HOW MANY TYPES OF ENGLISH NOUNS ARE THERE?

 

THE ENGLISH NOUN: CLASSIFICATION 

 

We use nouns to denote objects of various nature. Depending upon whether the names are specific or general, different kinds of nouns are recognised: Common and Proper nouns, Collective noun, and Abstract Noun. In addition, we also have Compound Noun. We shall  learn more about them. 

Common and Proper nouns 

Let us examine the following sentences: 

Boys play football.

The parrot likes corns. 

In the above sentences, the noun, boys, denotes in general males of certain age; football refers to certain objects to play with. Similarly, parrot is the general name given to certain types of birds and corns in general denotes certain types of grains. So, we use these noun words to name in general some items or things. All these nouns are common nouns.

 A Common Noun refers to the general names of living and non-living things. When we look around, what do we see? -  A man, a child, a salesperson, a desk, a chair, a lamp, a flower, a river, a town, a country, and so on. These are all general, common nouns.

On the other hand, in the sentences below, the words ‘Sam’ and ‘Ganges’ are used specifically to name a particular person and a well-known river, respectively.

             The Ganges is a mighty river.

Sam is again late for the class.

 Ganges and Sam are examples of proper nouns.

 A Proper Noun is more specific; it singles out one from many similar things. For example, Ganges is the name of a particular river among many rivers in India.  Sam is the name of a student among many in the class.

 A proper noun gives us the actual names of all animals, places, inanimate objects, things, or ideas that are grouped under the part of speech – Noun. The actual names of people are proper nouns; so are the names of states, streets, rivers, oceans, countries, companies, institutions, and so on.

 One of the easiest ways to fully appreciate the concept of proper nouns is to compare them with common nouns.

 Here are some example sentences to understand the concept. 

My sister has a dog. The dog’s name is Bruno. -- Here the word dog is a common noun, denoting a certain type of animal. Bruno is a proper noun, given specifically to a dog. 

Asoka was a wise king. -- Asoka is a proper noun; king is a common noun.

Russia is the largest country. -- Russia is a proper noun; country is a common noun. 

Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter. 

At times a word can be used as either a common noun or a proper noun. One rule for thumb is that if we are using the word as a title and name, it should be capitalised. 

For example, the word brother can either be a common or a proper noun. 

I often go to a movie with my brother.

“Would you like to go to a movie with me, Brother?” 

In the first example the word brother is used generally as a common noun. Just like when we address a group: Hello, brothers and sisters! In the second example, the word is like a name. In this instance the term brother can be replaced by an actual name, such as “Ravi”. For example, the sentence can be rephrased as: 

“Would you like to go to a movie with me, Ravi (Brother)?” 

Is rose a proper noun? This is a frequently asked question! 

The word rose stands for a certain type of flower that comes in various colours and forms. We also use the word rose to point out certain shades of colour. Hence, it is a common noun. Rose can be also the name of an individual, in that case it would be a proper noun. 

Collective Noun 

We often use certain words to denote the collection of things or gathering of living beings. For example, if we are dealing with many keys held together, we prefer to use the term bunch of keys; similarly, a bouquet of flowers, when various flowers are collected.  When there is a gathering of many people, we use the term crowd, or talk of pack of dogs to describe many dogs together. Words like bunch, bouquet,  crowd, or pack are termed as collective nouns. 

A collective noun is the name assigned to a group of people, animal or things taken together and spoken of as one whole. For example, in the phrase "a crowd of onlookers", crowd is a collective noun. Examples - 

The police dispersed the crowd.

The committee gave its unanimous approval.

 Some frequently used collective nouns are listed below: 

armada of ships army of caterpillars, frogs, soldiers bouquet of flowers brood of hens caravan of camels chain of islands class of students colony of ants, bats, beavers, lepers, congregation of worshippers crowd of onlookers deck of cards fleet of airplanes, ships flock of birds, sheep

gaggle of geese galaxy of stars herd of  buffalo, cattle, deer hive of bees litter of puppies, kitten pack of dogs, hounds, wolves panel of experts pride of lions, peacocks range of mountains school of fish sloth of bears swarm of ants, bees, flies wad of bills, money

Abstract Noun 

Abstract nouns allow us to express those things that exist only in our mind. It includes things which we cannot experience through our five senses, like relationships, states of being, anger, happiness, and the like. They can identify concepts, experiences, ideas, and feeling.  

Concrete Nouns are the opposite of abstract nouns; these refer to objects that we can experience with our senses.  

Some common abstract nouns are listed below: 

love, anger, hate, peace, loyalty, integrity, pride, courage, deceit, honesty, trust, compassion, bravery, misery, childhood, knowledge, patriotism, friendship, brilliance, truth, charity, justice, faith, kindness, pleasure, liberty, freedom, delight, despair, hope, awe, calm, joy, reality, wisdom. 

The names of Arts and Sciences (e.g., economics, music, medicine) are also abstract nouns. 

Abstract nouns are formed - 

i)                    From common nouns, for example: childhood from child, slavery from slave, kingdom from king, and so on.

ii)                  From adjectives, for example: bravery from brave, kindness from kind, honesty from honest, and so on.

iii)                From verbs, for example: growth from grow, laughter from laugh, pleasure from please, and so on. 

Compound Noun 

A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words, usually noun + noun or adjective + noun, but there are other combinations also. Each compound noun acts as a single unit and can be modified by adjectives and other nouns. 

Compound nouns can be formed in three different ways: 

i)         keeping space between words (railway station)

ii)       placing hyphen between words (six-pack)

iii)    with no space or hyphen between words (breakfast) 

Here are some examples of compound nouns: 

1.     Is this the bus stop for going to airport? (noun + noun)

2.     We always eat breakfast at 8 am. (verb + noun)

3.     My son refuses to have a haircut (noun + verb)

4.     Today my mother-in-law will visit us. (noun + prepositional phrase)

5.     What is the check-out time in this hotel? (verb + preposition)

Different varieties of English, and even different writers, may use the open, hyphenated or closed form for the same compound noun. It is partly a matter of style. There are no definite rules.

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