Have you ever wondered what a noun is and how important nouns are in the English language? Well, look no further. In this article, we’re going to explain what nouns are, how you can use them, and the purpose and usability of each type of noun. Are you ready?
There are many categories of nouns in English; it’s disputed whether there are 7 or 20 different types! However, one thing is for sure, knowing your nouns will help you learn English lot easier.
Nouns are essentially words that help you gain information about something in a clause or sentence, whether it’s an independent clause or a dependent one.
A clause is a group of words that come together to make meaning, basically an academic way of saying "sentence." A clause can be independent or dependent - if a clause is independent, it means the information can be understood without needing extra information.
"I picked up a pen" contains a finished action and is a complete independent clause. It contains a capital letter to start and ends with punctuation to finish.
On the other hand, a dependent clause is a sentence that requires additional information to be understood.
This isn't a completed action because it uses the word when. It depends on more information to complete the sentence. Leaving you to question what will happen when they pick up the pen.
Nouns help to identify indirect or direct objects, inanimate objects, people, places, things, and animals, or even abstractly convey meaning, ideas, or feelings in clauses.
All types of nouns can be placed into two main categories; common and proper. When learning about nouns throughout 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade, you will hear about this a lot, so let's look at them now.
Common nouns are the first category of nouns we will look at and are called "common" because they are very commonly named. In fact, they are used so much that you will have seen and heard them without realizing it. They refer to a person, a place, an object, a collective or group, or an idea in an independent or dependent clause. They are helpful when referring to general things rather than very specific ones. It's also worth noting that "common nouns" aren't capitalized unless placed at the beginning of a clause or in a title.
Now that we know what common nouns are, let's look at their different sub-categories.
Next up. We have proper nouns. These nouns refer to things specifically; they name people, places, objects, or groups/organizations but in a far less generalized fashion.
As you can see, proper nouns are always capitalized because they are used when naming countries, people or animal names, cities, or days of the week.
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Though all English nouns can be classified into proper or common, it’s important to know how to use and identify different categories of nouns when reading and writing to understand their importance. Nouns can be singular, plural, uncountable, abstract, relative, or even reflexive. Hang on in there; we’ll give you a few examples of these types of nouns.
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Collective nouns, as we have seen, can be proper or common. In the case of proper nouns, it refers to a set group of people, things, groups, or organizations. Music groups and big organizations are referred to as collective nouns because they are made up of a group of people.
Collective nouns are often followed by "Of" + the pluralized noun.
Concrete nouns are words that refer to physical things that our primary senses can perceive. This includes being seen, touched, or heard. They can be proper nouns or common nouns but can’t refer to abstract qualities, states, or actions. Here are some concrete noun examples:
An abstract noun can be a common or proper noun. It tells you an idea, concept, feeling, or emotion that isn’t able to be seen or touched in a literal sense.
There are many types of nouns in English. Let's look at some more that you might have come across before. As always, we have examples and definitions.
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Relative nouns are sneaky nouns because they help you to identify the noun that was used previously. In other words, they refer back to the nouns already mentioned in the clause.
Reflexive nouns or pronouns are exactly what they say; they refer back to the object of a verb. We can use reflexive nouns to refer to the direct object of a sentence.
‘Reflexive nouns’ are used to add context and information to a sentence and can be a great literary device.
Leading us to question what happened. These types of nouns can be singular or plural.
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Compound nouns are super interesting, as they take other English writing devices and incorporate them into a whole new word; a "noun phrase." Types of compound nouns always include a "common noun" but can also use a verb, adjective, or even a second noun. Compound nouns give more information and context to the original word, and you’ll find them being used in English all the time.
Press the arrow for some examples.
Examples of compound nouns using nouns.
Here are some examples of compound nouns that also have a verb.
And finally, compound nouns that use adjectives.
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In English, nouns can either be counted or can’t. A noun that can be counted usually has an "s" on the end of it to indicate that it has been pluralized. Countable nouns, also known as count nouns, can have an additional word before them, giving you more detail about how many/much of the particular nouns there are. Here are some examples:
On the other hand, some English words can not be counted. These words are called uncountable nouns, "mass nouns," or "non-count nouns." These nouns can’t be altered or pluralized with an "s" and only have a singular entity. Here are some uncountable noun examples:
Test your knowledge with our short types of nouns test designed for grades 3-5. Got a question wrong? Press reset and try again.
What type of noun is FLOCK in the following sentence?
A flock of birds.
Choose the best answer from the choices below
What type of noun is LUNCHTIME in the following sentence?
I’m coming home at lunchtime.
Choose the best answer from the choices below
What type of noun is RESEARCH PAPER the following sentence?
Did he complete his research paper?
Choose the best answer from the choices below
What type of noun is HERSELF in the following sentence?
Did she just invite herself?
Choose the best answer from the choices below
Now, that was a lot to take in, but as we wrap up, you should have a good understanding of how nouns work, the many different types of noun entities that exist, and which ones you’ll be using to improve your English. The study of language takes time, and you shouldn’t expect to be an expert straight away; this stuff is tough! Just remember to focus on the nouns you struggle with; learn from the examples, repeat them in your day-to-day life, and in no time, you’ll be a noun master. Good luck!