Noun

Q. : What is Noun?
Ans. : Noun is the name of any person, place or thing. In other words we can say that

NOUNS ARE NAMING WORDS.
As :-
Names of persons : Rohan, Ruchita, Rekha, etc.
Names of places : Rohtak, Haryana, India, etc.
Names of things : Pen, Pan, Fan, etc.
Names of animals : Frog, Cow, Dog, etc.
Names of groups : Army, Crowd, Heard, etc.

NOTE : The word thing includes the following:-

1). All the objects that we can see, hear, taste, touch or smell and
2). Something that we can think of, but cannot perceive by our senses.
In other words we can say that the word thing is used to mean anything we can think of.
As :-

1). Name of action : Theft, Work, Selection
2). Name of quality : Honesty, Bravery, Intelligence
3). Name of situation (state) : Sleep, Death, Unconsciousness

Kinds of Nouns

Basically there are five kinds of Nouns. They are :-

1). Proper Noun

2). Common Noun

3). Collective Noun

4). Material Noun

5). Abstract Noun

The detailed study of these five kinds of Noun will help us to classify the naming words in this world.So let us have a detailed study of these five kinds one by one.

1). Proper Noun :-

Proper Noun is the name of any particular person, place or thing which is distinct from every other one.
As:- Sita, Ram, Rohtak, Inda, etc.

NOTE : PROPER MEANS ONE'S OWN.

2). Common Noun :-

Common Noun is the name which is given in common to any and every person, place and thing of the same class or kind.
As:- Man, Woman, Boy, Girl, City, Village, etc.

NOTE : COMMON MEANS SHARED BY ALL.

Proper,Collective,Material and Abstract Nouns can be used as Common Nouns by either making them PLURAL or placing an ARTICLE before them.
As :-
1). Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India.
In the sentence above Proper Noun "Shakespeare" has been used as a Common Noun by putting an article (the) before it. In this sentence Proper Noun Shakespeare (or the name Shakespeare) is shared by Kalidas because in India Kalidas is as famous as Shakespeare is in England in literature.

2). Children threw stones at the poor beggar.
In the sentence above Material Noun "stone" has been used as a Common Noun by making it plural. In this sentence Material Noun "stones" is shared by everything which is thrown by the children on the poor beggar.

3). All classes of our school are present here.
In the sentence above Collective Noun "class" has been used as a Common Noun by making it plural. In this sentence Collective Noun "classes" is shared by every class which is present.

4). It is the honesty that is always rewarded.
In the sentence above Abstract Noun "honesty" has been used as a Common Noun by putting an article (the) before it.

3). Collective Noun :-

Collective Noun is the name of a number, group or collection of people or things taken and spoken of as one whole.
As :-
A group of cattle or sheep or all of the same kind is called a herd
A large number of things or people considered together is called a crowd
A group of two or more than two players playing together is called a team
A group of a number of similar things (as a group of keys) is called a bunch

4). Material Noun :-

Material Noun is the name of any material or substance of which something is made.
As:- Gold, Silver, Iron, Wood, Sugar, Brass, etc.

NOTE : MATERIAL MEANS SOMETHING THAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE A PRODUCT.

5). Abstract Noun :-

Abstract Noun is the name of an action, a quality or a state. It is the name of the things which we can't see, hear, touch, smell or taste but which we can think of.
As :-
a). Quality : Cleverness, honesty, beauty, bravery, etc.
b). Action : Choice, theft, decision, duty, etc.
c). State : Poverty, sleep, happiness, childhood, etc.

NOTE : ABSTRACT MEANS EXISTING ONLY IN THE MIND, WITHOUT HAVING A PHYSICAL REALITY.

NOTE : The Subjects of Arts and Science Are Considered as Abstract Nouns.

The above traditional classification of Noun has been replaced by simple one now.The present kinds are : -
1). COUNTABLE NOUN :- Things which can be counted.
2). UNCOUNTABLE NOUN :- Things which can't be counted.