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Grammar

What Are Nouns? 12 Types of Nouns

What are nouns in grammar? Discover 12 types of nouns and how to use them properly in your writing.

In writing, nouns are a part of speech used to name a person, place, or thing. In this guide, learn what nouns are, the different types of nouns, and how to use them properly in writing so you can communicate clearly with your audience.

Then, review your content with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker, to catch any grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors. 

Why Are There So Many Types of Nouns?

Just as things in the world can be divided into many categories or varieties, so can the nouns that represent them. 

The noun’s job remains the same: to name a person, place, or thing. However, there are different types of nouns for different purposes.

Let’s take a closer look at the different types of nouns:

12 Types of Nouns: An Overview

1. Concrete Nouns

Concrete nouns name something in the physical world that can be recognized by any of the five senses. Here are some examples of concrete nouns naming things that can be:

  • Seen: apple, bear, cabinet, dress, egg, fog
  • Touched: grass, ice, jump-rope, dog, lemon 
  • Heard: music, noise, opera, quiet, ringing
  • Tasted: sweets, taffy, vanilla
  • Smelled: scent, bouquet, fragrance

2. Abstract Nouns

Abstract nouns name things that don’t exist physically and can’t be recognized by the senses.

Examples:

  • beauty
  • wisdom
  • grace
  • patience
  • hope

3. Common Nouns

Common nouns are used to name persons, places, or things that are general or unspecific. 

They are always lowercase unless they appear at the start of a sentence or are part of a title. Common nouns can be plural or singular as long as they are generic and not specific.

Examples:

  • cars
  • woman
  • shoes
  • citizens
  • resident

4. Proper Nouns

Proper nouns are used to name specific persons, places, or things. They are always capitalized. They can be plural or singular but they are always specific and never generic.

Examples: 

  • Honda 
  • Mrs. Jones
  • Nike
  • OpenAI

5. Singular Nouns

Singular nouns are nouns that describe one person, place, or thing (they are individual, not multiple). Singular nouns can be proper or common. The important part is they refer to just one of something.

Examples: 

  • car (singular common noun)
  • Honda (singular proper noun)
  • person (singular common noun)
  • Jacob (singular proper noun)

6. Plural Nouns

Plural nouns refer to more than one of something. They can be common or proper.

Examples: 

  • cars (plural common noun)
  • Hondas (plural proper noun)
  • people (plural common noun)

Regular Plural Nouns

Many plural nouns are formed very simply by adding an ‘s’ to the end of the singular noun.

Examples: 

  • cat, cats
  • brother, brothers
  • pie, pies

Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z are made plural by adding an ‘es’ to the end.

Examples:

  • boss, bosses
  • wish, wishes
  • watch, watches
  • box, boxes

Other endings may be required for a plural noun depending on the ending of the singular noun. These are still considered regular plural nouns.

Examples:

  • party, parties
  • tomato, tomatoes
  • hero, heroes,
  • quiz, quizzes

Irregular Plural Nouns

Irregular plural nouns don’t follow the same rules to become plural. It’s not as simple as adding -s, -es, -ies or something similar. Irregular plurals are less predictable.

Examples:

  • foot, feet
  • parenthesis, parentheses
  • goose, geese
  • mouse, mice

Since there aren’t easy patterns to irregulars, writers need to memorize these plural noun forms or consult a dictionary. 

7. Collective Nouns

Collective nouns refer to a group or collection that forms a unit or performs as one. Collective nouns may be singular or plural.

Examples:

  • group, groups
  • family, families
  • team, teams
  • committee, committees

8. Possessive Nouns

Nouns can have a possessive form which indicates ownership, possession, measurement or description. Possessive nouns may be plural or singular, common or proper.

Examples:

  • the team’s celebration (one team)
  • the teams’ celebration (multiple teams)
  • Mr. Smith’s car (the car of one person)
  • the Smiths’ car (the car belonging to all the Smiths)

9. Compound Nouns

Compound nouns are two nouns appearing together and functioning as one. Compound nouns might be hyphenated, written with a space between them, or written as one word. They can be singular or plural.

Examples:

  • city-state, city-states
  • Swimming pool, swimming pools
  • Coffee maker, coffee makers
  • eyelash, eyelashes

10. Countable Nouns

Countable nouns, or count nouns, refer to things that can be counted (essentially things that you could assign a number to). They can be singular (e.g. one item) or plural (e.g. multiple items). These nouns are more easily explained through example.

Examples:

  • computer
  • coffee cup
  • test
  • step

11. Uncountable Nouns 

Uncountable nouns, also called mass nouns, are not countable and have no plural forms. They might express physical or nonphysical things, but most importantly, they aren’t used with numbers. 

Examples:

  • carpeting
  • furniture
  • safety
  • jewelry
  • air

You don’t have one or two of these things. They aren’t things we count. 

12. Gerunds

A gerund is a noun that looks like a verb ending in -ing but is being used as a noun. Gerunds are often activities people do.

Examples:

  • writing
  • swimming
  • singing
  • voting

Final Thoughts: Nouns Have Many Uses in Grammar

The many types of nouns play several roles in writing. Nouns can serve as:

  • Subject: The dog ran.
  • Direct object: The person picked the flowers.
  • Indirect object: The waiter passed the person a receipt.
  • Subject complement: They are a great student
  • Object complement: She named her dog Spot.
  • Appositive: Her dog, Spot, is a puppy.

People, places, and things appear everywhere physically and nonphysically, nouns appear very frequently in the English language and in writing.

Taking time to learn the different types of nouns, can help you identify this common part of sentences and communicate with your audience clearly.

Not sure if you’ve incorporated nouns into your writing properly? Review your copy for proper grammar and spelling with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker.

Then, read more grammar tips and best practices in our top guides:

Melissa Fanella

Melissa Fanella is a writer, editor, and marketing professional with over 15 years of experience in content and messaging for businesses and nonprofits. Her expertise is in crafting authentic, people-first content that is compelling and engaging for audiences and positioned for business goals.

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