If you have been following us, you would probably have learned what a noun is and also seen different ways you can change a singular noun to a plural noun together with the rules guiding them. Hence, we are going to learn about the classes of noun in English grammar here.
The Classes Of Noun In English Grammar
In English grammar, nouns are classified into three (3) major classes. There are as follows;
i. Proper Noun
ii. Common Noun &
iii. Abstract Noun.
Going forward, we will discuss the classes of noun in English grammar mentioned above one after the other.
COMMON NOUN
There are nouns given to all people or things or places of the same kind. In order words, it can be said to be a COLLECTIVE NOUN.
Examples include; boys, girls, daughters, sons, males, females, cities, roads, lakes, woods, king, etc.
Common nouns sometimes can be represented by other words or word groups, as in names of a group or collections of objects. Besides considering persons, animals, and things separately, we may think of them in groups, and appropriate names for the group are given to them.
Thus, MEN in groups may be called a crowd, a mob, a committee, a council, or a congress, etc.
Also, groups of objects such as glass, iron, clay, frost, rain, snow, wheat, wind, tea, sugar, etc. are referred to as MATERIAL NOUNS.
Such nouns may be called in groups as;
The Metals: E.g. iron, gold, platinum, etc.
Products spoke of in bulk: E.g. tea, sugar, rice, wheat, etc.
Natural phenomena: E.g. rain, dew, cloud, frost, mist, etc.
PROPER NOUN
These are the nouns that are the particular names of people or places or things. It specializes or limits the thing to which it is applied, reducing it to a narrow application.
Examples include; Chicago, Dubai, Dakar, Caesar, Patrick, Alfred the Great, etc.
Note: All proper nouns begin with a capital letter no matter where they appear in a sentence. For Instance; Days of the week (E.g. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.) and months of the year (E.g. January, February, March, etc.) are names of particular days or months and so should begin with capital letters.
ALSO READ: Parts Of Speech In English Language – Listing & Details
ABSTRACT NOUN
Abstract nouns are names of qualities, conditions, or actions, considered abstractly, or apart from their natural connection.
Examples include; pain, truth, wisdom, poverty, proof, understanding, painting, learning, etc.
Under ABSTRACT NOUN, there are two main divisions. They are;
- Attribute Abstract Noun &
- Verbal Abstract Noun.
1. Attribute Abstract Noun: They express attributes or qualities. These attribute abstract nouns are derived from adjectives and common nouns.
Examples;
- When they are derived from Adjectives are as follows;
Prudence from Prudent
Height from High
Redness from Red
Stupidity from Stupid
Greatness from Great, etc.
- When they are derived from Common Nouns are as follows
Peerage from Peer
Childhood from Child
Mastery from Master
Kingship from King, etc.
2. The Verbal Abstract Noun: As the name implies, they originate in verbs. This can be seen in the following ways;
They may be of the same form as the simple verb. The verb, by altering its function is used as a noun; as in expressions, such as;
“a long run”
“a bold move”
“a brisk walk”
“a brief meeting”
- They may be derived from verbs by changing the ending or adding a suffix.
Examples;
Motion from Move
Speech from Speak
Theft from Thief
Action from Act
Service from Serve etc.
Finally, some abstract nouns are not derived from any part of speech, instead, they were framed directly from the expression of certain ideas or phenomena. Examples; Beauty, joy, ease, energy, day, night, summer, winter, shadow, lightning, thunder, etc.
Before we proceed to the final part of nouns as a part of speech in English grammar, let us take this quick exercise on the classes of noun in English grammar we just discussed above.
Quick Exercise On Classes Of Noun In English Grammar
1A) Give 5 proper nouns that are the names of people
1B) Give proper nouns that are the names of places or things
2) Find the proper nouns in the following;
a) John came to our house on Friday
b) Jane has a birthday in October
c) The Nile is a big river
d) Margret has gone to Turkey e) Athens is in Greece.
3) Write the following sentences putting in the capitals for the proper nouns and for the beginning of sentences.
a) henry lives in london
b) lima is a very fine city
c) my brother’s name is shrestha
d) we sailed to america on the queen mary
e) dakar is the capital of senegal
NOUN POSSESSIVE CASE
What Is Noun Possessive Case?
Noun possessive case is referred to nouns that show possessions. They show that something belongs to the person for whom the nouns stand.
Below are some illustrations to take from that;
It is possible to make the following sentences while speaking but it is not right in proper English grammar. For Examples;
This is the book of the boy
The dog of Mrs. Dikko was called Bonzo
John is doing the work of a man.
Now, instead of making the above sentences, we rather say them in the following way;
This is the boy’s book
Mrs, Dikko’s dog was called Bonzo
John is doing a man’s work
Thus, the addition of (‘S) shows that the noun possesses the thing or something.
How To Make The Possessive Form Of Singular Nouns
The possessive form of singular nouns is made by putting an apostrophe S (‘S) after the noun that stands for the possessor.
For Instance; In cases like
“The cat of Mary” We write [Mary’s cat].
“The house of Jack” We write [Jack’s house].
“The foot of the girl” We write [The girl’s foot].
How To Make The Possessive Form Of Plural Nouns
To make the possessive form of plural nouns, there are two easy rules to remember and follow;
1). If the plural ends in (S), we just add an apostrophe only
For Example;
The house of the boys – The boys’ house
The eyes of the girls – The girls’ eyes
The voices of the pupils – The pupils’ voices
2). If the plural does not end in (S), we add (‘S)
NOTE: There are not many nouns whose plurals don’t end in (S). But there are a few that are often used. E.g, man, woman, child, etc.
So, the possessive plurals of such nouns as above becomes;
Men’s Women’s Children’s
Illustrations in a sentence can be seen below;
It is no longer easy these days to classify jobs as either men’s work or women’s work, but some things for such as small household jobs are still regarded as children’s work.
Hints: Talking about Noun Possessive Cases, they are used for people and for most animals. They are not generally used for things.
For Instance;
We can say the following;
The teacher’s lesson
The mother’s dress
The dog’s foot
The lion’s tail, etc.
However, we cannot say the following sentences instead we say the other version in the brackets;
The book’s color [wrong] instead we say [The color of the books]
The house’s roof [wrong] instead we say [The roof of the house]
The tree’s fruits [wrong] instead we say [The fruits of the tree]. Etc.
Hope you enjoyed today’s edition of our English lessons. If you did then don’t log out just yet. Quickly take the exercises below for self-improvement.
Exercise On Noun Possessive Case
1). Write down the possessive form for the following
a). The hat of the man
b). The leg of the boy
c). The home of the girl
d). The wing of the bird
e). The friend of my brother
2), Write down the possessive form of the following
a). The homes of the boys
b). The laughter of the girls
c). The shouts of the men
d). The barks of the dogs
e). The friend of my brothers.
3). As we learned, instead of “the house of the boy,” we can use the shorter possessive form “the boy’s house.” Now, make the following shorter in the same way.
a). The book possessed by Wura
b). The words used by the man
c). The names of the girls
d). The houses of the children
e). The wing that the bird has.
That’s all for now for this part of the speech. Following closely with our previous articles, you must have learned a lot about Nouns, including the meaning of nouns, their usage, the noun numbers, and how they can be used or changed from one form to another. Likewise, the classes of noun in English grammar and finally noun possessive case.