Classification of Noun
Classification of Noun
Classification of Noun
We know that a Noun is the name of anything. It denotes the name of a person, place, thing or idea. Now mind the italicized words in the following sentences:
1. Kalidas is a great poet.
2. London is a big city.
3. Gold is a precious metal.
4. Honesty is the best policy.
5. Kindness is a great virtue.
6. We enjoy natural liberty.
The italicized words in the above sentences are nouns as they refer to the names of a person, a place, a thing, a virtue etc. respectively. But if we mind the nouns i.e Kalidas, London, Gold in the first three sentences respectively we find that they refer to such things which have physical(material) existence and that can be touched or seen. These are called Concrete Nouns.
A Concrete Noun is a noun that exists physically or materially and can be touched, tasted or seen.
On the other hand the nouns (names) i.e. Honesty, Kindness, liberty in the above sentence nos. 4, 5 and 6 we find that they refer to the name of things (ideas) that we cannot touch nor can we see but can only feel. They have no physical existence. They are called Abstract Nouns.
An Abstract Noun refers to the name of something that we can think of but can’t touch or see. It may express a quality, a state, a feeling, an idea or a system of thought.
Thus the nouns, according to their nature, are broadly divided into the above-mentioned two classes. i.e. Concrete Noun and Abstract Noun.
Again Concrete Nouns are subdivided into four classes, as: Proper Noun, Common Noun, Collective Noun, and Material nouns.
Let us discuss these classes of Noun in detail as below:
Classification of Noun
Proper Noun
Mind the italicized words in the following sentences:
1. Tom is a college student.
2. Delhi is a big city.
3. The Ganga is a sacred river.
4. The Himalayas stand on the north of India.
5. He will go to Paris in May.
6. Today is Monday.
The italicized words in the above sentences refer to the name of a boy (Tom), to the name of a place (Delhi), to the name of a river (the Ganga), to the name of a range of mountains (the Himalayas), to the name of a month (May) and to the name of a day (Monday) respectively. These are Proper Nouns.
A Proper Noun is the name of a particular person, place or thing.
A proper noun always begins with a capital letter as shown in the sentences given above.
Generally, the articles (the, a, an) are not used before a proper noun. But if a proper noun is used as a common noun then an article is used. For examples:
Nazrul was a great poet. (Proper Noun)
He is a Nazrul. (Common Noun)
In the first sentence, the word Nazrul is a proper noun as it refers to a particular Bengali poet. But in the second sentence, the same word is used as a common noun. It refers to a poet who is as great as Nazrul is.
If there is more than two or more persons of the same name then the name (word) can be used as a common noun, as:
There are three Roberts in our class.
There are three Yadavs in our village.
Classification of Noun
Common Noun or Class Noun
Mind the italicized words in the following sentences:
1. The dog is a faithful animal.
2. A crow is black.
3. Man is mortal.
4. The boys are playing,
5. The girls are dancing.
The italicized words in the above sentences are nouns. They refer to the respective classes, not to a particular thing. They are Common nouns. Here, in the first example the dog refers to a class of animals, the word a crow in the second sentence refers to a kind or class of birds. Thus man in the third sentence refers not to a particular person but to mankind.
A Common Noun (or Class Noun) is the name used to refer to any one of a class or kind of animals, birds, persons or things.
A common noun stands for all of its kind or class.
Bear in mind that Common Nouns can be used in both persons i.e. Singular and plural.
A donkey is an animal of burden.
The Donkeys are animals of burden.
Hari is a boy.
There are four boys in the class.
Again the Common Nouns are classified as: Countable Noun and Uncountable Noun. Look at the following sentences:
1. There are five mangoes in the basket.
2. There are four boys in the class.
3. There is little milk in the jug.
4. Give me some sugar.
5. There are three litres of honey in the pot.
In the above sentences, the italicized nouns are common nouns. The noun mangoes in sentence no.1 and boys in sentence no.2 are countable nouns as they can be counted as one mango, two mangoes, three mangoes or a boy, two boys, three boys etc. They are Countable Nouns.
A noun that can be counted as one, two, three etc. is called Countable Noun.
The Determiners like a, an, the, every, each, these, those, that, this, few, a few, the few, many, a large number of, one, two, three etc. can be used before Countable Nouns. For examples:
(i) There are many books on the table.
(ii) A few boys were present in the class.
(iii) A large number of audience were present in the meeting.
On the other hand the italicized words milk, sugar, honey in sentence nos. 3. 4 and 5. respectively are Uncountable Nouns as they cannot be counted as one milk, two milk etc.
A noun that cannot be counted as one, two, three etc. but can be measured as one litre, two litres, five kilograms etc. is called an Uncountable Noun.
An Uncountable Noun has no plural form.
The Determiners like some, little, a little, the little, much, a good deal of, a large quantity of etc. can be used before an Uncountable Noun. For examples:
(i) There is much water in the pond.
(ii) Give me some sugar.
To refer to a definite quantity of countable noun we can use countable phrases as in the following sentences:
(i) Ram gave me a bag of sugar.
(ii) He donated four trucks of rice to the flood victims.
(iii) A shower of rain is enough for the paddy field.
(iv) It was an act of kindness.
Sometimes by using a kind of or a sort of we can use an uncountable noun as a countable noun. For examples:
(i) There is a new kind of maze.
(ii) There are many sorts of rice.
(iii) There are several kinds of Bengal wheat available.
Some nouns can be used both as Countable and Uncountable, as:
(i) Sita was a beauty in her youth. (Countable)
Sita had beauty in her youth. (Uncountable)
(ii) Going there they faced a lot of hardships. (Countable)
Going there they faced much hardship. (Uncountable)
The articles ‘a’ and ‘an’ are generally used before a countable noun but sometimes they can be used before an Uncountable Noun also, as:
(i) He is a shame to his parents.
(ii) The old man takes a fancy to the children.
(iii) It is refreshing to have a good sleep at noon.
Classification of Noun
Collective Noun
Mind the italicized words in the following sentences:
1. The army is marching.
2. The class is in full swing.
3. The cattle are grazing.
4. We saw a fleet of ships in the river.
5. There is a shoal of fishes.
The Italicized nouns in the above sentences refer to a group of things of the same kind, as: the army refers to a group of soldiers, the class refers to a group of students, the cattle refers to a group of cows, sheep etc., a fleet refers to a group of ships, a shoal refers to a group of fishes swimming together respectively.
A Collective Noun is a name that denotes a group of persons or things as a unit of the same kind.
Collective Nouns are generally used in the singular but there are some Collective Nouns that are used always in the plural. Such words are cattle, poultry, police, clergy, people, public etc.
Classification of Noun
Material Noun
Mind the italicized words in the following sentences:
1. Gold is a precious metal.
2. Water is called life.
3. Sugar is sweet.
4. Iron is heavy.
5. Milk is white.
6. Silver is bright.
7. Petroleum is costly.
The italicized words in the above sentences refer to a material or substance. These are Material Nouns.
A Material Noun is the name that refers to a material or substance out of which a thing is made.
A Material noun is taken as Uncountable. It is not generally used in the plural form.
Classification of Noun
EXERCISE
Classification of Noun
1. Find out the nouns in the following sentences and classify them:
a. Health is wealth.
b. Walking is a good exercise.
c. Kindness is a virtue.
d. Happiness does not come after money.
f. Milk is a very nutritious food.
g. There is much salt in the pot.
h. The gold of this ring is pure.
i. Harihar is my friend.
j. Coal is black.
k. The cattle belong to the Rahda Firm.
l. Democracy is praised by all.
m. Give me the little honey in the jug.
n. Do your duty.
o. Steel is made from iron.
p. Silver is light.
q. It is a pity that you cannot swim.
r. What a surprise!
s. They had a lot of difficulties.
t. Delhi is the capital of India.
u. Today is Sunday.
v. A herd of cows are grazing in the field.
w. India is our motherland.
x. He lives in Bombay.
y. Man is mortal.
z. Haren is a boy.
2. Find out the abstract nouns in the following sentences:
a. He shows much courage.
b. Health is wealth.
c. Generosity is a virtue.
d. Honesty is the best policy.
e. We want freedom.
f. What a pity!
g. He has much skill. 0 0 0
Classification of Noun
N.B. The article ‘Classification of Noun’ originally belongs to the book ‘School English Grammar Part- I‘ by Menonim Menonimus.
Classification of Noun
Books of Composition by M. Menonimus:
- Advertisement Writing
- Amplification Writing
- Note Making
- Paragraph Writing
- Notice Writing
- Passage Comprehension
- The Art of Poster Writing
- The Art of Letter Writing
- Report Writing
- Story Writing
- Substance Writing
- School Essays Part-I
- School Essays Part-II
- School English Grammar Part-I
- School English Grammar Part-II..
Books of S. Story by M. Menonimus:
Books of Biography by M. Menonimus:
- The World Writers-Brief Biographies
- Introduction to World Writers
- Introduction to World Personalities
- Love of Reputed Persons ..
Books on Linguistics by M. Menonimus:
- A Brief History of the English Language
- Essays on Linguistics
- My Imageries
- Felicitous Expression: Some Examples
- Learners’ English Dictionary
Related Search:
- Home English Grammar
- Learn English
- Grammar-English for Students
- Easy English Grammar
- Basic English Grammar Lessons
- A Beginner’s Guide to Basic English Grammar …
- Parts of Speech-Explore Definition
- Classification of Sentence According to Purpose
- Clause and Phrases
- Subject and Predicate
- Types of Clauses
- Types of Sub-ordinate Clause
- Subordinate Clause: Examples and Definition
- Analysis of Compound Sentence
- Complex Sentences and Compound Sentences
- Basic Sentence Patterns
- Types of Sentence
- Classification of Nouns
- Noun-Definition and Classification …
Target Study makes your study easy, We provide Notes, Syllabus, guidance, and all education schemes updates.