Most people have an intuitive sense of what a noun is. It can be a place, object, person, or phenomenon. Nevertheless, nouns consist of various types that are much less well In this post, we will examine the various types of nouns and the ways to classify them.
Proper Nouns
Nouns that denote a place, person or thing are known as proper nouns. Jacob, Marshall, Robin, Alexander the Great, Pompey, Sherley-the dog, Jane-the bear are all proper nouns. Let us use them in a sentence and see.
Alexander the Great conquered good parts of Persia and even some part of North West India.
In the sentence above, Alexander the Great, written in capitals, is the proper noun because it denotes the name of a person and the word Great is part of the proper noun because Great signifies a specific Alexander. Note that the article the is never capitalized in this context.
Pompeii was destroyed by a Volcano.
In the sentence above, Pompeii is the proper noun because it denotes the name of a place.
Now that we know what a proper noun is, let us look at other types of nouns.
Common Nouns
Common nouns are used to denote objects or things that can be seen and measured. They include things like boats, grapes, pieces of chalk, etc.
Let us understand using a few examples.
We can take out the boat tomorrow; today would be too risky.
Here, the word boat is the common noun. There is no specific boat being referred to here and there is no place or person being referred here, either; hence, it is a common noun.
I love junk-food.
Here the word junk-food is the common noun as we are not referring to any specific type of noun.
Collective Nouns
It includes a collection of things or people. It is also known as group nouns. Words like the army, the navy, a pride of lions, a school of fish, a herd of cows, a set of spoons and so on. Let us understand through two examples.
The flock migrated to the south during the winter.
From this example, we can make out the word flock means a flock of birds. The flock is the collective noun because it refers to many birds who are migrating together.
Another example along this line is the following:
The swarm of insects had already eaten everything.
From this example, we can make out that swarm is the collective noun as it refers to many insects.
Abstract Nouns
Abstract nouns are those which denote abstract feelings or phenomena.
Feelings like hope, distress, sorrow, happiness, joy, thrill are not measurable, and they cannot be seen or touched. Hence, these are known as abstract nouns.
Abstract nouns can also refer to phenomenon which are not concrete like truth, falsehood, betrayal, or danger.
Let us look at a sentence.
Whatever happens, don’t lose hope.
If you don’t tell the truth, it would be a matter of shame for our family.
In the sentences above, truth and shame are abstract nouns.
Agent Nouns
Agent nouns signify the doer of an action. What is an agent? An agent is a noun that performs the action. Let us understand with the help of a few examples.
Neha walked through the door.
In the sentence above, Neha did the action; she is the one who opens the door. Hence, Neha is the agent noun.
Let us look at another example.
The Sri Lankan army killed the leader of the Tamil tigers in 2009.
In this sentence, the Sri Lankan army killed the leader of the Tamil Tigers. Hence, the Sri Lankan army is the agent.
Based on this post, you now have an understanding of the various kinds of nouns and how to classify them. If you would like to know more about nouns and the best way to use them, please contact me.