This document defines nouns and describes their different types: 1) Proper nouns refer to unique individuals, places, or events and begin with a capital letter. Common nouns represent members of a class. 2) Collective nouns are singular but refer to groups, material nouns refer to substances things are made of, and abstract nouns refer to concepts without physical form. 3) The document provides exercises to identify nouns and their kind in sentences, and whether proper nouns should be capitalized. It concludes with bibliographic references.

1. NOUNCourse: Diploma-1
Subject: English Communication and Life Skills-1
Unit-1

2. Define: Noun
By the term Noun we mean name.
Noun is name of a person, place, animal or
thing.
We define Noun as a word used to identify
any class of people, places or things.
A noun may belong to a given class
because of characteristic features of its
referent, such as sex, animacy, shape, but
counting a given noun among nouns of such
or another class is often clearly conventional. 1

3. Name the kinds of Nouns.
There are five kinds of Nouns.
They are:
1} Proper Noun
A noun belonging to the class of words used
as names for unique individuals, events, or places.
Proper Nouns begin with a capital letter. Example:
India, Ahmedabad, Tiger, Sachin, etc.
2} Common Noun
A noun that represents one or all of the members of
a class. Example: college, school, boy, animal, etc.

4. 3} Collective Noun
A noun that is singular in form but refers to a group of people
or things.
Example: a group of monkeys, a bouquet of flowers, a bunch
of flowers/keys/Grapes/papers, a groove of trees, etc.
4} Material Noun
A noun that refers to a material, substance or ingredient that
other things are made from.
Example: Iron, Milk, Gold, Wood, etc.
5} Abstract Noun
An abstract noun refers to states, events, concepts, feelings,
qualities, etc., that have no physical existence. Words which
can neither be seen nor touched, they can be felt.
Example: happiness, hunger, anger, love, etc.
2

5. Exercise A
• Underline the Nouns and mention its kind:
1) Ram is a student of Rai University Ahmedabad.
2) Earth is a planet.
3) Ram values friendship.
4) She reached the station very early.
5) My father’s name is Govind, he stays in Pune.
6) My mother likes honesty.
7) William Shakespeare is a famous English author.
8) John’s two dogs are named Roger and Rover.
9) I saw a pride of lions at the zoo.
10) The king is known for his bravery.

6. Exercise B
Which nouns need to be
capitalized?• Complete each sentence with the correct form of
the noun in parenthesis:
1) I am going to the ___ in the evening. (lake/Lake)
2) Ram and Shyam have gone to ___ for the
weekend. (mt.abu/ Mt. Abu)
3) My parents went to ___. (new delhi/ New Delhi)
4) We live near the ___. (city/ City)
5) My birthday is next ___. (month/Month)
6) My father’s birthday is in ___. (january/ January)
7) I could see ___ with my telescope. (jupiter/
Jupiter)
8) I am learning ___. (english/ English)

7. Bibliography and References
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun_class
2. www.wordreference.com/definition/collectiv
e%20noun
Books:
3. Wren and Martin-High School English
Grammar and Composition