NOUNS

NOUN

Noun refers to people, places, things, ideas, concepts, etc.
Example: Michael is a good boy.  Melbourne is the best city.

DEFINITION: Nouns are naming words for people, animals, places, things, and qualities. In fact, they name everything around us including those that are invisible (wind, gas).  A noun can be recognized by the determiners - the, a, an, some, this, etc - that come before it.

There are different types of nouns. There are common nouns, proper nouns, concrete nouns, and abstract nouns. A common noun names every person or thing that belongs to the same group.  A proper noun is a name of a particular person, animal, place, or thing. A concrete noun refers to a material object that we can see and touch. An abstract noun is something we cannot see or touch (love, anger). We use it to refer to things that are not concrete objects such as quality, idea, condition, etc.
Nouns can be singular or plural. We use a singular noun for one person, animal, place, or thing. For two or more people, animals, places, or things, we use plural nouns.
There are countable nouns and uncountable nouns. Countable nouns are things such as books, cars, and houses, and we can count them. Uncountable nouns such as milk, water, and flour are things which we cannot count.
We use a collective noun to indicate a group of people or things.

Different Types of Noun:

• Common Noun
• Proper Noun
• Concrete Noun
• Abstract Noun
• Collective Noun
• Countable Noun
• Non-countable Noun
• Compound Noun
• Singular and Plural Nouns

Common Noun:

A common noun is a name for something which is common for many things, person, or places. It encompasses a particular type of things, person, or places.

Example: Country (it can refer to any country, nothing in particular), city (it can refer to any city like Melbourne, Mumbai, Toronto, etc. but nothing in particular).

So, a common noun is a word that indicates a person, place, thing, etc. In general and a proper noun is a specific one of those.

A common noun names a class of similar things (chair, box), and not an individual member of a specified group of people or things. We do not capitalize the first letter of a common noun unless it is the first word in a sentence.
Common nouns are names of people, things, animals and places, etc.

• People – aunt, boy, butcher, carpenter, cousin, father, girl, lady, man, mother, tailor, woman
• Things – bicycle, book, car, computer, dress, hammer, key, pencil,  ship, table, vase, wallet
• Animals – armadillo, baboon, bee, caterpillar, cow, dog, eagle, fish, monkey, pig, snake, turkey,
• Places – airport, beach, bullring, cemetery, church, country, hospital, library, mall, park, restaurant, zoo

Proper Noun:

A proper noun is a name which refers only to a single person, place, or thing and there is no common name for it. In written English, a proper noun always begins with capital letters.

Example: Melbourne (it refers to only one particular city), Steve (refers to a particular person),

Australia (there is no other country named Australia; this name is fixed for only one country).

A proper noun is a special name of a person, place, organization, etc. We spell a proper noun with a capital letter. Proper nouns also refer to times or to dates in the calendar.
We can use plurals for proper nouns in exceptional cases.

There are three Johns in my class.

We can also use the, an, or a for a proper noun in special circumstances.

This is no longer the London I used to live in.

Proper nouns are names of people, places, organization, etc.

• People – Ali Baba, George Bush,
• Places –  Downing Street,  Museum of Modern Art, Sahara Desert
• Things – Financial Times, Eiffel Tower
• Organization – International Labour Organization, Red Brigades, United Nations,
• Animals – King Kong, Lassie
• Times and dates – Saturday, April

Concrete Noun:

A concrete noun is the exact opposite of abstract noun. It refers to the things we see and have physical existence.

Example: Chair, table, bat, ball, water, money, sugar, etc.

c) Concrete Noun
A concrete noun is something we see or touch. It is the opposite of an abstract noun. There are countable concrete nouns and uncountable concrete nouns.

• Countable: teacher (people); valley (place); deer (animal); comb (thing)
• Uncountable: water (liquid); steam (gas); copper (substance)

Abstract Noun:

An abstract noun is a word for something that cannot be seen but is there. It has no physical existence. Generally, it refers to ideas, qualities, and conditions.

Example: Truth, lies, happiness, sorrow, time, friendship, humor, patriotism, etc.

d) Abstract Nouns
An abstract noun is a quality or something that we can only think of rather than as something that we can see or touch, e.g. beauty, courage, friendship, intelligence, truth. We can form abstract nouns from common nouns (child – childhood); from verbs (know – knowledge); and from adjectives (happy – happiness).

Collective Noun:

A collective noun is a word for a group of things, people, or animals, etc.

Example: family, team, jury, cattle, etc.

Collective nouns can be both plural and singular. However, Americans prefer to use collective nouns as singular, but both of the uses are correct in other parts of the world.

A collective noun is a name used for a number of people, animals or things that we group together and speak of as a whole. For example, a bunch of bananas, a litter of puppies, a flock of sheep, etc. Viewed as a single unit, a group uses a singular verb; regarded as separate members making up the group, it takes a plural verb.

• The family is planning an overseas trip. (The family is viewed as a single unit planning and going overseas together, so it takes a singular verb.)

The family are discussing about the plan. (The family members are taking part in the discussion and are no longer considered a single unit, so it uses a plural verb.)

Countable Noun:

The nouns that can be counted are called countable nouns. Countable nouns can take an article: a, an, the.

Example: Chair, table, bat, ball, etc. (you can say 1 chair, 2 chairs, 3 chairs – so chairs are countable)

Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted (e.g. oranges). Uncountable nouns are those that cannot be counted (e.g. smoke). So how do we know whether or not a noun is countable or uncountable?

The noun is countable:

• If we can use a/an before it.. Example: I own a car. / I play with an ostrich.
• If we can use the word 'many' (and not 'much') to describe it. Example: She has many friends. (It's wrong to say: She has much friends.)
• If we can express its quantity by using a number before it. Example: I have five apples.
• If it takes on singular as well as plural forms

Non-countable Noun:

The nouns that cannot be counted are called non-countable nouns.

Example: Water, sugar, oil, salt, etc. (you cannot say “1 water, 2 water, 3 water” because water is not countable)

Abstract nouns and proper nouns are always non-countable nouns, but common nouns and concrete nouns can be both count and non-count nouns.

The noun is uncountable:

• If a/an is not normally used in front of it. Example: He is eating some rice. (NOT: He is eating a rice.) Rice is treated as not countable, so 'some' (which can be used for both countable and uncountable nouns) is used with it.
• If the word 'much' can be correctly used with it. Example: How much rice have you eaten? (NOT: How many rice have you eaten?)
• If it is not possible to be counted. However, we can make it countable by having a quantity for it. Example: I have just bought two cartons or liters of milk. (NOT: I have just bought two milk.)
• If it takes only a singular form.

Some nouns can be countable or uncountable. It depends on how they are used.

EXAMPLE: I boil an egg. (Countable noun) / I like egg. (Uncountable noun, as it refers to egg in general.)
Countable and Uncountable Nouns are used with the following:

Countable Noun	Uncountable Noun
a, an, a few, several, many,	a little, much, some, plenty of,
some, plenty of, a lot of,	a lot of, a large amount of,
a large number of	a great deal of

Compound Noun:

Sometimes two or three nouns appear together, or even with other parts of speech, and create idiomatic compound nouns. Idiomatic means that those nouns behave as a unit and, to a lesser or greater degree, amount to more than the sum of their parts.

Example: six-pack, five-year-old, and son-in-law, snowball, mailbox, etc.

Functions of Nouns

Nouns can be used as a subject, a direct object, and an indirect object of a verb; as an object of a preposition; and as an adverb or adjective in sentences. Nouns can also show possession.

Subject: The company is doing great. Roses are the flowers of love.

Direct object: I finally bought a new mobile.

Indirect object: Max gave Carol another chocolate.

Object of preposition: Roses are the flowers of love.

Adverb: The train leaves today.

Adjective: The office building faces the mall.

Possession: The lion’s cage is dangerous. My brother’s daughter is adorable.

Nouns refer to persons, animals, places, things, ideas, or events, etc. Nouns encompass most of the words of a language.

Noun can be a/an -  

• Person – a name for a person: - Max, Julie, Catherine, Michel, Bob, etc.
• Animal – a name for an animal: - dog, cat, cow, kangaroo, etc.
• Place – a name for a place: - London, Australia, Canada, Mumbai, etc.
• Thing – a name for a thing: - bat, ball, chair, door, house, computer, etc.
• Idea – A name for an idea: - devotion, superstition, happiness, excitement, etc.

The variant lowercase form long s (ſ) lasted into early modern English, and was used in non-final position up to the early 19th century.

Singular and Plural Nouns

A singular noun refers to just one person, animal, thing or place while a plural noun represents more than one person, animal, thing or place. Nouns are either singular or plural. Most plural nouns have an -s added to their endings. Other plural nouns do not follow this same ending. Singular    Plural How the plural is formed daughter daughters    By adding –s class classes By adding –es to nouns ending –s brush brushes By adding –es to nouns ending –sh watch watches By adding –es to nouns ending –ch box boxes By adding –es to nouns ending –x potato potatoes By adding –es to nouns ending –o piano pianos By adding –s to nouns ending –o baby babies By changing –y to – ies key keys By adding –s to some nouns ending –y leaf leaves By changing –f to – ves knife knives By changing –fe to – ves roof roofs By adding –s to some nouns ending –f safe safes By adding –s to some nouns ending –fe tooth teeth By changing vowels ox oxen By adding –en child children By adding –ren deer deer Some nouns have same singular and plural There are nouns that are always plural and take a plural verb. Jeans, knickers, panties, pants, pyjamas, shorts, tights, trousers, and underpants Pincers, pliers, scissors, shears, tongs Clogs, sandals, slippers, and sneakers Glasses (spectacles), binoculars These trousers are not mine. Pliers are a handy tool. My garden shears trim the hedge very well. My glasses are used only for reading. "A pair of" can be used with the above plural nouns and take a singular verb. This pair of purple trousers does not match your yellow jacket. These knives do not cut well. A new pair of stainless steel scissors is what I need. Other nouns those are always plural. Clothes: My clothes need to be washed but I don't have the time. Earnings: Earnings in the agricultural sector have increased by 5% in the fourth quarter. Cattle: Cattle are reared for their meat or milk. Police: Police are charging him with the murder of the princess. People: People in general are not very approachable. (Peoples when used in the plural (i.e. with '–s') refers to peoples from more than one race or nation, e.g. the peoples of Asia) Football team: Liverpool are a very successful football team. (But Liverpool is a great city.) Nouns which are plural in form but take a singular verb The following plural nouns are used with a singular verb as they are treated as singular: Athletics, economics, gymnastics, linguistics, mathematics, mechanics, news, numismatics, measles, mumps, physics, politics and pyrotechnics Economics: Economics was my favorite subject at school. News – The good news is that we have all been invited. Diseases such as mumps, measles, etc: An infectious illness, mumps was common among children. Measurements and amounts that are considered as a single unit: One hundred years is a century. Ten kilometers is a long distance. Twenty dollars is not enough to buy a good shirt. Seven days in prison is all he got for shoplifting. A collective noun can take a singular or a plural verb The following nouns can be singular or plural. Viewed as a single unit, the noun takes a singular verb; regarded as a group of separate members or parts, it becomes a plural noun used with a plural verb. The new government has gained more support since taking office. The Government are determined to keep inflation in check. The explorers stumbled across a species of plant unknown to science. Different fish species have been found in the coastal waters of the island Data indicates that most of the offenders come from broken home. We will not draw any conclusion until we have looked at all the data. Statistics is included in this year's Mathematics syllabus. The statistics tell us the current trend is towards more consumers' spending. The enemy is calling for a ceasefire. Security is very tight as the enemy are everywhere. A collective noun treated as singular uses a singular possessive pronoun; a plural collective noun takes a plural possessive pronoun. Our team has won its first trophy. (The singular possessive pronoun is its. The singular possessive pronoun its agrees with the singular collective noun team.) Our team is deciding on the strategy for their next game. (Plural possessive pronoun: their) The audience showed its approval by clapping and cheering. When the curtain came down, the audience began leaving their seats. The full orchestra led by its new conductor is performing in the city. The orchestra does not agree to the venue for their next performance. Two subjects expressed as a single unit and take a singular verb Time and tide waits for no man. Bread and jam is what he eats most in the morning.