Faculty of Applied Sciences and Faculty of Technology, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka

Grammar -Kinds of Nouns

1-Common Nouns

A common noun is a noun that refers to people or things in general, e.g. boy, country, bridge, city

2-Proper Nouns

A proper noun is a name that identifies a particular person, place, or thing, e.g. Steven, Africa, London, Monday. In written English, proper nouns begin with capital letters.

3-Concrete Nouns

A concrete noun is a noun which refers to people and things that exist physically and can be seen, touched, smelled, heard, or tasted. Examples include dog, building, coffee, tree, rain and beach.

4-Abstract Nouns

An abstract noun is a noun which refers to ideas, qualities, and conditions - things that cannot be seen or touched and things which have no physical reality, e.g. truth, danger, happiness, time, friendship, humour.

5-Collective Nouns

Collective nouns refer to groups of people or things, e.g. audience, family, government, team, jury. In American English, most collective nouns are treated as singular, with a singular verb:

6-Material Nouns

Material nouns are related to things such as sugar, salt, iron, metal, sand, blood etc.

7-Count and Mass Nouns

Nouns can be either countable or uncountable. Countable nouns (or count nouns) are those that refer to something that can be counted. Uncountable nouns (or mass nouns) do not typically refer to things that can be counted and so they do not regularly have a plural form.

 Activity-1

 Underline the nouns of the following text and categorize them.

Prime Minister, Ranil Wickreme-singhe said yesterday that he would request the Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya to summon the Parliament fast to debate the Presidential Commission Report on the issuance of Treasury Bonds between February 2015 and March 2016.

Addressing the UNP’s 70th anniversary celebrations at Campbell Park in Borella, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe stressed that the UNP was committed to upholding the rule of law and good governance. "I will ask the Speaker to convene Parliament as early as possible so that the House could discuss the Bond Commission Report," the PM said, adding that an investigation into Treasury bonds issued between 2008 and 2014 should also be conducted.

 Activity-2

Make a list of nouns.

Common
Proper
Concrete
Abstract
Collective
Material
Mass
Count