Noun

 

PARTS OF SPEECH 

While speaking or writing we use different kind of words. We use words to express thoughts and feelings to tell what or how we do different works. To describe what a person or thing is Iike etc. So we use many words, which perform different functions. We divide words into nine classes or kinds and these are called Parts of speech. They are:

1. NOUN  
2. PRONOUN 
3. ADJECTIVE 
4. VERB  
5. ADVERB
6. PREPOSITION 
7. CONJUNCTION
8. INTERJECTION 
9. ARTICLE

It is the function of a particular word in a sentence which denotes to which part of speech it belongs. The following shows the Parts of Speech and defines their function in the sentence. 

NOUN

Noun is the name of a person, place, idea, object, emotion, as Ahmad, boy, Lahore, pen, love, honestly, etc.

FUNCTION OF NOUN

It acts as the subject and object of a sentence and the complement of a linking verb.

Noun means name. Noun, therefore, is the name of a person, place, object, idea, etc. It is also used as a subject or object in a sentence. The subject of a sentence causes an action whereas the object in a sentence is affected by the action.

KINDS OF NOUN 

Common Noun 

A common noun is a name of person, place or object of the same class or kind, common means shared by all.

For example:

College, school, town, country, boy, man, girl, river, bird, tree, bus, house, road, table, animal, etc. 

Proper Noun 

A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place or object, as; If we place article "the" before a proper noun it will be used as a common noun e.g. 'He is the Allama lqbal of our age.'

Iqbal, Lahore, Pakistan, Ravi, Makkah, Anarkali Bazaar, Railway Road, Monday, Sunday, Friday, January, Shalimar Garden, Arabian Nights, etc.

Note: All proper nouns are start or begin with a capital letter. Study these sentences: 

lqbal is our national poet.

I was born in the Lahore city.

Pakistan is our country. 

We visited Shalimar garden. 

I saw a boat in the Ravi river. 

In these sentences Iqbal, Lahore, Pakistan, Shalimar and Ravi are proper noun because they are names of particular person and place while poet , city, county, garden and river are common noun because they are given in common to every person and place. 

Collective Noun:

A collective noun is a name given to group or collection of persons or things. It is singular in form but reveals collection of individuals.  Collective nouns can be used plural as well as     singular. They are used as plural when the member of a collective noun are divided and singular when their members are unanimous and united. e.g. 

1-The jury is unanimous in its decision. 

2-The jury/committee are divided in their opinion. 

3-Staff, army, team, flock, crew, jury, committee etc.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS 
[ Animate (Living) Things ]

1 an army of soldiers 

2 an army of ants 

3 a band of musicians 

4 a band of robbers 

5 a bevy of ladies (quails) 

6 a bevy of beauties (girls ) 

7 a board of directors 

8 a body of men 

9 a brood of chickens 

10 a brunch of crooks 

11 a caravan of gipsies 

12 a catch of fish 

13 a choir of singers 

14 a class of scholars 

15 a class of students 

16 a cloud of insects 

17 a cloud of flies 

18 a colony of gulls 

19 a company of actors 

20 a company of soldiers 

21 a congregation of worshippers 

22 a crew of sailors 

23 a crowd (throng, concourse, multitude) of people 

24 a drove of horses 

25 a drove of cattle 

26 a dynasty of kings 

27 a flight of doves 

28 a flight of swallows 

29 a flight of birds

30 a flight of locusts 

31 a flock of birds

32 a flock of geese

33 a flock of sheep

34 a flock of chickens

35 a gaggle of geese 

36 a galaxy of beautiful woman 

37 a galaxy of film stars 

38 a gang of robbers 

39 a gang of labourers 

40 a gang of thieves 

41 a gang of prisoners 

42 a gang of dancers 

43 a group of singers 

44 a haul of fish 

45 a herd of goats 

46 a herd of elephants 

47 a herd of swine 

48 a herd of cattle 

49 a herd of deer 

50 a herd of buffaloes 

51 a hive of bees 

52 a horde of savages 

53 a host of angels 

54 a host of sparrows 

55 a kindle of kittens 

56 a line of kings (rulers) 

57 a litter of piglets 

58 a litter of cubs 

59 a litter of puppies 

60 a menagerie of wild animals 

61 a mob of rioters 

62 a muster of peacocks 

63 a nest of rabbits 

64 a nest of mice 

65 a nest of ants 

66 a pack of hounds 

67 a pack of policemen 

68 a pack of wolves 

69 a pack of rascals 

70 a plague of locusts 

71 a pride of lions 

72 a party of friends 

73 a plague of insects 

74 a posse of policemen 

75 a regiment of soldiers 

76 a school of porpoises 

77 a school of whales 

78 a school of herring (or other small fish) 

79 a shoal of fish 

80 a skein of wild geese in flight 

81 a staff of teachers

82 a staff of servants

83 a staff of employees

84 a string of horses

85 a stud of horses

86 a swarm of ants

87 a swarm of locusts

88 a swarm of bees

89 a swarm of insects

90 a swarm of flies

91 a team of horses

92 a team of players

93 a team of oxen

94 a train of camels

95 a tribe of natives

96 a tribe of goats

97 a troop of monkeys

98 a troop of lions

99 a troop of scouts

100 a troupe of performers

101 a troupe of dancers

102 a troupe of artistes

103 a zoo of wild animals

Inanimate ( Non-Living ) Things

1 an album of photographs 

2 an album of autographs 

3  an album of stamps 

4 an anthology of poems 

5 an archipelago of islands 

6 a bale of wool 

7 a bale of cotton 

8 a basket of fruit 

9 a batch of bread 

10 a battery of guns 

11 a bevy of quails 

12 a block of flats 

13 a book of notes (exercises) 

14 a bouquet of flowers 

15 a bowl of rice 

16 a bunch of grapes 

17 a bunch of flowers 

18 a bunch of keys 

19 a bundle of rags (old clothes) 

20 a bundle of hay 

21 a bundle of sticks (firewood) 

22 a catalogue of prices (goods) 

23 a chest of drawers 

24 a chain of mountains 

25 a cloud of dust 

26 a clump of bushes 

27 a clump of trees 

28 a cluster of diamonds 

29 a cluster of stars 

30 a cluster of grapes 

31 a cluster of coconuts 

32 a clutch of eggs 

33 a collection of relics 

34 a collection of curiosities

35 a collection of pictures 

36 a collection of stamps (coins) 

37 a column of smoke 

38 a comb of bananas 

39 a compendium of games 

40 a constellation of stars 

41 a crate of fruit 

42 a crop of apples 

43 a fall of rain 

44 a fall of snow 

45 a fleet of cars (taxis) 

46 a fleet of ships 

47 a flight of aeroplanes 

48 a flight of steps 

49 a forest of trees 

50 a garland of flowers 

51 a galaxy of stars 

52 a glossary of difficult words (phrases) 

53 a group of islands 

54 a grove of trees 

55 a hail of blows 

56 a hail of bullets 

57 a hand of bananas (each a finger) 

58 a harvest of wheat (corn) 

59 a heap of rubbish 

60 a heap of ruins 

61 a heap of stones 

62 a hedge of bushes 

63 a layer of soil (dirt) 

64 a library of books 

65 a list of names 

66 a mass of ruins (hair) 

67 a line of cars 

68 a necklace of pearls 

69 an orchard of fruit trees 

70 an outfit of clothes 

71 a pack of cards 

72 a pack of lies 

73 a packet of letters 

74 a pair of shoes 

75 a pencil of rays 

76 a quiver of arrows 

77 a range of mountains 

78 a range of hills 

79 a ream of paper 

80 a reel of thread ((film) 

81 a rope of pearls 

82 a roll of film (cloth) 

83 a row of houses 

84 a series of events 

85 a set of clubs 

86 a set of china 

87 a set of tools 

88 a sheaf of papers 

89 a sheaf of wheat 

90 a sheaf of grain 

91 a sheaf of corn 

92 a sheaf of arrows 

93 a shower of blows 

94 a shower of rain 

95 a stack of hay 

96 a stack of corn 

97 a stack of arms 

98 a stack of timber 

99 a stack of wood 

100 a stock of goods 

101 a string of goods 

102 a string of beads 

103 a suit of clothes 

104 a suite of rooms 

105 a suite of furniture 

106 a tuft of  grass 

107 a wad of (currency} notes 

108 a tuft of hair  

109 a wreath of flowers 

Material Noun 

A material noun is a noun that deals with matter or metals e.g. wood, iron, copper, gold, silver, etc. 

For example:

Gold is a precious metal. 

Wood floats in water. 

Iron sinks in water. 

Note: Do not insert "the" before material noun when used in a general sense. 

Abstract Noun 

An abstract noun is the name of a quality, action or state, which are beyond our five senses. Laughter, faith, honesty, bravery, beauty, kindness, childhood, youth, etc. 

Noun Definition and Examples

A noun is a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns can be used as the subject or object of a sentence, and they often indicate what the sentence is about.

Examples:

Person: teacher, doctor, friend

Place: city, park, beach

Thing: book, car, computer

Idea: love, freedom, courage

Nouns can be further categorized as proper nouns, which refer to specific names of people, places, or things (e.g. New York, John, iPhone), and common nouns, which refer to non-specific things (e.g. city, teacher, phone).

Nouns can also be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns refer to things that can be counted (e.g. one apple, two apples) while uncountable nouns refer to things that cannot be counted (e.g. water, music, information).

In addition, nouns can also be singular or plural. Singular nouns refer to one thing (e.g. cat) while plural nouns refer to more than one thing (e.g. cats).

In addition to the basic definition and examples provided earlier, there are a few more things to know about nouns:

Possessive forms: 

Nouns can also indicate possession or ownership by using apostrophe + "s" (e.g. the boy's toy, the cat's tail). If a noun is already in its plural form, only an apostrophe is added (e.g. the boys' toys, the cats' tails).

Compound nouns: 

Nouns can also be combined to form compound nouns (e.g. toothbrush, bedroom, notebook).

Gerunds:

 A gerund is a noun formed from a verb by adding "-ing" (e.g. swimming, running). Gerunds can function as the subject or object of a sentence (e.g. Swimming is good exercise. I enjoy swimming).

Collective nouns: 

Collective nouns refer to a group of people or things (e.g. team, flock, herd, jury). Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on whether the group is acting as a unit or as individuals (e.g. The team is winning vs. The team are arguing).

Abstract nouns:

 Abstract nouns refer to things that are not concrete or tangible (e.g. love, justice, freedom). These nouns are often used to express ideas or emotions.

Concrete nouns: 

Concrete nouns refer to things that are tangible and can be perceived through the five senses (e.g. apple, car, book). These nouns are often used to describe physical objects.

Overall, nouns play a crucial role in providing meaning and context to sentences and passages. Understanding the different types of nouns and how they function in sentences can help to improve one's understanding and use of language.

EXERCISE NO. 2.3 

Point out the kinds of noun which are underline in the following sentences: 

1. The Indus is the largest river in Pakistan. 

2. Honesty is the best policy. 

3 Pakistan exports rice every year 

4. The children visited the Lahore zoo.

5. A crowd was raising the slogans. 

6. A herd of sheep was grazing in the field. 

7. Gold is more precious than iron. 

8. I like him for his honesty. 

9. He burst into laughter. 

10. Karachi is the largest city of Pakistan.

11 The crew of the ship was dutiful. 

12. A chain of mountains encloses the city of Quetta. 

13. Ghalib is one of the greatest Urdu poets. 

14.I saw a train of camels in the desert. 

15. I shall visit you on Friday. 

16. The Quaid-e-Azem was the first Governor General of Pakistan. 

17. The Muslims believe in one God. 

18, Snow will fall on the Murree hills. 

19. The students visited the Swat valley in May. 

20. The committee was dissolved by the president. 

21. What is the length of this cloth? 

22. Knowledge is power. 

23. He has been on this committee for live years. 

24. He enjoys good health. 

25. All the staff was present in the meeting. 

Have a nice day.