Types of Noun

Nouns are everywhere! They are extremely common because they are the words we use to name people, places, and things. Every single noun fits into at least one of nine noun types.

Table of Contents

• Common Nouns and Proper Nouns
• The Nine Types of Common Noun
• More Detail about the Types of Noun
• (1) Abstract Nouns
• (2) Concrete Nouns
• (3) Collective Nouns
• (4) Compound Nouns
• (5) Gender-Specific Nouns
• (6) Gerunds
• (7) Non-Countable Nouns (Mass Nouns)
• (8) Countable Nouns
• (9) Verbal Nouns
• Noun Phrases and Noun Clauses
• Video Lesson
• Test Time!

Before we talk about the nine different noun types, we must first discuss the two noun categories.

• common nouns (e.g., man, dog, city)
• proper nouns (e.g., Simon, Bonzo, Paris)

Common Nouns and Proper Nouns

• car, man, bridge, town, water, metal, ammonia

• Michael, Africa, Peking, The Tower of London, Uncle George, The Red Lion (A proper noun always starts with a capital letter.)

The Nine Types of Common Noun

Now that we know the difference between common nouns and proper nouns, we can look at the nine different noun types. These are all common nouns.

(1) Abstract nouns

• fear, anger, comfort

(2) Concrete nouns

• gerbil, igloo, zoo

(3) Collective nouns

• team, gang, choir

(4) Compound nouns

• mother-in-law, bus stop, snowman

(5) Gender-specific nouns

• lady, boy, waiter

• singing, talking, thinking

(7) Non-countable nouns

• milk, water, patience

(8) Countable nouns

• coin, note, robot

• development, drawing, attack

More Detail about the Types of Noun

Before we look at the different types of noun in more detail, it is worth highlighting a noun often fits into several noun types. For example:

(1) Abstract Nouns

An abstract noun is something you cannot see or touch (e.g., "bravery," "hate," "joy"). Here are some more examples of abstract nouns categorized under conceptual headings:

(2) Concrete Nouns

• abbey, banjo, camel, daughter, eclipse, fawn, gerbil, hatchet, igloo, jackal, kangaroo, locket, monsoon, nuts, owl, palm, quill, raspberries, sea, tavern, usher, vulture, wasps, xylophone, yacht, zoo

(3) Collective Nouns

A collective noun is the word used for a group of people or things (e.g., "team," "group," "choir"). Here are some more examples of collective nouns:

• band, board, choir, class, company, congregation, crew, crowd, gang, horde, jury, mob, group, pack, party, team, tribe, bunch, cluster, fleet, range, gaggle, herd, hive, school, shoal, pride, swarm, tribe

• That team is the worst in the league. (Here, the collective noun "team" is treated as singular.)
  
• The team are not communicating among themselves. (This time, "team" is treated as plural because the focus is on the individuals within the team.)

(4) Compound Nouns

A compound noun is a noun made up of two or more words (e.g., "court-martial," "water bottle," "pickpocket"). Some compound nouns are hyphenated, some are not, and some combine their words to form a single word. For example:

Hyphenated compound nouns:

• mother-in-law
• forget-me-not
• paper-clip

• black market
• board of members
• washing machine

• blackbird
• anteater
• snowman

• Mothers-in-law (Pluralize the principal word "mother.")
• Paper-clips (Pluralize the principal word "clip.")
• Forget-me-nots (Here, there is no principal word, so add "s" to the end.)

(5) Gender-Specific Nouns

A gender-specific noun refers to something specifically male (e.g., "man," "boy," "bull") or a female (e.g., "woman," "girl," "vixen"). Below are some more examples of gender-specific nouns:

• actor, boy, brother, emperor, father, gentleman, grandfather, grandson, headmaster, husband, man, master, mister, nephew, prince, son, steward, uncle, waiter, wizard

• actress, aunt, daughter, empress, girl, granddaughter, grandmother, headmistress, lady, lioness, lioness, madam, mistress, mother, niece, princess, princess, sister, stewardess, stewardess, tigress, tigress, waitress, waitress, wife, witch, woman

(6) Gerunds

• Running the tap will clear the air pocket. (This is formed from the verb "to run.")
• She is known for talking quietly. (This is formed from the verb "to talk.")
• My highlight was visiting New York. (This is formed from the verb "to visit.")

• I like baking. (This is a gerund.)
• I need some baking powder. (This is a present participle used as an adjective.)
• She was baking a cake. (This is a present participle used to form the past progressive tense.)

• The quick development of the process is essential. (This eight-word sentence is clunky. There is no gerund.)
• Quickly developing the process is essential. (In this six-word sentence, a gerund has been modified by the adverb "quickly" and has the direct object "the process." It is two words shorter than the first example and more natural sounding.)

(7) Non-Countable Nouns (Mass Nouns)

A non-countable noun (or mass noun as it's also known) is a noun without a plural form (e.g., "food," "music," "ice"). Non-countable nouns usually fall into one of the following categories: concept, activity, food, gas, liquid, material, item category, natural phenomenon, or particles. Here are some more examples of non-countable nouns shown in the categories.

Non-countable nouns are the opposite of countable nouns. Read more about non-countable nouns (mass nouns).

(8) Countable Nouns

• aardvark, backbone, coin, daffodil, eagle, face, gorilla, house, igloo, jaguar, koala, log, man, note, orange, package, queen, robot, suitcase, table, udder, vacation, waltz, xylophone, yacht, zombie

(9) Verbal Nouns

• I am responsible for the funny drawing of the monster. (Notice that the verbal noun has been modified by the adjective "funny." It could also be pluralized to "drawings," and it precedes a prepositional phrase "of the monster.")

• I am responsible for drawing the funny monster. (This time, the word "drawing" is a gerund. It cannot be modified by an adjective, it cannot be pluralized, and it cannot be followed by "of the monster." It has, however, taken a direct object ("the funny monster"), which a verbal noun cannot do.)

Noun Phrases and Noun Clauses

• Noun Phrase. A noun phrase is a group of two or more words that is headed by a noun. For example:
  • How much is the doggy in the window ? (Here, the noun phrase is shaded. The head noun is bold. The other words are modifiers.)
  • Whatever you wish is my command. (The noun clause is shaded. The clause subject is "you," and the clause verb is "wish.")
  • How much is he ? (Here, the noun phrase "the doggy in the window" has been replaced by the pronoun "he.")
  • It is my command. (The noun clause "Whatever you wish" has been replaced by the pronoun "it.")

  Video Lesson

  Here is a short video summarizing the different types of noun. video lesson

  Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos.

  This page was written by Craig Shrives.