What is a noun? / types and example

A noun is a word that represents a person, place, thing or idea. In simple terms, nouns are words used to name something. 

For example:

• Person: teacher, student, Thomas etc. 
• Place: school, part, hospital etc.
• Thing: book, table, pen etc.
• Idea: love, freedom etc.

Nouns are assencial in constructing sentences because they serve as the subject or object of sentence. 

There are two main types of nouns: common nouns and proper nouns.

Common nouns 

Word for people, place, animals and things are called common nouns.

Thing:

Ruler, pen, crayons, pencil, book, dictionary, chair, table, sofa, lamp, carpet, hammer, saw, drill, ship, truck, ferry, train, bus, computer, etc.

Animals:

Dog, cat, cow, horse, sheep, goat, frog, fox, elephant, kangaroo, bear, lion, tiger, whale, etc. 

Places:

Places:

Bank, hospital, beach, library, museum, mall, theather, airport, gas station, park, form, zoo, factory, school, university, office, mosque, church, temple, supermarket, stadium, etc. 

People:

Singer, dance, artist, photographer, magician, athlete, manager, secretary, teacher, doctor, dentist, lawyer, sailor, piloto, driver, writer, friend, brother, gardener, farmer, clerk, etc. 

Proper nouns

The names of particular people, places and things are proper nouns. They always begin with a capital letter. 

People name's

• Rabi Hood
• Alladin
• Harry Potter
• David Beckam
• Cr
• Cristiano Ronaldo 
• Leonel Massi. 

Month:

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. 

Singular nouns

Nouns can be singular or plural. 

When you are talking about just one thing or person, use a singular noun. 

For example:

• A tent, a taxi, a house, a park, a doctor, a lady, an idea, an oven, an exercise etc. 

Plural nouns

Use a plural noun when you are talking about two or more people, places or things. Just add s to make most nouns plural. 

For example:

• Computers, chairs, train, players, teachers, taxis, mountains, rivers, insects, uncles, etc. 

Notes: words called articles or determiners are used to signal nouns. 

A river             an armachair    tree biscuits

A castle                 an idea            five eggs

The article an is used before nouns that begin with the vowels a, e, i, o and u. 

An artist            an eye               an insect

an oven           an umbrella

The article a is used before nouns that begin with the other letter, called consonants. But some words don't follow these rules. 

• A uniform, a unit, a user: a, not an, is used because the vowel u in this words is pronounced like the word you;
• An hour, an heir, an honor: an, not a because the consonant h in these words is not pronounced. 

Collective nouns 

Word for group of people, animals or things are called collective nouns. 

Here are some collective nouns for groups of people. 

• A family, a team, a comunity, a choir, a banda, an orchestra, an audience, a crew, a club, a company, a gang, the governmernt, the army, etc. 

Collective nouns mey be used with a singular verb or with a plural verb. If the group is acting as a single unity, use a singular verb. If group members are verb. For example:

The crowd was orderly. Or

The crowd were clappind, yelling and cheering. 

Notes: always use a plural verb with the collective nouns, people and police. For example: 

those people leve (not lives) in Africa. 

The police have caught (not has caugth) the thief. 

Here are more collective nouns you can use for groups of people. 

• A crowd of shoppers 
• A company of actors
• A class of schoolchildren
• A gang of thieves
• A panel of judges 
• A platoon of soldier. 

Many groups of animals have their own special collective nouns. 

• A herd of cattle 
• A flack of birds
• A drove of sheep
• A gaggle of geese
• A pack of wolves 
• A pride of lions
• A pod of dolphis
• A school of fish
• A little of puppies
• A troop of monkeys
• A brood of chickens
• A swarm of bees. 

Some groups of things also have their own special collective nouns. 

• A bunch of banana
• A cluster of Grã pés 
• Bunch of flowers
• A bouquet of flowers
• A range of montains
• A fleet of ships
• A fleet of veihcles
• A deck of cards
• A flight of steps
• A suite of rooms
• A set of tools
• A string of beads
• A grove of trees

Some nouns names the amount or form of something. 

A loaf of bread                       a bar of soap

A Ball of string                       a bar of chocolate

The some word a piece of thing mean a single serving or part of something. 

• A slice/piece of bread
• A piece/aquare of chocolate
• A sheet/piece of paper
• A piece of informations