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nouns
Nouns are one of the basic parts of speech. This handout will help you identify and use different types of nouns.
General Rules
Definition and Function
A noun refers to a person, place, idea, or thing. Nouns function as subjects and objects within sentences.
Example: The dog ate the food in the bowl.
Note: “Dog” is the subject. “Food” is a direct object. “Bowl” is the object of the preposition “in.”
Plurals
For a complete discussion of making nouns plural, please see our “Plurals” handout.
Nouns and Articles
For a complete discussion of using articles with nouns, please see our “Articles” handout.
Noun Phrases
A noun phrase is a group of words that functions together with a noun. The noun is said to be the head of
the phrase.
Example: The girl in the yellow dress is my daughter.
Note: “The girl in the yellow dress” is a noun phrase. “Girl” is the head of the phrase.
Proper and Common Nouns
Proper nouns refer to specific and unique persons, places, or things. They are usually capitalized.
Examples: Barack Obama Baltimore
University of Maryland
Common nouns refer to ordinary or general persons, places, or things. They are usually not capitalized.
Examples: president
city
university
Note: For more information on when to capitalize different words, please see our “Capitalization” handout.
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Concrete and Abstract Nouns
Concrete nouns are persons, places, and things that you can perceive with your senses.
Examples: rocks
papers
scissors
Abstract nouns are persons, places, and things that you cannot perceive with your senses. They are usually
ideas or concepts.
Examples: tenacity
hope
bliss
Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are groups of persons, places, or things that function as a single unit.
Examples: family
government
team
When emphasis is placed on the noun as a single unit, it functions as a singular noun.
Example: The audience is small. It only has nine members.
When emphasis is placed on the noun as a group of individuals, it functions as a plural noun.
Example: The audience would not turn off their phones during the movie.
Count and Non-count Nouns
Count Nouns
Count nouns can be counted and expressed in the plural.
Examples: two oranges
three chairs
five countries
Non-count Nouns
Non-count nouns, also known as mass nouns, cannot be quantified and lack a plural form. They usually fall
into one of the following categories:
Non-count Nouns
Gases
Oxygen
Pollution
Air
Smoke
Liquids
Water
Coffee
Blood
Milk
Metals
Gold
Aluminum
Zinc
Iron
Phenomena
Electricity
Gravity
Fire
Weather
Abstractions
Truth
Beauty
Peace
Greed
Languages
English
Arabic
French
Chinese
Sets of Items
Furniture
Garbage
Equipment
Fruit
Particles
Salt
Sand
Flour
Sugar
Food
Cheese
Bread
Veal
Pork
There is a way to express quantity with non-count nouns, but it is not by using a number and making the
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noun plural.
Examples: three peaces
two veals
seventy oxygens
Instead, you would use a countable unit of measurement before the non-count noun.
Examples: two cups of sugar
five liters of water
two pieces of furniture
Exceptions
Many nouns have a count and non-count sense.
Example: There are five hairs on my pillow. My husband has a full head of hair.
Note: “Five hairs” refers to individual, countable hairs. “Head of hair” refers to a mass of hair.
Additionally, most non-count nouns can be used as count nouns when referring to types, varieties, or
classes of things.
Example: There will be fifteen cheeses at the party.
Note: What this sentence is really saying is that there will be fifteen different “types of cheese” at the party.
Exceptions (But Not Really)
There are times when native speakers use non-count nouns as if they were count nouns. These instances
can be confusing for those learning English.
Example: I will have five coffees.
Note: What this sentence is really saying is that the speaker would like “five cups of coffee.”
Less and Fewer
Use “less” with non-count nouns and “fewer” with count nouns.
Example: She had less water than her sister.
Example: She had fewer cookies than her brother.
Much and Many
Use “much” with non-count nouns and “many” with count nouns.
Example: How much salt did you put on this taco?
Example: How many tacos did you eat?
Compound Nouns
Compound nouns are made up of a small collection of words separated by hyphens.
Examples: sister-in-law runner-up
Gerunds
Gerunds are not technically nouns: they are verb forms that function as nouns. They end in “–ing.”
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Example: Running is fun.
Note: “Running” is a gerund that functions as the subject of the sentence.
Note: For more information on gerunds, please see our “Verbs” handout.
Substantive Adjectives
Sometimes adjectives can be used as nouns. These sorts of adjectives are called substantive adjectives.
They are preceded by the word “the” and are grammatically plural.
Example: We should help the poor.
Note: “Poor” is technically an adjective, but in this sentence it acts as a noun and stands in for “poor people.”
Example: The meek shall inherit the earth.
Note: “Meek” is technically an adjective, but in this sentence it acts as a noun and stands in for “meek
people.”
References
Azar, B. S., & Hagen, S. A. (2009). Understanding and using English grammar. White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman.
Faigley, L. (2009). The little penguin handbook. New York, NY: Longman.
Howard, R.M. (2011). Writing matters. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
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