Types of nouns

This is a noun that can be identified through the five senses – sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. Examples include: music, pie, tornado, flower, dog, milk, team. If you cannot see, smell, hear, taste, or touch something it is not this type of noun.

• Abstract noun

• Concrete noun

• Uncountable noun

• Possessive noun

These are nouns that you cannot see, hear, taste, touch or smell. They refer to emotions, ideas, concepts, beliefs or a state of being.

Examples include: love, hate, acceptance, safety, evil, happiness, education, patience.

• Abstract noun

• Plural noun

• Countable noun

• Concrete noun

These nouns demonstrate ownership over something else and they typically include an apostrophe.

Examples include: Tony’s car, the dog’s bone, my mother’s recipe.

• Plural noun

• Proper noun

• Concrete noun

• Possessive noun

These nouns refer to one person, place, thing or idea in particular. They start with a capital letter and can be names of people, places, buildings, books, movies, months, days and organisations.

Examples include: James Bond, February, Samsung, Monday, Big Ben, The Godfather.

• Uncountable noun

• Abstract noun

• Proper noun

• Collective noun

This noun refers to a group of people, animals or things and is used in a singular form.

Examples include: a flock, a herd, a bunch, a set.

• Concrete Noun

• Proper noun

• Possessive noun

• Collective Noun

These nouns do not have a singular form but we use them to talk about multiples of a thing. We often use them with “some” or “a pair of”.

Examples include: trousers, scissors, outskirts.

• Plural Noun

• Proper Noun

• Countable Noun

• Abstract Noun

These are nouns that can be counted and have singular and plural forms. In their singular form, they can be preceded by “a” / “an”.

Examples include: cat, women, country, drinks.

• Abstract noun

• Uncountable noun

• Countable noun

• Concrete noun

These nouns cannot be counted and don’t usually have a plural form.

Examples include: flour, earth, wood, rain.

• Uncountable noun

• Plural noun

• Abstract noun

• Possessive noun