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The Noun—Kinds of Nouns


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Hi Friends,

In one of my previous articles I have already discussed about various Parts of Speech. In this article, I shall discuss about different Parts of Speech and their proper usage. Let us, first of all, take the case of Noun.

Definition: A Noun is the name of a person, place, animal, thing or quality. In other words, we can say that a Noun is a naming word.

Examples:
Name of a Person Name of a Place Name of a Thing Name of a Quality
Ajay Delhi Table Honesty
Arun Kolkata Food Love
Hamid Agra Book Hate
Sweta Dehradun House Anger
Rabina Lucknow Clock Devotion


Kinds of Nouns

There are five kinds of Nouns. They are:

1Proper Noun A Proper Noun is the name of a particular person, place, animal or thing. For example: Geeta, Sohan, Mumbai, Dog, Elephant, Philips etc.

Study carefully the list of some Proper Nouns:

1. America (country) 13. Earth (planet)
2. Ashoka (emperor) 14. Hindu (religion)
3. The Taj Mahal (historical Building) 15. Mango (fruit)
4. Mumbai (city) 16. Mahatma Gandhi (leader)
5. Principal (post) 17. The Ganga (river)
6. The Atlantic Ocean (ocean) 18. The Himalayas (mountains)
7. Elephant (animal) 19. The Bhakra Nangal (dam)
8. The Panama Canal (canal) 20. The Sahara (desert)
9. The Chinese (nation) 21. Negro (race)
10.The Rajdhani Express (train) 22. Marygold (flower)
11.The Red Sea (sea) 23. Peacock (bird)
12.Neem (tree) 24. Bee (insect)

Remembe:

(i) A Proper Noun always begins with a Capital Letter.
(ii)A Proper Noun has no Plural form.
(iii)No article is used before a Proper Noun.
(iv)However, if two Proper Nouns, having a certain quality in common, is compared, an article is placed before the Proper Noun, to which something is being compared.

Example: Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India.

In the above sentence, Kalidas has been compared to Shakespeare. Hence, article ‘the' has been used before Shakespeare.

2 Common Noun: - A Common Noun is the common name given to all persons, places, animals or things of the same class or kind.

Examples: man, flower, child, teacher, lion, fruit etc.

Types of Common Nouns

Common Nouns are of two types—Countable and Uncountable.

Countable Noun: A noun which can be counted is called a Countable Noun.

Example: boy, toy, cat, man, lion, tree, pen, etc.

Remember:

(i) Numerical (One, two…….) can be used with Countable Nouns.

Example:(i) two boys, three pens, etc.

(ii) Countable Nouns can be converted into plural
Example: book— books, girl—girls etc.

Non-Countable Noun: A noun which cannot be counted is called a Non-countable Noun.

Example: food, milk, joy, anger, water, sorrow, etc.

3 Collective Noun: - A Collective Noun is the name given to a group or collection of persons, animals or things considered as one complete whole.

Example: army, team, class, crowd, herd, flock, fleet etc.

4.Material Noun: A Material Noun is the name of the substance of which something can be made.

Example: iron, clay, gold, silver, milk, cotton, wool etc.

Remember:

Material Nouns do not have any plural form. However, when a Material Noun is used as a Common Noun, article can be used before it.

Example: The wood cutter was cutting wood in the forest. (Material Noun)
Two friends were passing through the woods. (Common Noun)

5.Abstract Noun: An Abstract Noun is the name of a quality, condition, state, thought or feeling etc. An Abstract Noun can neither be seen nor touched; it can only be felt.

(i)Qualities: Kindness, honesty, pity, mercy, truthfulness etc.
(ii)State of a person<3/>: healthy, boyhood, youth, illness etc.
(iii)Actions<3/>: obedience, protection, arrival, departure etc.


Remember No article is used before an Abstract Noun.

Example: The honesty is the best policy. (incorrect)
Honesty is the best policy. (correct)
The water is necessary for all living beings. (incorrect)
Water is necessary for all living beings. (correct)



Sample Usage

As given against each section.


Next Resource: Mumbo Jumbo
Previous Resource: Formation of Abstract Nouns from Adjectives

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