Nouns

Nouns:
A noun is a word that is used as the name of a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns include names of locations, people, objects that we can touch, ideas, etc.
Examples,
• Person: soldier, Ellen, shopkeeper, etc.
• Place: London, Delhi,
• Thing: computer, sofa, bridge, etc.
• Idea: joy, faith, kindness, etc.

Common nouns and proper nouns

Common noun: A common noun is the word for a person, place, or thing. It's the word that appears in the dictionary.
Examples,
• Animal, cousin, city, dog, etc.

Proper noun: A proper noun is the given name of a person, place, or thing. It's likely to be a personal name or a title.
Examples,
• Jacob, Brazil, New York, etc.
Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter.

Common nouns are further divided into the following types.
• Collective nouns: army, flock, gang, jury, committee, team, etc.
• Abstract nouns: Hatred, love, wisdom, laughter, poverty, etc.
• Material nouns: cotton, gold, iron, wood, etc.

Noun Gender:

Gender is divided into four categories:

1. Masculine gender: It denotes male sex.
• Boy, man, father, lion, etc.

2. Feminine gender: It denotes female sex.
• Girl, woman, mother, lioness, etc.

3. Common gender: It denotes both male and female.
• Teacher, child, baby, student, etc.

4. Neuter gender: It denotes non-living things. It is neither male nor female.
• Computer, sofa, tower, machine, etc.

Exercise

Identify the type of underlined noun in the following sentences.

1. The old man was carrying a baby.
a. Proper noun
b. Common noun
c. Abstract noun
d. Collective noun

2. Albert Einstein was a great scientist.
a. Proper noun
b. Common noun
c. Abstract noun
d. Countable noun

3. A litter of puppies was there in the ground.
a. Common noun
b. Proper noun
c. Collective noun
d. Abstract noun

4. He is known for his bravery.
a. Proper noun
b. Material noun
c. Collective noun
d. Abstract noun