest way to identify them since all of the other nouns start with a lowercase letter unless they are at the start of a sentence.
• The last thing we are going to do is check the difference between a common noun and a proper noun.

Example

PERSON :
Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Elvis Presley, Mummy, Aunt Jane, Kitty, Mr. Edwards, etc.

PLACE :
London, Mt.Everest, New York, Australia, India, Pacific ocean, Monday, January, Christmas, Halloween, etc.

THING :
Mount Everest, the Vatican, the Pyramids, Coca Cola, the Houses of Parliament, etc.

Example of Proper Noun

• The Bible is the holy book of Christians.
• I am going to New York tomorrow.
• Leonardo DiCaprio is a wonderful actor.

In these examples, the words marked in bold indicate some specific person, place, religion or a book and thus, these nouns are known as proper nouns.

Common Noun

A common noun is a noun that refers to people or things in general, e.g. boy, country, bridge, city, birth, day, happiness. The common noun refers to general, unspecific categories for example state refers to any state in a country, but Queensland is a proper noun referring to a specific state in Australia.

This category of the noun is the one that refers to common things. In simple words, these nouns denote a generalized niche of places, people or objects.

These are the simplest of nouns and they are words/names for people, places, ideas or things. They are used generally rather than specifically.

PEOPLE :
mother, father, child, artist, actor, teacher, student, plumber, chairman, etc.

PLACES :
street, corner, home, kitchen, playground, east, west, beach, country, sky, etc.

THINGS :
book, pen, chair, table, picture, bed, cup, glass, plate, hat, coat, lamp, etc.

Common Noun Examples

• The boys were at the party.
• New neighbors have arrived.
• There is a phone ringing.

In all these examples, the bold words indicate a common group and thus, these words come under the category of common nouns.

People in general are named using common nouns, though their official titles or given names are proper nouns. When we refer to people using common nouns, we use words like teacher, clerk, police officer, preacher, delivery driver, boyfriend, girlfriend, grandma, cousin, and barista.

The takeaway is this: common nouns are general names and unless they are part of a title like Postmaster General or begin a sentence, they’re not usually capitalized.

More Common Noun Examples

The following common noun examples will help you to recognize common nouns. In the sentences that follow, common noun examples are italicized. Notice that the examples providing proper nouns name specific versions of the same type of person, animal, place, thing, or idea.

• You broke my favorite mug.
• I really want a new pair of jeans.
• I wish I could remember the name of that painter.
• They’re all waiting for us at the restaurant.
• I really want to live in a big city someday.
• Let’s go to watch a live game at the stadium.

Abstract Noun

An abstract noun is something you can’t see or touch. This means that they are thoughts, feelings and maybe ideas.

An abstract noun is a noun that refers to ideas, qualities, and conditions – things that cannot be seen or touched and things that have no physical reality,
e.g. truth, danger, happiness, time, friendship, humour.

Abstract nouns are usually uncountable. Some abstract nouns can have both countable and uncountable uses. When used with a general meaning, these nouns are usually uncountable. When used with a particular meaning, these nouns are usually countable.

• We had a nice time when we went to the beach yesterday. (countable)
• I couldn’t finish the report because I didn’t get enough (uncountable)

For the younger grade it may be overwhelming to refer to these nouns as abstract nouns. Personally I would keep it quite simple and call them things like feeling nouns (happiness, sadness, pride and so on) and possibly with older students introduce more of the more complex categories.

Emotion Abstract Nouns

These are the nouns that name our feelings, such as happiness, anger, fear, pride, hate and peace.

• He was at peace
• The anger he felt
• I hate eating brussel spouts
• States/Attributes

These refer to characteristics we may use when talking about another person or a character in our writing. Attributes like honesty, bravery, success, skill, pain, misery and beauty.

• The knight showed great bravery in the battle.
• Her honesty was appreciated.
• No one could match his skill in baseball.
• Ideas/Concepts/Ideals

These are a lot more complex than the previous two categories. I would probably leave these for older students. This includes words like dream, justice, culture, dedication, knowledge and faith.

• The people make up the culture in a country.
• To have faith is to believe.
• Justice will be served.
• Movement/Events

These are the words that refer to things that can progress, words such as trouble, relaxation, leisure, trouble and progress.

• I am having trouble with my homework.
• I need to set aside some time for relaxation.
• Please check the download progress.

Collective Noun

Collective nouns refer to groups of people or things,
e.g. audience, family, government, team, jury. In American English, most collective nouns are treated as singular, with a singular verb:

The whole family was at the table. In British English, the preceding sentence would be correct, but it would also be correct to treat the collective noun as a plural, with a plural verb.

Although these words contain several members, the collective noun can be in plural form if you are talking about more than one collection.
For example: The team trains on Monday nights. There are twelve teams in the competition.

Collective nouns are often used to refer to groups of animals such as a flock of sheep, a herd of cows, a colony of ants and a gaggle of geese.

Collective Noun Examples

Remember that nouns are words naming people, animals, places, and things. Collective nouns are in a class all their own. Once you’ve read these examples, you’ll find it much easier to recognize collective nouns when you see them.

• Our class took a field trip to the natural history museum.
• The herd of bison ran across the prairie, leaving a massive dust cloud in its wake.
• We waited anxiously for the jury to come to a verdict.
• This year’s basketball team includes three players who are over six feet tall.
• Napoleon’s army was finally defeated at Waterloo.
• The town council has approved plans to create a new park.
• He comes from a huge family: he’s the oldest of eleven kids.
• The rock group has been on tour for months.
• Everyone in the audience applauded loudly when Elvis appeared on stage.

List of Common Collective Nouns

This list of common collective nouns contains words that describe groups of animals, people, or things. These words are sometimes interchangeable, and English writers and speakers often use them to describe different things. For example, the word swarm is usually used to discuss a group of insects such as ants, flies or bees, but many writers use it to talk about a very busy crowd of people. Once you are familiar with these words, you’ll notice that they are used in a variety of situations.

Herd – A group of herbivore animals
Pack – A group of canine animals such as wolves or dogs; also used to describe playing cards and packages containing multiple objects
Flock – A group of birds; also used to discuss small hooved animals such as sheep or goats
Swarm – A group of insects
Shoal – A group of fish
Group – A very general term used to describe people, places, things, and animals
Crowd – Usually used to describe a group of people
Gang – Usually used to describe a group of criminals; also used to describe a group of workers, particularly sailors or dock workers
Mob – Normally used to describe an angry or unruly group of people; also used to describe a group of kangaroos
Staff – A group of people who work in the same place
Crew – Usually used to denote a group of workers; also used to describe aircraft and ships personnel
Choir – A large, organized group of singers
Orchestra – A large, organized group of instrumentalists, led by a conductor
Panel – A group of experts
Board – A group of people, usually professionals, who take on an advisory role
Troupe – A group of actors or acrobats; also used to describe a group of monkeys
Bunch – Usually a group of smallish objects such as grapes, flowers, keys, or bananas
Pile – An untidy collection of items such as rubbish
Heap – A mounded collection of items; used interchangeably with “pile”
Set – A tidy group of matched objects such as dishes; also used to describe rules or a social group of people
Stack – A group of items neatly laid one on top of another; i.e., a stack of books
Series – Used to discuss movies, books, or events that follow one after another, i.e. Star Trek or Harry Potter
Shower – Usually used to describe rain, although it can be used to describe gifts or compliments
Fall – Often used to discuss weather, such as rain, snow or hail

Material Noun

Materials nouns are the names of raw elements or objects existing in nature. They cannot be created by man, but many things, are created by using these materials.

A MATERIAL NOUN is the name of a material, with no separate parts, and many separate things are made from it.

A noun which stands for the matter or substance of which things are made is called Material Noun.

Some material nouns examples are given below

• This chair is made of wood.
• The chain is made of gold.
• Clothes are made of cotton, wool and silk.
• All the words in italics are Material Nouns. They are the names of the material of
• Which chair, chain and clothes are made respectively.

We get these materials mainly from three sources – nature, animals and plants.

Some more material nouns examples nouns

Material nouns from nature

Air

Gold

Silver

Iron

Copper

Coal

Water

sand

Rock

Salt

Material nouns from animals

Honey

Meat

Milk

Silk

Wool

Leather

Material nouns from plants

Food

Wood

Jute

Oil

Coffee

Tea

Medicine

Cotton

Rubber

Perfume