Free Worksheets, Lessons, Quizzes
Free Worksheets, Lessons, Quizzes
There are different types of nouns. A noun is a word that refers to a person, place or thing. So, noun is a word that represents everything we can see or talk about. This word is also called a ‘naming word’. Therefore, ‘a noun is a naming word’.
Basically, there are eight main types of nouns. Look at the following list of types of nouns.
Types of nouns
A common noun refers to people, animals, places or things in general.
Examples of common nouns:
Also, common nouns can be ‘singular nouns’ or ‘plural nouns’.
A common noun that refers to only one person, animal, place or thing is called a ‘singular noun’.
A common noun that refers to more than one person, animal, place or thing is called a ‘plural noun’.
Look at the following list of singular and plural forms of common nouns.
Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
bird | birds |
bee | bees |
plant | plants |
window | windows |
table | tables |
city | cities |
country | countries |
state | states |
boy | boys |
parent | parents |
teacher | teachers |
doctor | doctors |
woman | women |
sister | sisters |
monkey | monkeys |
A proper noun identifies a specific person, place or thing, which are names. A proper noun usually begins with a ‘capital letter’. Usually, a proper noun doesn’t have a singular or plural form.
Examples of proper nouns:
A concrete noun refers to a person, animal or thing, which can be physically seen, touched, smelled, heard or tasted. A concrete noun also has a singular and a plural form.
Examples of concrete nouns:
Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
book | books |
puppy | puppies |
rose | roses |
radio | radios |
muffin | muffins |
An abstract noun refers to emotions, feelings, ideas, qualities or characteristics, which cannot be physically seen, touched, smelled, heard or tasted. Some abstract nouns have a plural form too.
Examples of abstract nouns:
Some abstract nouns have a plural form too. Look at the following singular and plural forms of abstract nouns.
Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
dream | dreams |
damage | damages |
hope | hopes |
earning | earnings |
value | values |
weakness | weaknesses |
strength | strengths |
condolence | condolences |
talent | talents |
A compound noun is a combination of two or more words which join together to make a single noun.
Examples of compound nouns:
A compound noun can be made up of joining;
Example: bedroom
‘bed’ is a noun.
‘room’ is also a noun.
We can join these two nouns ‘bed’ and ‘room’ together and make the single noun ‘bedroom’.
A compound noun can be made by joining two nouns together
Example: blackboard
‘black’ is an adjective.
‘board’ is a noun.
We can join this adjective ‘black’ and the noun ‘board’ together and make the single noun ‘blackboard’.
A compound noun can be made by joining an adjective and a noun together
Example: washing machine
‘washing’ is a verb.
‘machine’ is a noun.
We can join this verb ‘washing’ and the noun ‘machine’ together and make the compound noun ‘washing machine’.
A compound noun can be made by joining a verb and a noun together
Example: bystander
‘by’ is a preposition.
‘stander’ is a noun.
We can join this preposition ‘by’ and the noun ‘stander’ together and make the single noun ‘bystander’.
A compound noun can be made by joining a verb and a noun together
Example: snowfall
‘snow’ is a noun.
‘fall’ is a verb.
We can join the noun ‘snow’ and the verb ‘fall’ together and make the single noun ‘snowfall’.
A compound noun can be made by joining a noun and a verb together
Example: passer-by
‘passer’ is a noun.
‘by’ is a preposition.
We can join the noun ‘passer’ and the preposition ‘by’ together and make the compound noun ‘passer-by’.
A compound noun can be made by joining a noun and a preposition together
Example: takeoff
‘take’ is a verb.
‘off’ is a preposition.
We can join the verb ‘take’ and the preposition ‘off’ together and make the compound noun ‘takeoff’.
A compound noun can be made by joining a verb and a preposition together
Example: whitewash
‘white’ is an adjective.
‘wash’ is a verb.
We can join the adjective ‘white’ and the verb ‘wash’ and make the compound noun ‘whitewash’.
A compound noun can be made by joining an adjective and a verb together
A compound noun can also have a plural form. Look at the following singular and plural forms of compound nouns.
Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
bedroom | bedrooms |
blackboard | blackboards |
washing machine | washing machines |
bystander | bystanders |
snowfall | snowfalls |
passer-by | passers-by |
takeoff | take-offs |
whitewash | whitewashes |
A collective noun refers to a group of people, animals or things. A collective noun may also have a singular and plural form.
Examples of collective nouns:
Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
a class of students | classes of students |
a flock of birds | flocks of birds |
a stack of wood | stacks of wood |
a bowl of soup | bowls of soup |
a school of whales | schools of whales |
a library of books | libraries of books |
a loaf of bread | loaves of bread |
a chest of drawers | chests of drawers |
a choir of singers | choirs of singers |
a bundle of sticks | bundles of sticks |
a bar of chocolate | bars of chocolate |
a troupe of dancers | troupes of dancers |
A class of students
A library of books
A school of whales
A choir of singers
A chest of drawers
A countable noun refers to things which can be counted. Also, a countable noun has a singular and a plural form.
Examples of countable nouns:
Singular Nouns | Plural Nouns |
orange | oranges |
potato | potatoes |
coin | coins |
chair | chairs |
bottle | bottles |
knife | knives |
box | boxes |
plate | plates |
man | men |
mango | mangoes |
wolf | wolves |
lady | ladies |
An uncountable noun refers to things that cannot be counted. For example; we cannot count ‘water’. Instead, we can count ‘glasses of water’.
Examples of uncountable nouns: