Kinds of Noun | 7 kinds of Noun with Examples

Definition of Nouns

A noun can be the name of anything, any person, place, thing, idea, concept or emotion

Examples are boy, woman, plane, auditorium, love, kindness, bravery

Types of Nouns

  • Common Nouns
  • Proper Nouns
  • Collective Nouns
  • Abstract Nouns
  • Material Nouns
  • Concrete Nouns
  • Compound Nouns
Kinds of Noun, 7 kinds of Noun with Examples, Types of nouns, noun kinds, proper nouns, common noun, abstract noun, material noun, concrete noun, compound noun

Common and Proper Nouns

Name given to any non-specific thing,

It can be anything not specified, a girl, a ship, a mountain in general

Names of particular things

If we specify something individual with a name it becomes a proper noun

Martha, Titanic, Mount Everest

Proper Nouns always start with a capital letter.

Some Examples of Common Nouns

Boy

College

City

Country

Month

University

Day

Examples of Proper Nouns

Chris

Royal College

Montreal

Japan

October

The University of Guelph

Monday

There are few exceptions like names of seasons, games and animals are not proper nouns and general rules of common nouns apply to them for capitalization.

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are names given to a collection of objects, people, animals etc.

We use collective nouns in our language every day.

Some examples of collective nouns are:

Class(group of students)

Army(group of soldiers)

Team(group of players and workers)

crew(workers on a ship, plane, etc)

Galaxy(collection of stars)

Bunch(a collection of keys, flowers, bananas)

Gang(a group of criminals)

Flight(multiple stairs)

Abstract Noun

Abstract nouns are names given to non-physical ideas or concept like, freedom, happiness, courage, fear, agenda, activity,

We cannot touch or see them in a physical form but they are understood mentally.

Some examples in sentences:

Life is short.

Time is a great healer.

Truth is beauty.

He has a great sense of humour.

Material Noun

Material nouns are names of materials, substances or ingredients we can use to make other things. They are tangible things. Material nouns can be grouped into the following categories :

 Metals like iron, gold, silver, copper, …

 Edible materials or substances measured in bulk like tea, sugar, rice, barley, …

Geological bodies: sand, mud, rock, etc.

Concrete Noun

Concrete nouns are persons or things that one can perceive with the senses such as sight, hearing, smell, touch or taste. It is a type of a common noun.

Some examples are:

 Car, cat, desk, phone, book, pilot etc.

Compound Noun

Compound nouns are two or more words joined together with a hyphen or without it to convey a different sense.

Some examples are:

Football, playground, bookstore,

mother-in-law etc.

Overview of the kinds of Nouns

Common Nouns-unspecific things or people.

Proper Noun– specific things, places, people, start with a capital letter.

Collective Noun-name of group or Collection.

Abstract Noun– the name of emotion, idea, nonphysical thing, cannot be sensed by five senses.

Material Nouns-substances, metals, ingredients used to make other things.

Concrete Nouns can be perceived with senses.

Compound Nouns are two or three nouns put together to convey a different sense.


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