One of the major and important words in the English language is nouns. You simply cannot form a coherent sentence without a noun present.

What Is a Noun?

A noun can be seen as a word used to identify a class of people, animals, places, or things. As far as we communicate, we use nouns. In the English language, nouns are part of speech that is classified into various types. 

Some examples of nouns are below.

• Name – Hailey
• Animal – Cat
• Place – London
• Thing – Car 

The above are general examples that can give you an insight into what a noun is.

Examples Of Nouns in a Sentence.

Here is a list of nouns used in a sentence. The noun in the sentence is highlighted.

• Hailey flew out to London yesterday.
• Messi’s newly adopted dog ate his new bag.
• Do you know Canada is bigger than Nigeria?
• Bella and Jacob are twins.

Types of Nouns

Nouns are a major part of the English language, and we have different types of nouns. Here are the main types of nouns and their examples.

Common nouns 

Common nouns can simply be described as a generic version of a noun. They also refer to a place, animal, person, or thing, but in a more generic way. They don’t refer to a particular place or person. 

For example, Canada is a noun as it is a place, but the common noun is a country. A country is also a place, but it is not as specific as Canada. 

Examples of Common Nouns

Below are some examples of common nouns.

• Girl
• Doctor
• City 

Examples of Common Nouns in a Sentence

Here is a list of common nouns used in a sentence to help you recognize common nouns. The common noun in the sentence highlighted:

• The girl is from a foreign country.
• They all arrived by car.
• Nobody knows the animal that bit Hilary.
• Janet’s boyfriend is a good lawyer.

 Any unspecific noun can be said to be a common noun.

Proper Nouns 

In contrast to common nouns, proper nouns are specific and personalized. They include personal names, place names, company and organization names, as well as the titles of books, movies, and songs. These are all examples of proper nouns. Proper nouns usually start with a capital letter.

Examples of proper nouns

Below are some examples of proper nouns.

• Hailey
• Atlantic Ocean
• London

Examples of proper nouns in a sentence

Here is a list of proper nouns used in a sentence to help you recognize proper nouns. The proper noun in the sentence is highlighted.

• Bella is from Switzerland.
• They all arrived in a Lamborghini.
• The black Mercedes crashed into Burger King, located in Toronto.
• Kim declared to all in Chicago that she was a fan of Oreos.

Singular Nouns

Singular nouns are nouns that exclusively relate to one individual, place, or thing. For instance, a dog is one animal, and a banana is one fruit.

Examples of Singular Nouns

Below are some examples of singular nouns.

• Crocodile
• Skirt
• Soap 

Examples of Singular Nouns in a Sentence

Here is a list of singular nouns used in a sentence to help you recognize singular nouns. The singular noun in the sentence is highlighted.

• My cat is very cute.
• I am going to buy a shirt.
• The book was boring.

Plural Nouns

Plural nouns are nouns that relate to more than one individual, place, or thing. For instance, dogs are more than one animal, and oranges are more than one fruit.

Examples of Plural Nouns

Below are some examples of plural nouns.

• Skirts
• Crocodiles
• Girls 

Examples of Plural Nouns in a Sentence

Here is a list of plural nouns used in a sentence to help you recognize plural nouns. The plural noun in the sentence is highlighted.

• My cats are very cute.
• I am going to buy some shirts.
• The books were boring.

Concrete Nouns

Concrete nouns are nouns that can be seen, felt, smelled, heard, tasted, and touched. They are physical things like tables, oranges, chairs, etc.

Examples of Concrete Nouns

Here are some examples of concrete nouns.

• Pencil
• sugar
• Water 

Examples of Concrete Nouns in a Sentence

Here is a list of concrete nouns used in a sentence to help you recognize concrete nouns. The concrete noun in the sentence is highlighted.

• Someone stole my bag.
• The food he cooked was so salty.
• My dog is such a happy animal.

Abstract Noun

Abstract nouns are nouns that can’t be perceived or seen.

Examples of Abstract Nouns

• Happy
• Ego
• belief
• Beauty 

Examples of Abstract Nouns in a Sentence

Here is a list of abstract nouns used in a sentence to help you recognize abstract nouns. The abstract noun in the sentence is highlighted.

• The joke made her so angry.
• Her love brought her insanity.
• The arsonist begged for mercy.
• The lawyer’s ego was his weakness.

Countable Noun

Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted, whether they’re plural or singular.

Examples of Countable Nouns

Here are some examples of countable nouns.

• Bottle
• Table
• Spoon
• Card 

Examples of Countable Nouns in a Sentence

Here is a list of countable nouns used in a sentence to help you recognize countable nouns. The countable noun in the sentence is highlighted.

• Those bottles are dirty.
• The new books are on the black table.
• She used her notepad instead of her notebook.

Uncountable Noun 

Uncountable nouns are nouns that can’t be counted. If you can’t count it, then it’s uncountable.

Examples of Uncountable Nouns

Here are some examples of uncountable nouns.

• Fear
• Water
• Air
• Rice

Examples of Uncountable Nouns in a Sentence

Here is a list of uncountable nouns used in a sentence to help you recognize uncountable nouns, with the uncountable noun in the sentence highlighted.

• She put the wrong brand of butter on the bread.
• He gives the best advice.
• The pool has no water.
• The rice looks bad.

Collective Nouns 

Collective nouns are names for groups of people, animals, or things.

Examples of Collective Nouns

The following are some examples of collective nouns.

• Herd
• Team
• Class 
• Bouquet 

Examples of Collective Nouns in a Sentence

Here is a list of collective nouns used in a sentence to help you recognize collective nouns. The collective noun in the sentence is highlighted.

• The top players all assembled to form the best team.
• The herd of sheep was coming our way.
• She brought a bouquet into the room.

Compound Noun 

Compound nouns are nouns made up of two or more existing words. A compound noun consists of two nouns, which could be a noun and a verb or a noun and an adjective.

Examples of Compound Nouns

The following are some examples of compound nouns.

• Girlfriend: noun + noun
• Policeman: noun + noun
• Washing machine: verb + noun
• Rainfall: noun + verb

Examples of compound nouns in a sentence

Here is a list of compound nouns used in a sentence to help you recognize compound nouns. The compound noun in the sentence is highlighted.

• The bedroom is so messy.
• Cally was suffering from heartache.
• She was the best mother-in-law one could have.

Key Takeaway

• A noun is a name, place, animal, or thing.
• Nouns are one of the major words in English.
• Types of nouns include common nouns, proper nouns, compound nouns, countable nouns etc.

FAQ

Q. What is a noun? 

Ans: A noun is a word used to identify a class of people, animals, places, or things.

Q. What are the types of nouns? 

Ans: We have different types of nouns, which are:

• Proper nouns
• Concrete nouns
• Compound nouns
• Singular nouns
• Plural nouns
• Collective
• Abstract nouns
• Countable and uncountable nouns

Q. What are some examples of nouns? 

Ans: Some examples of nouns include the following:

• Camilla
• Duck
• Nigeria
• Bag  

Q. What are the categories of nouns? 

Ans: Categories of nouns and types of nouns are synonymous with each other. Some of them include proper nouns, countable nouns, abstract nouns, concrete nouns, plural nouns etc.

Take a Quiz

1. Which of these is not a noun?

1. Jerry
2. Washing
3. Bag
4. Hermes

2. Which of these is a common noun?

1. Jerry
2. Washing
3. Bag
4. Hermes 

3. How can you spot a proper noun?

1. They look proper.
2. They sound generic.
3. They start with capital letters.
4. They sound like verbs.