Nouns are important part of the speech in English grammar. They play different roles in the sentence. They could be common and proper nouns. In addition to that they can be further divided on the basis of their role in the sentence.

In this article you will learn everyting that you need to know about nouns in English grammar.

What is a noun?

In English grammar, a noun is a word that refers to a person, thing, or idea. Nouns are most commonly used in English because they name or describe persons, things, places, or ideas.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the noun as:

“A noun is a word that refers to a thing (book), a person (Noah Webster), an animal (cat), a place (Omaha), a quality (softness), an idea (justice), or an action (yodeling). It’s usually a single word, but not always: cake, shoes, school bus, and time and a half are all nouns.”

Here are some of the examples of nouns in English.

• cat
• bicycle
• Taylor Swift
• Kuala Lumpur

How Nouns Function in a Sentence

Nouns play different functions in a sentence. A noun can be a subject, object (direct or indirect object), subject complement, object complement, appositive, or modifier.

Types of Nouns

In English, nouns are divided into two types: common nouns and proper nouns. Each noun could be either a common noun or a proper noun but not both. Because both common and proper nouns are opposites. 

1. Proper Noun

A proper noun is the specific name of a person, place, or thing—for instance, the United States of America, Amazon, Nile, Einstien, etc. A proper noun is always capitalized in written form. Take a look at the following examples of proper nouns!

Examples of a Proper Noun

• New York
• London
• John

Examples of Nouns in Sentences

• New York is a famous city.
• She went to visit London.
• John is fixing the car.

In the above sentence, New York, London, and John are the proper nouns because they represent specific places and people.

2. Common Noun

The opposite of a proper noun is a common noun. A common noun is sometime known as a generic name. A common noun is the generic name of an item in a class of group and is not capitalized unless appearing at the beginning of a sentence or in a title. Take a look at the following examples of common noun.

Examples of Common Nouns

• Girl
• City
• Water
• Cat
• Dog
• Car
• Book

Examples of Common Nouns with Sentences

• The girl crossed the river.
• This is a big city.
• A man was walking on the road.
• The car is speeding in the speeding zone.

In the above examples, girl, river, city, man, and car are all common nouns that represent a class or group of items or things.

Common nouns are frequently used in our daily conversation. Here are some more examples of everyday sentences.

• There is a white car standing outside the house.
• I need a pen to write something.
• She is watching TV.
• Where is my phone?

In the above examples, car, house, pen, TV, are phone are common nouns.

Types of Common Nouns

Common nouns can be further categorized into three main categories: concrete nouns, abstract nouns, and collective nouns. 

1. Concrete Noun

A concrete noun is a type of common noun that refers to something perceived by the senses. Which means that something that is physical or real in nature. Consider the following examples of concrete nouns to better understand this type of common noun.

Examples of Concrete Nouns

• New York
• London
• John

Examples of Concrete Nouns in sentence

• He shut the door. 
• He cleaned his car. 
• She gave me a pen and paper.

Door, car, pen, and paper are examples of concrete nouns.

2. Abstract Noun

An abstract noun is something that the senses cannot perceive. See the following examples to learn abstract nouns.

Examples

• information 
• knowledge
• idea
• thoughts
• courage

3. Collective Nouns

Collective nouns represent a group or collection of people, animals, things, or objects. Take a look at the following examples of collective nouns.

Examples of Collective Nouns

• A herd of deer
• A group of people 
• A pride of lions
• A bunch of keys

Noun and Numbers

All nouns are either singular or plural in number. A singular noun refers to one person, place, thing, or idea and requires a singular verb, while a plural noun refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea and requires a plural verb.

Forming Plural Nouns

Plural nouns can be formed by adding -s or -es at the end of the singular noun. 

Examples

• cat – cats
• tax – taxes
• house – houses

Examples

• These two cats are both black.
• These two houses look alike.
• She bought two tickets.

Countable Nouns vs. Uncountable Nouns

Concrete and abstract common nouns can be further classified as either countable or uncountable. 

Countable nouns

Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted. They can be singular or plural. With countable nouns, we use articles (a, an, the) to represent their quantity or number. We can also use modifiers such as a few, many, some, or any.

Examples:

• One house
• two house
• many houses
• a few houses

Uncountable nouns

Uncountable or mass nouns are impossible to count because of their quality or state of being. These nouns are singular nouns and use the singular verb to match the subject-verb agreement in the sentence. See the following examples of uncountable nouns.

Examples of uncountable nouns:

• water
• jewelry
• wealth
• information
• money
• sand

Although most of these nouns are singualr in form, because they refer to things that can’t be isolated and counted on their own, they are never used with the singular indefinite article a or an. 

Singular concrete uncountable nouns can often be expressed in countable unites by adding a countable noun like piece (with of). On their own uncoutable nouns can be modified by the definite article, the, or indefinite adjective like some.

Examples:

• They would love to rent some property around here.
• The would love to rent a piece of property around here.
• Students don’t seem to have much homework these days.
• Could you help me move the furniture into the room?

Noun and Possessive Case

The possessive case of nouns can be formed by adding apostrophe and letter -s at the end of the singular nouns. For plural nouns, we simply add an apostrophe at the end of the plural noun. Take a look at the following examples.

• Her daughter’s birthday is next Saturday. 
• Ali’s brother is a cricketer.

Possessive of a plural noun

To make a possessive form of a plural noun, simply add an apostrophe at the end of the plural noun. See the following examples;

• The boys’ classroom is on the first floor.
• Parents’ role is to help their kids to learn.
• Teachers’ Association is a non-profit organization.

1. Possessive of a plural noun

The possessive of a plural noun that ends in -s or -es is formed by adding just an apostrophe.

Examples

• The kids’ play area is full of toys. 
• My brothers’ clothes are the same size as mine.

2. Possessive of  irregular plural nouns

The possessive of an irregular plural noun is formed by adding -‘s at the end of the noun. See the examples below.

Examples

• Children’s homeschool is upstairs.
• The men’s section is full of beautiful clothes.

Singular Nouns Ending in S or Z

When a singular noun ends in the letter s or z, the general rule of adding -‘s often applies.

• Lopez’s house is next to mine.
• My boss’s birthday is on Saturday.

Noun as subjects

When a nouns is used as a subject of the sentence, use singular or plural nouns according to the singular or plural noun.

• Jacob presented his arguments. 
• Ali finished his assignment. 
• Mary is taking her test.

Noun as objects

A noun can also function as an object in sentences. A noun acting as an object in the sentence could be a direct object or an indirect object. A direct object is one that receives action, and an indirect object is one that receives a direct object. For example:

• Ali wrote a letter.

In the above sentence, a letter is a noun object.

• Ali wrote a letter to Maria.

Noun as subject and object complements

A noun also functions as a subject compliment. Here are some examples:

• Ali is a sportsman.
• Joe Biden is the president of the United States.

Sometimes a noun functions as an object compliment. Here are some examples:

• They made Ali angry.
• He called Ali a monster.
• Parents made their son a lawyer.

Noun as appositives

A noun used as an appositive immediately follows another noun to define further or identify it. You can also say that the second noun is in apposition to the first noun.

Examples

• His friend, Ali, is a teacher.

Ali is an appositive here; further, identify the noun phrase, his friend.

Appositives can be restrictive or nonrestrictive.

In the above example, the noun Ali functions as a nonrestricted appositive because it is separated by commas. If we remove Ali from the sentence, it does not remove essential information from the sentence. (his friend is a teacher).

If we use the noun Ali without commas, then this noun is called a restrictive appositive. See the example below.

Examples

• His friend Ali is a teacher.

Noun as modifiers

Sometimes, nouns can be used to modify other nouns, functioning like adjectives. When they do this, they are often called attribute nouns.

Examples

• He ate vegetable soup. 
• She cooked chicken curry. 

Explanation

in the first sentence, vegetable is a noun and modifies soup which is another noun. Similarly, chicken and curry are two nouns together, and the first noun, chicken, is modifying the second noun curry.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a noun?

A noun is a word that refers to a person, place, thing, or idea.

What are some examples of nouns?

• New York
• London
• Girl
• Book 
• City
• Street

What are different types of nouns?

The two main types of nouns are common nouns and proper nouns. Common nouns are further divided into concrete, abstract, countable, and uncountable nouns.

How do you identify a noun in a sentence?

A noun in the sentence plays different functions and roles. A noun can be a subject, direct object, indirect object, or modifier. A modifier noun functions as an adjective and modifies another noun in the sentence

Conlcusion

A noun in English refers to a name of a place, person, thing, or idea, object, There are different types of nouns in English but all nouns can be divided into two main categories: common nouns and proper nouns. 

I hope this article helped you to learn about nouns, types of nouns, and how they function in the sentence. If you liked it, then please subscribe to our newsletter for more updates and the latest blog posts.

You can also see articles on grammar, vocabulary, and learning tips. to improve your English language skills.

Related Posts

• What is a Noun? Definition, Types, and Examples
• What are Mass Nouns? Definition and Examples
• Countable and Uncountable Nouns in English with Examples
• What are Common Nouns in English? Definition, Types, and Examples
• What are Collective Nouns in English?
• Collective Nouns vs. Plural Nouns: What is the difference?
• List of Collective Nouns