Noun Vocabulary

Question 1

What is a noun?

Answer 1

A noun is a word that names something, such as a person, place, thing, animal, or idea.
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Nouns can name “things”

Things might include intangible things, such as concepts, activities, or processes. Some might even be hypothetical or imaginary things.

Example: shoe, faucet, freedom, The Elder Wand, basketball

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In a sentence, nouns can play the role of subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, object complement, appositive, or modifier.

Question 2

How many different types of nouns are there?

Answer 2

There are 10 different types of nouns

Common nouns

Proper nouns

Single nouns

Plural nouns: Regular and Irregular

Concrete nouns

Abstract nouns

Collective nouns

Compound nouns

Countable nouns

Uncountable nouns

Question 3

What is a Proper Noun?

Answer 3

A proper noun is a specific name of a person, place, or thing and is always capitalized.

Example: Does Tina have much homework to do this evening?

Tina is the name of a specific person.

Example: I would like to visit Old Faithful.

Old Faithful is the specific name of a geological phenomenon.

Question 4

What is a Common Noun?

Answer 4

The opposite of a proper noun is a common noun, sometimes known as a generic noun.

A common noun is the generic name of an item in a class or group and is not capitalized unless appearing at the beginning of a sentence or in a title.

Example: The girl crossed the river.

Girl is a common noun; we do not learn the identity of the girl by reading this sentence, though we know the action she takes.

River is also a common noun in this sentence.

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Types of Common Nouns

Common or generic nouns can be broken down into three subtypes: concrete nouns, abstract nouns, and collective nouns.

Question 5

What is a Concrete Noun?

Answer 5

A concrete noun is something that is perceived by the senses; something that is physical or real.

Example: I heard the doorbell.

Example: My keyboard is sticky.

Doorbell and keyboard name real things that can be sensed.

Question 6

What is an Abstract Noun?

Answer 6

An abstract noun is something that cannot be perceived by the senses.

Example: We can’t imagine the courage it took to do that.

Courage is an abstract noun. Courage can’t be seen, heard, or sensed in any other way, but we know it exists.

Question 7

What is a Singular Noun?

Question 8

What is a Plural Noun?

Answer 8

Many English plural nouns can be formed by adding-s or-es to the singular form, although there are also many exceptions.

Example: cat —> cats

Example: These two cats are both black.

Note the plural verb are.

Example: tax —> taxes

Example: house —> houses

Question 9

What is a Collective Noun?

Answer 9

A collective noun denotes a group or collection of people or things.

Example: That pack of lies is disgraceful.

Pack as used here is a collective noun. Collective nouns take a singular verb, as they refer to the collection of people or things they identify as one entity—in this case, the singular verb is.

Example: A pride of lions roamed the savanna.

Pride is also a collective noun

Question 10

What is an Irregular Plural Noun
(-f to -ves plurals)

Question 11

What is an Irregular Plural Noun
(-en plurals)

Question 12

What is an Irregular Plural Noun?
(Base Plural)

Question 13

What is an Irregular Plural Noun?
(Mutant Plurals)

Question 14

What is an Irregular Plural Noun?
(Foreign Plurals)

Question 15

How many different types of common nouns are there?

Answer 15

Common or generic nouns can be broken down into three subtypes: concrete nouns, abstract nouns, and collective nouns.

Question 16

Nouns and Number

Answer 16

All nouns are either singular or plural in number.

A singular noun refers to one person, place, thing, or idea and requires a singular verb, while a plural noun refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea and requires a plural verb.

Question 17

Countable Nouns

Answer 17

Concrete and abstract common nouns can be further classified as either countable or uncountable.

Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted, even if the resulting number would be extraordinarily high (like the number of humans in the world).

Countable nouns can be singular or plural and can be used with numbers and modifiers like a/an, the, some, any, a few, and many.

Example: Here is a cat.

Example: Here are a few cats.

Example: Here are eight cats.

Question 18

Uncountable Nouns

Answer 18

Concrete and abstract common nouns can be further classified as either countable or uncountable.

Uncountable nouns, or mass nouns, are nouns that are impossible to count, whether because they name intangible concepts (e.g., information, animal husbandry, wealth), collections of things that are considered as wholes (e.g., jewelry, equipment, the working class), or homogeneous physical substances (e.g., milk, sand, air).

Although most of these nouns are singular in form, because they refer to things that can’t be isolated and counted on their own, they are never used with the singular indefinite article a or an.

Singular concrete uncountable nouns can often be expressed in countable units by adding a countable noun like piece (with of).

On their own, uncountable nouns can be modified by the definite article, the, or indefinite adjectives like some.

Example: They’d love to rent some property around here.

Example: They’d love to rent a piece of property around here.

Example: Students don’t seem to have much homework these days.

Example: Could you help me move the furniture into the other room?