types and 10 examples of noun.
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Answer:
There are several different types of noun, as follows:
Common noun. A common noun is a noun that refers to people or things in general, e.g. boy, country, bridge, city, birth, day, happiness.
Proper noun. ...
Concrete noun. ...
Abstract noun. ...
Collective nouns. ...
Count and mass nouns.
Types of Nouns
Traditionally, we are taught that nouns are words that refer to people, places, things, or ideas.
Modern linguistics find this definition to be problematic because it relies on a non-specific term, such as "thing," to define what a noun is. Yet, most people's understanding of nouns is based on this traditional definition.
Under that umbrella term, there are several types of nouns, so, let's clear things up and take a look at each type separately. Below, you'll find the major classifications of the different types of nouns in English, along with examples so you can see these types of nouns in action.
To learn more, click on the links for each type of noun to read fuller explanations and see further examples.
Common Nouns
Common nouns refer to general, unspecific categories. So, while "Nebraska" is a proper noun because it names a specific state, state is a common noun because it can refer to any state. While "Harvard" refers to a particular place of higher learning, the common noun university can refer to any school of that type.
Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are nouns that refer to specific people, places or things. Proper nouns like Nebraska, Steve, or White House are capitalized to show their distinction from common nouns, such as "state," "man" or "building."
Concrete Nouns
Concrete nouns are nouns that refer to things that exist physically and can be touched, seen, smelled, felt, or tasted. Here are some examples:
Can I pet your dog?
Please pass the salt.
Your sweater is made of such soft wool.
Concrete nouns can be perceived by at least one of our five senses.
Abstract Nouns
More ethereal, theoretical concepts use abstract nouns to refer to them. Ideas, qualities or conditions like love, hate, power, and time are all examples of abstract nouns.
All you need is love.
There's so much hate for the new Star Wars trilogy.
We must use this time wisely.
In these sentences, the abstract nouns refer to concepts or feelings that cannot be understood concretely or touched physically.
Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are nouns that refer to a group of something in particular. Often, collective nouns are used to refer to groups of animals. Consider the following sentences.
Look at that gaggle of geese.
There used to be herds of wild buffalo on the prairie.
A crowd of kids is in the pool today.
The team did a great job in the competition.
Compound Nouns
A compound noun contains two or more words that join together to make a single noun. Compound nouns can be two words written as one (closed form), such as softball and toothpaste; words that are hyphenated (hyphenated form), such as six-pack and son-in-law; or separate words (open form), such as post office and upper class that go together by meaning.
Countable Nouns
Countable nouns can occur in both single and plural forms, can be modified by numbers, and can co-occur with quantifying determiners, such as many, most, more, several, etc.
For example, the noun "bike" is a countable noun.
There is a bike in that garage.
In this example, the word bike is singular because it refers to one bike that is sitting in a particular garage.
However, "bike" can also occur in the plural form.
There are six bikes in that garage.
In this example, the plural noun bikes refers to more than one bike because it is being modified by the number six.
In addition, countable nouns can be used with determiners like "several," rather than a number.
In that garage, there are several bikes.
Uncountable Nouns
On the other hand, some nouns are not countable, you'll see them referred to as uncountable, non-countable or mass nouns. For example, the word "clutter" is an uncountable noun.
The garage is full of clutter.
This sentence makes grammatical sense. However, the following example does not.
That garage is full of clutters.
Uncountable nouns usually cannot take plural forms. Therefore, clutters isn't grammatical.
Liquids and powders are among the items that are considered mass nouns, such as milk, rice, wood, sand, water, and flour. Other more abstract examples that cannot be counted would be air, freedom, or intelligence.
Material Nouns
Material nouns refer to materials or substances from which things are made. Let's take the word "cotton." Cotton is an adjective when used in "cotton dress." However, cotton is a material noun when used to describe the crop. For example:
We use cotton from a local farm in our t-shirts.
Possessive Nouns
Possessive nouns demonstrate ownership over something else. The best way to spot them is to look for an apostrophe. Here are some examples:
Melissa's imagination ran wild as she daydreamed about her trip to Ireland.
Ireland's landscape is truly breathtaking.
The puppy's favorite toy is the squeaky newspaper.
These nouns are demonstrating ownership, but they're also still persons, places, or things.