Nouns | English Grammar for Class 6 PDF Download

What are Nouns?

• A noun is a word that names something, such as a person, place, thing, or idea. 
• Example:
  A person: like "Ram" or "Riya"
  A place: like "Delhi" or "Australia"
  An animal: like "dog" or "tiger"
  A thing: like a "chair" or "laptop"

Types of Nouns

Nouns form a large proportion and come in a wide variety of types. 

1. Common Nouns

• A common noun is a general name for any person, place, animal, or thing. 
• For example, the word "girl" refers to all girls in general, not just one specific girl. 
• Names like Radha and Priya are specific names and refer to one person each. 
• Other examples of common nouns include words like cities, states, and boys, which refer to entire groups.

Example of Common Noun

2. Proper Nouns

• A proper noun is the specific name of a particular person, place, animal, or thing. 
• For example, names like Mumbai, Agra, Shruti, Dimple, Sahil, Yamuna River, and Red Fort are all proper nouns. 
• Unlike common nouns, proper nouns refer to something specific rather than a whole group.

Difference between Proper and Common Noun

3. Collective Nouns

• A collective noun is a name used for a group of people, animals, or things considered as one unit. 
• It refers to a collection of items as a single entity. 
• For instance, an army is a group of soldiers, a swarm is a group of bees, and a flock is a group of sheep. A shoal is a group of fish.

Collective Noun

4. Material Nouns

• Material nouns are names of substances or materials from which things are made.
• Examples:
  "This wardrobe is made of iron." (Iron is the material used to make the wardrobe, so 'iron' is a material noun.)
  "Be careful, it is made of glass." (Glass is the material, so 'glass' is a material noun.)

Material Noun

5. Countable & Uncountable Nouns

• Countable nouns are nouns that you can count.
• Examples:
  "Do you have an extra pen?" (You can count pens, so 'pen' is a countable noun.)
  "Jim owns a guitar." (There is one guitar, so 'guitar' is a countable noun.)
  
• Uncountable nouns are nouns that you cannot count as individual units.
• Examples:
  "Do we have some rice?" (You can't count rice as individual units, so 'rice' is an uncountable noun.)
  "I am going for a walk to get some fresh air." (You can't count air as individual units, so 'air' is an uncountable noun.)

6. Singular & Plural Nouns

• Singular nouns refer to just one person, animal, place, or thing.
• Examples:
  "I adopted a cat from an animal shelter." (Here, 'cat' is a singular noun because it refers to one cat.)
  "Robert is my best friend." (Here, 'Robert' is a singular noun because it refers to one person.)
  
• Plural nouns refer to more than one person, animal, place, or thing.
• Examples:
  "We need more balloons for the party." (Here, 'balloons' is a plural noun because it refers to more than one balloon.)
  "There are many students in my class." (Here, 'students' is a plural noun because it refers to more than one student.)

Remember

• A', 'an' and 'one' are used with singular countable nouns.
  Examples: a pen, an apple, a dog.
• Countable nouns are qualified by 'many', 'a few' and numbers.
  Examples: two pencils, a few children, many books.

7. Gender Nouns

• Gender nouns are specific to a particular gender and are used to describe people based on their gender.
• Examples:
  "Robert is the landlord of this flat." (If the owner is a man, 'landlord' is the gender noun.)
  "Olivia is the landlady of this apartment." (If the owner is a woman, 'landlady' is the gender noun.)

8. Abstract Nouns

• An abstract noun is a word that names a quality, feeling, or idea that we can think about or feel, but we cannot touch or see it.
• Examples: hope, honesty, health, courage, pity, joy, pain, sleep, death, etc.

Formation of Abstract Nouns

1. From Adjectives

• Kind → Kindness
• Able → Ability
• Brave → Bravery
• Generous → Generosity

2. From Common Nouns

• Patriot → Patriotism
• Brother → Brotherhood
• Companion → Companionship
• Servant → Service

3. From Verbs

• Act → Action
• Satisfy → Satisfaction
• Punish → Punishment
• Heal → Health