Nouns – Definition, Types and Rules with Examples in English Grammar

In this chapter we are going to learn the definition of noun and their types with examples. This chapter is the continuing series of English grammar in Hindi. In this chapter we will know the nouns from basic level to higher level, Let’s start learning the noun.

Noun (संज्ञा)

Noun is a word used as a name of a person, place or thing. (किसी व्यक्ति, वस्तु, स्थान, गुण, कार्य या अवस्था के नाम को Noun (संज्ञा) कहा जाता है।)

जैसे:- Ram, Mohan, Sita, Gita, Delhi, America, Shakespeare, pen, paper, cigarette, soldier etc.

Types of Noun

In English grammar, there are five types of main nouns. Brief overview of the main types of noun are given below:

1. Proper Noun (व्यक्तिवाचक)
2. Common Noun (जातिवाचक)
3. Collective Noun (समूहवाचक)
4. Material Noun (द्रव्यवाचक)
5. Abstract Noun (भाववाचक)

PROPER NOUN

Proper noun से हमारा तात्पर्य किसी व्यक्ति, वस्तु तथा स्थान के नाम से होता है।
A Proper Noun is the name of some particular per son or place. (Proper means one’s own. Hence, a Proper Noun is a person’s own name.)

जैसे:- Ram, Delhi, Gita etc.

Examples in Sentence

• Ram is my friend.
• I live in Delhi.

Proper Nouns are always written with a capital letter at the beginning.

Proper Nouns are sometimes used as Common Nouns:

• Sachin is the Bradman of India.
• Kalidas is often called the Shakespeare (the greatest dramatist) of India.

COMMON NOUN

जिस Noun (संज्ञा) से एक वर्ग अथवा जाति के व्यक्ति या वस्तु का बोध हो, उसे Common Noun (जातिवाचक संज्ञा) कहते हैं।
A Common Noun is a name given in common to every person or thing of the same class or kind.

जैसे- King, boy, girl, city etc,

• According to the boy, the nearest town is very far.
• The boys are going to the nearest village.

COLLECTIVE NOUN

जिस Noun (संज्ञा) से समूह का बोध हो, उसे Collective Noun (समूहवाचक संज्ञा) कहते हैं।
A Collective Noun is the name of a number (or collection) of persons or things taken together and spoken of as one whole.

जैसेः- Crowd, mob, team, flock, herd, army, fleet, family, nation, jury, committee, parliament, troop, navy, library, cattle, police, people etc.

• A fleet = a collection of ships or vessels.
• An army = a collection of soldiers.
• A crowd = a collection of people.
• A herd = a collection of cattle.
• A library = a collection of books.

सामान्यत: Collective Noun का प्रयोग Singular में होता है। इनका प्रयोग Plural में तभी किया जाता है। जब मतभेद दर्शाया जाए या फिर प्रत्येक सदस्य के बारे में कुछ कहा जाए।

• The team are(p.v.) divided over the issue of captain-ship. (मतभेद)।
• The audience have(p.v.) taken their(p.p.) seats. (प्रत्येक व्यक्ति)

Examples in Sentence

• The flock of geese spends(s.v.) most of its time in the pasture.
• The jury is(s.v.) deciding the matter.
• The committee meets(s.v.) every week.

Other examples of Collective noun:

• a herd of cattle.
• a pack of wolves.
• a class of students.
• an army of soldiers.
• a fleet of taxi.
• a chain(manacle) of mountains.
• a fleet of ships.
• a gang of thieves.
• a band of musicians.
• a galaxy of stars.
• a caravan of travellers.
• a bunch of keys/grapes.
• a grooves of trees.
• a pack of cards.
• a gang of workers.
• a flight(flock) of birds.

MATERIAL NOUN

जिस Noun (संज्ञा) से ऐसे पदार्थ का बोध हो जिससे दूसरी वस्तुएं बन सके, उसे Material Noun (पदार्थवाचक संज्ञा) कहते हैं।
1. A Material Noun is the name of a material or a substance or an ingredient of an alloy.
2. A material noun is a word that refers to a type of substance, rather than to individual particles of that substance. In grammatical terms, a material noun is non-count, concrete, and usually common.

जैसे: Gold, Salt, Iron, Silver, Bronze, Brass, Copper, Steel, Aluminium, Lake, Islands, Planets, Granite, Hills, Star, Clouds, Plants, Tree etc.

Examples in Sentence

• The necklace is made of gold.
• She has purchased a tea set of silver.
• He got his furniture made of teak wood.

Material Nouns, Countable नहीं होते हैं अर्थात् इनकी गिनती नहीं की जा सकती है। इन्हें मापा या तौला जा सकता है। इनके साथ सामान्यत: Singular verb का प्रयोग किया जाता है एवं इनके पहले Article का प्रयोग नहीं कि जाता है।

ABSTRACT NOUN

Abstract Nount, ऐसे गुण, भाव, क्रिया एवं अवस्था को व्यक्त करता है जिन्हें छुआ और नहीं जा सकता है, बल्कि केवल महसूस किया जा सकता है।
An Abstract Noun is usually the name of a quality action or state considered apart from the object to which it belongs.

जैसे: Honesty, bravery (quality), hatred, laughter (action), poverty, youth (state).

Quality (गुण)	Action (क्रिया)	State (अवस्था)
Goodness	Laughter	Childhood
Kindness	Theft	Boyhood
Whiteness	Movement	Youth
Darkness	Judgement	Slavery
Hardness	Hatred	Sleep
Brightness	Heroism	Sickness
Honesty	–	Death
Wisdom	–	Poverty
Bravery	–	–

Examples in Sentence

• People respect his sincerity.
• Honesty is the best policy.

Abstract Noun का प्रयोग सामान्यत: Singular में किया जाता है।

Formation of Abstract Nouns

Abstract Nouns are generally formed from Common Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives by adding such suffixes as:

_hood, _cy, _ism, _ship, _ment. _ice, _ness, _ter, _ty, _th, etc.

(a) From Common Nouns :

Common Noun	Abstract Noun	Common Noun	Abstract Noun
boy	boyhood	girl	girlhood
infant	infancy	agent	agency
thief	theft	hero	heroism
slave	slavery	bond	bondage
friend	friendship	leader	leadership
Judge	judgement	coward	cowardice

(b) From Verbs :

Verb	Abstract Noun	Verb	Abstract Noun
advise	advice	practise	practice
govern	government	obey	obedience
know	knowledge	serve	service
see	sight	grow	growth
laugh	laughter	think	thought
please	pleasure	prepare	preparation
live	life	–	–

(c) From Adjectives :

Adjective	Abstract Noun	Adjective	Abstract Noun
brave	bravery	good	goodness
great	greatness	honest	honesty
poor	poverty	just	justice
young	youth	true	truth
wise	wisdom	broad	breadth
long	length	wide	width
deep	depth	sole	solitude
grand	grandeur	kind	kindness

Compound Nouns

What are Compound Nouns? Compound Nouns are made up of two or more words. For example: blackboard, stepson, grandfather, flowerpot etc.

• The teacher wrote the exam notes on the blackboard.
• The robber was caught by the police-man.

In the above sentences blackboard and policeman are made of fwo nouns ‘black + board’ and ‘police + man’.

Look at the following compound nouns:

manservant	Man + servant
stepson	step + son
grandfather	grand + father
flowerpot	flower + pot
fruit basket	fruit + basket
toothpaste	tooth + paste
book shelf	book + shelf

Concrete Noun

A concrete noun refers to a physical object or something that can be perceived by the senses. It denotes something that is tangible and can be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or touched. For Examples: Dog, Chair, Car, Apple, Tree, Book, Table, House, Water, Pen etc.

• I saw a beautiful rose blooming in the garden.
• My sister bought a new laptop for college.
• The delicious aroma of freshly baked bread filled the kitchen.
• The mechanic fixed the engine of my car.

These nouns represent specific things that exist in the physical world and can be identified and experienced directly.

Concrete Nouns Vs. Abstract Nouns

Concrete nouns refer to physical objects or things that can be perceived by the senses. They represent tangible and observable entities. Examples include “dog,” “chair,” “car,” and “book.”

On the other hand, Abstract nouns represent ideas, qualities, or concepts that cannot be perceived by the senses. They are intangible and do not have a physical presence. Examples of abstract nouns include “love,” “happiness,” “justice,” and “freedom.”

• The child held a colorful balloon tightly, while joy filled her heart.

In this sentence, “balloon” is a concrete noun because it is a physical object that can be seen and touched. On the other hand, “joy” is an abstract noun because it represents an emotion or feeling that cannot be directly observed through the senses.

Compound Nouns Vs. Collective Nouns

Compound nouns are formed by combining two or more words, while collective nouns are used to describe a group or collection of individuals or objects as a singular entity.

Compound nouns are formed by combining two or more words together to create a single noun. These words can be either nouns, adjectives, verbs, or prepositions. Compound nouns can be written as separate words, hyphenated words, or merged into a single word. Examples of compound nouns include “school bus,” “birthday cake,” “ice cream,” and “sunflower.”

Collective nouns are used to refer to a group or collection of individuals or things as a single entity. They represent a singular concept, despite referring to multiple individuals or objects. Examples of collective nouns include “team,” “herd,” “flock,” and “family.” These nouns are used to describe a group of people, animals, or things collectively, such as “a team of players,” “a herd of cows,” or “a flock of birds.”

Count Nouns vs. Non-Count Nouns

Countable Noun:

The nouns that can be counted are called countable nouns.
जिन संज्ञा शब्दों की गणना की जा सके उन्हें Countable Noun कहा जाता है।

Coins, dogs, boys, birds, apples, etc.

They have a singular and a plural forms. The singular form can use the determiner ‘a’ or ‘an’, If you want to ask about the quantity of a countable noun, you ask How many?, combined with the plural countable noun.

Singular	Plural
one cat	two cats
one man	two men
one horse	two horses
one thing	two things
one shop	two shops
one car	two cars

Example in Sentence:

• She has three cats.
• I have a house.
• I would like two books and one pen, please.
• How many cars do you have?

Uncountable Noun:

The nouns that cannot be counted, although we can measure or weigh them, are called uncountable nouns.
जिन संज्ञा शब्दों की गणना न की जा सके उन्हें Uncountable Noun कहा जाता है।

Bread, milk, water, gold, rice, etc.

In general, non-count nouns are considered to refer to indivisible wholes (which are not individual objects and can not be counted). For this reason, they are sometimes called MASS nouns.

Uncountable nouns are used to describe a quality, action, thing or substance that can be poured or measured. Non-Count nouns also refer to a whole category made up of different varieties or a whole group of things that is made up of many individual parts.

Uncountable nouns are always singular. Use the singular form of the verb with uncountable nouns.

Example in Sentence:

• There is some tea in that cup.
• That is the tool we use for the work.

Things	Qualities	Actions	Fields of Study
water	sincerity	thinking/to think	biology
stuff	integrity	jumping/to jump	history
money	honesty	swimming/to swim	psychology
homework	loyalty	walking/to walk	economics
luck	dependability	typing/to type	social work
advice	–	–	philosophy
ink	–	–	anatomy
proof	–	–	English
information	–	–	religion
equipment	–	–	theology
fun	–	–	–
dust	–	–	–

We cannot use a/an with these nouns (tea, sugar, water, air, rice, knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love, money, research, safety, evidence).

To express a quantity of an uncountable noun, use a word or expression like some, a lot of, much, a bit of, a great deal of , or else use an exact measurement like a cup of, a bag of, 1kg of, 1L of, a handful of, a pinch of, an hour of, a day of.

If you want to ask about the quantity of an uncountable noun, you ask How much?

• He did not have much sugar left.
• There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
• He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
• Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
• Measure 1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
• How much rice do you want?

Some nouns are countable in other languages but uncountable in English. They must follow the rules for uncountable nouns. The most common ones are: accommodation, advice, baggage, behavior, bread, furniture, information, luggage, news, progress, traffic, travel, trouble, weather, work.

• I didn’t make much progress today.
• I would like to give you some advice.
• This looks like a lot of trouble to me.
• How much bread should I bring?
• We did an hour of work yesterday.

Be careful with the noun hair which is normally uncountable in English, so it is not used in the plural. It can be countable only when referring to individual hairs.

• The child’s hair was curly.
• She has long blond hair.
• My father is getting a few grey hairs now. (refers to individual hairs)
• I washed my hair yesterday.
• I found a hair in my soup! (refers to a single strand of hair)

Other Important Rules of Noun:

Rule 1. कुछ Nouns का प्रयोग हमेशा Plural form में ही होता है। इन Nouns के अन्त में लगे “s” को हटाकर, इन्हें Singular नहीं बनाया जा सकता है। ये दिखने में भी Plural लगते हैं, एवं इनका प्रयोग भी Plural की तरह होता है। ऐसे Nouns निम्न हैं:

• Scissors,
• tongs (चिमटा),
• pliers,
• pincers (चिमटी),
• bellows (फूँकनी),
• trousers,
• pants,
• pajamas,
• shorts,
• gallows (फाँसी का फंदा),
• fangs (डंक),
• spectacles,
• goggles,
• binoculars (दूरबीन),
• eyeglasses, Alms (दान),
• amends (संशोधन),
• archives (ऐतहासिक दस्तावेज),
• arrears (बकाया),
• auspices (समर्थन एवं दिशा निर्देश),
• congratulations,
• embers (राख),
• fireworks,
• lodgings (रहने का स्थान),
• outskirts (बाहरी इलाका),
• particulars (विवरण),
• proceeds (मुनाफा),
• regards (सम्मान),
• riches,
• remains,
• savings,
• shambles, (बेतरतीब स्थान),
• surroundings,
• tidings (समाचार),
• troops,
• tactics (युक्ति),
• thanks,
• valuables,
• wages,
• belongings etc.

वाक्य में प्रयोग, जैसे:

1. Where are my pants?
2. Where are the tongs?
3. The proceeds were deposited in the bank.
4. All his assets were seized.
5. Alms are given to the beggars.
6. The embers of the fire were still burning.

नोट: ‘Wages‘ का प्रयोग singular एवं plural दोनो forms में किया जा सकता है। निम्नलिखित वाक्यों को देखें-

1. Wages are paid in cash. (मजदूरी के अर्थ में, Plural Form)
2. Wages of hard work is sweet. (परिणाम के अर्थ में, Singular Form)

Rule 2. कुछ Nouns दिखने में Plural लगते हैं लेकिन अर्थ में Singular होते है। इनका प्रयोग हमेशा Singular में ही होता है। जैसे :

• News,
• Innings,
• Politics,
• Summons ( बुलावा-जैसे न्यायालय से),
• Physics,
• Economics,
• Ethics,
• Mathematics,
• Mumps (कनपड़ा / गलसुआ),
• Measles (खसरा),
• Rickets ( सुखा रोग),
• Shingles (दाद),
• Billiards,
• Athletics,
• Civics,
• Linguistics (भाषा का अध्ययन ) etc.

वाक्यों में प्रयोग, जैसे:

1. No news is good news.
2. Politics is a dirty game.
3. Economics is an interesting subject.
4. Ethics demands honesty

Rule 3. कुछ Nouns दिखने में Singular लगते हैं, लेकिन इनका प्रयोग हमेशा Plural में होता है। जैसे:

• cattle,
• cavalry (घुड़सवार फौज),
• infantry,
• poultry (मुर्गी पालन),
• peasantry (कृषि),
• children,
• gentry (सम्मान्त/ कुलीन वर्ग),
• police एवं
• people

इनके साथ कभी भी ‘s’ नहीं लगाया जाता, जैसे: cattles, childrens लिखना गलत है।

वाक्यों में प्रयोग, जैसे:

1. Cattle are grazing in the field.
2. Our infantry have marched forward.
3. Police have arrested the thieves.

नोट: ‘People’ का अर्थ है ‘लोग’। ‘Peoples’ का अर्थ है ‘विभिन्न मूलवंश ( different races) के लोग’ ।

Rule 4. कुछ Nouns का प्रयोग, केवल Singular form में ही किया जाता है। ये Uncountable Nouns हैं। इनके साथ Article A / An का प्रयोग भी नहीं किया जाता है। जैसे:

• Scenery,
• Poetry,
• Furniture,
• Advice,
• Information,
• Hair,
• Business,
• Mischief,
• Bread,
• Stationery,
• Crockery,
• Luggage,
• Baggage,
• Postage,
• Knowledge,
• Wastage,
• Jewellery,
• Breakage,
• Equipment,
• Work (Works का अर्थ है साहित्य लेख),
• Evidence,
• Word (जब ‘word’ का अर्थ वाद, संदेश या परिचर्चा हो),
• Fuel, एवं
• Cost.

वाक्यों में प्रयोग, जैसे:

1. The scenery of Kashmir is very charming.
2. I have no information about her residence.
3. The mischief committed by him is unpardonable.
4. His hair is black.
5. I have bought some equipment that I needed for the project.

इन Nouns का बहुवचन नहीं बनाया जा सकता। जैसे: Sceneries, informations, furnitures, hairs इत्यादि लिखना गलत है।

यदि उक्त Noun का Singular या Plural दोनों forms में आवश्यकता हो तो, इनके साथ कुछ शब्द जोड़े जाते हैं। नीचे दिए गये उदाहरण देखें:-

1. He gave me a piece of information.
2. All pieces of information given by her were reliable.
3. Many kinds of furniture are available in that shop.
4. I want a few articles of jewellery.
5. He ate two slices of bread.
6. Please show me some items of office stationery.
7. The Police have found a strand of hair in the car.

नोट: Money का plural form ‘Monies’ हो सकता है जिसका अर्थ निकलता है ‘sums of money’. जैसे-

• Monies have been collected and handed to the women’s welfare society.

Rule 5. कुछ Nouns, Plural एवं Singular दोनों में एक ही रूप में रहते हैं। जैसे: deer, sheep, series, species, fish, crew, team, jury, aircraft, counsel etc.

1. Our team is the best.
2. Our team are trying their new uniform.
3. There are two fish in the pond.
4. There are many fishes in the aquarium. (‘Fishes’ का अर्थ है विभिन्न प्रजातियों के fish)

Rule 6. Hyphenated noun का प्रयोग कभी भी plural form में नहीं होता।

1. He gave me two hundred-rupees notes. (rupees को rupee में परिवर्तित करें) – He gave me two hundred-rupee notes.
2. He stays in five-stars hotels. (stars को star में परिवर्तित करें) – He stays in five-star hotels.

Rule 7. कुछ nouns का प्रयोग लोग बोल-चाल की भाषा में करते है लेकिन वास्तव में उनका प्रयोग करना बिलकुल गलत होता है। उदाहरण:

गलत प्रयोग	सही प्रयोग
Cousin brother/Cousin sister	Cousin
Pickpocketer	Pickpocket
Good name	Name
Big/small blunder	Blunder (Blunder का अर्थ होता है बड़ी भूल। अतः big का प्रयोग गलत है।
Strong breeze	Strong wind (Breeze हमेशा light एवं gentle होता है)
Bad dream	Nightmare
Proudy	Proud

निम्नलिखित nouns में भी हमें confusion रहता है –

• Floor – फर्श,
  Ground – जमीन
• Skill – सीख कर प्राप्त करते हैं,
  Talent – Inborn(जन्म से होता है)
• Envy – ईष्या जो दूसरो के चीज़ो का देख कर हो,
  Jealously – ईष्या जो अपनी चीज़ो के खोने के डर से हो।

Rule 8. कुछ Nouns जो अर्थ में तो Plural होते हैं लेकिन यदि इनके पूर्व किसी निश्चित संख्यात्मक विशेषण (Definite numeral adjective) का प्रयोग किया जाता है तो इन Noun को Pluralise नहीं किया जाता है। जैसे-

• Pair,
• score,
• gross,
• stone,
• hundred,
• dozen,
• thousand,
• million,
• billion, etc.

वाक्यों में प्रयोग, जैसे:

1. I have two hundred rupees only.
2. She purchased three dozen pencils.
3. He has already donated five thousand rupees.

लेकिन यदि इनके साथ Indefinite countable का प्रयोग हो तो इन्हें Pluralise किया जाता है। जैसे:

• dozens of women,
• hundreds of people,
• millions of dollars,
• scores of shops,
• many pairs of shoes etc.

वाक्यों में प्रयोग, जैसे:

1. Hundreds of people came to see the fair.
2. He donated millions of rupees.
3. I have two pairs of shoes. ( pairs का प्रयोग ‘of’ के वजह से किया जाता है।

Rule 9. यदि किसी Noun के बाद Preposition का प्रयोग हो और फिर वहीं ‘Noun’ repeat हो तो वह ‘Noun’ Singular form में होना चाहिए। जैसे:

1. Town after town was devastated.
2. Row upon row of marble looks beautiful.
3. He enquired from door to door.
4. Ship after ship is arriving.

इस तरह के वाक्यों में Towns after towns, Rows upon rows, doors to doors या ships after ships लिखना गलत है।

Rule 10. Common Gender Nouns : Teacher, student, child, clerk, advocate, worker, writer, leader, musician etc. ऐसे nouns हैं जिनका प्रयोग male एवं female दोनों के लिए किया जाता है। इन्हें Dual Gender भी कहा जाता है जब इस तरह के Noun का प्रयोग Singular में किया जाता है तो सामान्यतः he / his/him का प्रयोग किया जाता है। जैसे:

1. Every leader should perform his duty.
2. A teacher should perform his duty sincerely.

यहाँ विवाद का विषय यह है कि हम Masculine Gender (He / His etc.) का ही प्रयोग क्यों करें? इस सम्बन्ध में यदि matter legal हो तो his या her जो भी आवश्यक हो उसे स्पष्ट कर देना चाहिये।

Possessive Nouns

Possessive nouns are used to show ownership or possession. They demonstrate that something belongs to someone or something else. In English, possessive nouns are typically formed by adding an apostrophe and an “s” (‘s) to the end of a noun, regardless of whether the noun is singular or plural. However, there are a few exceptions for plural nouns that already end in “s.”

Examples of possessive nouns:

1. John’s car is parked outside.
2. The cat’s tail is fluffy.
3. The company’s profits increased this year.
4. The children’s toys are scattered around the room.
5. My friend’s house is located near the beach.
6. The book’s cover is beautifully designed.
7. The students’ assignments were submitted on time. (plural possessive)

Note that possessive pronouns, such as “mine,” “yours,” “his,” “hers,” “ours,” and “theirs,” are used instead of possessive nouns when indicating ownership without using a noun.

Nominative(Subjective)	Accusative(Objective)	Possessive(Genitive)
we	us	our/ours
I	me	my/mine
he	him	his
she	her	her/hers
you	you	your/yours
they	them	their/theirs
who	whom	whose

Examples of possessive pronouns:

1. This pen is mine.
2. Is that car hers?
3. The book is ours.

Possessive nouns and pronouns are essential for indicating possession and clarifying ownership in sentences.

FAQs on Noun

What is a noun?
A noun is a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. It is one of the basic parts of speech in English grammar. Nouns can be concrete, such as “table” or “dog,” or abstract, such as “love” or “happiness.”

How do you identify a noun in a sentence?
To identify a noun in a sentence, you can look for words that answer the questions “who?” or “what?” For example, in the sentence “The cat is sleeping,” the word “cat” is a noun because it answers the question “what is sleeping?”

What are common and proper nouns?
A common noun is a general name for a person, place, thing, or idea. Examples of common nouns include “city,” “book,” and “chair.” On the other hand, a proper noun is the specific name of a person, place, or thing, and it is usually capitalized. For instance, “London,” “Harry Potter,” and “Eiffel Tower” are proper nouns.

What is the difference between countable and uncountable nouns?
Countable nouns are objects or ideas that can be counted and have a singular and plural form. Examples include “book/books” or “apple/apples.” Uncountable nouns, on the other hand, cannot be counted and do not have a plural form. They refer to substances, concepts, or qualities, such as “water,” “information,” or “happiness.”

Can a noun function as different parts of speech?
Yes, a noun can function as different parts of speech depending on how it is used in a sentence. For example, a noun can be the subject of a sentence (e.g., “Dogs are loyal”), the object of a verb (e.g., “She loves dogs”), or the object of a preposition (e.g., “He walked to the park”). Nouns can also be used as adjectives (e.g., “apple pie” or “car engine”) to describe other nouns.

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