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

Improve your Vocabulary

Parts of Speech in english language explain different ways words can be used in different contexts. Every word in the English Language functions as at least one Part of Speech. Some words can serve as two or more parts of speech based on the context. The same word can be a Verb in one sentence and a Noun or an Adjective in other sentence. This is an introductory article on Parts of speech.

Parts of Speech

Typically there are Eight Parts of Speech in English language.

Noun
Pronoun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Conjunction
Interjection

Introduction to the Eight Parts of Speech in English Language

Noun : A Noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and an abstract idea or a notion.

Example: Donald Trump, New York, Tiger, Book, Happiness.

Click here to learn more about nouns

Pronoun : A Pronoun is a word that replaces a Noun or a group of words used as a Noun. In other words it acts as a substitute for a Noun.

Example: I, We, You, He, She, It, They

Verb : Verbs are the most important words in a sentence. They denote the action or indicate the state of being or existence of the subject.

Example: My brother is a doctor; The cap looks good; She is playing chess.

Adjective : An Adjective is a word that modifies the Noun or Pronoun. It describes the quality, state or action that a Noun or Pronoun refer to.

Example: Ramu is a good boy; He looks ugly in the dress

Adverb : Adverbs are used to say how/ where/ when something happens or even how often something happens. In other words, it enhances the information that we got from the adjective, or a verb or another adverb in a sentence.

Example: He played extremely well in the match.

Preposition : A preposition is a word that begins with a prepositional phrase and shows the relationship between its object and another word in the sentence.

Example: About, On, Beside, Along, For etc.

Conjunction : A Conjunction is a word that joins sentences, words and clauses.

Example: Krishna and Rama play cricket.

Interjection: An interjection is a word used to convey emotions.

Example: Alas! the ex-president is no more.

The detailed explanation on all the Parts of Speech, their classification, usage and related topics will be covered in separate articles.

Also Read Articles In English Grammar

Improve your Vocabulary

Like us on Facebook