A.
NOUN
It's not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are
"things" (and verbs are "actions"). Like food. Food (n) is something you eat (v). Or happiness. Happiness (n) is something you want (v). Or human being. A human being (n) is something you are (v).
B.
WHAT’S
NOUN?
noun (noun): a word (except a pronoun) that identifies a person,
place or thing, or names one of them (proper noun)
The simple definition is: a
person, place or thing. Here are some examples:
- person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary
- place: home, office, town, countryside, America
- thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey
Note that any of the above can also
be referred to by a pronoun. And note that names like John or America are
called "proper nouns".
The problem with the simple
definition above is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but
can also be a verb.
Another (more complicated) way of
recognizing a noun is by its:
- ending
- position
- function
1.
Noun ending
There are certain word endings that
show that a word is a noun, for example:
- -ity → nationality
- -ment → appointment
- -ness → happiness
- -ation → relation
- -hood → childhood
But this is not true for the word
endings of all nouns. For example, the noun "spoonful" ends in -ful,
but the adjective "careful" also ends in -ful.
2.
Position in sentence
We can often recognize a noun by its
position in the sentence.
Nouns often come after a determiner
(a determiner is a word like a, an, the, this, my, such):
- a relief
- an afternoon
- the doctor
- this word
- my house
- such stupidity
Nouns often come after one or more
adjectives:
- a great relief
- a peaceful afternoon
- the tall, Indian doctor
- this difficult word
- my brown and white house
- such crass stupidity
3.
Function in a sentence
Nouns have certain functions (jobs)
in a sentence, for example:
- subject of verb: Doctors work hard.
- object of verb: He likes coffee.
- subject and object of verb: Teachers teach students.
But the subject or object of a
sentence is not always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a phrase. In the
sentence "My doctor works hard", the noun is "doctor" but
the subject is "My doctor".
C.
TYPES
OF NOUNS
Nouns are an important part of speech in English, probably second only to
verbs. It is difficult to say much without using a noun.There are several different types of English nouns. It is often useful to recognize what type a noun is because different types sometimes have different rules. This helps you to use them correctly.
Common Nouns and Proper Nouns
Common Nouns
Most nouns are common nouns. Common nouns refer to people, places and things in general like chair or dog. Any noun that is not a name is a common noun.Examples: teacher, car, music, danger, receipt
- Have you seen my dog?
- The books are on your desk.
- ...the pursuit of happiness.
Proper Nouns
Names of people, places or organizations are proper nouns. Your name is a proper noun. London is a proper noun. United Nations is a proper noun.Rule: Proper nouns always start with a capital letter.
Examples: Jane, Thailand, Sunday, James Bond, Einstein, Superman, Game of Thrones, Shakespeare
- Let me introduce you to Mary.
- The capital of Italy is Rome.
- He is the chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
- I was born in November.
Concrete Nouns and Abstract Nouns
Concrete Nouns
Concrete nouns are physical things that you can touch.Examples: man, rice, head, car, furniture, mobile phone
- How many stars are there in the universe?
- Have you met James Bond?
- Pour the water down the drain.
Abstract Nouns
Abstract nouns are the opposite of concrete nouns. They are things that you cannot touch. Abstract nouns are ideas, concepts and feelings.Examples: happiness, courage, danger, truth
- He has great strength.
- Who killed President Kennedy is a real mystery.
- Sometimes it takes courage to tell the truth.
- Their lives were full of sadness.
Countable Nouns and Uncountable Nouns
Countable Nouns
(also called count nouns)You can count countable nouns. Countable nouns have singular and plural forms.
Examples: ball, boy, cat, person
- I have only five dollars.
- The Earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago.
- There are lots of people but we don't have a car.
Uncountable Nouns
(also called mass nouns)You cannot count uncountable nouns. You need to use "measure words" to quantify them.
Rule: We never use uncountable nouns with the indefinite article (a/an). Uncountable nouns are always singular.
Examples: water, happiness, cheese
- Have you got some money?
- Air-conditioners use a lot of electricity.
- Do you have any work for me to do?
- Many Asians eat rice.
Collective Nouns
A collective noun denotes a group of individuals.Examples: class (group of students), pride (group of lions), crew (group of sailors)
Rule: Collective nouns can be treated as singular or plural. More about this at rules of subject-verb agreement with collective nouns.
- His family live in different countries.
- An average family consists of four people.
- The new company is the result of a merger.
- The board of directors will meet tomorrow.
Compound Nouns
A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words. Most compound nouns are [noun + noun] or [adjective + noun]. Each compound noun acts as a single unit and can be modified by adjectives and other nouns.Compound nouns have three different forms:
- open or spaced - space between words (bus stop)
- hyphenated - hyphen between words (mother-in-law)
- closed or solid - no space or hyphen between words (football)
- Can we use the swimming pool?
- They stop work at sunset.
- Don't forget that check-out is at 12 noon.
And the same noun can change its type according to meaning. For example, the noun light can be uncountable (light in general) or countable (lamp).
source:https://www.englishclub.com
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