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Lesson 3; Nouns: Kinds of Nouns

1. Posted by Bertha in Grammar |
2. October 12th, 2009 |
3. Comments

There are five kinds of Nouns; 1) Proper Noun, 2) Common Noun, 3) Material Noun, 4) Collective Noun and 5) Abstract Noun.

In this lesson, we will have a brief discussion on different kinds of nouns.

1)      Proper Noun: When the noun denotes one specific thing, place, or person as distinct from all others, it is called Proper Noun; like, John (name of a person), London (name of a place), and Bible (name of a book).

N.B. – A Proper Noun should always be commenced with capital letter.

2)      Common Noun: When the noun does not denote any particular person or thing; and is common to all things or persons of the same class, it is called Common Noun; like, ‘man’, ‘city’, ‘book’.

Here, ‘man’ denotes any and every man. ‘City’ denotes all the cities in this world and ‘book’ points out all books.

N.B. – Sometimes, a Proper Noun acts as a Common Noun, when it’s used in a general sense; like,

He is the Einstein (= the greatest mathematician) of this century.

3)      Material Noun: A Material Noun denotes a substance or a matter of which a thing is made; like,

Air is lighter then water.

Fish is a good food.

Cow eats grass.

Rice is a staple food.

Fire burns.

Book is made of paper.

We write with ink.

All the italics words are examples of Material Noun.

N.B. – According to the sense, the same word can be used as a Common Noun or a Material Noun.

a)      “Cow gives milk”. In this sentence, ‘milk’ is represented as a Common Noun.

b)      “Milk is a balanced food”. In this sentence, ‘milk’ is a Material Noun.

4)      Collective Noun: When the noun denotes a group or a collection of objects, considered as single complete whole, it is called Collective Noun. These objects can be animals, emotions, people, concepts, inanimate things or other things. For example;

A hive of bees; there can be millions of bees, but only one hive. In this sentence, ‘bees’ is the Common Noun that denotes all bees, but hive is a Collective Noun; since it stands for all bees in it and not for any particular bee.

5)      Abstract Noun: When the noun denotes some state, action or quality apart from anything having quality, etc. Abstract nouns can’t be touched, smelt, heard, tasted or seen; like,

We know that milk is white. We also know that tooth is white. We can so talked about whiteness apart from tooth or milk or anything which is white. Therefore, whiteness is the abstract noun in both the sentences.

State – hardness, bondage, poverty, etc

Action – choice, laughter, sight, etc.

Quality – height, honesty, nobility, etc.

N.B. – A same word may act as an Abstract Noun or a Common Noun, as per the sense. If an Abstract Noun is used as a Common Noun, it means A) the person having the quality, or B) the thing to which the state, quality or action belongs:-

Instances of Persons

Witness – 1. Testimony or evidence (Abstract Noun)

2. The person who gives evidence (Common Noun)

Beauty – 1. The state or quality of being beautiful (Abstract Noun)

2. Who possesses beauty (Common Noun)

Instances of Things

Speech – 1. The sense of speaking (Abstract Noun)

2. The word spoken (Common Noun)

Judgment – 1. The act of judging (Abstract Noun)

2. The decision given by judge (Common Noun)

Formation of Abstract Nouns

Abstract Nouns may be formed from Common Nouns, Adjectives or Verbs.

Abstract Nouns from Common Nouns

Common Noun          Abstract Noun

King                              Kingship

Rascal                           Rascality

Slave                             Slavery

Captain                         Captaincy

Agent                            Agency

Friend                           Friendship

Abstract Nouns from Adjectives

Adjective                     Abstract Noun

Cold                               Coldness

Wide                              Width

Sweet                             Sweetness

Proud                             Pride

Brave                             Bravery

Great                             Greatness

Abstract Nouns from Verbs

Verbs Abstract Noun

Serve                             Service

Please                            Pleasure

Protect                           Protection

Conceal                         Concealment

Expect                           Expectation

Free                               Freedom

In two ways, a Material, Abstract or Proper noun can be changed into a Common Noun; either by putting an article (“the” or “a”) before it, or by transforming it into plural number.

Proper Noun                                            Common noun

Daniel was an educated Jew.                    1. A Daniel came to decision.

2. There are hundreds of Daniels.

Abstract Noun 1. Abraham was the justice of peace. 

Justice is a dignified virtue.                        2. There were five justices present in the court.

Material Noun 1. I ate the mango on the table

Mango is a nutritious fruit.                         2. Let me eat one of the mangoes.