Nouns are a part of speech typically denoting a person, place, thing, animal or idea.

In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.[1]

What is an Abstract Noun?

Abstract nouns are the opposite of concrete nouns nouns that refer to objects you can experience with your five senses. Abstract nouns are intangible. They can identify concepts, experiences, ideas, qualities, and feeling.

Examples of Abstract Nouns

In some cases, its a little difficult to recognize when a noun is abstract. Some nouns can function as verbs and abstract nouns are no exception. For example, see how the word fear is used in the following two sentences. I fear the night. (In this sentence, fear shows action so its a verb.) The night was shrouded in fear. (In this sentence, fear is an abstract noun because you cant physically touch, feel, hear, taste, smell, or see it.)

List of Abstract Nouns:

Below is a list of common abstract nouns. Love,Anger,Hate,Peace,Loyalty,Integrity,Pride,Courage,Deceit,Honesty,Trust,Compassi on,

What is a Concrete Noun?:Objects and substances that can be experienced through

our senses are referred to as concrete nouns. That means we can touch, feel, smell, taste or hear them.

Examples of Concrete Nouns:The vast majority of nouns are concrete nouns. Take all animals and people for example. You can touch, feel, see, and hear them. You can do the same for objects. We take in with our eyes all the sights of places we visit.
Flowers, panther, cinnamon, sunset, rain, cookiesthese are just a few concrete nouns. The yellow flowers flowed from a glass red vase. Suddenly, a large roaring black panther appeared from behind the rock.

Mothers kitchen always smells like cinnamon during the holidays. The sunset unfurled ribbons of red, purple, and gold across the sky. Walking home I was assaulted by rain droplets that fell like bullets from the sky. Cookies baking in the oven means Grandma has come to visit. Some concrete nouns are countable nouns. Countable nouns have both a singular and a plural form. A brick. Two bricks.A book. Three books. A horse. Four horses.

What are Common Nouns?

While there are many different types of nouns, common nouns are the least complex. They are simply words that name people, places, things, or ideas. But they are not the actual NAMES of people, place or things. In other words, the word girl is a common noun, but the word Ashley is a proper noun because its the specific name of the girl. By the same token street is a common noun, but Main Street is a proper noun as it calls a specific street by name. The word Colorado is a proper noun because it names a particular state. The word state is a common noun because it could refer to any state in America.

Examples of Common Nouns:Finding examples of common nouns is as simple as

opening you eyes! What is the first thing you see when you wake up each morning? Your alarm clock? The word clock is a common noun because it names, or identifies, a thing. What do you see when you walk out your front door each morning? A car, a tree, the sky, your neighbor, a bus, a house, a store? All are common nouns because they name a thing, place, or person:

People: mother, father, baby, child, toddler, teenager, grandmother, student, teacher, minister, businessperson, salesclerk, woman, man Animals: lion, tiger, bear, dog, cat, alligator, cricket, bird, wolf Things: table, truck, book, pencil, iPad, computer, coat, boots, Places: city, state, country, continent, coffee shop, restaurant, park, zoo Ideas: envy, love, hate, respect, patriotism, pride

Capitalizing Common NounsCapitalization rules can get confusing sometimes but

when it comes to capitalizing common nouns the rules are very simple. Dont do itunless the common noun is the first word in a sentence or part of a title. For example

State laws are passed by the legislature. Each state may have varying laws.

Possessive Common Nouns

Possessive nouns show ownership or relation to something else. To make a singular common noun possessive, simply add an apostrophe and the letter s.

The babys cries woke the exhausted new parents. The toddlers face was covered in birthday cake. The dogs bark was worse than his bite. The old cars exhaust pipe emitted dusty black smoke.

To make the possessive form of a singular common noun that ends in s add an apostrophe and s, as in these examples:

The walruss bucket was missing. The buss yellow paint was beginning to rust.

For a plural common noun that doesnt end in s simply follow the rules of singular common noun that doesnt end in s and add an apostrophe and s.

The mens basketball team is headed for the championship tournament. The childrens playroom floor was covered with toys.

If a plural common noun does end in s just add an apostrophe to make the possessive form.

The movie was interrupted by the babies crying in the back row. The nest of rattlesnakess hissings warned the hiker to stay away.

What are Proper Nouns?

While a noun names a person, place, thing, or idea a proper noun gets more specific. It gives us the actual name of the person, place, thing, or idea. The actual names of people are proper nouns. So are the names of states, streets, rivers, oceans, countries, companies, institutions, churches, and more. You can see more specific examples below.

Examples of Proper NounsOne of the easiest ways to fully grasp the meaning of
proper nouns is to compare them with common nouns. A common noun refers to the general names of things. Look around you and name the items you see. A desk, a chair, a lamp, a window, a door. When you go shopping, who do you see? A man, a child, a salesperson, an attendant, a toddler, a policeman. These are all general, common nouns. Now lets compare common nouns to proper nouns.

Common Noun/Proper Noun

man/James woman/Julie state/California company/IBM, General Motors store/Neiman Marcus restaurant/Applebees mountains/Mckinley countries/Ireland, France, America waitress/Betty chair/La-Z-Boy soldier/Lieutenant Mark Davis river/the Mississippi River institution/University of Georgia

Here are some example sentences to further show the difference.

Every man was dressed in uniform but James was by far the most dashing. Man = common noun; James = proper noun. We loved every state on the western coast but California was my favorite. State = common noun; California = proper noun. Lieutenant Mark Davis is a soldier in the United States Army. Soldier = common noun; Lieutenant Mark Davis = proper noun. When we go to our favorite restaurant, Applebees, we always ask for Betty, our favorite waitress. Restaurant, waitress = common noun; Applebees, Betty = proper noun.

Capitalizing Proper Nouns:The rules for capitalizing proper nouns are pretty
simple. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter. However there are times when a word can be used as either a common noun or proper noun and you might get confused as to when you should use the capitalized form. For example, father can either be common or proper. One rule for thumb is that if you are using the word as a title and name it should be capitalized.

I had dinner with my father last night. Would you like to have dinner with me, Father?

See the difference? In the first example the word was used more generally as a common noun. In the second example, the word was used like a name. In this instance the term father took the place of the actual name, such as Bob. To make things a little clearer for you, here is a list of proper nouns categories.

Holidays: Christmas, New Years Day, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving Geographical areas: San Francisco, Europe, Spain, the Nile River People and pets: Mrs. Caroline Jones, Rip Van Winkle, Snoopy Books, Newspapers, Magazines: Wuthering Heights, Atlanta Journal, Southern Living Companies and organizations: Google, ChildFund International, General Electric Religious terms: Christian, Methodist, Hindu, God, Allah Places, buildings: Yellowstone National Park, Empire State Building, RitzCarlton Titles: President Bush, King George, Queen Elizabeth, Judge Judy (titles are not capitalized when theyre referred to in general terms. For example: The criminal appeared before the judge. Languages: English, French, Italian Brand names: Coach, Pepsi, Lucky Possessive Proper Nouns

Creating the possessive form of a proper noun follows the same rule as the possessive of a common noun. Add s if the word is singular or if the word ends in s just the apostrophe. Plural nouns that end in s get an apostrophe at the end.

Marys coat United States health care program Georgias swampland Kansas prairie lands

n linguistics, a count noun (also countable noun) is a common noun that can be modified by a numeral and that occurs in both singular and plural form, as well as co-occurring with quantificational determiners like every, each, several, etc. A mass noun has none of these properties. It can't be modified by a numeral, occur in singular/plural or co-occur with the relevant kind of determiner.

Below are examples of all the properties of count nouns holding for the count noun chair but not for the mass noun furniture.

Occurrence in plural/singular. There is a chair in the room. There are chairs in the room. There is a furniture in the room. (incorrect) There are furnitures in the room. (incorrect)

Co-occurrence with count determiners Every chair is man made. There are several chairs in the room.

Every furniture is man made. (incorrect) There are several furnitures in the room. (incorrect)
A mass noun (also known as a noncount noun) is generally used only in the singular. Many abstract nouns are uncountable, but not all uncountable nouns are abstract. Contrast with count noun.

Fun does not have a size." (Bart Simpson in The Simpsons, 2001) "Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it." (Albert Einstein) "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back." (Eugene O'Neill) "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." (Aldous Huxley) "I seek constantly to improve my manners and graces, for they are the sugar to which all are attracted." (Og Mandino) Compound nouns are written as separate words (grapefruit juice), as words linked by a hyphen (sister-in-law), or as one word (schoolteacher). A compounded noun whose form no longer clearly reveals its origin (such as bonfire or marshall) is sometimes called an amalgamated compound. Many place names (or toponyms) are amalgamated compounds: e.g., Norwich (north + village) and Sussex (south + Saxons). The whole idea started with a parent who wanted to do a fundraiser for the snowboarding team at Nevada Union. "Alas, the poor speechwriter. I knew him well." (Ted Sorensen, quoted by Bradley H. Patterson in To Serve the President: Continuity and Innovation in the White House Staff. Brookings Institution, 2008) "As for me, except for the occasional heart attack, I feel as young as I ever did." (Robert Benchley) "Human service is the highest form of self-interest for the person who serves." (Elbert Hubbard) "Some movie stars wear their sunglasses even in church. They're afraid God might recognize them and ask for autographs." (Fred Allen)

Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are the name we give to a group of nouns to refer to them as one entity. The most common method of doing this is by using words like group or bunch that can be applicable to most of the nouns in the language today. But there are some specific names given for certain groups of nouns to make things more interesting and funny. Now, these collective nouns are not based in scientific thought or fact. Most of them come from the poetry and imagination of early to late Medieval English times e.g. - an eloquence of lawyers Eloquence itself is defined as fine persuasion in speaking or writing, so this particular collective noun is a comment on the profession of lawyers while being their collective noun as well. The same goes for the collective nouns we find for animals; the names arose from 15th century French and English hunting traditions, where hunting was common and names and terms were given to all aspects of the sport. These names were called Terms of Venery and it had become a tradition of the court to keep extending the list and by the 1500s the list was up-to 165 items long. Here we have listed some of the more commonly used collective nouns for humans, animals and objects.

These collective nouns are commonly used under the category of people.

1. A class of students. 2. An army of soldiers. 3. A choir of singers. 4. A crew of sailors. 5. A band of musicians. 6. A bunch of crooks. 7. A crowd of people/spectators. 8. A gang of thieves. 9. A group of dancers. 10. A team of players. 11. A troupe of artists/dancers. 12. A pack of thieves. 13. A staff of employees. 14. A regiment of soldiers. 15. A tribe of natives. 16. An audience of listeners. 17. A panel of experts. 18. A gang of labourers.

19. A flock of tourists. 20. A board of directors. Collective Nouns Exercise 1 Collective Nouns Exercise 2 The following collective nouns are used for animals. 1. A catch of fish. 2. An army of ants. 3. A flight of birds. 4. A flock of birds. 5. A haul of fish. 6. A flock of sheep. 7. A herd of deer/cattle/elephants/goats/buffaloes. 8. A hive of bees. 9. A litter of cubs. 10. A host of sparrows. 11. A team of horses. 12. A troop of lions. 13. A zoo of wild animals. 14. A pack of wolves. 15. A litter of puppies/kittens. 16. A swarm of bees/ants/rats/flies. 17. A team of horses/ducks/oxen. 18. A murder of crows. 19. A kennel of dogs. 20. A pack of hounds. The following collective nouns are used for things. 1. A group of islands. 2. A galaxy of stars. 3. A wad of notes. 4. A forest of trees. 5. A stack of wood. 6. A fleet of ships. 7. A string of pearls. 8. An album of stamps/autographs/photographs. 9. A hedge of bushes. 10. A library of books. 11. A basket of fruit. 12. A bowl of rice. 13. A pack of cards. 14. A pair of shoes.

15. A bouquet of flowers. 16. A bunch of keys. 17. A chest of drawers. 18. A pack of lies. 19. A range of mountains. 20. A cloud of dust.