NOUNS
Nouns are often known as "naming" words. Every sentence must include at least one noun or pronoun. Most nouns can be either singular or plural and can be divided into two main groups: common and proper nouns.
Common nouns are used all the time to describe everyday objects, animals, places people, and ideas. They do not have a capital letter unless they appear at the start of a sentence. every sentence must contain a noun and this noun is usually a common noun. Nouns that describe things that can be seen and touched are known as concrete nouns.
e.g. book, goat, bread, birds, girl, piece
Abstract nouns are more difficult to define. Unlike concrete nouns, which refer to ideas, feelings, occasions, or time - things that can't be seen or touched.
e.g. love, happiness, bravery, trust, afternoon health
Collective nouns refer to a group of things or people. They are usually singular words that represent a number of things. Different collective nouns refer to different concrete nouns, and the collective nouns used to describe groups of animals are especially varied.
e.g. a crowd of people, a swarm of bees, a flight of stairs, a bunch of grapes, a flock of birds. a piece of bread,
With exception of abstract nouns, if the word can be put in front of a word and the resulting combination makes sense then that word is a noun.
A noun phrase is made up of a noun and any words that are modifying that noun. These modifying words are usually articles such as the or a, determiners such as my, this, or most, adjectives such as happy or hungry, or prepositional phrases such as in the field. Noun phrases perform exactly the same role as common nouns in a sentence.
common noun: goat
Noun phrase: The goat is named Billy. ( The; article)
Noun phrase: The hungry goat is named Billy. ( hungry; adjective)
Noun phrase: The hungry goat in the field is named Billy. ( in the field; prepositional phrase)
Proper nouns is the name given to a particular person, place, or breed of animal, or to a religious or historical concept or period. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter. This helps to distinguish them from common nouns. The most common proper nouns are the names of people or places, but titles, institutions, days of the week, and events and festivals are also proper nouns.
Examples:
Name of people (John, Sally Smith, Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ
Titles ( Mr. Miss, Sir, Dr, Professor, Reverend)
Places, buildings, and institutions ( Africa, Asia, Canada, New York, Red Cross, Sydney Opera house, United Nations)
Religious names ( Bible, Koran, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam)
Historical names ( World War Ⅱ, Ming Dynasty, Roman Empire)
Events and festivals (Olympic Games, New Year's Eve)
Days of the week, month (Saturday, December)
GLOSSARY
Abstract noun: The name given to something that can not be touched. such as a concept or a sensation.
Collective noun: The name given to a collection of individuals - people or things
Concrete noun: The name given to an ordinary thing, such as an animal or object.
Noun phrase: Several words that, when grouped together, perform the same function as a noun.
Prepositional phrase: A preposition such as in or on followed by a noun or pronoun that together acts as an adjective (describing a noun) or an adverb ( describing a verb) in a sentence.
Proper noun: the noun The name given to a particular person, Place or thingm which always starts with a capital letter.