2. What are Noun?
➢Nouns are naming words.
➢They name people, places and objects.
➢They can also name ideas, emotions,
qualities and activities.
➢Here are some examples of nouns:
➢Peter, Elizabeth, driver, sister, friend.
➢Bristol, Brazil, pen, dog, money.
➢Love, beauty, industry, nature, greed.
3. Types of noun
➢All nouns can be divided into common and proper
nouns.
➢Common nouns can then be divided into countable
and uncountable nouns.
➢Both countable and uncountable nouns can then be
further divided into concrete and abstract nouns.
➢We’ll look at each type in turn.
4. First, look again at those types and how
they relate.
nouns
proper
common
countable
uncountable
abstract
concrete
abstract
concrete
5. What is a common noun?
• Common nouns are used to name a
GENERAL type of person, place or thing.
• Common nouns can be divided into smaller
classes such as countable and uncountable
nouns, concrete and abstract nouns and
collective nouns.
• Examples of common nouns: girl, city,
animal, friend, house, food
6. • Common nouns are usually not capitalized.
Notice the common nouns in the following
sentence:
• My sister and her friend plan to ride their
bikes to the movies.
• The four common nouns in this sentence
(sister, friend, bikes, movies) are not
capitalized.
7. What is a proper noun?
Proper noun is used to name a SPECIFIC person, place
or thing. In English, proper nouns begin with a capital
letter.
Proper nouns do not normally have a determiner before
them (e.g. the London, the Mary etc.) though there are
some exceptions (e.g. Is she the Mary that we met at
the conference?).
• Examples of proper nouns: John, London, Dohuk,
Monday, France, March.
9. Common noun Proper noun
man, boy John
woman, girl Mary
country, town England, London
company Ford, Sony
shop, restaurant Amazon, Subway
month, day of the
week
January, Sunday
book, film War and Peace, Titanic
10. Exercise
Underline the common nouns and circle the proper nouns in
these sentences.
1.I told Uncle John about my accident.
2.Kim and Stephanie wore masks on Halloween.
3.The lawnmower is broken.
4.We’re going to the movies tomorrow.
5.The lion is playing with one of its cubs.
6. We’re reading a story about a boy called Harry Potter.
11. Answer:
1.I told Uncle John about my accident.
2.Kim and Stephanie wore masks on Halloween.
3.The lawnmower is broken.
4.We’re going to the movies tomorrow.
5.The lion is playing with one of its cubs.
6. We’re reading a story about a boy called Harry Potter.
12. Countable nouns
• Countable nouns are nouns that CAN be counted.
They have a singular and a plural form and can be
used with a number. Sometimes countable nouns
are called count nouns.
• Examples of countable nouns: car, desk, cup,
house, bike, eye, butterfly
13. Uncountable nouns
• Uncountable nouns are nouns that CANNOT be
counted. These are sometimes called Mass
Nouns. Uncountable nouns often refer to:
• substances: paper, wood, plastic
• liquids: milk, oil , juice
• gases: air, oxygen
• abstract ideas: happiness, time, information
• Examples of uncountable nouns: water, coffee,
cheese, sand, furniture, skin, wool, gold, fur.
14. Countable vs. Uncountable Nouns
• A) Most nouns have singular and plural forms. They
are countable nouns.
• e.g. One letter, two letters
• There is a letter on the table for you. (singular)
• There are letters on the table for you. (plural)
15. • B) Some nouns only have one form. They are
uncountable nouns.
• e.g. Money
• There is no money in my bank account.
• There is a lot of money in my bank account.
16. C) Many uncountable nouns refer to substances:
e.g. Chocolate, water, coffee, milk, sugar, salt,
cheese, bread, rice, wood, glass, plastic, soap,
toothpaste.
➢Do you have any chocolate?
➢Rice is only edible when it has been cooked.
17. D) Many uncountable nouns refer to abstract ideas
or emotions.
e.g. love, sadness, happiness, education, knowledge,
and grammar.
➢Money can't buy love.
➢We like to experience happiness.
➢This education is priceless.
18. E) You can use a/an with singular countable nouns.
e.g. an umbrella, a wheel, a mistake.
➢It's raining so I need an umbrella.
➢I made a mistake.
➢This is a job for superman.
19. F) You can use plural countable nouns alone.
e.g. apples, bees, clouds.
➢There are clouds in the sky today.
➢There are bees making honey.
➢We eat apples for breakfast.
20.
21. Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are words that refer to a
set or group of people, animals or things.
• Examples of collective nouns: staff,
team, crew, herd, flock, bunch
22. Concrete nouns
• Concrete nouns are nouns which refer to people and
things that exist physically and that at least one of
the senses can detect (can be seen, felt, heard,
smelled/smelt, or tasted). They are mostly the
names of objects and animals (countable) and
substances or materials (uncountable).
• Examples of concrete nouns: dog, iron, glass,
pomegranate, tree, apple, moon, coin, sock, ball, water
23. Abstract Nouns
Abstract nouns are nouns that have no physical
existence and are not concrete. They refer to ideas,
emotions or concepts so you CANNOT see, touch, hear,
smell or taste something that is an abstract noun. Many
abstract nouns are uncountable.
• Examples of abstract nouns: love, time, happiness,
bravery, creativity, justice, freedom, speed
24. Abstract nouns
• Most, though not all, are uncountable.
• Many are derived from adjectives and verbs
and have characteristic endings such as –ity,
-ness, -ence, and -tion.
• They are harder to recognise as nouns than
the concrete variety.
25. Abstract noun or adjective
• You won’t confuse abstract nouns with
adjectives, as long as you apply a few tests.
• Happy is an adjective. It behaves like one:
very happy; so happy; happier; as happy as
• Happiness behaves like a noun: The
happiness I feel; her happiness; great
happiness.
26. A few more examples
Verb or adjective Abstract noun
We were different
from each other.
The difference
between us.
My work is precise. I work with precision.
The air is pure. The purity of the air.
I composed this
tune.
This tune is my
composition.
It is so beautiful. It has such beauty.
You support me. The support you give me.
27. Gerunds
A gerund, sometimes called a verbal noun, is a
noun formed from a verb. Since all gerunds
end in -ing, they are sometimes confused as
being a verb (present participle).
28. Example: Running is good for you.
• Here running looks like a verb because of
its -ing ending but it is a noun (gerund)
because we are talking about the concept of
running, we are talking about a thing.
• Examples of gerunds: reading, writing,
dancing, thinking, flying
29. Compound Nouns
• Compound nouns are two or more words that create a
noun. Compound nouns are sometimes one word
(haircut), words joined by a hyphen (son-in-law) or as
separate words (bus stop). The main stress is
normally on the first part of the compound word
(sunglasses, swimming pool)
• Examples of compound nouns: toothbrush, rainfall,
sailboat, mother-in-law, well-being, alarm clock, credit
card
