###What types of nouns are there?

Nouns are people, places, things, or ideas. There are many different types of nouns:

  • common
  • proper
  • concrete
  • abstract
  • collective

###Common and proper nouns

Common nouns are general names for nouns. The word person could refer to any person. The word city could refer to any city. Common nouns aren’t capitalized unless they’re the first word in a sentence.

Proper nouns are the names of specific people, places, things, or ideas. Marie Curie is the name of a specific person. Chicago is the name of a specific city.
Proper nouns are always capitalized, no matter where they appear in a sentence.

###Concrete and abstract nouns

A concrete noun is any person, place, thing, or animal that you can experience with your five senses.

For example, cheese is a concrete noun. You can see cheese, smell it, touch it, or taste it. (You usually can’t listen to cheese, but if your cheese starts singing to you, we definitely want to hear about it!)

Aroma, the smell of something, is also a concrete noun. You can't grab the smell of frying onions in your hands, but you can detect it with your senses. The same is true of melody, the tune of a song. You can't touch it, but you can hear it!

But an abstract noun is any idea, feeling, or quality that you cannot experience with your five senses.

For example, you cannot touch, taste, see, hear, or smell freedom or courage. These are abstract nouns because they name ideas and feelings.

###Collective nouns

A collective noun is a word that names a group of people, animal, or things, like a gaggle of geese, a deck of cards or a team of experts.

In American English, collective nouns take singular verbs.

[[☃ explanation 1]]

British English uses plural verbs for collective nouns that involve people, as in “the band are playing at the Coliseum” or “Parliament have passed a new law.”

Common collective nouns:

People | Animals | Things

  • | - | -
    family | flock (of birds) | bunch (of bananas or flowers)
    team | herd (of cattle or elephants) | stack (of books or papers)
    class | pack (of wolves or dogs) | collection (of coins or stamps)
    choir | school (of fish) | bouquet (of flowers)
    audience | swarm (of insects) | fleet (of ships or cars)
    committee | pride (of lions) | set (of dishes or tools)
    crew | pod (of whales or dolphins) | deck (of cards)
    band | colony (of ants or bats) | pair (of shoes or gloves)

###Common mistakes

Mistake #1: Forgetting to capitalize proper nouns

❌ Incorrect: My friend amelia lives on idaho avenue in santa monica.

✅ Correct: My friend Amelia lives on Idaho Avenue in Santa Monica.

Every proper noun is capitalized, even if it's in the middle of a sentence.

Mistake #2: Treating all titles as proper nouns

Common noun: The president of the neighborhood association said that this tree had to come down, but it's a perfectly healthy tree.

Proper noun: President Lopez, don't tear down this tree!

Words like mom, governor, and president can be tricky! They're only proper nouns when you use them as names or as part of a formal address. In the second example, the speaker is talking directly to the president of the neighborhood association and addressing them by the name “President Lopez.”.

Mistake #3: Thinking all nouns you can't see are abstract

❌ Incorrect: Music is an abstract noun because you can't see it.

✅ Correct: Music is a concrete noun because you can hear it.

Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it's abstract. If you can experience something with any of your five senses, it's a concrete noun.

Mistake #4: Using plural verbs with collective nouns

Most of the time, collective nouns take singular verbs because we're talking about the group as one unit.

❌ Incorrect: The herd of elephants are looking for a new watering hole after the incident with the cheeky monkey.

✅ Correct: The herd of elephants is looking for a new watering hole after the incident with the cheeky monkey.

###Remember!

There are many types of nouns, including common, proper, concrete, abstract, and collective nouns. Proper nouns are always capitalized. In American English, collective nouns take a singular verb.