Types of Noun:

 Types of Noun:

Overview:

v  Proper Noun, Definition, and Examples

v  Common Noun, Definition and Examples

v  Countable Noun, Definition, and Examples

v  Uncountable, Definition and Examples

v  Verbal Noun, Definition, and Examples

v  Possessive Noun, Definition and Examples

 

In this Lecture, we will thoroughly examine and discuss different types of Noun according to its function. The main objective is to make the student familiar with Noun and its types. After studying and learning this lecture, the students will able to understand the depth of Noun and a better understanding of the subtypes of the Noun.

 

Proper Nouns

These can be found personal names, with or without a title such as Prime Miniser Imran Khan, George, Mr. Faseeh, Allama Iqbal, Dr. Wasim, etc.

They also include globally recognized holidays, festivals, calendar items like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Argungu Festival, Osun Osogbo Festival, Good Friday, Christmas, Easter, etc. Days of the week, months of the year are all proper nouns.

Geographical names like continents (Africa, North America), countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Chad), states (Punjab, Sindh, Mexico, Haryana), lakes (Manchar Lake, Lake Saiful Muluk), rivers (River Nile, River Indus, River Jhelum), seas (Red Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Mediterranean Sea), oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian), Hills (Tolipir Hills), Mountains (Everest, Kilimanjaro, K2)

Educational institutions (University of Central Punjab, Govt. Polytechnic, University of Punjab), government agencies and institutions (Pakistan Railway Corporation, African Union, Port Authority, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission),

Newspaper outfits (Dawn Newspapers, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist), banks and financial institutions (Alfalah Bank, First Bank, Access Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank),

Television outfits/stations (Pakistan Television Corporation, BBC, Cable Network News-CNN, Fox News, Al-Jazeera, Channels Television, etc.

·         Proper nouns can also be pre-modified such as:
‘The Daily Sun’,
The Suez Canal, etc.

·         They could also be post-modified e. g.
House of Lords
The House of Representatives
House of Assembly
House of Commons
Alexander the Great
Paul the Apostle
Jesus the Christ etc.

Proper nouns can be combined sometimes with common nouns, and when this happens the resulting expression is taken as a proper noun.

Examples: D chock, 3 talwar Square, Victoria Bridge, Nawaz Shref Park, etc.

Characteristics of Proper Nouns

·         Their initial letters are usually capitalized.

·         Though with exceptions, proper nouns usually do not admit articles.

·         The usually do not admit the plural form

 

v  Common Nouns

Common nouns are general nouns. In other words, they are common as the name goes. They are not names like proper nouns but they can be a label. For instance, ‘boy’ is a common noun which denotes a label used for a young male. Proper nouns, when they do not refer to a specific entity, can also be changed into common nouns.

Examples include a girl, baby, house, road, paper, sea, river, ocean, city, town, state, villa, pavilion, roof, street, close, quarters, etc. Common nouns are not usually capitalized like proper nouns except they begin a sentence. Common nouns further subdivide into Count (Countable) Nouns and Non-Count (Uncountable) Nouns.

Examples:

• Common noun: I want to be a writer.

·         Proper noun: Shakespeare wrote many books and plays.

• Common noun: I’d like to adopt a cat.

·         Proper noun: Cleopatra is the cutest kitten ever.

• Common noun: Would you like a cookie?

·         Proper noun: I’m craving Oreos.

• Common noun: Let’s go to the city.

·         Proper noun: Let’s go to Karachi.

• Common noun: My teacher starts work before sunup.

·         Proper noun: Mr. Faseeh seems to understand what students need.

• Common noun: I think that’s a planet, not a star.

·         Proper noun: I can see Jupiter tonight.

• Common noun: He’s always hanging out with his girlfriend.

·         Proper noun: He never goes anywhere without Sarah.

• Common noun: There are a lot of important documents in the archives.

·         Proper noun: There are many important documents at The Library of Congress.

 

v  Count (Countable) Nouns

These are nouns that we can count easily and have the countable nature. We can pluralize them and they can accommodate articles ‘a’ or ‘an’ before them. When you think of anything that you can count, it is most likely a count noun. Examples include boy, child, girl, pen, pencil, book, television, car, bicycle, phones, cups, lorry, tanker, chair, table, baby, woman, man, father, mother, sister, mouse, animal, bird, insect, dog, etc.

 

 

 

v  Non-Count (Uncountable) Nouns

These are nouns that we cannot count or we usually do not count. Examples of these nouns are salt, water, sand, oil, cement, powder, etc. They cannot be pluralized either can they accommodate the articles ‘a’ or ‘an’ before them. However, we can count or pluralize them ONLY when we put them in measurable forms or when we consider them from the perspective of their containers. For example, we cannot count bread but when put in loaves, it becomes easier to count. So we can have five loaves of bread, seven tubers of yam, three gallons of oil, four sachets/bottles of water, three cups of garri, six bags of cement, one load of sand, four items of information, seven yards of cloth, etc.

v  Concrete/Material Nouns

These are nouns that are palpable; Concrete nouns are nouns that can be seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled; in other words, perceived by the five senses. They are mostly objects. Examples include stone, wood, bread, laptop, chalk, book, table, chair, block, car, house, pole, rug, engine, tyre, broom, apple, fruits, guava, oranges, rice, bread, yam, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

v  Abstract Nouns

From the name, these nouns express abstract concepts, feelings, ideas, emotions, feelings. In other words, they are concepts that we cannot see, touch, handle or taste. Examples include courage, bravery, importance, wisdom, beauty, honesty, integrity, success, failure, etc. However, in some cases, we can feel some abstract nouns like hunger, anger, pain, relief, joy, sorrow, sadness, happiness, gladness, fear, etc.

 

 

 

 

v  Collective Nouns

We use a collective noun to describe a group of people or things collectively as a whole or one entity. We can also use a collective noun as either a singular or a plural depending on the choice we make. Take for instance:

The team plays regularly we see (the ‘team’ as an entity and it takes a singular verb ‘plays’)

The team have departed the tournament (we see the ‘team’ as individual members and it takes a plural verb ‘have’).

More examples on the collective noun include: colony, crew, litter, drove, anthology, herd, flock, pride, orchestra, pack, troop, swarm, audience, cast, tribe, shoal, convocation, congregation, army, bench, troupe, host, company, etc.

 

 

 

v  Verbal Nouns

We also refer to these types of nouns ‘gerund’. Gerunds are verbs that end in the ‘-ing’ suffix; that is, they are verbs in the progressive or continuous forms. Structurally, verbal nouns look like verbs, but they are actually nouns because their functions are similar to those of nouns. Examples include:

·         Teaching is a noble profession

·         Swimming is an all-embracing exercise

·         Dancing is a relaxing entertainment

·         Reading is good for the brain

·         Writing can fetch you good money.

The verbal nouns in the examples above all serve as the subjects of the sentences. However, they can perform all the functions of a noun: as an object (I love teaching), as a complement of the subject (A good sport is swimming), as a complement of the preposition (I voted in favor of reading), etc.

 

v    Possessive Nouns

These types of nouns show possession. They indicate that a noun possesses something. Depending on the usage, they can also function as possessive adjectives. Examples:

·         The man’s car is old.

·         My brother’s wife is generous.

·         St. James’ School celebrates a decade of existence.

·         We have submitted teachers’ lists.

·         Nouns are important parts of speech and we need to know everything that has to do with them.