TYPES OF NOUNS STUDY MATERIAL 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. Examples: I drive car. My friend owns a restaurant. Proper noun A proper noun is a name that identifies a particular person, place, or thing, e.g. January, India, London, Monday, Shakespeare. Rules: In written English, proper nouns begin with capital letters. Proper adjectives or words made using proper nouns start with capital letters. (e.g. – Canadian, Indian, Shakespearian) Examples: I own a Ferrari. I am at Hotel Taj. Collective nouns Collective nouns refer to groups of people or things. e.g. audience, family, government, team, bunch, flock. Rules: Most collective nouns are treated as singular, with a singular verb. It can be plural if you mention each and every person in the group. Here are some examples of common collective nouns: People: board, choir, class, committee, family, group, jury, panel, staff Animals: flock, herd, pod, swarm Things: bunch, collection, fleet, flotilla, pack, set TYPES OF NOUNS STUDY MATERIAL Examples: The audience is happy. The audience are wearing red hats. a group of ships is called a fleet, a group of cows is called a herd, a grouped of lions is called a pride, a group of baseball players is called a team, a group of ants is called a colony, a group of caterpillars, frogs, soldiers is called an army, a group of circuits is called bank, a group of flowers is called bouquet, a group of worshippers is called congregation, a group of wolves is called pack, a group of trees is called orchard a group of books is called library a group of fishes is called school a group of ants, bats, beavers, lepers, penguins is called colony a group of grapes is called bunch a group of hyenas is called clan a group of kitten is called Kindle a group of singers is called choir a group of thieves is called gang a group of bees is called hive a group of clothes is called a wardrobe TYPES OF NOUNS STUDY MATERIAL a Batch of cookies a battery of tests a bed of clams, snakes a belt of asteroids a bevy of beauties a brood of hens a bundle of nerves a bunch of grapes a caravan of camels a chain of islands a class of students a cloud of gnats a clowder of cats a clutter of cats a clutch of chicks, eggs a company of actors a corps of giraffe a coven of witches a crowd of onlookers a culture of bacteria a deck/pack of cards a den of Cub Scouts, snakes, thieves a division of soldiers a drove of cattle a fleet of airplanes, ships a flock of birds, sheep a forest of trees Material noun A material noun is a noun which refers to a substance or ingredients used to make things. A thing’s content is a material noun. e.g. gold, silver, iron, copper, cotton wool, clay, glass, steel, stone Examples: We get wood from trees. I bought a gold necklace. TYPES OF NOUNS STUDY MATERIAL Abstract noun It is a noun which refers to something which you can feel. You cannot use your five sense organs to feel abstract noun. e.g. truth, brave, honesty, happiness, hunger. Examples: Sheela lost her faith in you. Don’t try to see my evil side. Concrete noun It is opposite to abstract noun. It refers to something which you can see, touch, smell, taste, and hear. It can be in the list of other types of noun. e.g. phone, tree, soap, teacher Examples: Would you please answer my phone? My teacher taught me about the Great Alexander.
