English Grammar

Module 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nouns                                                                              

 

1. Broad Contents       

Ø  Definition

Ø  Types of nouns

 

2. Objectives

 

At the end of this module you will be able to:

Ø  Understand the different types of nouns

Ø  Understand the usage of nouns

 

3. Definition

 

A noun is a word used as the name of a person, place or thing.

Nouns can be:

 

1.    Person or thing of the same kind E.g. girl, boy Common (shared by all): name given in common to every.

2.    Proper (one’s own): name of a particular person or place. E.g. Bombay, Ravi. Remember: Proper nouns always start with a capital letter.

 

Types of Nouns

 

Common noun - A common noun is a name given in common to every person or thing of the same kind.

Common nouns can be:

E.g. crowd, mob

 

1.Collective: name of a number or collection of persons or things taken together as a whole

E.g.- boy, woman, teacher, doctor, district, place           

 

2.    Abstract: name of a quality, action or state considered apart from the object to which it belongs.

 

Proper noun -A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, pet animal, river, mountains, ships etc.

 

Person-Person: David, Indira Gandhi, Mrs. Sethi

Place: Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi

Rivers: Ganga, Nile, Narmada

Mountains and Peaks: Himalayas, Mt Everest

 

All proper nouns are written with a capital letter at the beginning.

 

Collective noun - A collective noun is the name of a collection of things or persons. Nouns such as flock, troop, herd, fleet, team, crowd are known as collective nouns because each of them is the name for a group of collection of persons or objects of the same kind. These nouns are also countable nouns.

 

Abstract noun - an abstract noun is the name of a quality, action or state

 

Abstract nouns are formed from:

 

From Common nouns: E.g. childhood, slavery

From Verbs: E.g. obedience, growth

From Adjectives: E.g. kindness, honesty

 

Countable noun - is the name of a thing that can be counted or divided into singular & plural.

E.g.- student, table, paper, book. We can speak of one book, two books, three books and so on hence the noun, book is known as a countable noun.

Common nouns such as chair, table, pencil, house, road, boy, man, etc are countable nouns.

 

Uncountable noun - is the name of a thing that cannot be counted or divided into singular and plural. These are nouns before which we cannot put the numerals one, two, ten, fifty, etc. In other words, these nouns are considered not in terms of number, but in terms of quantity or mass; or they are ideas in the mind.     

                       

Following are the examples of uncountable nouns:

1. Things which are usually considered in mass or quantity and not in numbers Milk, water, rice, wheat, sugar, grass, dust, paper, oil, air, smoke, these are also known as material nouns

• Solids such as rice, wheat, paper, wood, etc
• Liquids such as milk, oil, ink
• Gases such as oxygen, air, smoke, steam

 

2. Natural conditions or phenomena: heat, cold, electricity, light, lightening, thunder, gravity, etc.
3. Branches of learning: mathematics, chemistry, biology, philosophy, etc

 

Masculine Gender - A noun, which denotes a male person or animal, is known as masculine gender.

E.g.- boy, brother, husband, uncle, author, Akbar, Ashok, etc.

The pronouns he and him, and the possessive his are used to refer to these nouns if they mean persons and the pronoun ‘its’ used to refer to animals. Sometimes, however, she and her may also be ed to refer to these nouns if the mean persons, and the pronoun it and the possessive it’s, if they mean animals. Sometimes, however he, him and his may also be used to refer to animals, especially in stories.

 

Feminine Gender - A noun, which denotes a female person or an animal, is known as female gender.

 E.g.- authoress, daughter, sister, nun, niece, Elizabeth, Lila.

The pronouns she and her and the possessive her are used to refer to these nouns if they mean persons, and the pronoun it and the possessive ‘it’s’ used to refer to animals.

 

Common gender - A noun, which denotes either a male and female person or an animal, is known as common gender.  E.g.- parents, painter, driver, cook, judge

 

 Neuter gender - A noun, which denotes neither, a male nor a female person or an animal is known as neuter gender.

E.g.- book, pen, table, paper

 

4.    Exercises:

 

Assuming we start with the letter ‘a’. Ask the participants to think of a common noun, proper noun, collective noun & an abstract noun. They get 10 seconds to come up with the answers. We can do a similar exercise for all the other letters of the alphabet. It’s played like a game & the participants get a very clear idea of what nouns are.

 

 Divide the class into groups. Now ask group1 to brainstorm and come up with 10 countable nouns present in the room. Now ask group 2 to brainstorm and come up with uncountable nouns present in the room. Ask group 3 to look at any picture, scenery etc and identify the countable nouns & uncountable nouns present in it.

 

           

A. LIST OF COLLECTIVE NOUNS

A band of musicians

A batch/class of students

A bench of magistrates

A bevy of ladies

A board of directors

A bouquet of flowers

A box of cigars

A brood of chickens

A bunch of flowers

A bunch of fruits

A bundle of sticks

A caravan of travelers

A choir of singers

A cloud of locusts

A cluster/constellation/galaxy of stars

 

COLLECTIVE NOUNS

 

1. Point out the Nouns in the following sentences. And say whether they are Common, Proper. Collective or Abstract:

 

         I.    The crowd was very big.

        II.    Always speak the truth.

       III.    We all love honesty.

       IV.    Our class consists of twenty pupils.

        V.    The elephant has great strength.

       VI.    Solomon was famous for his wisdom.

     VII.    Cleanliness is next to godliness.

    VIII.    We saw a fleet of ships in the harbour.

       IX.    The class is studying grammar.

        X.    The Godavari overflows its banks every year.

       XI.    A committee of five was appointed.

      XII.    Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India.

    XIII.    The soldiers were rewarded for their bravery.

    XIV.    Without health there is no happiness.

      XV.    He gave me a bunch of grapes.

    XVI.    I recognized your voice at once.

   XVII.    Our team is better than theirs.

  XVIII.    Never tell a lie.

     XIX.    Wisdom is better than strength.

      XX.    He sets a high value of his time.

     XXI.    I believe in his innocence.

   XXII.    This room is thirty feet in length.

  XXIII.    I often think of the happy days of childhood.

  XXIV.    The streets of some of our cities are noted for their crookedness.

   XXV.    What is your verdict, gentlemen of the jury?

 

B. Write the Collective Nouns used to describe a number of:

 

(1) Cattle          (2) Soldiers;       (3) Sailors;

 

Write the qualities that belong to boys who are:

 

(1) Lazy;           (2) Cruel;          (3) Brave;          (4) Foolish.

 

C. Form Abstract Nouns from the following Adjectives:-

 

         I.    Long,                strong,              wide,                broad,               high,

 

        II.    Young,              true,                 wise,                 free,                 poor,

 

       III.    Humble,            short,                good,                proud,               just,

 

       IV.    Decent,             prudent,            vacant,              novel,               vain,

 

        V.    Cruel,               dark,                sweet,               novel,               sane,

 

       VI.    Bitter,               deep,                human,             quick,               ignorant.

 

 D. Form Abstract Nouns from the following Verbs: -

 

         I.    Laugh,              believe, choose,             defend,             free,

 

        II.    Obey,                serve,               move,               think,                see,

 

       III.    Live,                 hate,                 conceal,            protect, judge,

 

       IV.    Expect,             please,              seize,                advise,              pursue,        

 

        V.    Excel,              act,                   flatter,              punish,              relieve,

 

       VI.    Know,               starve,              depart,              die,                   converse,

 

     VII.    Steal,                occupy,             persevere,         succeed,            discover.

 

E. Form Abstract Nouns from the following Common Nouns: -

 

         I.    King,                 infant,               mother, priest,               friend,

 

        II.    Man,                 owner,              agent,               boy,                  captain,

 

       III.    Thief,               rogue,               hero,                bond,                captain,

 

       IV.    Woman,            author,              beggar,             pirate,               patriot,

 

        V.    Bankrupt,          author,              coward,            pilgrim,             glutton.

 

G. Rewrite the following sentences changing the Masculine Nouns to the Feminine:

 

 I.    The tiger sprang at the throat of the hunter.

II.    That widower is the father of six sons.

III.    The hero is a poet, prophet, and a priest.

IV.    The prince punished the actor who was a traitor.

V.    His nephews and brothers came to see him.

VI.    The prince took pity on the poor man. He brought him to his palace.

VII.    The lion carried away the son of a waterman.

VIII.    The king gave the wizard a prize.

IX.    The bridegroom was an old man riding on a white horse.

X.    The king gave the shepherd a prize because he had saved the life of his son.