ref – https://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/nouns.htm
Nouns are words that represent people, places, or things. Everything we can see or talk about is represented by a word.
Examples of Nouns
Here are some examples of nouns. (Notice that some have capital letters. We will discuss why later.)
- Person: soldier, Alan, cousin, lawyer
- Place: house, Shanghai, Beijing, factory, shelter, apartment
- Thing – This includes:
- Objects: table, car, pants, shoes, nitrogen, month, inch, cooking
- Animals: aardvark, rat, shark, Mickey
- Ideas: confusion, kindness, faith, Theory of Relativity, joy
Common Nouns
A common noun is the word for a person, place, or thing. It’s the word that appears in the dictionary. For example:
- person
- city
- dog
Proper Nouns
A proper noun is the given name of a person, place, or thing. It’s likely to be a personal name or a title. For example:
- Ricky
- Shenzhen
- China
A proper noun always starts with a capital letter.
Common Noun:Proper Noun combos
- boy:David
- sailor:Adam
- lawyer:Sarah
- mother-in-law:Janice
- city:Boston
- bridge:The Golden Gate Bridge
- tower:Eiffel Tower
- street:Norwood Place
- cat:Fido
- monkey:Bonzo
Abstract Nouns
Abstract nouns are things you cannot see or touch.
For example:
- bravery
- joy
- determination
Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are words that denote groups.
For example:
- team
- choir
- pack
Compound Nouns
Compound nouns are nouns made up of more than one word.
For example:
- court-martial
- pickpocket
- water bottle
Countable and Non-countable Nouns
A countable noun is a noun with both a singular and a plural form (e.g., “dog/dogs,” “pie/pies”). A non-countable noun is a noun without a plural form (e.g., “oxygen, patience”).
For example:
These are countable:
mountain (singular) / mountains (plural)
fight / fights
kiss / kisses
With no plural forms, these are non-countable:
food (always singular)
music (always singular)
water (always singular)