A noun is a word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.

Nouns     A word used to name a person, place, object, or animal.

 

Types of nouns     (a) Concrete   (i) Common   (ii) Proper   (ii) Gender (b) Abstract (c) Countable and Uncountable

1.1	Concrete Nouns

Common noun     A name given to every person, place, object, or animal of the same kind of group.     Examples: A textbook, exercise book, and sticker book are all books.

 

Proper noun     The name of the particular person, place, object, animal, day, or month.      Examples: Anisa, Selangor, Comot, and Monday.

 

Gender     The name of a common noun that tells us whether it is male, female, common, or neuter.

The table below shows the examples of concrete noun 'gender':

 

	Definition	Examples
Masculine	Nouns that refer to the male	policeman, actor, prince
Feminine	Nouns that refer to the female	policewoman, actress, princess
Common	Nouns that can be both male or female	teacher, child, neighbour
Neuter	Nouns that do not have a gender or sex	eraser, room, pencil

 

1.2	Abstract Nouns

Abstract nouns     Used to describe something that cannot be seen or touched. It is used to describe qualities, states, and events, or actions.

Abstract nouns are used:

To describe the quality of things and of character.           Example:            Long (adjective) : Length (abstract noun)     What is the length of this wire? It is 20 centimetres long.

 

To describe the state of mind, a situation, or an idea.            Example:           Angry (adjective) : Anger (abstract noun)     She was angry with her brother. Her anger was so great that she broke the vase.

 

To describe an action or an event.           Example:           Arrive (verb) : Arrival (abstract noun)     The president will arrive in Putrajaya tomorrow. There will be a small ceremony at the airport to welcome his arrival.

 

1.3	Countable Nouns

Countable nouns     Refer to people, objects, or animals that can be counted in numbers. There are countable singular and countable plural nouns.      A countable singular noun denotes one person, place, object, or animal.      A countable plural noun denotes more than one.

 

1.4	Spelling Plural Nouns

There are different ways to spell plural nouns based on the conditions. You can refer to the table below to see the correct ways to spell the plural nouns.

 

Conditions	Examples
Add '-s' to regular words	Boys, pencils, rulers
Add '-es' to words ending with '-s', '-sh', '-ch', or '-x'	bus \(\rightarrow \) buses brush \(\rightarrow\) brushes branch \(\rightarrow\) branches box \(\rightarrow\) boxes
For special words ending with '-o', add '-es'	Tomatoes, potatoes
Add '-s' to the words ending with two vowels	radio \(\rightarrow\) radios zoo \(\rightarrow\) zoos
Add '-s' to words ending with a vowel and '-y'	Boys, days
Change '-y' into '-ies' if the word ends with '-y'	lady \(\rightarrow\) ladies story \(\rightarrow\) stories
For some words, change the inside vowels(s) of the singular noun or the spelling	man \(\rightarrow\) men foot \(\rightarrow\) feet
For some words, add '-ren/-en' to the singular noun.	child \(\rightarrow\) children ox \(\rightarrow\) oxen

 

1.5	Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns     Refer to objects that cannot be counted in numbers.

 

• These nouns cannot take the plural form. 
• Examples: water, rain, hair, oil
• However, uncountable nouns can be made into countable nouns by adding a quantifier (something to measure the object).
• Examples: 

(a) a glass of water

(b) a dozen of milk

(c) a bottle of cooking oil 

 

1.6	Collective Nouns

Collective nouns     Nouns denote a grouping of people, things, or animals regarded as a unit.

 

Examples:

• an army of soldiers
• a band of musicians
• a bouquet of flowers
• a bunch of grapes
• a chest of drawers
• a comb of bananas
• a troop of monkeys
• a litter of kittens
• a gang of thieves
• a crew of sailors