Noun

Definition:

Noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea.

For example:

Late last year our neighbours bought a goat.

Types of nouns:

1. Proper noun.

      We always write proper noun with capital letter, since the noun represent the name of specific person, place or thing. Beside that, the names of day of the week, months, historical documents, institutions, religions are proper nouns. 

Examples: 

1. Many people dread Monday mornings.
2. Abraham appears in the Talmud and in the Koran.
3. Last year, I had a Baptist, a Buddhist, and a Gardnerian Witch as roommates.

2. Common noun.

         

      Referring to a person, place or thing in general sense. Usually, we should write it with capital letter only when it begin a sentence. A common noun is opposite of proper noun.

     Examples:

1. According to the sign, the nearest town is 60 miles away.
2. The road crew was startled by the sight of three large moosecrossing the road.
3. Many child-care workers are underpaid.

     Sometimes we will make proper nouns out of common nouns. For examples:

1.  The meals in the Bouncing Bean Restaurant are less expensive than meals in ordinary restaurants.
2. Many witches refer to the Renaissance as the Burning Times.

3. Countable noun.

  

     A countable noun (or count noun) is a noun with both a singular and a plural form, and it names anything (or anyone) that you can count. You can make a countable noun plural and attach it to a plural verb in a sentence.

Examples:

1. We painted the table red and the chairs blue.
2. Miriam found six silver dollars in the toe of a sock.
3. The oak tree lost three branches in the hurricane.

4. Non-countable noun.

     

      A non-countable noun (or mass noun) is a noun which does not have a plural form, and which refers to something that you could (or would) not usually count. A non-countable noun always takes a singular verb in a sentence. 

Examples:

1. Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen.

      *The word "oxygen" cannot normally be made plural.

      *Since "oxygen" is a non-countable noun, it takes the singular verb "is" rather than the plural verb "are."

2. We decided to sell the furniture rather than take it with us when we moved.

       *we cannot make the noun "furniture" plural.

   

3. Grave  is more expensive than I thought.

       *Since "gravel" is a non-countable noun, it takes the singular verb form "is."