Abstract Nouns

Abstract nouns are nouns that refer to concepts, ideas, emotions, etc. Abstract nouns
are nouns that you can not touch, are not made of materials, but play an important role
in life. Here is a list of some common abstract nouns:

success
depression
love
hate
anger
power
importance
tolerance
etc.

Example Sentences
Tom has had a lot of success this past year.
Many people prefer to let love inspire them rather than hate.
Jack has little tolerance for people who waste his time.
The desire for power has ruined many good people.

Collective Nouns
Collective nouns refer to groups of various types. Collective nouns are most
commonly used with groups of animals. Collective nouns can be used in both the
singular and plural, although collective nouns tend to be used in the singular. Here are
some common collective nouns referring to groups of animals:

herd
litter
pack
swarm
hive
etc.

Example Sentences
The herd of cattle moved to a new field to graze.
Be careful! There's a hive of bees someone near here.

Collective nouns are also commonly used for names of institutions and groups within
institutions such as academic, business and governmental organizations.

department
firm
party
staff
team
etc.

Example Sentences
Staff will meet at ten thirty tomorrow morning.
The sales department met its goals last quarter.

Common Nouns
Common nouns refer to categories of things in general, never to specific examples
something that are named. In other words, when speaking about education in general
someone might refer to 'university' in a general sense.

I think Tom should go to university to study science.

In this case, 'university' is a common noun. On the other hand, when 'university' is
used as part of a name it becomes part of a proper noun (see below).

Meredith decided to go to the University of Oregon.

Note that common nouns that are used as the part of a name and become proper nouns
are always capitalized. Here are some common nouns that are often used as common
nouns and part of names.

university
college
school
institute
department
state
etc.
Example Sentences
There are a number of states which are in financial difficulty.
I think you need to go to college.

Concrete Nouns
Concrete nouns refer to things that you can touch, taste, feel, see, etc. There are actual
things that we interact with on a daily basis. Concrete nouns can be both countable
and uncountable. Here are some typical concrete nouns:

Countable Concrete Nouns

orange
desk
book
car
house
etc.

Uncountable Concrete Nouns

rice
water
pasta
whiskey
etc.

Example Sentences
There are three oranges on the table.
I need some water. I'm thirsty!
My friend has just bought a new car.
Can we have rice for dinner?
The opposite of concrete nouns are abstract nouns that do not refer to things we touch,
but to things we think, ideas we have, and emotions we feel.

Countable / Count Nouns

Countable or count nouns are concrete nouns that can be used in both the singular and
the plural form because they can be counted. Here are some examples of countable
(count) nouns.

window
tree
computer
poster
etc.

Example Sentences
There are a few trees in my backyard.
She bought a new computer yesterday.

Pronouns
Pronouns refer to people or things. There are a number of pronoun forms depending
on how the pronouns are used. Here are the subject pronouns:
I
you
he
she
it
we
you
they

Example Sentences
He lives in New York.
They like pizza.

Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are the names of people, things, institutions, nations, etc. Proper nouns
are always capitalized. Here are some examples of common proper nouns:

Canada
University of California
Tom
Alice
etc.

Example Sentences
Tom lives in Kansas.
I'd love to visit Canada next year.

Uncountable Nouns / Mass Nouns / Non-Count Nouns

Uncountable nouns are also referred to as mass nouns or non-count nouns.
Uncountable nouns can be both concrete and abstract nouns and are always used in the
singular form because they can not be counted. Here are some common uncountable
nouns:

rice
love
time
weather
furniture
etc.

Example Sentences
We're having lovely weather this week.
We need to get some new furniture for our home.