Types of nouns
The types overlap. Team, for example, is a common, concrete, countable and collective noun.
| Type | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Common | A general name for any member of a group | city, river, doctor |
| Proper | The name of a particular person, place or thing, with a capital letter | Mumbai, the Ganges, Dr Rao, Monday |
| Concrete | Something you can see, touch, hear, smell or taste | chair, music, rain |
| Abstract | An idea, quality or feeling | courage, freedom, knowledge |
| Countable | Has a singular and a plural form | one book, two books |
| Uncountable | Has no plural and doesn't take a or an | water, advice, information |
| Collective | A group seen as one unit | team, family, audience |
| Compound | Two or more words that work as one noun | bus stop, toothpaste, mother-in-law |
Countable and uncountable nouns
Countable nouns take a or an in the singular, have a plural, and go with many and few: "a chair", "many chairs".
Uncountable nouns have no plural, take a singular verb, and go with much and little: "much traffic", "The traffic is heavy." Some nouns that are countable in other languages are uncountable in English: advice, information, luggage, furniture, equipment, research and news. To count them, add a unit: "a piece of advice", "two items of luggage".
Some nouns can be both, with a change in meaning: "Two coffees, please" means two cups, while "I like coffee" means the drink in general.
Plural and collective nouns
Most nouns add -s or -es to form the plural: books, boxes, cities. Some are irregular: child becomes children, man becomes men, person becomes people and mouse becomes mice.
In British English, a collective noun can take a singular or plural verb. "The team is winning" treats the team as one unit, while "The team are arguing among themselves" thinks of the members. American English usually uses the singular. Police and people always take a plural verb: "The police are here."
Common mistakes
Wrong: She gave me many informations.
Right: She gave me a lot of information.
Information is uncountable, so it has no plural and doesn't go with many.
Wrong: The news are good.
Right: The news is good.
News ends in s but is uncountable, so it takes a singular verb.
Wrong: I met my cousin in delhi on monday.
Right: I met my cousin in Delhi on Monday.
Proper nouns, including days of the week, start with a capital letter.
Using this in IELTS and PTE
Countable and uncountable nouns cause many article and agreement errors in IELTS and PTE writing. Nouns that are common in essays, such as research, evidence, information, knowledge and advice, are uncountable, so write "a lot of research", not "many researches". Abstract nouns also help you write a formal IELTS Task 1 overview: "There was a sharp decline in sales" sounds more academic than "Sales went down a lot".
5 questions
Exercise
Try each one, then open it to check your answer.
1. Common or proper? "river"
Common.
It names any river, not a particular one.
2. Abstract or concrete? "happiness"
Abstract.
It names a feeling you can't touch or see.
3. Correct this: "He bought some new furnitures."
He bought some new furniture.
Furniture is uncountable, so it has no plural.
4. Find the collective noun: "The audience clapped loudly."
audience
It names a group of people as one unit.
5. Write the plurals: child, woman, city
children, women, cities
Child and woman are irregular. City changes y to ies.
Frequently asked questions
How many types of nouns are there?+
There is no single fixed number. Most grammar books list the eight types in the chart above, and many nouns belong to more than one type.
Is a gerund a noun?+
A gerund is the -ing form of a verb used as a noun: "Swimming is good exercise." It does a noun's job but can still take an object like a verb: "Reading books helps."
Are days and months proper nouns?+
Yes. Days of the week, months and festivals are proper nouns, so they start with a capital letter: Tuesday, August, Diwali.
Keep going
More grammar lessons
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