The Noun

A noun is a word used to name a person, place, thing or idea.

Examples of nouns:

Persons: Joshua, Mr. Smith, fire fighter, men, Canadians

Places: New York, England, kitchen, city

Things: book, novel, pens, cars, computers

Ideas: obedience, happiness, weakness, pride

Common and Proper Nouns

There are two classes of nouns, proper nouns and common nouns.

• A proper noun names a particular person, place or thing, and is always capitalized.
• A common noun names any one of a group of persons, places, or things, and is not capitalized.

Compound Nouns

It is possible for two or more words to be used together as a noun. These word groups are called compound nouns.

The parts of a compound noun may be written as one word, as two or more words, or may be hyphenated.

Examples of compound nouns:

One word: Basketball, schoolteacher, housekeeper
Two or more words: fire fighter, tennis ball, commander in chief
Hyphenated word: mother-in-law, ice-cream, baby-sitter

Collective Nouns

Collective Nouns name a group of persons or things.

Examples of collective nouns:

Committee, club, herd, flock, class, audience, assembly, family

Videos

The following video explains common, proper, compound, and collective nouns.

The following video gives more examples of nouns: Singular Nouns, Plural Nouns, Irregular Nouns, Proper Nouns, Common Nouns, Possessive Nouns,

Nouns for Kids

The following series of animated videos are suitable to teach kids about nouns, and the difference between common and proper nouns.

What are Nouns?

Proper Nouns and Capitalizations

Sorting Common and Proper Nouns

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