Nouns: Definition & Types with Examples

What Is a Noun?

Nouns refer to persons, animals, places, things, ideas, or events, etc. Nouns encompass most of the words of a language.

Noun can be a/an –  

• Person – a name for a person: – Max, Julie, Catherine, Michel, Bob, etc.
• Animal – a name for an animal: – dog, cat, cow, kangaroo, etc.
• Place – a name for a place: – London, Australia, Canada, Mumbai, etc.
• Thing – a name for a thing: – bat, ball, chair, door, house, computer, etc.
• Idea – A name for an idea: – devotion, superstition, happiness, excitement, etc.

Examples of Noun in sentence:

• Alex is a wonderful player.
• Sydney Lions is the team he plays for.
• He was not born in this country.
• Sydney is the city he lives in.
• He is a man of dream.

Different Types of Noun:

• Proper Noun
• Common Noun
• Abstract Noun
• Concrete Noun
• Countable Noun
• Non-countable Noun
• Collective Noun
• Compound Noun

Proper Noun:

A proper noun is a name which refers only to a single person, place, or thing and there is no common name for it. In written English, a proper noun always begins with capital letters.

Example:

• Alex is a wonderful player.
• He plays for Sydney Sixers.
• He was born in England.
• He moved to Australia when he was young.
• He lives in Sydney.
• He plays for Kolkata in IPL.

Common Noun:

A common noun is a name for something which is common for many things, person, or places. It encompasses a particular type of things, person, or places.

Example:

• Alex is a wonderful player.
• Sydney Sixers is the team he plays for.
• He was not born in this country.
• Sydney is the city he lives in.
• He is a man of dream.
• He plays cricket with intensity.

Abstract Noun:

An abstract noun is a word for something that cannot be seen but is there. It has no physical existence. Generally, it refers to ideas, qualities, and conditions.

Example:

• I have a cricket bat in my closet.
• The bat is made of wood from a tree.
• My brother has a mobile phone.
• The phone is made of plastic and metal.
• I need some water for the cake.
• The jug is on the table.

Concrete Noun:

A concrete noun is the exact opposite of abstract noun. It refers to the things we see and have physical existence.

Example:

• An apple is placed on the dining table.
• I can see a lot of bookcases in the library.
• A baby boy is playing on the couch.
• He is one of the best designers in our city.
• The size of an Elephant is so big compared to other animals.

Countable Noun:

The nouns that can be counted are called countable nouns. Countable nouns can take an article: a, an, the.

Example:

• I bought a book of neurology.
• The book has 269 pages in it.
• It has 39 chapters in it.
• Each chapter covers 5 topics.
• Alex has four pencils.

Non-countable Noun:

The nouns that cannot be counted are called non-countable nouns.

Example:

• I need some drinking water.
• Have some juice, please.
• Do you need some gas for your car?
• We need a lot of money for the business.
• Do you want some milk?

Collective Noun:

A collective noun is a word for a group of things, people, or animals, etc.

Example:

• Our class took a field trip to the natural history museum.
• The herd of bison ran across the prairie, leaving a massive dust cloud in its wake.
• We waited anxiously for the jury to come to a verdict.
• This year’s basketball team includes three players who are over six feet tall.
• Napoleon’s army was finally defeated at Waterloo.

Compound Noun:

Sometimes two or three nouns appear together, or even with other parts of speech, and create idiomatic compound nouns. Idiomatic means that those nouns behave as a unit and, to a lesser or greater degree, amount to more than the sum of their parts.

Example:

• A thief caught red-handed stealing things in the bedroom.
• A barber makes a perfect haircut of mine.
• He is asking to write something on the blackboard.
• Polar bears live in the north and south poles.
• He learns swimming in the swimming pool.

Singular Noun:

Singular Nouns are namely, singular in number. The base form of any noun is naturally singular and so that is the Singular Noun.

Examples:

• I have a pet duck.
• That big bush is beside our house.
• He is the man of the house.
• Ron’s pet mouse is too vicious for such a little creature.
• Their child has a sound sense of situational adjustments.
• I’d like that small fish, please.

Plural Noun:

The plural forms of the Singular Nouns are Plural Nouns. These nouns determine more than one element.

Examples:

• There are seven belts in the seat.
• Let’s unpack those boxes.
• Our house is scattered with a herd of mice.
• I’ve chased the sheep back into the shed.
• These people are getting on my nerves.

Regular Noun:

Regular Nouns do not change in spelling when changed into plural; only the regular plural suffixes -s or -es are attached to it according to the grammar and spelling agreement.

Examples: 

Singular Noun	Plural Noun
Duck	Ducks
Belt	Belts
Box	Boxes
Bush	Bushes
Apple	Apples

Irregular Noun:

Irregular Nouns do not have plural suffixes added to them for their plural form and they monumentally change in spelling.

Examples:

Singular Noun	Plural Noun
Man	Men
Ox	Oxen
Fox	Vixen
Goose	Geese
Mouse	Mice

Possessive Noun:

The noun that owns something or has something in its possession is the Possessive Noun. These nouns usually end with an apostrophe before one “s” that determines the possession of the object(s) that follows.

Example: 

• My cat’s litter needs changing very soon.
• Jacky’s wallet is stolen.
• Your pet’s feeder is missing.

Verbal Noun:

Verb + ing often act as the noun/subject of the sentence instead of posing as a verb and then they become a Verbal Noun. Gerunds can be Verbal Nouns at times.

Example: 

Verb	Verbal Noun
Run	Running
Smoke	Smoking
Kill	Killing
Treat	Treating

• Smoking is injurious to health.
• Killing the runaway tiger is not a solution.
• Running for dear life is what thieves do.

Material Noun:

Substances made out of tangible materials are usually Material Nouns. These are Common Uncountable Nouns by nature since they mostly determine a certain sector type of product.

Examples:

• I lack the common fascination with gold.
• Coal produces nonrenewable energy.
• Humans are 70% water.

Functions of Nouns

Nouns can be used as a subject, a direct object, and an indirect object of a verb; as an object of a preposition; and as an adverb or adjective in sentences. Nouns can also show possession.

Subject: The company is doing great. Roses are the flowers of love.

Direct object: I finally bought a new mobile.

Indirect object: Max gave Carol another chocolate.

Object of preposition: Roses are the flowers of love.

Adverb: The train leaves today.

Adjective: The office building faces the mall.

Possession: The lion’s cage is dangerous. My brother’s daughter is adorable.