Noun | What Are Nouns? Different Types of Nouns

We can see nouns in any sentence when we talk about writing, but do you know how many nouns there are in grammar, and do you know how to use them?

Nouns

What Is a Noun?

A noun is nothing more than a word that is going to name something, be it a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns in sentences play the role of subject, indirect and direct object, the complement of the subject, object complement, or abjective.

Examples:

• Let me give you some secrets.
• Life finds a way.
• With great work comes great responsibility.
• Her biggest regret was not traveling more.
• The weary army marched on.
• The congregation gathered to worship.

How to Identify a Noun in a Sentence?

Suffix

Certain word endings can show that the word is a noun, as we show you in this case they show that a word is a noun, for example:

• -ity → to express nationality
• -ment → to refer to an appointment
• -ness → to express happiness
• -ation → define a relation
• -hood → when we talk about childhood

Note: But this does not happen in all the endings of the words, not all are nouns.

Position in the Sentence

Often we may be able to recognize nouns in sentences by their position within the sentence.

Nouns, you usually find them after the determiner ( an, the, this, my, such):

• A relief
• An afternoon
• The doctor
• This word
• My home
• Such stupidity

Also, nouns are usually after one or more adjectives:

• A great emotion
• A quiet night
• Tall Russian doctor
• This difficult work
• My black and white house

Types of Nouns

There are a variety of nouns, here we explain what they are:

Common Nouns

When we refer to common nouns, it is when a noun refers to people and things in general, such as:

• Guy
• Country
• Bridge
• Town
• Birth

Proper Nouns

When we speak of proper nouns, it is a name with which a particular person, thing, or place is identified. For example:

• Steven
• Africa
• London
• Monday

Concrete Nouns

A concrete noun refers to things and people that exist physically and that you can see, touch, hear, smell, taste. For example:

• Dog
• Edifice
• Coffee
• Tree
• Rain
• Beach

Abstract Nouns

An abstract noun is the one that gives ideas, qualities, and conditions, in this case, they are those that cannot be touched, seen, or felt physically. For example:

• Truth
• Danger
• Happiness
• Weather
• Friendship
• Humor

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are those used to refer to groups of things and people such as:

• Audience
• Family
• Government
• Team

An example of a sentence could be:

“The whole family was sitting at the table.”

In British English, the previous sentence is correct, but it is also valid to use the collective noun as a plural together with a plural verb such as:

“The whole family was sitting at the table.”

A noun can belong to several categories, such as when we speak of happiness it is a common noun, at the same time it is an abstract noun while when we refer to Mount Everest, it is a concrete noun and a proper noun.

Learn more about irregular plural nouns in English.

List of Nouns

Here is the list of nouns in English.

• Waterfall
• Sister
• School
• Santa Claus
• River
• Restaurant
• Queen
• Ocean
• Nigeria
• Men
• London
• Kitty
• Kid
• Judge
• Jordan
• Jacket
• Ice
• Hand
• Girl
• Fire
• Farmer
• Farm
• Eye
• England
• Dog
• Car
• Boy
• Bed
• Baby
• Apple

Nouns | Infographic

Last Updated on August 3, 2023