COMMON AND PROPER NOUNS
A common noun is a general name, common to all persons and a proper noun is a particular name, denoting a person or thing different from every other.
Common Noun Proper Noun
men Victor Wood
City Quezon City
hill Chocolate Hills
smith Captain John Smith
book Tom Sawyer
poem "Last Farewell"
Note: Proper nouns are always capitalized. Common nouns are capitalized only when they begin sentences.
CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT NOUNS
A concrete noun is the name of anything physical, anything that can be touched, seen heard, smelled or otherwise perceived by the senses.
An abstract noun, is the name of a quality, state, or action. It is an idea, and so may not be touched, seen heard, smelled or otherwise perceived by the senses.
CONCRETE NOUN;
coward, democrat, beggar
ABSTRACT NOUN;
fear, democracy, poverty
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
A collective noun names a group of individuals as if they were one individual. Singular in form, it is plural in meaning.
July Flock Committee
Family mob regiment
The collective noun is considered either as a singular or as plural, depending on the purpose it servers.
The committee was unanimous. (That is, the committee acted as a unit, as a single individual.)
(That is, the committee were obviously acting as individuals, not as a unit.)
INFLECTION. Inflection denotes the change in spelling that a word undergoes to show a change in meaning. Noun inflection, which is termed declension, shows changes in number (man, men), gender (man, woman), and case (man, man's)
NUMBER. Number is the form of a noun that shows whether it is singular or plural -- whether it refers to one or more than one.
SINGULAR: girl, country, joy.
PLURAL: girls, countries, joys.
Common Noun Proper Noun
men Victor Wood
City Quezon City
hill Chocolate Hills
smith Captain John Smith
book Tom Sawyer
poem "Last Farewell"
Note: Proper nouns are always capitalized. Common nouns are capitalized only when they begin sentences.
CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT NOUNS
A concrete noun is the name of anything physical, anything that can be touched, seen heard, smelled or otherwise perceived by the senses.
An abstract noun, is the name of a quality, state, or action. It is an idea, and so may not be touched, seen heard, smelled or otherwise perceived by the senses.
CONCRETE NOUN;
coward, democrat, beggar
ABSTRACT NOUN;
fear, democracy, poverty
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
A collective noun names a group of individuals as if they were one individual. Singular in form, it is plural in meaning.
July Flock Committee
Family mob regiment
The collective noun is considered either as a singular or as plural, depending on the purpose it servers.
The committee was unanimous. (That is, the committee acted as a unit, as a single individual.)
(That is, the committee were obviously acting as individuals, not as a unit.)
INFLECTION. Inflection denotes the change in spelling that a word undergoes to show a change in meaning. Noun inflection, which is termed declension, shows changes in number (man, men), gender (man, woman), and case (man, man's)
NUMBER. Number is the form of a noun that shows whether it is singular or plural -- whether it refers to one or more than one.
SINGULAR: girl, country, joy.
PLURAL: girls, countries, joys.
