Nouns: Definition, Types, and Identification

Nouns: The Basics

• Nouns are naming words, encompassing places, animals, persons, things, qualities, states, and actions.
• It goes beyond just place, animal, person, or thing.
• It also includes qualities (honesty), states (confidence), and actions that are named.

Identifying Nouns

• Nouns can be identified by asking "who," "whom," or "what" in relation to a verb.
• A word answering "who," "whom," or "what" is either a noun or a pronoun.
• Nouns can also function as the object of a preposition.
• Example: "I went to Agra" - "Agra" is a noun as it's the object of the preposition "to."
• "I went home" - "Home" is an adverb as it answers "where" and modifies the verb "went".
• "I have a home" - "Home" is a noun as it answers "what do I have".

Types of Nouns

• Nouns can be: Proper, Common, Abstract, Concrete, Collective, Countable, and Uncountable.

Proper Nouns

• Proper Nouns are specific names given to someone or something.
• Always begin with a capital letter.
• Examples: Hitesh, Rohtang La, Delhi, India.

Common Nouns

• General names given to things with shared characteristics.
• Examples: boy, student, city, country.

Collective Nouns

• Denotes groups of items or individuals
• Examples: team, class, army, flock
• A Class (collective) consists of students (common), and a student can be named Bindu(proper).

Abstract Nouns

• Refer to things without physical presence, cannot be touched or seen.
• Can only be felt.
• Examples include qualities, states, and actions you can't physically sense like confidence, love, poverty, honesty, etc.
• Examples: Actions (laughter), States (nervousness), Qualities (beauty)

Concrete Nouns

• Are tangible and can be experienced through the five senses.
• Examples: book, table, flower, music, etc.

Material Nouns

• Material Nouns are raw materials from which other items are made.
• Examples are: water, sugar, wood, iron

Collective Nouns - Key Examples

• Refer to groups; can take singular or plural verbs depending on whether the group acts as a unit or individuals.
• Important examples include:
  • Herd: for herbivore animals
  • Pack: for canines, cards, or collections of items
  • Flock: for birds or small hoofed animals
  • Swarm: for insects
  • School/Shoal: for fish
  • Crowd: general group of people
  • Mob: an angry group
  • Group: general collection of people, places, or things
  • Gang: for criminals, sailors, or dock workers
  • Staff: people working in the same place
  • Crew: people working on planes or ships
  • Choir: group of singers
  • Orchestra: group of instrumentalists
  • Panel: group of experts
  • Board: group of professionals giving advice
  • Troop: group of actors
• Also including words for various bunches, piles, series, etc.

Countable vs. Uncountable Nouns

• Countable nouns can be counted; use "many" and "few".
• Uncountable nouns cannot be counted; use "much" and "little".
• "Hair" is generally uncountable, but "strands of hair" can be countable.
• "Stars" are countable, despite their vast number.
• Many nouns appear countable but are uncountable: information, advice, news, jewellery, machinery, equipment, luggage, etc.
• With uncountable nouns, use quantifiers like "a piece of" to count them.
• "I bought one furniture" is incorrect; instead, "I bought one item of furniture" is correct.
• Uncountable Nouns do not take "a," "an," or plural forms.
• To quantify uncountable nouns, pair them with countable ones, e.g., "nine bags of garbage".
• Bread, furniture, accomodation, advice, suggestion, news, progress, and work are uncountable nouns.

Singular and Plural Nouns

• Basic singular/plural rules apply (add -s, -es, -ies)
• Irregular plurals must be memorized (woman/women, child/children, tooth/teeth).
• Some nouns always appear plural (belongings, thanks, scissors, jeans). Use plural verbs with these.
• "Thanks" (noun) is always plural; "Thank" is a verb.
• Some nouns ending in -s are singular (mathematics, physics, news).
• Exams often test for the correct use of "gallows" (singular) and "summons" (singular, plural "summonses").
• Key Examples: Belongings, savings, congratulations, scissors, proceedings, surroundings, etc.
• “Congratulation” as a noun form does not exist in the English Language

Politics, Mathematics, Statistics

• Politics: when referring to the field/subject, use a singular verb. When referring to political views, use a plural verb. For example, "His politics are different from mine."
• Mathematics/Statistics: when referring to the subject, use a singular verb. When referring to calculations/data, use a plural verb. Data can be singular or plural in modern usage.

Data, Summons

• Data: originally plural (singular: datum), now accepted as singular or plural depending on context.
• Summons: is a singular noun referring to a court order’s plural from is summonse
• Summon: is a verb, meaning to call

Cases of Nouns

• Cases show a noun's relation to other parts of the sentence.
• Four cases: Nominative/Subjective, Objective/Accusative, Possessive/Genitive, Vocative

Key Cases

• Nominative/Subjective: Noun is the subject of the verb (comes before the verb).
• Objective/Accusative: Noun is the object of the verb (comes after the verb).
• Possessive: Noun shows ownership often marked with an apostrophe + s ('s).
  • Rules of possessive case
  • Used to show ownership rights
  • Singular common noun uses append ‘s
• Vocative: Noun is used to address someone. Does not affect the sentence's core structure.

Possessive Case - Hisssing

• A major component of the possessive case, for plural nouns ending in “s” only employ the apostrophe at the end of the word to avoid producing hissing sounds

Posesive Case - Prohibited

• Avoid using “es” with Pronouns and adjectives

Posesive Case - Non Living

• When it comes to creating possessive adjectives with non- living things employ: of (the wall of the room)
• Exceptions: places, time, units, heavenly bodies

Possessive Case - Double Poss

• Two possessive adjectives can not exist in front of a word:
  • To amend this statement move backwards from the target
• EX: Sonuke tetu ki Sweety
• Sweety (of Tetu of Soni)

Possesive Case - Singular and Plural

Common Posesion

• When two people have common ownership at one thing the “s should only be used once (only the last word will be attached with a posseive

Split Posesion

• In Split posesion every word must be attached with the “possesive”

Commonly Confused Words

Advice

• The word advice in the English Language functions as a noun with the meaning “opinions”
• This word is uncountable
  • Example: there is no advice it is in correct and “pieces of advice” must be used.
• The word ad vise can function as a verb. Which connotes action that can influence opinion via counselling

Practice

• is a noun that means a common act

Effect/Affect

• Affect, a verb, indicates influence.
• Effect, as a noun, is the result
• Effect can function as a verb, meaning to get a change through

Believe and Belief

Believe (verb) means confidence Belief a noun indicates “conviction”

Prove

• (verb) means to show evidence

Proof

• (noun) the body/evidence

Singular Plural Transformation

• Words can have 2 forms: the common singular and plural + a completely separate word with a different understanding behind that specific word
• For example hair is uncountable while “hairs” the word, does not exist instead strands of hair should be used
• Wood - wordss
• Gold - gold
• Iron - Irons
• Ample exmples in notes above

Superflusness

This is the act of adding what is considered to be “extra”

• Can look like:
• Words that repeat/ re-enforce their meaning over another: cold freeze “rewind”
• Redundant Prepositions and articles: like”rewind” cats and dogs are running.