Nouns Help

Introduction to Nouns

Learn why the noun, and its six identifiable subgroups, is the fundamental component of our language.

Nouns, the most basic component of language, are naming words. They help us identify the persons, places, or things we talk about. There are six distinct groups of nouns: common nouns, proper nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns, collective nouns, and compound nouns.

It is important to know about nouns and their function in speaking and writing because so many other parts of speech relate to nouns. So, that is where we will start our grammar refresher. The following page briefly summarizes the six different noun groups and cites the unique qualities that separate them. Then we will look at each individual group in more detail.

The Six Types of Nouns

Common Nouns

A common noun is a word that speaks of something only in a general way, like book, car, and person. Common nouns can be written in singular form (book, car, and person) or plural (books, cars, and people).

Proper Nouns

Unlike common nouns, proper nouns name a very specific person, place, or thing. One distinguishing aspect of proper nouns is that they always begin with a capital letter. Catcher in the Rye, BMW Z4, and Albert Einstein are proper nouns.

Concrete Nouns

Concrete nouns name something that appeals to your senses. For instance, toothbrush, cell phone, moonlight, waves, and breezes are all concrete nouns.

Abstract Nouns

In contrast, abstract nouns name beliefs, concepts, and characteristics or qualities—things that can't be touched, seen, or accrued. For example, composure, sovereignty, free enterprise, daring, and handsome are abstract nouns.

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are words used to name people, places, and things in terms of a unit. For instance, class, flock, herd, and family are collective nouns.

Compound Nouns

New words can be formed by combining two or more words, thus creating a compound word. Compounds can be made up of a number of speech components, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Some examples of compound nouns are motorcycle, onlooker, input, and washing machine.

Many nouns may fall into more than one of these categories. For example, the noun school (of fish) is common, concrete, and collective. The noun well-being is abstract and compound.

A Closer Look at Nouns

Proper nouns are easily distinguishable from common nouns by their capital letters. But be cautious. Don't assume that every word in a sentence that begins with a capital is a proper noun. Basic sentence structure dictates that every sentence must begin with a capital letter—remember that from English class? Also, what might appear to be a proper noun, or some form thereof, could instead be a proper adjective simply because it is describing or telling about a noun that follows it in the sentence. For example, the proper noun Florida is acting as a proper adjective in the following sentence because it is used to describe the word sunshine.

Example:

In the following sentence, Florida is a proper noun, because it is not describing another word.