Submitted by: Submitted by hemrraj
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Category: English Composition
Date Submitted: 10/27/2013 01:30 AM
NOUN
Proper Nouns
A proper noun is the name of a person, place or thing (i.e., its own name). A proper noun always starts with a capital letter.
Examples:
* Michael
* Africa
* Peking
* Dayton Peace Accord
* United Nations
* The Tower of London
* Uncle George
(Uncle is written with a capital letter because it is part of his name.)
* My favourite auntie is Auntie Sally.
(In this example, the first auntie is a common noun, but the second Auntie is part of a proper noun.)
* The Red Lion
Common Nouns
A common noun is the word used for a class of person, place or thing.
Examples:
* Car
* Man
* Bridge
* Town
* Water
* Metal
* Ammonia
Common nouns are further classified into:
* Abstract nouns – things you cannot see or touch (e.g., bravery, joy)
* Collective nouns – words to describe groups (e.g., team, choir)
* Compound nouns – nouns made up of more than one word (e.g., court-martial, pickpocket, water bottle)
* Concrete nouns – things you can see or touch (e.g., tree, cloud)
* Non-countable nouns (mass nouns) – things you cannot count (e.g., food, music)
* Gender-specific nouns – words which are definitely male or female (e.g., vixen, actress)
* Verbal nouns (gerunds) – nouns that represent actions (e.g., running, guessing)
Collective Nouns
A collective noun is the word used for a group of people or things.
Examples:
* Choir
* Team
* Jury
* Shoal
* Cabinet (of ministers)
* Regiment
The big question with collective nouns is whether they should be treated as singular or plural. The answer is: They can be treated as singular or plural depending on the sense of your sentence. This is covered in more depth in the lesson Collective Nouns – Singular or Plural? and in the Beware section on the right of this page.
Verbal Nouns
Verbal nouns (also called gerunds) are formed from verbs. They end -ing. They are a type of common...