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A Noun is a word used as the name of a person, place or thing (anything that we can think of).

Kinds of Noun

1. Common Noun: A common noun is a noun referring to a person, place, or thing in a general sense. Common
here means ‘shared by all.’ Examples:- Boys, Girls, Rivers, Mountains, Table, Glass, Town, King etc. etc.
(Common Noun is the name given in common to every person or thing of the same class or kind.)

2. Proper Noun: A proper noun represents the name of a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are always
written with a capital letter at the beginning.( Proper Noun Denotes a particular person, place or thing.)
e.g. Taj Mahal, New Delhi,India, Calcutta, Ramesh, The Ganga, etc.

3. Collective Noun: A collective noun is the name of a number of persons or things taken together and considered as
one unit.; e.g. crowd, herd, fleet, etc. (Collective Noun denotes a group or collection of similar individuals considered as one
complete whole.)

1. The hall was full of audience. 6. A bunch of grapes, key, etc.

2. A flock of sheep was grazing in the fields. 7. A bundle of sticks and hay.
3. A band of musicians. 8. A caravan of merchants, pilgrims, travellers.
4. A board of directors. 9. A chain/range of mountains of hills.
5. A bevy of girls, women, officers, etc. 10. A choir of singers.

4. Abstract noun: Abstract Noun refers to the name of a feeling, state of mind or quality, something which cannot
but only felt, e.g. honesty, bravery, childhood, etc. (An Abstract Noun is usually the name of a quality, action, or state
considered apart from the object to which it belongs.)

Note: Abstract nouns can be formed from adjectives, verbs and common nouns by adding a ‘suffix’ to them.

From common Noun From Verbs From adjectives:

Child-childhood Choose - choice Happy - Happiness
Slave - Slavery Create - Creation Enjoy - Enjoyment
Hero - Heroism Know - Knowledge Kind - Kindness
Friend - Friendship Laugh - Laughter Wise - Wisdom

5. Material Noun
Material noun is the nouns that refer to the names of materials or substances out of which things are made or the
name of something which is tangible.( Material Noun denotes matter or substance of which a thing is made.
Iron, Silver, Gold, Milk, etc.)
1. Gold is an expensive metal. 6. The brass is yellow.
2. Cotton is a natural fibre. 7. I need some water for the cake.
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3. Water is essential for us. 8. My father has a shop for diamonds.

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4. Copper is a useful metal.

5. My ring is made of gold.
- PIYAS DAS
“The English Club” an Institute for ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE ENGLISH GRAMMAR for COMPETITIVE EXAMS & SPOKEN
ENGLISH.
SM 16
 The English Club
ESTD:2011 A Love of Learning…
+91 8617648769 / 9749670799
Name of the Candidate: Ph.No:

N
follows:
oun is the name of a person, place, thing, animal,
or idea. Like Ram,happiness, chain, etc. Noun can
be classified into four groups. Which are as

(i) Proper Noun (ii) Common Noun

(iii) Collective Noun (iv) Material Noun

Some of the collective nouns are given below:-

1. A band of musicians.
2. A board of directors, etc.
3. A bevy of girls, women, officers etc.
4. A bunch of grapes, keys, etc.
5. A bundle of sticks and hay.
6. A caravan of merchants, pilgrims, travellers.
7. A chain/range of mountains or hills.
8. A choir of singers.
9. A class of students.
10. A retinue of servants/ attendants.
11. A clump/ grove of trees.
12. A code of laws.
13. A cluster/ constellation/ galaxy of stars.
14. A company/ regiment/ army of soldiers.
15. A convoy of ships, cars etc. moving under an escort.
16. A course or series of lectures.
17. A crew of sailors.
18. A crowd/ mob of people.
19. A curriculum of studies.
20. A flight of steps, stairs.
21. A fleet of ships or motorcars.
22. A flock of geese, sheep and birds.
23. A gang of robbers, labourers.
24. A garland/bunch/ bouquet of flowers.
25. A heap of ruins, sand, stones.
26. A herd of cattle.
27. A litter of puppies.
28. A pack of hounds, cards.
29. A pair of shoes, scissors, compasses, trousers.
30. A series of events.
31. A sheaf of corn, arrows.
32. A swarm of ants, bees or flies.
33. A train of carriages, followers etc.
34. A troop of horses (cavalry)
35. A volley of shots, bullets.
36. A forum of people (discussing issues)
37. A congregation of people (discussing religious issues)
2
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- PIYAS DAS
“The English Club” an Institute for ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE ENGLISH GRAMMAR for COMPETITIVE EXAMS & SPOKEN
ENGLISH.
SM 16
 The English Club
ESTD:2011 A Love of Learning…
+91 8617648769 / 9749670799
Name of the Candidate: Ph.No:

Noun 2

CHAPTER
Noun 9
If the individual or things are thought of separately, it is called a Noun of
Multitude. Some examples of collective nouns are class, army, crowd, parliament.
_ Remember
1. Some nouns have the same form for the plural as for the singular:
Σ sheep, deer, fish, series, species etc.
2. Some nouns are singular in form but plural in sense:
Σ cattle, people, poultry, gentry, company, police, alphabet etc.
3. Some nouns are always used in the plural:
Σ spectacles, thanks, trousers, savings, lodgings, scissors, compasses,
people etc.
4. Some nouns though plural in form are used in the singular:
Σ means, news, innings, scissors, spectacles, assets, tongs, wages, riches
etc.
5. Some nouns have no plural:
Σ information, advice, knowledge, furniture, progress etc.
Case
1. Nominative Case: When a noun is used as the subject of a verb, it is said
to be in the Nominative Case. To find the nominative, put ‘who’ or ‘what’
before the verb.
Σ Hari threw the ball. (‘Hari’ is in the nominative case)
2. Objective/ Accusative case: When a noun is used as the object of a verb,
it is said to be in the Objective Case. To find the objective, put ‘whom’ or
‘what’ before the verb and its subject.
Σ Hari threw the ball. (‘ball’ is in the objective case)
If a noun comes after a preposition it is also said to be in the objective case.
Σ The pen is on the desk.
_ Remember:
The nominative generally comes before the verb and the objective after the
verb.
Σ The window was broken. (nominative)
Σ He broke the window. (objective)
3. Possessive Case: Possessive case is used to express ownership or possession.
Σ I like to read Shakespeare’s tragedies.
Σ Ratan’s business is flourishing.
10 Professional Communication
A possessive case is also used to denote authorship, origin, kind etc.
3

Σ Shelley’s poems
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Σ A mother’s love
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“The English Club” an Institute for ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE ENGLISH GRAMMAR for COMPETITIVE EXAMS & SPOKEN
ENGLISH.
SM 16
 The English Club
ESTD:2011 A Love of Learning…
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Name of the Candidate: Ph.No:

Σ Hari’s school
Σ A week’s holiday
_ Remember:
a. The use of apostrophe with ‘s’ denoting possessive case should be restricted
to:
i. Living things; as,
Σ the Director’s secretary, the baker’s shop, a boy’s foot, a cat’s tail
ii. Thing personified; as,
Σ Nature’s law, India’s heroes, fortune’s favourite
iii. Certain dignified objects; as,
Σ At duty’s call, the court’s decree
iv. Space, time or weight; as,
Σ A day’s journey, in a year’s time, a foot’s length, an hour’s talk
v. A few familiar phrases; as,
Σ At his wit’s end, at a stone’s throw, for mercy’s sake
Except these the use of possessive case with other nouns sounds awkward.
We must say;
Σ The leg of the table is bent. (not, ‘The table’s leg)
Σ The attitude of the public seems uncertain. (not, ‘The public’s attitude’)
b. The apostrophe ‘s’ is omitted;
i. After plural ending in ‘s’, we should never put the apostrophe with ‘s’.
Σ Horses’ tail, boys’ school, monkeys’ chatter
But after those plurals which do not end in ‘s’, apostrophe should be used.
Σ Men’s club, women’s dresses, children’s books
ii. Where too many hissing sounds come together.
Σ For conscience’ sake, for goodness’ sake, for Jesus’ sake
iii. The words his, hers, its, theirs, yours, ours, mine are possessive and they
are not written with the possessive sign (’).
Σ Yours faithfully, its colour
c. The words; church, house, shop etc. are often omitted after possessive
case.
Noun 11
Σ I will dine at my uncle’s.
Σ You can get good biscuits at Polson’s.
d. Avoid the use of double possessives. We should say
Σ The wife of my uncle’s secretary, (not, ‘My uncle’s secretary’s wife’)
Nouns in Apposition
When one noun follows another to describe it, the noun which follows is said to
be in ‘apposition’ to the noun which comes before it.
Σ Kapil, our captain, made fifty runs.
Σ George, my uncle, is a very humorous person.
REVIEW EXERCISES
Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks with suitable collective nouns.
1. A _________ of birds flew high in the sky.
2. They saw a _____ of lions at the zoo.
3. The farmer has a _____ of cattle on his farm.
4. He ate a _____ of grapes today.
5. Our friend shows us a _____ of stamps.
6. We saw a _____ of sheep on our way home.
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7. Police have arrested a _____ of thieves.

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8. She bought a _____ of bananas from the market.

- PIYAS DAS
“The English Club” an Institute for ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE ENGLISH GRAMMAR for COMPETITIVE EXAMS & SPOKEN
ENGLISH.
SM 16
 The English Club
ESTD:2011 A Love of Learning…
+91 8617648769 / 9749670799
Name of the Candidate: Ph.No:

9. The _____ of pupils are listening attentively to their teacher.

10. You can put the _____ of tools in that box.
Answers
1. flock 2. troop 3. herd
4. bunch 5. collection 6. flock
7. gang 8. bunch 9. class
10. set
Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks with abstract nouns from the nouns in brackets.
1. I had a very happy ______ (child).
2. I forgot to renew my _____ (member) in the sailing club.
3. We formed a deep and lasting_________(friend)
4. He hopes to take over the _____ (leader) of the party.
Noun 13
7. berry _________
8. half ________
9. knife ________
10. colony ________
Answers
1. teeth, 2. leaves, 3. keys,
4. searches, 5. pencils, 6. guesses,
7. berries 8. halves 9. knives
10. colonies
Exercise 4
In each sentence, select the proper noun(s).
1. Is Hari coming to the dance?
a. Hari
b. dance
c. Hari, dance
2. Hari invited Ram and Mohan to the zoo.
a. Hari, Ram
b. Hari, Ram, Mohan
c. Hari, Ram, Mohan, Zoo
3. Carol and I went to the beach.
a. Carol
b. I
c. Carol, I
4. Buffalo sponsored this free concert.
a. Buffalo
b. concert
c. The city, concert
5. Ram doesn’t like this location.
a. location
b. Ram
c. like
6. Rose, Honey, and I went to see the new reptile house.
a. Rose, Honey, I
b. Rose, Honey, I, reptile house
c. Rose, Honey
7. Lisa does not like certain bands.
5

a. Lisa, bands
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- PIYAS DAS
“The English Club” an Institute for ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE ENGLISH GRAMMAR for COMPETITIVE EXAMS & SPOKEN
ENGLISH.
SM 16