Noun (noun): a word (except a pronoun) that identifies a person, place or thing, or names one of them (proper noun)
The simple definition is: a person, place or thing. Here are some examples:
person: man, woman, teacher, Raju, Madhu, Jerry
place: home, office, town, countryside, England. India
thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey
**Note that any of the above can also be referred to by a pronoun. And note that names like Jerry,Madhu, Raju, India or England are called "proper nouns".
The problem with the simple definition above is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can also be a verb.
ending
position
function
There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, for example:
-ity → nationality
-ment → appointment
-ness → happiness
-ation → relation
-hood → childhood
But this is not true for the word endings of all nouns. For example, the noun "spoonful" ends in -ful, but the adjective "careful" also ends in -ful.
We can often recognise a noun by its position in the sentence.
Nouns often come after a determiner (a determiner is a word like a, an, the, this, my, such):
a relief
an afternoon
the doctor
this word
my house
such stupidity
Nouns often come after one or more adjectives:
a great relief
a peaceful afternoon
the tall, Indian doctor
this difficult word
my brown and white house
such crass stupidity
Nouns have certain functions (jobs) in a sentence, for example:
subject of verb: Doctors work hard.
object of verb: He likes coffee.
subject and object of verb: Teachers teach students.
*** Note : whenever you look at a sentence ask yourselves questions like - What, Who, Where - answers to this usually a noun.
Eg: The squirrels finished the entire basket of nuts.
Who finished the entire basket of nuts? - The squirrels
What did the squirrels finish ? - the nuts
Where were the nuts kept? - in the basket
But the subject or object of a sentence is not always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a phrase.
In the sentence "My doctor works hard", the noun is "doctor" but "hard" is not noun.
Proper Noun: A Proper Noun is the special name of a particular person or place
Examples:
Shweta is my friend.
I live in Kolkata.
Chandigarh is a beautiful place.
Harsh is an intelligent boy.
All the words in italics are Proper Nouns. Sweta is the name of a particular person. Kolkata is the name of a particular place. Such nouns that are all names of particular persons, places or things are called Proper Nouns.
Note: A Proper Noun always begins with a capital letter.
Common Noun: A Common Noun is a name given in common to every person or thing of the same class or kind.
Examples:
I like bananas.
It is a beautiful park.
He flies a kite in the sky.
Girls are playing.
All the words in italics are Common Nouns. Bananas are the names of common fruits or things. Park is the name of a common place. Kite is the name of a common thing and girls are names of common persons.
Collective Noun: When a noun stands for a collection of persons or things, considered as one complete whole, it is called Collective Noun.
Examples:
I purchased a bunch of grapes.
I saw a herd of cattle.
Our class consists of forty students.
There was a big crowd on the road.
All the words in italics are Collective Nouns. The word bunch is the name given to a collection of grapes. Similarly, the word crowd is the name given to a collection of people.
Material Noun: A noun which stands for the matter or substance of which things are made is called Material Noun.
Examples:
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.
Abstract Noun: An Abstract Noun is the name given to a quality, a state or a concept. These are something which we can neither see nor touch but which we can only feel or think of them.
Examples:
I always speak the truth.
King Solomon is known for his wisdom.
The beauty of the place attracted me.
Kindness is always rewarded.
All the words in italics are Abstract Nouns. They are the names of something that we can only think of or feel.
A List of Collective Nouns
an army of soldiers ● a band of musicians
a board of directors ● a bouquet of flowers
a bunch of grapes, bananas, keys ● a bevy of girls
a bench of judges ● a bundle of sticks
a crew of sailors ● a clump of trees
a constellation of stars ● a flock of birds, sheep
a fleet of cars, ships ● a gang of thieves
a herd of cattle, buffaloes ● a litter of pigs, puppies
a library of books ● a mob of people
a pack of wolves, thieves, cards ● a swarm of bees
a set of clubs, tools ● a string of beads
a suite of rooms ● a shoal of fish
a team of oxen, players ● a troupe of dancers
a tuft of grass ● a troop of lions, monkeys
Exercise 1
Pick out the Nouns in the following sentences and say whether they are Proper, Common, Material, Collective or Abstract.
Raman is a good boy.
One should believe in truth.
A soldier is respected for his bravery.
Ornaments are made of gold and silver.
The case was decided by a bench of judges.
Mumbai is a big city.
The team won the match.
Blindness is the greatest curse.
Wisdom is better than strength.
This table is made of steel.
Proper noun
Common noun
Material noun
Collective noun
Abstract noun
Raman, Mumbai
boy, one, soldier , ornaments, city, table
gold, silver, steel
bench, team
truth, bavery, blindness, wisdom, strength