13.1 Nouns
Types of Nouns - Study Guide
Nouns are naming words. Words such as friend, sky, dog, love, courage, and Seattle are nouns.
Rule 13.1.1: A noun names something. Most nouns fall into four main groups. People, Places, Things, and Ideas
The nouns in the chart are grouped under four headings. You may know most of the nouns under the
first three
headings. You may not have realized that all the words in the fourth group are nouns.
PEOPLE
PLACES
THINGS
IDEAS
doctor
Houston
collar
strength
Americans
classroom
book
honesty
student
kennel
motorcycle
love
leader
Bunker Hill
pen
obedience
Example: Amira went to Austin last week. Answer: Amira – Austin – week
Eric kicked the ball. Answer: Eric – person; ball - thing
Concrete and Abstract Nouns
Nouns may be classified as concrete or abstract. In the chart above, People. Places, and Things are
concrete
nouns. Ideas are abstract nouns.
Rule 13.1.2: A concrete noun names something that can be recognized through any of the five senses. An
abstract noun names something that cannot be recognized through the senses.
CONCRETE NOUNS
pencil
dog
tractor
river
ABSTRACT NOUNS
courage
fun
honor
exploration
Example: Jules never forgot the stranger’s kindness. Answer: Jules – concrete; kindness - abstract
Collective Nouns
A few nouns name groups of people of things. A pack, for example, is "a group of dogs or other animals that
travel together." These nouns are called collective nouns.
Rule 13.1.3: A collective noun names a group of people or things.
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
club
herd
army
troop
orchestra
committee
class
team
group
A collective noun names a group of people or things.
Examples of collective nouns are audience, crowd, couple, and family.
Collective nouns are usually followed by the word "of" and a noun telling who or what belongs in that group.
What Verb To Use With a Collective Noun?
Collective nouns can be tricky to pair with verbs. They can often appear to be plural when in fact they are
singular. Nouns and verbs must be in agreement to make an accurate sentence. Most collective nouns use a
singular noun instead of a plural noun. This means that they require a singular verb.
Examples: The litter of kittens was born under the stars. The family takes a lot of photos on vacations.
Read the examples below. Here, the collective nouns and the verbs are shown in bold
Example: The pride of lions hunts every night. Answer: pride – refers to a group of lions, which works as a unit.
