There are different types of nouns, A noun is a word that is used to identify a person, animal, place, thing, concept, an entity or an idea. Take a careful look at the following examples:
- Richard is handsome (Identifying a person).
2. I stay in Lagos (Identifying a place).
3. A goat is a mammal (Identifying an animal).
4. Such happiness is rare (Identifying a concept).
The underlined words above are all nouns showing the name of a person, place, animal and concept respectively.
TYPES OF NOUNS
There are different types of nouns. We would take a detailed look at them.
1. PROPER NOUN
A proper noun is a noun that talks about a particular, definite or specific name. This refers to a specially given name, not a common name of things or entities. It could be the name of a person, place, school, church, country, etc.
It is important to note that wherever a proper noun appears in a sentence (whether the beginning, middle or end of a sentence), it must always start with a capital letter. Only the proper noun has this characteristic. Other type of nouns begin with a small letter except when they are at the beginning of the sentence.
SENTENCE EXAMPLES
- Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country.
- I was admitted into Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
- I gave the shovel to Charles.
- The Apostolic Church is not a new-generation church.
If you notice above, the proper nouns were all started with a capital letter. Where the proper nouns contain two or more words, each new word should be started with a capital letter, just like example four above. Other examples of proper nouns are Kelechi, United States of America, January, Australia, Tuesday,etc.
2. COMMON NOUN
A common noun is a general name used to identify the same class of persons, animals, places, ideas, concepts or things. These nouns are called common nouns because they are not the ‘special’ names by which persons, places or things are known for. They only represent a general name. Remember that a common noun does not start with a capital letter except it is the one starting a sentence.
SENTENCE EXAMPLES
- The nearest town is five hundred meters away.
- The key is somewhere around.
- I lost my pen.
- It is only men that can do this job.
The words underlined above are all common nouns. Other examples are principal, boys, girls, ruler, school, etc.
3. CONCRETE NOUN
A concrete noun is a noun that can be seen and touched. Most of the other types of nouns are all concrete nouns. It is also started with small letter.
SENTENCE EXAMPLES
- That house is beautiful.
- Who ate the food in the kitchen?
- I do not have money at hand now.
Other examples of concrete nouns are pen, charger, fan, bulb, etc
4. ABSTRACT NOUN
These are nouns that cannot be seen and touched. But they can be felt most times. They usually exist as ideas, entities, desires, imaginations.
SENTENCE EXAMPLES
- He leapt in joy when his name was called.
- Honesty is a good virtue.
- I desire to have wisdom.
- It is injustice for him not to receive the same punishment as his accomplices.
The words that are underlined above are all abstract nouns. Other examples are sadness, beauty, love, etc
5. COLLECTIVE NOUN
Collective nouns refer to a group of individuals, animals or class of things. It is used to denote a collection of individuals or things.
SENTENCE EXAMPLES
- He is with the bunch of keys.
- A fleet of cars sped by just now.
- A herd of cattle is grazing nearby.
The ones underlined above are all collective nouns.Other examples are a bunch of banana, a class of students, a team of players, etc.
6. COUNTABLE NOUN
Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted. They have both singular and plural forms.
It is important to note that all other types of nouns can either be countable or uncountable nouns.
SENTENCE EXAMPLES
- I bought three cups at the market today (plural) .
- There are four pieces of furniture in the parlour (plural).
- The chairs are all dusty (plural).
- Give me that key! (Singular).
The ones underlined above are all countable nouns. Most times, ‘s’, ‘es’, etc are added to form the plural of singular countable nouns. Further examples of countable nouns include books, candle, pens, etc.
7. NON-COUNTABLE NOUN
Non-countable nouns cannot be counted. The plural form cannot also be formed by addition of ‘s’, ‘es’,etc.
SENTENCE EXAMPLES
- The oil is overflowing.
- Get me some sand.
- I will buy rice while coming back.
The ones that are underlined are all nouns that cannot be counted. Other examples include water, air.
The seven classification are the different types of nouns and their examples.