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abstract noun
A noun which refers to an idea, quality, or state (e.g. warmth, liberty, happiness), rather than a
physical thing that can be seen or touched.
concrete noun
A noun which refers to a physical person or thing that can be seen, felt, heard, etc. For example,
child, horse, and house are all concrete nouns.
common noun
Any noun which refers to a person, animal, or thing in general: woman, dog, and bed are all
common nouns. Compare with proper noun.
proper noun
A noun that identifies a particular person or thing (e.g. John, Italy, London, Monday, Windsor
Castle). In written English, proper nouns begin with capital letters. Compare with common noun.
collective noun
A noun which refers to a group of people or things, e.g. team, family, police, committee. Find out
how to match verbs to collective nouns.
mass noun
A noun that refers to something that can’t be counted, and which does not regularly have a plural
form, for example rain, darkness, happiness, or humour. Also called uncountable noun. The
opposite of countable noun. Learn more about countable and uncountable nouns.
Collective nouns are nouns which stand for a group or collection of people
or things. They include words such as audience, committee, police, crew,
family, government, group, and team.
The whole family were at the table.[plural collective noun; plural verb]
There are a few collective nouns (in both British and American English)
that are always used with a plural verb, the most common of which are
police and people:
√ She's happy with the way the police have handled the case.
X She's happy with the way the police has handled the case.
If you aren't sure whether to use a singular or a plural verb with a collective
noun, look it up. Most dictionaries will tell you which is correct.
Types of nouns
.Nouns
Noun
Abstract noun
Collective noun
Common noun
Concrete noun
Countable noun
Gerund
Mass noun
Proper noun
Uncountable noun
Verbal noun
Abstract noun
A noun which refers to an idea, quality, or state (e.g. warmth, liberty, happiness),
rather than a physical thing that can be seen or touched.
Concrete noun
A noun which refers to a physical person or thing that can be seen, felt, heard,
etc. For example, child, horse, and house are all concrete nouns.
Common noun
Any noun which refers to a person, animal, or thing in general: woman, dog, and
bed are all common nouns. Compare with proper noun.
Proper noun
A noun that identifies a particular person or thing (e.g. John, Italy, London,
Monday, Windsor Castle). In written English, proper nouns begin with capital
letters. Compare with common noun.
Pronoun
A word such as I, he, she, it, we, hers, us, your, or they that is used instead of a
noun to indicate someone or something that has already been mentioned, especially
to avoid repeating the noun. For example:
Countable noun
Also called count noun. A noun that refers to something that can be counted and
has both singular and plural forms, such as cat/cats, woman/women,
family/families.
Uncountable noun
Mass noun
A noun that refers to something that can’t be counted, and which does not
regularly have a plural form, for example rain, darkness, happiness, or humour.
Also called uncountable noun.
Collective noun
A noun which refers to a group of people or things, e.g. team, family, police,
committee. Find out how to match verbs to collective nouns.
Verbal noun
In American English, most collective nouns are treated as singular, with a singular
verb:
The whole family was at the table.[singular collective noun; singular verb]
The whole family were at the table.[plural collective noun; plural verb]
The government are doing a good job.[plural collective noun; plural verb]
There are a few collective nouns (in both British and American English) that are
always used with a plural verb, the most common of which are police and people:
√ She's happy with the way the police have handled the case.
X She's happy with the way the police has handled the case.
If you aren't sure whether to use a singular or a plural verb with a collective noun,
look it up. Most dictionaries will tell you which is correct.