In this nouns guide we are going to look at examples of common noun and discuss the classification of common noun words we come across in our daily lives under various categories.
In English grammar, noun is a basic tool which is used to describe a person, place, thing or an idea. Nouns can be primarily subdivided into proper and common nouns. Proper nouns are used to refer a particular person, place, thing or idea while common nouns are used to refer general entities. For instance, the word “boy” is an actual common noun but word “John” is proper noun.
Let us now look at the different categories of common nouns and some examples of each of them.
Classification of 6 Types of Common Nouns
The Common nouns are further subdivided into 6 types following types.
1. Collective nouns: These nouns are used to refer to a collection or group of people or things. For eg: a number of soldiers is called an army, a large, organized group of singers-choir etc
2. Abstract nouns: These nouns are used to refer to a non-physical entity, basically an emotion or an act. For eg: love, kindness, truth etc
3. Concrete nouns: These nouns are used to refer to physical entities, things which can be touched or felt. For eg: table, school etc
4. Compound nouns: These nouns are formed by the combination of two or more nouns. For eg: sunrise, blackboard etc
5. Gender specific nouns: These nouns are used to refer to a particular gender, whether feminine or masculine. For eg: actor, heiress etc
6. Non-countable nouns: These nouns are used to refer to things or ideas which can not be counted. For eg: gas, rain etc
Below is a table which illustrates several examples of each category of common nouns:
| Collective noun | Abstract Noun | Concrete noun | Compound noun | Gender specific noun | Non-countable noun |
| Team | Anger | Car | Swimming pool | Actor | Sleep |
| Choir | Happiness | Soda | Bus stop | Actress | Sincerity |
| Flock | Determination | Tissue | Haircut | Waiter | Oxygen |
| Pack | Bravery | Supermarket | Netball | Waitress | Milk |
| Band | Hope | City | Checkpoint | King | Cheese |
| Committee | Justice | Building | Software | Queen | Wine |
| Herd | Knowledge | Table | Tea spoon | Heir | Leather |
| Army | Intelligence | Flower | Baby sitter | Heiress | Dust |
| Fleet | Success | Aeroplane | Father-in-law | Cow | Rain |
| Swarm | Freedom | Artifact | Housework | Bull | Gravity |
There are more of them to add to this table, but we are done with the basic overview. The above table just includes the small list of common nouns and you can extend it with your own findings. How about sharing it ?, Make the other people also aware of the types of common nouns and their examples.