Nouns and Rules of Nouns in Grammar

NOUN

Noun is a name of a person, place or a thing apart from intangible things.

Kinds of Nouns

1. Common Noun: It is a name given to every person or thing of the same class or kind.

Examples : Boy, girl, fan, chair, etc.

2. Proper Noun : Details of a common noun is signified by proper noun.

Examples : Amit, Amita, Polar fan, Supreme chair, etc.,

3. Material Noun: They constitute any finished product.

Examples : Wood, plastic, leather, etc.

4. Collective Noun : Name of a group.

Examples : Army, police, mob, crowd, parliament, fleet, flock, team, etc.

5. Abstract Noun : Name of a feeling, quality or a state.

Examples: Feeling : Love, fear, hate, anger, respect, pleasure, etc.

Quality : Strength, pitch, innocence, gluttony, judgement, obedience, beauty, etc.

State : Weariness, tiredness, mercy, birth, death, etc.

Rules of Nouns

 1. Articles are not used before material nouns.

Examples :

 The leather is used in making shoes.(X)

2. Material nouns and Abstract nouns are not used in plural.

Examples: 

i.This building is made up of bricks and stones. (X)

ii.Cares of the old is necessary. (X)

3. Proper nouns are sometimes used as common nouns.

Examples : 

• Samudragupta  is the Napoleon of India.

• Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India.

4. Collective noun usually takes a singular verb and is substituted by a singular pronoun.

Examples :  

• The jury has given its verdict.

• The team has performed to its potential.

5. Collective noun takes a plural verb and is substituted by a plural pronoun when the group members do not behave as a whole but take different directions.

Examples:

• The jury is / are divided in its / their decision.

• The Ministry are much divided in their opinion regarding the foreign policy.

6. Collective nouns, even when they denote living beings, are considered to be of neuter gender.

Examples: India has a big army and it is divided into 3 major divisions.

7. Young children and lower animals are also referred to as neuter gender.

Examples: 

• The baby started crying when it was hungry.

• The lizard lost its tail when it was frightened.

8. When objects without life are personified, they are considered of either masculine or feminine gender;

Masculine Gender is used for strength, violence, anger and vengeance.

It is used with sun, death, summer, winter.

Examples :

• Nature has taken his vengeance by claiming lives of 100 persons.

• The sun, with his brilliance, came out of the clouds.

Feminine Gender is used for beauty, gentleness and gracefulness.

It is used with earth, moon, spring, nature, and even for sun.

Examples:

• Nature offers its / her lap to those who seeks it.

• The sun, with her warmth, provided relief from the bitter cold.

9. Units of counting, i.e., pair, dozen, score, hundred, thousand, etc., when used after    numbers retain their singular form.

Examples : Ten pair, Five dozen, Ten score, Five hundred, Ten thousand, Five lakh, Ten crore, Five million, Ten billion, etc.

• My friend bought two dozen/ dozens eggs from the market.

• My friend bought dozens of eggs from the market.

• Sunil Gavaskar scored thousands of runs in his career.

10. In a compound noun a compound word is not used in plural if a noun does the work of an adjective.

Examples : 

• He is pursuing a two year/ years diploma course.

• He is a fifteen year/ years-old boy.

• I have got a hundred rupee note.

• He ran a five mile race.

• They went on a fifteen day tour.

• The diploma course he is perusing, is of two years.

• The boy is of fifteen years.

• I have a note of hundred rupees.

• The race he ran was of five miles.

• Their tour was of fifteen days.

11. The following nouns are used only in plural :

• Names of instruments, which have two parts forming a kind of pair.

Examples : Scissors, spectacles, glasses, tongs, etc.

i. Scissors are / is used to cut.

ii. My pair of spectacles is very expensive.

• Certain articles of dress.

Examples : Trousers, shorts, jeans, etc.

Jeans are in vogue these days.

• Certain collective nouns (although they are singular inform).

Examples : Police, cattle, gentry, peasantry, clergy, people, company, poultry, majority, artillery, infantry, etc.

i. Police have reached the crime scene.

ii. Cattle are grazing in the field.

• Certain other nouns.

Examples : Thanks, assets, premises, alms, proceeds, contents, refreshments, orders, repairs, requirements, rations, statistics (collection of data), credentials, etc.

Examples :Court should make it mandatory for the ministers to declare their assets.

Alms were distributed in the beggars.

12. Some plural forms are commonly used in singular.

Examples : Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Economics (All subjects), Gymnastics, News, Innings, Series, Measles, Rabies, Mumps, Rickets, Summons, Names of Books, etc.

13. Uncountable nouns are used in the singular forms only. Indefinite article is not used before them, nor are they used with plural verbs. “Much ‘is used in place of ‘Many' for denoting plurality. Some of the important nouns of this category are : "Advice, information, hair, luggage, business, work, word (promise), mischief, bread, scenery, abuse, vacation, evidence, employment, alphabet, poetry, furniture, baggage, trouble, fuel, wheat, rice, stationary, material nouns".

Examples : 

• He gave me an information  (X)

• He gave me information. (✓)

• You should be true to your words. (X)

• You should be true to your word. (✓)

• He was punished for committing many mischiefs. (X)

• He was punished for committing much mischief.  (✓)

• The enchanting scenery of Kashmir attracts everyone. (✓)

Nouns and Rules of Nouns in Grammar