A noun names a person, a place, a thing or an idea (The Eight Parts of Speech). Nouns come in several kinds, and one noun can belong to more than one kind at once.
| Kind | What it names | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| common | any one of a group | city, girl, river |
| proper | one particular one; starts with a capital | Chicago, Rosa, Mississippi River |
| concrete | something you can see, hear, touch, taste or smell | drum, soup, puppy |
| abstract | a feeling, a quality or an idea | courage, joy, friendship |
| collective | a group, as one unit | team, flock, family |
| singular / plural | one / more than one | box / boxes, child / children |
Key idea
Every noun names something, even when you can’t touch it. Courage and idea are nouns just as much as rock and apple.
Why it works
Knowing the kinds helps with writing. Proper nouns need capital letters. Collective nouns raise questions about which verb to use (“The team is ready”). And abstract nouns let us write about the things that matter most: kindness, freedom, hope.
Worked example: Find the nouns
Which words are nouns in “The team showed great courage in the final game”?
- team names a group: a collective noun.
- courage names a quality: an abstract noun.
- game names a thing: a concrete, common noun.
- Test each one: you can put the in front of it.
Answer: team, courage, game
Common mistake
Skipping abstract nouns because you can’t see or touch them. Test any word: can it follow the or his or her (“her honesty,” “the idea”)? Can it be the subject of a verb (“Honesty matters”)? Then it is a noun.