Nouns

4.1.2 Nouns A noun is a word that names person, place, concept, or object. A noun is a word that names something, such as a person, place, thing, or idea. What are examples of nouns? Nouns can be living things (Keanu Reeves or cat), places (beach or Detroit), things (ruler or PlayStation 5), or ideas (nihilism or the theory of evolution). 4.1.2.1 Types of Nouns Nouns can be broadly classified into: 1.1 Proper Nouns: Nouns that are used to name a person, place or thing specifically are called a proper noun. Proper noun is the noun used to name individual person, place or any organization. It is written with its first letter in capital and does not matter the place of its occurrence in the sentence. Means, it is always written with its first letter in capital whether comes in the starting, middle or end of the sentence. In order to know the proper use of proper noun in the sentence, you need to know the difference between proper noun and common noun as many of us generally get confused between both. 1.2Common nouns: Common nouns are those nouns that refer to a generic item, group or place. This means that, unlike proper nouns, they are not used to identify specific people, places or objects. Common noun is a word which we use in the sentence for something such as cat, boy, girl, lake, bridge, etc. It is completely different from the proper noun (which we use in the sentence to something such as Peter, Mohan, UK, India, The London Bridge, etc). We use common noun in the sentences to denote a class of person, place, or thing whereas proper nouns are used for a specific person, place, or thing. Common nouns are name to general items rather than the specific ones. Some common examples of the common nouns in your living room or study room are like remote, lamp, TV, chair, couch, window, paintings, bed, pillow, candle, table, door, etc. We can see the examples of common nouns very easily everywhere in our surroundings. Examples of common nouns outside the home are mall, restaurant, hotel, street, bathroom, school, station, college, friend, office, temple, park, post office, backyard, beach, supermarket, pet store, teacher, police officer, clerk, manager, window dresser, shoplifter, writer, delivery driver, coffee shop, waiter, boyfriend, girlfriend, cousin, birds, animals, etc. Some common nouns in our kitchen are like washing machine, refrigerator, stove, window, toaster, oven, utensils, coffee maker, wallpaper, sink, plate, glass, coffee mug, cup, bowl, mixer, juicer, pan, cooker, etc. For Example: • It is the sound of my alarm clock. (the word 'clock' is a common noun as it identifies a thing). • My car stands in the garage. ('car' is a common noun as it names a thing) • My yard is full of green trees. ('yard' is a common noun as it names a place) • Sky looks very clear in the morning. ('sky' is a common noun in this sentence) • I go to school by bus. ('school' is a common noun as it names a place) 4.1.2.2 Categorized Examples We have provided below the list of common nouns under various categories such as: People: brother, sister, mother, father, child, toddler, baby, teenager, grandfather, grandmother, writer, student, philosopher, teacher, minister, president, businessperson, photographer, salesclerk, woman, man, person, driver, officer, doctor, engineer, principal, peon, labor, nurse, shopkeeper, gatekeeper, sweeper, salesman, friend, boy, girl, madam, sir, and so many. Places: country, city, town, village, state, building, continent, shop, restaurant, hotel, school, park, coffee shop, zoo, water park, mall, house, college, laboratory, library, classroom, temple, etc. Ideas: happy, sad, love, respect, honor, hate, patriotism, pride, etc. Animals: cow, buffalo, lion, tiger, dear, fish, bear, dog, goat, cat, tortoise, alligator, bird, wolf, snake, frog, horse, ant, donkey, etc. Things: chair, table, truck, book, pencil, eraser, box, iPad, iPhone, computer, coat, boots, TV, remote, bed, fan, coaster, camera, mobile, etc. Relatives: father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, daughter, son, brother, sister, baby, child, children, uncle, aunt, etc. Fruits and Vegetables: grapes, apple, guava, peach, fig, banana, apricot, lettuce, broccoli, celery, carrot, spinach, cabbage, etc. 4.1.3 Collective Nouns: A collective noun is a naming word that is used to denote a group of objects, animals or people. Collective nouns for groups of animals o A pride of lions o A flock of sheep o A swarm of bees o A herd of elephants • Collective nouns for groups of people o A band of musicians o A board of directors o A crew of sailors o A company of actors • Collective nouns for a number of things/objects o A pair of shoes o A chain of mountains o A fleet of ships o A bunch of grapes 4.2 1.4 Concrete Nouns: A concrete noun refers to objects that are material and can be perceived by the human senses. Examples:  The book is on the table.  I had a cup of coffee.  Sharon opened the windows.  Hardy goes to school by bus. 1.5 Abstract Nouns: Any entity that cannot be perceived by the five senses of the human body are called an abstract noun. An abstract noun is defined as ‘a noun, for example, beauty or freedom, that refers to an idea or a general quality, not to a physical object’, according to the Oxford Learners Dictionary. According to Collins Dictionary, ‘an abstract noun refers to a quality or idea rather than to a physical object.’ 4.2.1.1 Examples of Abstract Nouns Check out the following examples of abstract nouns. • Glory • Honour • Courage • Love • Truth • Honesty • Symbolism • Puritanism • Reflection 4.2.1.2 Converting Verbs and Adjectives into Abstract Nouns A verb or an adjective can be converted into an abstract noun by the addition of a suffix and vice versa. Have a look at the examples given below. 4.2.1.2.1.1 CONVERTING VERBS TO ABSTRACT NOUNS • Move – movement • Reflect – reflection • Perceive – perception • Conscious – Consciousness • Appear – Appearance • Resist – Resistance • Appoint – appointment • Enjoy – enjoyment • Assign – assignment • Inform – information • Decide – decision • Describe – description • Determine – determination • Block – blockade 4.2.1.3 Converting Adjectives to Abstract Nouns 4.2.1.4 Brave – bravery • Truth – truthful • Honest – honesty • Weak – weakness • Happy – happiness • Sad – sadness • Mad – madness • Responsible – responsibility • Possible – possibility • Probable – probability • Able – ability • Independent – independence • Free – freedom • Silent – silence Some words can function both as a noun and a verb without any change in spelling. Here are some examples for you. • o Love as a verb – I love the way she works with it. Love as a noun – Love is one of the qualities everyone should possess • o Divorce as a verb – Harry cannot divorce his wife. Divorce as a noun – Are you getting a divorce? • o Aim as a verb – You have to aim for the highest grades. Aim as a noun – What is your aim? • o Battle as a verb – Teena had to battle hard to stay in shape. Battle as a noun – Do you know who won the battle? • Play as a verb – The children are playing outdoor games. Play as a noun – The Shakespearean play was performed by young artists. Examples: 1. o Love is a strong emotion. o Honesty is the best policy. o It takes a lot of courage to raise your voice and stand up against injustice. o You should not misuse the freedom you are given. 4.2.1.5 MATERIAL NOUN Material noun can be defined as “Material Noun are names of materials or substances out of which things are made. Ex: gold, iron, silver etc.” Material nouns are not countable means we cannot count them because they are in the forms of liquid, semi-liquid or solid. This noun is especially called as material noun because nouns in this class are almost materials like cloth, air, metal, gold, salt, iron, silver, steel, brass, bronze, copper, aluminium, lead, coal, coral, gem, diamond, glass, fibre, calcium, plastic, rubber, paper, cement, paint, plywood, synthetics, shampoo, soap, perfume, wine, tar, chemical, rexene etc. Sometimes we cannot make the plural forms of material noun. For examples: • Cotton dresses are very cheap and comfortable. • My mom purchased a gold ring for me. • I drink milk in the silver • My father has a shop for diamonds. • Calcium is a good mineral for health. • Plastic is made up of many molecules of ethylene. • There are many utensils in my kitchen made up of iron. • Taj Mahal is built using marbles. • I drink milk daily in the night. • Most of the industries use fibre. • In the ancient time, most of the kitchen utensils were made up of brass. • Material nouns from nature: water, air, silver, gold, iron, copper, sand, coal, rock, sunlight, rain, earth, salt, etc. • Material nouns from animals: egg, meat, honey, milk, silk, leather, wool, etc. • Material nouns from plants: cotton, food, oil, wood, jute, coffee, medicine, tea, rubber, perfume, etc. • Man made material nouns: acid, alcohol, asphalt, brick, cement, butter, chalk, ghee, cheese, dacron, ebony, enamel, felt, gelatin, paraffin, cloth, etc. 4.2.1.6 Countable Noun: The nouns that can be counted are called countable nouns. Countable nouns can take an article: a, an, the. Example: Chair, table, bat, ball, etc. (you can say 1 chair, 2 chairs, 3 chairs – so chairs are countable) 4.2.1.7 Non-countable Noun: The nouns that cannot be counted are called non-countable nouns. Example: Water, sugar, oil, salt, etc. (you cannot say “1 water, 2 water, 3 water” because water is not countable) 4.2.2 What is plural noun? Plural nouns are words that refer to more than one person, place or thing. They are often used in sentences where we want to talk about a group of people, animals, or things. Let’s take the sentence “I am teaching a class this semester.” We can change it around and say “The students have been working hard all semester long.” In the first sentence, “class” is singular and in the second sentence, “students” is plural. That means you need to use a proper noun (singular or plural) according to the situation. It may not seem like much of a difference at first but it will make your writing sound awkward if you don’t get it right! The best way is to learn the rules of plural nouns. 4.2.2.1 Plural Noun Rules We’ll break down the rules so you’ll never get your plural nouns wrong again…or if you do happen to make a mistake, we’ve got some tips on how to We add ‘-s’ to the end of regular nouns to make them plurals. For examples, Singular Plural Chair Chairs Table Tables Pencil Pencils Book Books Cat Cats In some cases, we add suffix “-es” to the nouns ending in “o”. See examples below. Examples Singular Plural Tomato Tomatoes Potato Potatoes Mosquito Mosquitoes Echo Echoes Zero Zeroes In some Latin or Greek words (foreign words) ending in “-o”, we add suffix ‘-s’. For example, Singular Plural Avocado Avocados Photo Photos Video Videos Studio Studios Radio Radios When singular noun ends in ‘-us’, we replace ‘-us’ with ‘-i’. Examples are, Singular Plural Cactus Cacti Fungus Fungi Focus Foci Nucleus Nuclei In singular noun ending on ‘-y’ (when the letter before -y is vowel), we add ‘-s’ to the end to make the noun plural, for example, Singular Plural Boy Boys Alloy Alloys Day Days Ray Rays Guy Guys In singular noun ending on ‘-y’ (when the letter before -y is consonant), we replace ‘-y’ with ‘-ies’ to make the noun plural, for example Singular Plural Lady Ladies City Cities Spy Spies Penny Pennies Army Armies In some cases, the singular nouns ending in ‘-s’ or ‘-z’, the last letter is doubled plus we add ‘-es’ to the end. See the examples, Singular Plural Gas Gasses Quiz Quizzes Fez Fezzes In many cases, the singular noun ending in ‘-f’ or ‘-fe’, we replace the ‘-f’ or ‘-fe’ with ‘-ves’. For example, Singular Plural Thief Thieves Wife Wives Loaf Loaves Half Halves Knife Knives There are some exceptions where the rule does not apply, Examples are roof -> roofs, belief -> beliefs, cliff -> cliffs In case the noun ends in ‘-on’, we replace ‘-on’ with ‘-a’ to make it plural, for example Singular Plural Criterion Criteria Phenomenon Phenomena In case the singular noun is ending in ‘-is’, to make the noun plural, ‘-is’ is replaced with ‘-es’. For examples Singular Plural Oasis Oases Thesis Theses Basis Bases Crisis Crises Diagnosis Diagnoses If the nouns ends in ‘-um’, last letters ‘-um’ are replaced with ‘-a’ in plural form. Examples are Singular Plural Datum Data Agendum Agenda Medium Media Bacterium Bacteria Memorandum Memoranda In some case, the singular noun is ending in ‘-ex’ or ‘-ix’, the plural will end in ‘-ices’ Examples are given below: Singular Plural Matrix Matrices Index Indices Vertex Vertices Codex Codices There are several singular nouns which do not follow any of the above rules while making them plural Singular Plural Foot Feet Child Children Mouse Mice Louse Lice Man Men Woman Women Goose Geese People Person Alumnus Alumni Genus Genera Many nouns have the same singular and plural form. Fro example, plural nouns for sheep is ‘sheep’. See some more examples. Singular Plural Fish Fish Tuna Tuna Salmon Salmon Deer Deer Gross Gross Ice Ice Species Species Some nouns do not have plural forms. Examples are • Love • Hatred • Lust • Happiness • Kindness 4.2.2.2 Types of Plurals A lot of people don’t know about the types of plural nouns, but it’s important to understand that there are three types of plurals:- 1. Regular Plurals 2. Irregular Plurals 3. Compound Words The plural noun rule is one of those things that can trip you up when you’re writing sentences 4.2.2.3 Regular Plurals Regular plurals end in s or es. For example, bag -> bags, toy -> toys, pen -> pens etc. 4.2.2.4 Irregular Plurals Irregular plurals have a different spelling for their endings than they do for singulars. For example ox -> oxen, goose -> geese etc. 4.2.2.5 Compound Plurals Compound words are made up of two words put together to make one word. For example, “bookcase” is a compound word with two parts – book and case. To form the plural form of this word, we would simply add an ‘s’ at the end (bookcases). It’s easy to remember these rules if you think about them like this – just add an ‘es’ for regular plurals and an ‘s’ for irregular ones! 4.2.2.6 Singular Noun Example Sentences 1. Fungus is vicious for human health. 2. I need a knife to cut the apple. 3. There is only one chair in the hall. 4. Runabout is the most popular boat in the United States. 5. Tom has been driving the same car for the last ten years. 6. Do you think life is so easy? 7. I love to eat continental food. 8. Tina bought a new house in a colony near the forest. 9. My room is spacious and well furnished. 10. The chef baked a pie cake for the guests. 11. Do you have a camera to record the action? 12. The cat is sitting on the roof. 13. I avoid junk food because it is unhealthy. 14. They booked a table in the restaurant. 15. The baby is crying with hunger. 16. Do you still listen to radio programs? 17. The rug was so dirty that I had to vacuum it. 18. I can’t believe you left your clothes on the floor! 19. You’re going to have to clean up after yourself if you want dinner tonight. 20. In this game, players are given a singular noun and must use it in a sentence. 21. It’s time to go home now, so I’ll see you later! 22. The most common type of security system is a door alarm that will sound when someone opens your front door. 23. I’m going to a party this weekend. 24. Who is watching television? 25. Our school was founded by a man named John Smith who wanted to create a safe space for children and teenagers who were bullied at their old schools. 4.2.2.7 Plural Nouns Example Sentences The plural noun example sentences are often used when you want to refer to a group of people or things. 1. Fungi are vicious for human health. 2. There are fifty chairs in the hall. 3. I avoid oily and high-calorie foods. 4. Pakistan is the largest exporters of footballs all over the world. 5. Jackson has a great collection of coins and stamps. 6. All the friends agreed to spend a day in the jungle camp. 7. There are many ways to whiten teeth naturally. 8. A fleet of boats was sailing in the river. 9. There are 195 countries in the world. 10. Men and women are born with 12 pairs of ribs. 11. She cut the pizza into equal halves. 12. How many subjects have you completed in this syllabus? 13. The costs of the new house are high. 14. It’s important that you know what the words mean and when they can be used. 15. The pencils are sharpened. 16. The students have their assignments due tomorrow. 17. I think both the computers need to be fixed. 18. There is a lot of food for everyone to eat. 19. We’ve been waiting on you guys forever! 20. As a result of the recent increase in crime rates, many people are opting to buy home security systems. 21. These alarms can be easily installed on existing doors with just a few screws and some wiring. 22. You don’t need any special tools or equipment – all you’ll need is an electric drill and some patience. 23. There are three cats in the yard. 24. How many people work for your company? 25. A group of students is waiting at the bus stop 30 minutes before school starts.