Nouns

 

 There are eight or nine (or more) parts of speech, depending on what you read.

Some authorities list nine parts of speech. Those authorities which list eight consider
determiners (articles, quantifiers, etc) as adjectives. This site lists nine parts of speech.  

To determine what part of speech a particular word is it must be looked at in the context
of the sentence. Many words may be a different part of speech in different sentences. 

Look at these examples.

Mr. Elliot feels well. (Adverb).

She is not a well woman. (Adjective)

Well! What happened. (Interjection)

He dropped his hat into a well. (Noun)

 

Nouns 

Nouns are a part of speech that represents the name of a person, animal, place,
thing, or quality. 

 

Classification of Nouns 

Nouns may be classified as common nouns, proper nouns, abstract nouns, collective nouns,
compound nouns, count nouns, non-count nouns, and possessive nouns. A noun can have
more than one classification- a noun may be concrete, countable, and common or
common, abstract, and non-countable. 

 

Common Noun

Common nouns are words that represent ordinary things of no particular emphasis.

car           bottle           woman            flower 

Proper Noun

Proper nouns are words that represent a specific person, group, event, thing or place.

a band – The Stones                         a group – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police
a person – Dr. Livingstone                 a place – Seoul 

Concrete Noun

Concrete nouns are words that represent things that can be experienced with the five senses:
     you see them, hear them, smell them, taste them, and feel them. 

zebra           cake           glass            airplane 

Abstract Noun

Abstract nouns are words that represent things which cannot be experienced with the senses-
they are ideas or concepts. 

prettiness           honesty           goodness           restriction 

Collective Noun

Collective nouns are words that represent a group of things that is treated as a single entity.
The group consists of individual members, but the group is seen as one whole unit. 

army           team           board           audience 

Usually, collective nouns only have a singular form and require a singular verb.

The herd of cattle is grazing in the field. 

Compound Noun

Compound nouns are two nouns that put together to make a new noun. Compound nouns
can be written as one word (schoolteacher), as separate words (grapefruit juice), or as
words linked by a hyphen (sister-in-law). 

basketball           breakwater           grasshopper           blackboard 

Count Noun

Count (countable) nouns are words that represent things that can be counted. 

cabinet           magazine           bowl           apple 

Common nouns may be countable
    There were six cars in the parking lot.
    He ate two hamburgers for lunch. 

Collective nouns may be countable, depending on the context.
    She is a member of three fund raising committees.
    London is home to several orchestras. 

Some proper nouns may be countable.
    There are many Greeks living in New York.
    The Vanderbilts would throw lavish parties at their Newport summer mansion. 

A countable noun always takes either the indefinite (a, an) or definite (the) article when it
is singular. When plural, it takes the definite article if it refers to a definite, specific group
and no article if it is used in a general sense.

The guest of honor arrived late.
You are welcome as a guest in our home.
The guests at your party yesterday made a lot of noise. (specific sense, use
 definite article)
Guests are welcome here anytime. (general sense, use no article) 

Non-Count Noun

Non-count (uncountable) are words that represent things that cannot be counted because
they are regarded as wholes which cannot be divided into parts. 

food       mustard       weather      furniture 

Abstract nouns are uncountable.
    Fred carries his umbrella everywhere in anticipation of more bad weather.
    Thunder always scared me when I was a young child. 

Some concrete nouns are uncountable (when understood in their undivided sense).
    The price of gas has risen dramatically over the last thee months.
    May I borrow some rice? 

Usually non-count nouns take only the singular form; however, sometimes they may be
pluralized when used in a countable sense. The difference between the uncountable and
countable meanings of nouns that are used in either sense can be seen in the following. 

Countable Sense
    My mother had some difficulties making my sister’s dress.
         (refers to a number of specific problems)
    The unions contract talks with management will take place early next month.
         (refers to a number of specfic meetings)
    The lights on the Christmas tree were bright and colorful.
         (refers to a number of specific lights)
    Where are those important papers? 

Non-count Sense
    Mr. Morris had little difficulty adjusting to his new job.
         (refers to the general idea of of a new job being difficult)
   My professor is not very good at idle talk.
          (refers to talking in general)
   Light travels at a speed of 186,000 miles per second.
          (refers to the way light behaves in general)
   We use only recycled paper in our office. 

Non-count nouns never take the indefinite article (a or an), but they sometimes take the
definite article ‘the’ if the non-count noun is used in the specific sense (in the same
way ‘the’ is used with plural countable nouns, that is, when referring to a specific
object, group, or idea.

      Information on any number of topics can be found on the Internet. (general sense)
      The information on some websites is questionable. (specific sense)
      Salt on French fries always make them taste better. (general sense)
      The salt my mother uses for cooking in sea salt. (specific sense) 

Possessive Noun

Possessive nouns are words that indicate ownership or close relationship.

the student’s book                     the girl’s purse 

To form the possessive singular, add ‘‘s’ to the singular form. 

Students may have trouble identifying some nouns, especially abstract nouns. Suffixes can
be used to help in this process.

 

Words ending in –ness are nouns.

happiness           sadness            weakness          tardiness            tidiness             

Words ending in –ity are nouns.

possibility           probability           responsibility      complexity           hilarity            

Words ending in –tion/sion are nouns.

admission           alteration           information          decision              description  

Words ending in –ment are nouns.

enjoyment           replacement      appointment        arrangement                     

Words ending in –ance/ence are nouns.

absence              silence             importance             appearance            

Words ending in –ship are nouns.

relationship           friendship          partnership           membership 

Words ending in –hood are nouns.

childhood           motherhood           neighborhood           priesthood