Nouns

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What are nouns?
1.   Nouns are naming words.  Everything we see or are able to talk about is represented by a word which names it - that word is called a "noun".  There are names for people, animals, places, objects, substances, qualities, actions and measures.

Examples:
soldier - Alan - cousin - Frenchman   (< names for people)
rat - zebra - lion - aardvark   (< names for animals)
house - London - factory - shelter   (< names for places)
table - frame - printer - chisel   (< names for objects)
lead - nitrogen - water - ice   (< names for substances)
kindness - beauty - bravery - wealth - faith   (< names for qualities)
rowing - cooking - barking - reading - listening   (< names for actions)
month - inch - day - pound - ounce   (< names for measures)

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The different types of nouns:

1.    There are several different kinds of nouns.  There are common errors associated with each type.  These are covered below: 

 Common Nouns 
A common noun is the word used for a class of person, place or thing.
 Car
 Man
 Bridge
 Town
 Water
 Metal
 Ammonia
 

 NO CAPITAL LETTERS

Common nouns do not start with capital letters (unless they start a sentence or are part of a title).  It is a common mistake to capitalise a common noun that is an important word in a sentence. 
  The corporal disobeyed a direct Order.
        ("order" is a common noun - no capital letter) 
  It is the largest Church in Birmingham.
       ("church" is a common noun - no capital letter) 

This is covered more in Section 2 of the lesson "Capital Letters".

 Proper Nouns 
A proper noun is the name of a person, place or thing (i.e. its own name).  A proper noun always starts with a capital letter.
 Michael 
 Africa
 Peking
 Dayton Peace Accord
 United Nations
 The Tower of London
 Uncle George
       ("Uncle" is written with a capital letter because it is part of his name.)
  My favourite auntie is Auntie Sally. 
       (In this example, the first "auntie" is a common noun; whereas, the
       second "Auntie" is part of a proper noun.)
 The Red Lion

 ONLY CAPITALISE THE PRINCIPAL WORDS 

When names contain words such as "the", "of", "an" or "in", these words are not usually given capital letters.  
  I must visit the Tower of London.
       ("of" is not a principal word - no capital letter) 
  Have you seen Day of the Jackal?
       ("of" and "the" are not principal words - no capital letters) 

This is called "Title Case" and is covered more in Section 5 of the lesson "Capital Letters".
 

 Collective Nouns
A collective noun is the word used for a group of people or things.
 Choir
 Team
 Jury
 Shoal 
 Cabinet (of ministers)
 Regiment
  

 SINGULAR OR PLURAL? 

Writers are sometimes unsure whether to treat a collective noun as singular or plural.  In fact, a collective noun can be singular or plural depending on the sense of the sentence.
  That team is the worst in the league.
        ("team" treated as singular)
  The team are not communicating amongst themselves.
        ("team" treated as plural)

When the group is considered as one unit, it is singular.  When the individuals of the group are considered, it is plural.

This is covered more in Section 1 of the lesson "Singular?".

 Pronouns 
A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun.
 James is the first choice for the post.  He has applied for it twice already.
      ("He" is a pronoun.  In this example, it replaces the proper noun "James".)
      ("It" is a pronoun.  Here, it replaces the common noun "post".)  
 Some / Who / This
      (The term "pronoun" covers lots of words, and all three words above are classified
      as pronouns.  There is whole lesson dedicated to pronouns.  See lesson
      "Pronouns".)

 Verbal Nouns 
Verbal nouns are formed from verbs.  They are a type of common noun. 
 I love swimming.
      ("swimming" - the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb "to swim".)
 Lateral thinking is required to solve this problem.
      ("thinking" - the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb "to think".)

 Compound Nouns
Compound nouns are nouns made up of two or more words. Some compound nouns are hyphenated.  (For more information on hyphens in compound nouns, see lesson "Hyphens".)
 Mother-in-law
Board of members
Court-martial
Forget-me-not
Manservant
Paper-clip
Spoonful
       (Note the plural: spoonfuls spoonsful )
 

 FORMING THE PLURAL OF COMPOUND NOUNS 

To form the plural of a compound noun, pluralise the principal word in the compound.  When there is no obvious principal word, add s (or es) to the end of the compound. 
  Mothers-in-law
       (pluralise the principal word "mother") 
  Paper-clips
       (pluralise the principal word "clip") 
 Forget-me-nots
       (no principal word, so add s to the end) 

Words like "spoonful", "plateful" and "cupful" are exceptions to this rule. They form their plurals by adding an s to the end, even though the principal words are spoon, plate and cup.  Forming the plurals of compound nouns is covered more in Section 2 of the lesson "Plurals".

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