The Different Types of Nouns
The Quick Answer
The different types of nouns.There are several different types of nouns. These include:
- Common Nouns (e.g., abstract nouns, collective nouns, compound nouns, concrete nouns, non-countable nouns, gender-specific nouns, verbal nouns)
- Proper Nouns
- Pronouns (despite pronouns being classified as a different part of speech)
As covered in the lesson nouns, nouns are naming words. There are several different kinds of nouns. This page describes the most common types.
Common Nouns
A common noun is the word used for a class of person, place or thing.Examples:
- car
- man
- bridge
- town
- water
- metal
- ammonia
Common nouns are further classified into:
- Abstract nouns – things you cannot see or touch (e.g., bravery, joy)
- Collective nouns – words to describe groups (e.g., team, choir)
- Compound nouns – nouns made up of more than one word (e.g., court-martial, pickpocket, water bottle)
- Concrete nouns – things you can see or touch (e.g., tree, cloud)
- Non-countable nouns (mass nouns) – things you cannot count (e.g., food, music)
- Gender-specific nouns – words which are definitely male or female (e.g., vixen, actress)
- Verbal nouns – nouns derived from verbs (e.g., a building, an attack)
- Gerunds – nouns that represent actions (e.g., running fast, guessing a number)
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. For example:- 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, but the second Auntie is part of a proper noun.)
- The Red Lion
Collective Nouns
A collective noun is the word used for a group of people or things. For example:- Choir
- Team
- Jury
- Shoal
- Cabinet (of ministers)
- Regiment
Read more about treating collective nouns as singular and plural.
Pronouns
A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun.Pronouns are one of the eight parts of speech which are adjectives, adverbs
conjunctions, interjections, nouns, prepositions, pronouns, and verbs.
Even though they are classified as a different part of speech to nouns, pronouns are nouns. They always play the role of a noun in a sentence.
- 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.)
- Some / Who / This (The term pronoun covers lots of words, and all three words above are classified as pronouns. There is whole section dedicated to pronouns.)
(It is a pronoun. Here, it replaces the common noun post.)
Gerunds
Gerunds are formed from verbs. They end -ing. They are a type of common noun.- I love baking. (baking – the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb to bake.)
- Thinking is required to solve this problem. (thinking – the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb to think.)
- I love baking bread. (Here, bread is the object of the gerund baking.)
- Thinking laterally is required to solve this problem. (Here, the gerund thinking has been modified by the adverb laterally.)
Compound Nouns
Compound nouns are nouns made up of two or more words. Some compound nouns are hyphenated, some are not, and some combine their words to form a single word. For example:- Mother-in-law
- Board of members
- Court-martial
- Forget-me-not
- Manservant
- Pickpocket
- Paper-clip
See Also
What are adjectives? What are adverbs? What are conjunctions? What are interjections? What are nouns? What are prepositions? What are verbs? What are pronouns? The different types of pronouns Abstract nouns Collective nouns Compound nouns Concrete nouns Non-countable nouns (mass nouns) Gender-specific nouns Gerunds Verbal nouns Noun clauses Noun phrases
Beware
No Capital Letters for Common Nouns
A common noun does not start with a capital letter (unless it starts a sentence or is part of a title). It is a common mistake to capitalize a common noun that is an important word in a sentence.- He disobeyed a direct Order.
(The word order is a common noun. It should not be written with a capital letter.) - It is the largest Church in Birmingham.
(The word church is a common noun. It should not be written with a capital letter.)
Read more about capital letters for proper nouns but not common nouns.
Only Capitalize the Principal Words in Titles
When names contain words such as the, of, an or in (i.e., articles and prepositions), these words are not usually given capital letters.- I must visit the Tower of London.
(The word of is not a principal word. Therefore, it is not given a capital letter.) - Have you seen Day of the Jackal?
(The words of and the are not principal words. Therefore, they are not given capital letters.)
Read more about capital letters with Title Case.
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. For example:- That team is the worst in the league.
(Here, team is treated as singular.)
- The team are not communicating among themselves.
(Here, team is treated as plural.)
Read more about treating collective nouns as singular and plural.
Forming the Plural of Compound Nouns
To form the plural of a compound noun, pluralize the principal word in the compound. When there is no obvious principal word, add s (or es) to the end of the compound. For example:- Mothers-in-law
(Pluralize the principal word mother.)
- Paper-clips
(Pluralize the principal word clip.)
- Forget-me-nots
(Here, there is 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.
Read more about forming the plurals of compound nouns.