Noun
We explain what a noun is and how this grammatical category can be classified. In addition, the gender and number of nouns.
What is a noun?
A noun is a grammatical category or word class that is used to name an object, subject, place, concept. For example: Juan, car, house, Buenos Aires.
types of nouns
The noun can be classified according to what it names in:
- Nouns. They name an object or subject in a concrete and particular way and are always written with a capital letter. They are used to name: people (María, Juan), countries, cities and continents (Colombia, Montevideo, Asia), brands (Bimbo, Sony), organizations or institutions (Autonomous University of Barcelona, Greenpeace), festivities (Christmas, Pesaj) , musical groups (Nirvana, The Beatles), literary works (Don Quixote de la Mancha, La Gioconda).
- Common nouns. They designate a person, animal or thing in a general way. For example: table, chair, cow, dog, mountain, love. Common nouns are always lowercase and are classified in different ways. What is it Adjective?
Common nouns are classified into:
- Abstract nouns. They designate ideas, concepts and feelings that cannot be perceived by the senses. For example: freedom, happiness, hate, compassion.
- Concrete nouns. They name things and objects that can be perceived by the senses. For example: house, cat, tree, ball.
Concrete nouns are classified into:
- Countable nouns. They can be numbered. For example: apple, table, friend.
- Non-countable nouns. They cannot be numbered, but they can be measured. For example: water, sugar. In the latter case, you cannot say two sugars, but one kilo of sugar. Uncountable nouns do not have a plural.
Countable nouns can be classified as:
- Individual nouns. They name a particular being in the singular. For example: fish, dog.
- Collective nouns. They name a group of people, animals, objects in a global or group way. For example: “fish” is individual and “shoal” is collective, since it refers to a group of fish.
Another classification that can be used within common nouns is to divide between primitive and derivative nouns (derived from another noun, such as “shoe shop”, “ice cream shop”, “bakery”). It is also possible to indicate if a noun is simple or compound (in the case of “lavarropas”, “umbrella” for example). What is it Product in Chemistry?
Gender and number of nouns
Nouns have:
- Gender: female or male. Most feminine nouns end with the vowel -a while masculine nouns end with the vowel -o. That is why we can, for example, say cat and cat, dog and bitch. However, in some cases, the meaning is modified, such as basket and basket (changes the size of the object).
- Number: singular or plural. Some nouns are written the same in singular and plural as: thorax, climax, caries.
Most nouns can change from masculine to feminine and vice versa, as well as from singular to plural and vice versa. Some feminine are completely different from their masculine, such is the case of: horse and mare or actor and actress.
noun examples
Nouns
- Proper names: Mateo Olivero, Karina Sánchez, Osvaldo Cortez.
- Urban places and spaces: Argelia, Tijuana, Oceania, Avenida del Libertador.
- Organizations or institutions: World Health Organization, Club Deportivo Guadalajara.
- Works of art: Las Meninas, One Hundred Years of Solitude.
- Festivities: New Year, Ramadan, Day of the Dead.
common nouns
Table, dog, mattress, car, drill, mother, plate, t-shirt, saxophone, rice, telephone.
abstract nouns
Love, passion, lust, fear, freedom, friendship, pain, anxiety, religion, justice, lie, compassion, time.
concrete nouns
Earth, bottle, thumb, library, ball, sand, clock, brush, building, monkey, oil, candle, water.
Individual and collective nouns
Individual
- Book
- Dog
- Bird
- Fish
- Country
- Family
- Star
- Letter
Collective
- Library
- pack of packs
- Flock
- Shoal
- Continent
- Clan
- Constellation
- Alphabet
Countable nouns
Book, ball, banana, child, duck.
Non-countable nouns
Flour, sugar, blood, money, garbage, gasoline
Sentences with nouns
Place names are examples of proper nouns.
nouns
- Mateo Olivero is my mom’s cousin.
- Yesterday I ran into Karina Sánchez on the street.
- Osvaldo Cortez was discharged.
- His sister went to live in Algeria.
- In Tijuana we visit Avenida Revolución.
- Oceania is the smallest continent on planet Earth.
- The gift shop is on Avenida del Libertador.
- The World Health Organization banned the use of the vaccine.
- Club Deportivo Guadalajara won the zonal championship.
- Diego Velázquez is the author of Las Meninas.
- María is reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by the Colombian writer, Gabriel García Márquez.
common nouns
- Sonia bought the table at the village store.
- My dog barks when he hears thunder.
- Marisa’s mattress didn’t fit in the moving truck.
- The car carries 50 liters of gasoline.
- The drill cannot be used at night.
- Pedro’s mother visited him for Christmas.
- Don’t throw all the food off the plate!
- The board of directors changed the design of the club’s shirt.
- Luis bought a second-hand saxophone.
- You don’t need to buy more rice.
- The phone rang just in time for dinner.
Collective nouns
- I kept the book you gave me in the library.
- She was not intimidated and faced the pack that was chasing her.
- A flock crossed the Andes at dawn.
- The school traveled the shores of the Dead Sea.
- Solidarity does not recognize country borders on this continent.
- Her family and the Gomez family are a clan.
- Julián stayed awake contemplating the constellation.
- They are ready? It’s time to learn the alphabet!
The noun in the sentence
The noun is the nucleus of the nominal phrase (group of words with a nucleus), mainly of the subject of the sentence.
Next to the nucleus we find: the direct modifiers (adjectives and articles), the indirect modifier (preposition plus noun or noun construction), the apposition (noun or noun construction that clarifies the nucleus or repeats it) and the comparative construction (introduced by “as ” or which”).
For example:
- Juan, my brother, recently moved away. (“John” is the core of the subject and “brother” is the core of the explanatory apposition)
- The school teacher teaches us very well. (“teacher” is the nucleus of the subject and “school” is the nucleus of the indirect modifier)
In a sentence there can be one or more noun nuclei within a subject (simple or compound) and they must agree with the conjugated verb of the predicate (singular or plural). The same happens with adjectives, which must agree with the noun in gender and number for the cohesion of the sentence to be correct.
For example:
- Clara and Andrea run every morning. (“Clara” and “Andrea” are the two nuclei of the compound subject)
- Employees and managers gathered in the lounge. (“employees” and “managers” are the two nuclei of the compound subject)
In addition, the noun can be present in nominal constructions of the predicate, within a direct object, indirect object, circumstantial, complement or predicate.
For example:
We are preparing a surprise for Javier. (“Javier” is the core of the indirect object and “surprise” is the core of the direct object)
The show will be on the main stage. (“scene” is the nucleus of the circumstantial complement of place)
The mystery was discovered by the detective. (“detective” is the core agent plugin)
Nouns and adjectives
The adjective is a class of word that has the function of qualifying the noun. The adjective expresses characteristics or properties attributed to a noun and provides information about it.
Both are categories of words that are closely linked, since the noun names a thing (object, place, animal, person, emotion) and the adjective characterizes it. For example: The sea (noun) is deep (adjective). Noun and adjective must agree in gender and number.
Adjectives fall into two main categories:
- Adjectives. They are those that detail characteristics or properties of the noun to which they qualify, and can be specific or explanatory.
- Determiner adjectives. They indicate quantity, position or number of the noun, and can be demonstrative, indefinite and possessive.
What is it noun, nouns concept, types of noun, examples, sentences
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