Nouns are the first among the eight parts of speech in English Language. In this article lets discuss the Definition and Classification of Noun. For Introductory article on Parts of Speech Click Here

Nouns : Definition – Classification 

Definition of a Noun:

A Noun is simply a naming word. It is a word used to refer the name of

• A person (Particular or referred to in common)
• A place (Particular or general)
• A thing (referred to the same kind or class )
• A collection of things
• A notion

For example: Joe is a talented boy who lives in Visakhapatnam which is often referred to as City of Destiny

• In the above sentence, the Nouns are: Joe- A person, Boy – a class of persons Visakhapatnam – a particular Place, Destiny – a notion.

Classification of Nouns:

Nouns are classified in different ways. The following are some of the common classifications.

Kinds of Nouns:

• Proper Nouns
• Common Nouns
  • Collective Nouns
  • Abstract Nouns

Proper Nouns: It is the name of a particular place or a person. It is one’s own. Hence a proper Noun is one’s own name.

Example: Rama is a great King. Here Rama is a proper noun that denotes the name of a particular person.

• Remember that Proper Nouns are always written with a capital letter at the beginning.

Common Nouns: It represents a name given in common to every person or thing (the word thing is used to represent anything that we can think of) of the same class or kind.

Example: New York is a beautiful city. Here city is a Common noun.

• Sometimes Proper Nouns are used as Common Nouns.

For example, in the sentence Kalidasa is called the Shakespeare of India, Shakespeare is used as a Common Noun whereas Kalidasa is still a Proper Noun. In the sentence Shakespeare doesn’t represent a Person but the common quality or the class of being great dramatists.

Collective Noun: It is the name used to denote a number of persons or things taken together.

Example: The french army was defeated at the battle of waterloo. Here, Army (Collection of Soldiers) is a common.

Some more examples: Crowd, Flock, Herd, Family etc.

Abstract Noun: It is the name of quality, action, or state considered apart from the object to which it belongs.

Example: Hanuman is known for his loyalty. Here the word Loyalty is an abstract noun that shows the quality of Hanuman.

• Abstract Nouns are formed from adjectives, verbs and some common nouns. For example, Goodness is formed from the adjective- good.

For example: 

• Obedience is formed from obey (verb)
• Slave is a common noun and the word Slavery is an abstract noun.

Another Classification of Nouns:

Another classification of nouns is whether they are countable or uncountable.

Countable Nouns: Countable nouns are the names of things which we can count.

Example: Book, Pencil, Oranges etc.

Uncountable Nouns: Uncountable nouns are the names of the things which we cannot count. Example : Honesty, Purity, Milk etc. Uncountable nouns denote substances and abstracts.

• Countable Nouns have plural forms whereas Uncountable nouns do not.
• We can say ‘Pens’ but we cannot say ‘Oils’.

The rules to be followed while using nouns will be covered in the next article.

Also Read Articles In English Grammar

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