English Nouns

An noun is a word that names a person, a place or a thing.

Examples:
Sarah, lady, cat, New York, Canada, room, school, football, reading.

Example sentences:

• People like to go to the beach.
• Emma passed the test.
• My parents are traveling to Japan next month.

Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All English Tenses

The word "noun" comes from the Latin word nomen, which means "name," and nouns are indeed how we name people, places and things.

Abstract Nouns

An abstract noun is a noun that names an idea, not a physical thing.


Examples:
Hope, interest, peace, ability, success, knowledge, trouble.

Concrete Nouns

A concrete noun is a noun that names a physical thing.

Examples:
Boy, table, floor, coffee, beach, king, rain, children, professor.

Common Nouns

A common noun is a noun that names a general thing, not a specific thing.


Examples:
Boy, girl, city, country, company, planet, location, war.

Proper Nouns

A proper noun is a noun that indicates the specific name of a thing. It begins with a capital letter.


Examples:
Robin, Alice, London, Sweden, Google, Earth, Eiffel Tower, Civil War.
(Compare these examples to those in the "Common nouns" section to see the difference.)

Countable Nouns

A countable noun is a noun that indicates something you could actually count.

For example, you could count pigs: one pig, two pigs, three pigs...
However, you couldn't count water: one water, two water – no, it doesn't work...

A countable noun has both a singular and a plural form, and it can be used with the indefinite articles (a/an).

Examples:
Window, teacher, tree, lion, eye, cloud, pencil, heart, movie.

Click here to read more about countable nouns.

Click here for a lesson on plural Nouns in English (singular and plural nouns, plural nouns rules, irregular plural nouns, and more).

Uncountable Nouns

An uncountable noun is a noun that indicates something you cannot count.

For example, you could count pigs: one pig, two pigs, three pigs...
However, you couldn't count water: one water, two water – no, it doesn't work...

An uncountable noun has only one form (no plural), and it cannot be used with the indefinite articles (a/an).

Examples:
Furniture, advice, mail, news, equipment, luggage, work, coffee, information.

Click here to read more about uncountable nouns.

Collective nouns (group nouns)

Collective nouns are nouns that describe a group.

Examples:
bundle, class, family, herd, pile, police, team, etc.

These can also be called group nouns.

Click here to read more about collective nouns.

Compound Nouns

A compound noun is a noun made with two or more words. Each compound noun works as a single noun. 

Examples:

• mother-in-law
  
  
• cellular phone
  
  
• chalkboard

Click here to read more about compound nouns.

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