Kinds of nounsThe beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.

Chinese proverb

Kinds of nouns

Objective: Learn why the noun, and its six identifiable subgroups, is the

fundamental component of our language.

Nouns

Nouns are naming words. They help us identify the persons, or things we talk about.

There are six distinct groups of nouns: Common nouns, proper nouns, concrete nouns, abstract

nouns, collective nouns, and compound nouns.

Common Nouns

A common noun is a word that speaks of something only in a general way. Like book, car, and person. Common nouns can be written in singular form (book, car, and person) or plural (books, cars, and people).

Proper Nouns

Unlike common nouns, proper nouns name a very specific person, place, or thing. One distinguishing aspect of proper nouns is that they always begin with a capital letter. Catcher in the Rye, BMW Z4, and Albert Einstein are proper nouns.

Concrete Nouns

Concrete nouns name something that appeals to your senses. For instance, toothbrush, cell phone, moonlight, waves, and breezes are all concrete nouns.

Abstract Nouns

In contrast to concrete nouns, abstract nouns name beliefs, concepts, and characteristics or qualities – things that can’t be touched, seen, or accrued. For example, composure, sovereignty, free enterprise, daring, and handsome are abstract nouns.

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are words used to name people, places, and things in terms of a unit,. For instance, class, flock, herd, and family are collective nouns.

Compound Nouns

New words can be formed by combining two or more words, thus creating a compound word. Compounds can be made up of a number of speech components including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Some examples of compound nouns are motorcycle, onlooker, input, and washing machine.

Many nouns may fall into more than one of these categories. For example, the noun school (of fish) is common, concrete, and collective. The noun well-being is abstract and compound.