Noun is the name of person, place, things or any idea.
We can say that Nouns are words, that describe the things around us, both the concrete
things and the abstract things. A noun can function in a sentence as subjects and
Types of nouns with examples:
- Countable nouns
- Uncountable noun
- Common and proper nouns
- Abstract noun
- Concrete nouns
- Material nouns
- Collective noun
- Compound Nouns
- Possessive Nouns.
- Singular nouns
- Plural Nouns
These are names of people, places, organisations businesses, schools universities etc. They are always written with a capital letter, even if they are in the middle of a sentence.
Examples: London, Paris, Michael, Angela, Mercedes Benz, Honda, Oxfam, King Edward VII, Cambridge University.
Names of months: July, August, …
Weekdays: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday …
Nationalities: English, German, Spanish …..
These are words that are used to refer to common and non-specific things.
Examples: girl, boy, camera, computer, keyboard
, boy, pencil, cow, school
Formation of Plural nouns
Usually the plural form by adding ‘ S’.
apple – apple s
flower – flower s
shop – shop s
If a word ends in-y (after a consonant), ‘y’changes in to – ies to make it plural.
party – part ies
family – famil ies
fly – fl ies
However, it ends in vowel +-y, only one – s is appended.
boy – boy s
toy – toy s
Example of nouns ending in-o
photo – photo s
disco – disco’s
Video – video s
Nouns ending in -f or-fe get in the plural ending – ves.
life – lives
wife – wives
knife – knives
helped – halves
thief – thieves
There are exceptions to this rule
roof – roof s
chief – chief s
If the word ends with-ff- only s is appended.
cliff – cliff s
Some nouns have an irregular plural form
man – m e n
woman – wom e n
child – child ren
foot – f ee t
tooth – t ee th
goose – g ee se
mouse – m ice
sheep – sheep
fish – fish
fruit – fruit
Some nouns are used only in the plural form.
while others although they have the outer form of the plural, however, be used in the
The news does not sound very positive.
There are some nouns, but are always in the singular with plural verbs.
Already the police are informed about the incident.
People are aware of the Consequences of Their decision.
Countable and uncountable nouns – countable and uncountable nouns
Distinction between countable and uncountable nouns.
Countable nouns are those that have an indefinite article (a / an) or may be in the
plural. They can be (ab-) count.
– An apple (one apple, two apples, three apples …)
– A dog (one dog, two dogs, three dogs …)
– A girl (one girl, two girls, three girls …)
– A friend (one friend, two friends, three friends)
Uncountable nouns can stand only in the singular. We can not count them (at least not
Milk, water,money, music, butter, homework, information, tea, ect.
Abstract and concrete nouns
These are words used to name non-physical things. These include feelings, states of mind, concepts etc.
Examples: love, hatred, ambition, cynicism, reluctance, mathematics, sociology
Abstract noun”Abstract” is something that can only be perceived in thought or
Example: You could not see what his painting represented.
It was indeed “abstract”.
“Abstract nouns” are names of qualities, emotions, conditions or events.
Examples of abstract nouns:
Goodness, love, happiness, work rest, news, culture, debate, Lesson
Concrete nouns “Concrete” is something that can be directly perceived by sight, hearing, touch, taste or
“Concrete nouns” are names of people, animals, plants and things.
Examples of concrete nouns:
female, children, cat, student, horse, fly, fern, birch, lamp, air, Journal
These are words that are used to describe groups of things.
Examples: platoon, class, band, cast
Note: Some collective nouns can only be used to refer to specific groups.
Examples: herd (of cattle), flock (of sheep), gaggle (of geese), caravan (of camels)
A singular collective noun refers to one group, but a collective noun in plural form refers to two or more groups of the same thing.
Example: herd / herds
singular: A herd of cattle is grazing in the field.
plural: Many herds of cattle can be seen while driving through farm lands.
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