Nouns

Nouns are words that describe specific objects, concepts, or qualities.

In the English language, nouns are one of the most basic elements of a sentence. They may be classified in several different ways and fall into different categories depending on their nature, as illustrated broadly by the diagram below:

The use of nouns in the English language is relatively straightforward and follows a set of rather predictable patterns. For example, while it is possible for English nouns to be inflected to indicate number or possession, they lack more complex inflectional morphology such as case, which exists in related languages such as German, Latin, and the Slavic languages.

Instead, English nouns rely on prepositions (e.g. to France, in the box, etc.) to indicate relational meaning, and articles (e.g. the tablecloth, a green fence, etc.) to indicate identifiability.

English nouns may be divided into rather consistent categories, namely proper nouns and common nouns, the latter of which can be further divided into concrete, abstract, and collective nouns.

Types of Nouns

• Proper Nouns
• Common Nouns
  • Concrete Nouns
  • Abstract Nouns
  • Collective Nouns
  • Compound Nouns

Inflected Forms of Nouns

• Possessive Nouns
• Plural Nouns