A word that names people, things, places, animals or even ideas is considered a noun1. Nouns are also known as naming words because they identify and label the things all around us. 

Nouns can be categorised as either common or proper. Common nouns are the general naming words, whereas proper nouns are the special names of a person, place, animal or thing. It is essential to capitalise the proper nouns1. 

Watch the video given below in order to find some more examples of common and proper nouns. 

Vid 1.1: Common and Proper Nouns

Furthermore, these nouns can be divided into various types depending on what they are talking about. Here are some more ways to classify nouns:

1. Concrete Nouns

A concrete noun is a word that names something that can be touched, felt, or perceived physically. It refers to a person, thing, or place that is real and tangible1,2.

For instance, the word ‘dog’ is a concrete noun because one can touch the dog, hear it bark, and even pet it. It is something we can perceive with our senses.

Note: The word ‘dog’ serves as a common noun too, referring to any dog. It can also be a countable noun, meaning we can say “two dogs”, or “three dogs” to talk about specific quantities of dogs. One noun can belong to multiple categories.

2. Abstract Nouns

Unlike a concrete noun, an abstract noun names something that can only be felt, or thought about. It represents a quality or an idea that cannot be touched or physically perceived or experienced1,2. 

For instance, the word ‘kindness’ is an abstract noun because it represents an idea or a quality rather than something you can physically touch or see.

An abstract noun is the name of that idea, thought, or feeling. 

Watch the given video in order to learn more about concrete and abstract nouns. 

(vid 1.2: Concrete and Abstract Nouns) 

Engage in this fun game to check your understanding about concrete and abstract nouns. 

3. Collective Nouns

A collective noun is a word that is used when describing a group of people, animals, or things as one big group. It is like putting them all into a team, instead of mentioning each one’s name individually3.

For instance, ‘a school of fish’ refers to a group of fish swimming together in the water. Hence, the word ‘school’ here is an example of a collective noun.

Watch the video given below to explore some more examples of collective nouns. 

(vid 1.3: Collective Nouns) 

4. Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable nouns are things we can count one by one, whereas uncountable nouns are things we cannot count as separate pieces4. A countable noun answers the question 'How many?' and an uncountable noun, 'How much?' 

Watch the video to learn about countable and uncountable nouns. 

Engage in this fun quizizz game to recapitulate your learning on nouns.