Noun: Classes of Nouns, Forms and Gender

Noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract ideas.

Classes of Nouns

Common Noun is a noun referring to a person, place, or thing in a general sense— usually you should write it with a capital letter only when it begins a sentence.

Proper Noun is always starts with capital letter, since the noun represents the name of a specific person, place, thing or idea.

Abstract Noun – name ideas, qualities, or feelings that cannot be seen or touched.

• When Patrick dived into the violent water to rescue a drowning puppy, his bravery amazed the crowd of fishermen standing on the dock.

Concrete Noun is a noun which names anything (or anyone) that can be perceived through the physical senses:  touch, sight, taste, hearing, or smell.

• Karl cuddled the wet puppy under his warm jacket.

Compound Nouns are nouns that are made up of two or more words.

• book + mark = bookmark        (one word)
• great-grandmother                    (hyphenated)
• maid of honor                           (more than 1 word)

Collective Noun is a noun naming a group of things, animals, or persons.  It is important to remember that a collective noun usually takes a singular verb.

Count Noun is a noun with both a singular and a plural form, and it names anything (or anyone) that can be counted.

• You may need an umbrella.

Mass Noun is a noun which does not have a plural form, and which refers to something that could (or would) not usually count.

• Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen.

Forms of Nouns

Singular Nouns – refers to one object.

• dog, chair, table, flower, apple

Plural Nouns – refers to two or more objects.

• dogs, chairs, tables, flowers, apples

Gender

Masculine – refers to persons or animals of male sex.

• man, father, uncle, lad, king, groom, actor, gander

Feminine – refers to person or animals of female sex.

• woman, mother, auntie, lass, queen, bride, actress, goose

Neuter – refers to objects with no sex.

• tree, table, watch, car, slipper

Common – refers to nouns that are either male of female.

• cousin, teenager, doctor, cook, parent, friend, colleague

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Category: Communication Skills