Overview: Nouns | Basic English Grammar for Competitive Exams - Bank Exams PDF Download

Introduction to Nouns

A noun is a word used to represent a person, place, thing, or idea. It is one of the most essential parts of speech in the English language. Nouns can be classified into various categories based on their usage and functionality.

Types of Nouns

1. Common Nouns: These nouns are general names for people, places, things, or ideas. They are not specific to a particular entity.

• Example: The city is bustling with people.

2. Proper Nouns: These nouns refer to specific names of people, places, things, or ideas. They are always capitalized.

• Example: New York is known for its skyscrapers.

3. Abstract Nouns: These nouns are intangible concepts, ideas, or qualities. They do not have a physical existence.

• Example: Love is a powerful emotion.

4. Concrete Nouns: These nouns refer to things that have a physical existence, i.e., they can be perceived by our senses.

• Example: The table is made of wood.

5. Countable Nouns: These nouns can be counted and have both singular and plural forms.

• Example: There are three apples in the basket.

6. Uncountable Nouns: These nouns cannot be counted and do not have plural forms.

• Example: The room is filled with furniture.

7. Collective Nouns: These nouns refer to groups or collections of people, animals, or things.

• Example: The team is working hard to meet the deadline.

8. Compound Nouns: These nouns are formed by combining two or more words, either with or without hyphens, or by merging the words.

• Example: The bookstore is having a sale.

9. Possessive Nouns: These nouns indicate ownership or possession by adding an apostrophe and 's' to the noun.

• Example: Sarah's cat is very friendly.

Rules Related Nouns

1. Nouns represent people, places, things, or ideas: Nouns are words that identify or name persons, places, objects, concepts, or ideas, such as teacher, city, car, or love.

2. Nouns can be singular or plural: Singular nouns refer to only one person, place, thing, or idea, while plural nouns refer to more than one. Plural nouns are typically formed by adding an -s or -es to the end of the singular noun (e.g., cat/cats, box/boxes).

3. Proper nouns name specific people, places, or things and are capitalized: Proper nouns refer to specific names of people, places, organizations, or things and always begin with a capital letter (e.g., John, Paris, Apple Inc.).

4. Common nouns refer to general, non-specific people, places, or things and are not capitalized: Common nouns are used to refer to any member of a group or class, and they are not capitalized unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence (e.g., dog, city, school).

5. Countable nouns can be counted and have singular and plural forms: Countable nouns are those that can be counted and have both singular and plural forms (e.g., one cat, two cats; one box, three boxes).

6. Uncountable nouns cannot be counted and usually do not have plural forms: Uncountable nouns refer to substances, concepts, or things that cannot be easily counted or separated into individual units, and they usually do not have plural forms (e.g., water, information, furniture).

7. Collective nouns refer to groups of people or things: Collective nouns are words that represent a group or collection of people, animals, or things, such as team, family, or flock.

8. Nouns can function as subjects, objects, or complements in a sentence: Depending on their position in a sentence, nouns can function as the subject (the person or thing performing the action), the object (the person or thing receiving the action), or the complement (a word that provides additional information about the subject or object).

9. Possessive nouns indicate ownership or possession: Possessive nouns show that something belongs to someone or something else. To form possessive nouns, an apostrophe and an "s" are usually added to singular nouns (e.g., the girl's book), while only an apostrophe is added to plural nouns ending in "s" (e.g., the girls' books).

10. Nouns can be modified by adjectives or other nouns: Nouns can be described or clarified by adjectives that precede them (e.g., the red ball) or by other nouns that function as modifiers (e.g., the beach house).

Function of Nouns with Examples

1. Subject: A noun can function as the subject of a sentence, representing the person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about.

• Example: "Dogs make great pets."

2. Direct Object: A noun can function as a direct object, receiving the action of the verb in the sentence.

• Example: "She bought a new bicycle."

3. Indirect Object: A noun can function as an indirect object, representing the person or thing that the action is being done for or to.

• Example: "He gave his mother some flowers."

4. Object of a Preposition: A noun can function as the object of a preposition, following a preposition and providing more information about the relationship between words in the sentence.

• Example: "We went for a walk in the park."

5. Predicate Noun: A noun can function as a predicate noun, following a linking verb and providing more information about the subject of the sentence.

• Example: "She is a doctor."

6. Appositive: A noun can function as an appositive, providing more information or renaming another noun in the sentence.

• Example: "My friend, the artist, is very talented."

7. Noun of Direct Address: A noun can function as a noun of direct address, identifying the person being spoken to.

• Example: "John, please pass the salt."

8. Noun as an Adjective: A noun can function as an adjective, modifying another noun to provide more information about it.

• Example: "I love reading science fiction novels."

9. Possessive Noun: A noun can function as a possessive noun, showing ownership or a relationship between two nouns.

• Example: "This is Sarah's backpack."

Solved Exercise

Ex.1. Identifying Nouns
Directions: Identify the nouns in the following sentences.
(i) The dog chased the cat up a tree.

Nouns: dog, cat, tree
Dog, cat, and tree are all persons, animals, or things being discussed in the sentence.

(ii) Sarah loves to read books by the ocean.

Nouns: Sarah, books, ocean
Sarah is a person, books are things, and the ocean is a place; all are nouns in the sentence.

(iii) Happiness is the key to a successful life.

Nouns: Happiness, key, life
Happiness and life are abstract ideas, while the key is a thing; all are nouns in the sentence.

Ex.2. Identifying Types of Nouns
Directions: Identify the type of noun (proper, common, collective, or abstract) in the following sentences.
(i) The committee decided to postpone the event.

Noun: committee
Type: collective noun
A committee is a group of people, making it a collective noun.

(ii) New York is a bustling city.

Noun: New York
Type: proper noun
New York is the name of a specific city, making it a proper noun.

(iii) She felt a sense of accomplishment after finishing her project.

Noun: accomplishment
Type: abstract noun
Accomplishment is an idea or feeling, making it an abstract noun.

Ex.3. Plural Nouns
Directions: Write the plural form of the given nouns.
(i) child

Plural: children
Explanation: The plural of child is children, which is an irregular plural form.

(ii) city

Plural: cities
When a noun ends in -y and has a consonant before it, change the -y to -ies for the plural form.

(iii) box

Plural: boxes
Explanation: When a noun ends in -x, add -es to form the plural.

Ex.4. Possessive Nouns
Directions: Rewrite the following phrases using possessive nouns.

(i) The bicycle of John.

Possessive noun: John's bicycle
We show possession by adding 's to the noun (John).

(ii)  The toys belonging to the children.

Possessive noun: The children's toys
Explanation: We show possession by adding 's to the plural noun (children).

(iii) The report of the committee.

Possessive noun: The committee's report
Explanation: We show possession by adding 's to the noun (committee).

Spotting Errors

Ex.1. Identify the errors in the following sentences and correct them.
The advices she gave me really helped.

The advice she gave me really helped.

The deers were grazing in the meadow.

The deer were grazing in the meadow.

The furnitures were in good condition.

The furniture was in good condition.

Ex.2. Find the errors in the following sentences and provide the corrected version.

The childs were playing in the park.

The children were playing in the park.

The womens are attending a conference.

The women are attending a conference.

The criterions for the job are very strict.

The criteria for the job are very strict.

Ex.3. Find the errors in the following sentences and provide the corrected version.
Incorrect: The advices he gave us were very helpful.
Correct: The advice he gave us was very helpful.

"Advice" is an uncountable noun and does not take a plural form.

Incorrect: She has a lot of furnitures in her house.
Correct: She has a lot of furniture in her house.

"Furniture" is an uncountable noun and does not have a plural form.

Incorrect: The childrens were playing in the park.
Correct: The children were playing in the park.

"Children" is the correct plural form of the noun "child."

Incorrect: I have many informations about the project.
Correct: I have much information about the project.

"Information" is an uncountable noun and does not take the plural form "informations."

Incorrect: His knowledges in computer programming are impressive.
Correct: His knowledge in computer programming is impressive.

"Knowledge" is an uncountable noun and does not have a plural form.