Noun Rules - English Grammar

What is Noun ?

A Noun is used as the name of person, thing, place, idea and quality of a person, a thing and a place. For example:

Rama was an epic king.

My scissors is not sharp.

Kind of Noun

1. Common Noun: It is the name given in common to every person or a thing of the same kind. It is not a name of any particular person or thing or place. For example: boy, girl, teacher etc.

I write with a pen.
The student asked me a few questions.

2. Proper Noun: A proper noun is the name of a particular person or place. For example: Delhi, Sania, India, Jupiter etc.

Ramu is a wise fellow.
Patna lacks basic civic amenities.

Rule I: Proper nouns are always written with a capital letter at the beginning. For example:

Incorrect: Earlier the capital of india was in calcutta.
Correct: Earlier the capital of India was in Calcutta.

Rule II: Proper nouns are sometimes used as common nouns. For example:

Incorrect: LK Advani is today regarded as Sardar Patel of India.
Correct: LK Advani is today regarded as the Sardar Patel of India.

Rule III: In this case proper nouns are always preceded by articles. For example:

She is a Lata Mangeshkar.
Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India.

3. Collective Noun: A Collective noun is the name of a group of persons or things. For example: army, committee, crowd, fleet, flock, herd, jury, mob, parliament, team etc.

Rule IV: A collective noun usually takes a singular verb and is substituted by a singular pronoun. For example:

Incorrect: The jury were unanimous in their opinion.
Correct: The jury was unanimous in its opinion.



Rule V: A collective noun takes a plural verb and is substituted by a plural pronoun when the individuals of which it is composed are thought of net behaving as a single unit. For example:

Incorrect: The jury was divided in its opinions.
Correct: The jury were divided in their opinions.

4. Abstract Noun: An abstract noun is usually the name of a quality, action or state considered apart from the object ( which is usually a common noun and often qualified by an adjective) to which it belongs. For example: beauty, youth, honesty, death etc.

Innocence is integral to a child.
Love knows no bound.

5. Material Noun: A material noun is the name of a material ( matter from which a thing is made). For example: gold, coal, wheat, tea etc.

Cotton is the source of natural fibre.
Milk constitutes a nutritious food.



Rule VI: A material noun does not take an article (a, an, the) before it. For example:

Incorrect: The tobacco is a cash crop.
Correct: Tobacco is a cash crop.

Rule VII: It takes articles when treated as common nouns. For example:

Incorrect: They offered me glass of water.
Correct: They offered me a glass of water.

Numbers of a Noun

Numbers are of two kinds-
(1) Singular Number
(2) Plural Number

Rule VIII: Generally while changing singular noun to plural we add s, es in the end. For example:

cow-cows
chair-chairs
school-schools
Mango-Mangoes

Rule IX: On the surface some nouns appear to be singular but in meaning they are treated as plural. For example: cattle, clergy, people, children, police, poultry etc.

Incorrect: The peasantry has always stood as rockstars for the development of a country.
Correct: The peasantry have always stood as rockstars for the development of a country.

Rule X: Some nouns look like plural but are always used as singular. For example:
Subjects - Mathematics, economics, physics, ethics, politics, classics etc.

Rule XI: When these subjects denote qualities or property, they are used in plural sense. For example:

Incorrect: His mathematics is weak.
Correct: His mathematics are weak.

Diseases - Rickets, AIDS, diabetes, mumps, measles etc.

Some other nouns - News, gallows, summons, innings etc.



Rule XII: Some nouns are plural in form and in meaning, normally they are instruments or dress articles which have two parts and make a kind of pair. Do not use a/an before these nouns. For example: Spectacles, tongs, scissors, pincers, bellows, trousers, drawers, breaches, pants, knickers, pantaloons etc.
Certain other nouns - caves, riches (valuables), alms, funds, proceeds (profit), annals (record).

Incorrect: I bought a trousers yesterday.
Correct:I bought a pair of trousers yesterday.

Rule XIII: Some nouns are always singular and used as singular only. For example: Poetry, information, machinery, dust, furniture, dirt, traffic, money, music, etc. Some nouns have one meaning in singular form and another in plural.

Incorrect: What is a poetry?

Correct: What is poetry?

Incorrect: The sceneries of Kashmir is beautiful.

Correct: The scenery of Kashmir is beautiful.