A Closer Look at Nouns

Superficially, nouns are one of the most straightforward parts of speech. People, places, and things — how hard could they be, right? When one delves deeper, however, one finds a vast web of classifications and categories. Proper nouns? Countable nouns? What does all this mean?

Let's first look at common and proper nouns. A common noun is a general, nonspecific noun, such as "woman," "town," or "word." Common nouns do not need to be capitalized unless they are at the beginning of a sentence. Proper nouns, on the other hand, are specific and could only possibly refer to one particular thing. "Mrs. Smith," "Fayetteville," and "Boeing 747" are examples of proper nouns. Proper nouns must always be capitalized.

Another way nouns can be classified is by their tangibility. Nouns can either be concrete or abstract. Concrete nouns are real things which can be perceived with our five senses. Words like "mouse," "football," and "chair" are all examples of concrete nouns, as are things which can't be seen but can be observed with other senses, such as "oxygen," "sound," or "aroma." Abstract nouns are usually concepts or emotions. Anything that cannot be sensed is an abstract noun. Examples include "love," "hatred," "happiness," "knowledge," and "bravery." This is why the basic "person, place, or thing" definition isn't the best way to describe nouns.

In addition, nouns can be countable or uncountable. A countable noun, as its name suggests, is a noun that can be counted or enumerated. "Tomato" is a countable noun, as it is grammatically acceptable to say "one tomato" and "two tomatoes." Uncountable nouns cannot be enumerated. Words such as "bread" or "milk" are uncountable nouns. It is not grammatically correct to say "one bread" or "two milks." Rather, one would say "some bread" or "a fair amount of milk," or else use a different noun in the sentence, like "one loaf of bread" or "two gallons of milk."

On top of that, there is the category known as collective nouns. Collective nouns refer to a whole group. Words like "assembly," "jury," or "choir" are examples of collective nouns. British English often treats collective nouns as plural, as in "The staff are here," but in America, we generally treat them as singular, as in "The team is entering."

Wow, that was a lot! We sincerely hope you have a better understanding of now nouns! Er, nouns now!