Class 4 English Grammar Chapter 5 The Noun and its Kinds

Let us read various kinds of noun. These are of the following kinds:

• 1. Proper Noun
• 2. Common Noun
• 3. Collective Noun
• 4. Abstract Noun
• 5. Material Noun

A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, or thing.
For example: Harry, Jaipur, Yamuna, Qutub Minar.
In the above examples ‘Harry’ is the name of a boy, ‘Jaipur’ is the name of a city, ‘Yamuna’ is the name of a river and ‘Qutub Minar’ is the name of a monument. Hence, they are proper nouns.

A common noun is a name given in common to persons, places or things.
Examples: book, house, pen, boy, city. The above words refer to all books, houses, pens, boys or cities; but they do not mention any particular book, house, pen, boy or city. Hence, they are common nouns.

Read the following passage carefully:
I live in a place called Rohini, Sector 3. My name is Aanvi. Princy is my friend. My school’s name is Sanfort Public School. Mrs. Kanika Arora is my class teacher. She teaches us all subjects of which English is my favourite. I go to school every day except Sunday. In the months of May and June we have our summer vacations. I read books like Panchatantra, Hitopadesh in my vacations. I also listen to stories of great men like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Ravindra Nath Tagore in my vacations. My favourite game is cricket. MS Dhoni is my favourite sports star. I also love to visit my grandparent’s house in our car which is a Beleno.

In each of the sentences in the above passage there are one or more common nouns and proper nouns. Find out the proper nouns against the given common noun. One has been done for you.

A collective noun is the name given to a collection of persons, animals, things taken together as one.
Examples:
A herd of deer, a pride of lions, a flock of sheeps, a gang of robbers. In the above examples, ‘herd’ is the group of deer, ‘pride’ is the group of lions, ‘flock’ is the group of sheeps, ‘gang’ is the group of robbers. Hence, they are collective nouns.

Abstract Nouns are the names of something which we can neither see nor touch, but can think of them. They are the names given to some quality, feeling, state or action.
Examples: beauty, courage, kindness, strength. etc.

Here are some more examples of abstract nouns.
Quality: honesty, bravery, goodness, greatness, wisdom, intelligence.
States: childhood, youth, manhood, death, truth, victory, poverty.
Feelings: love, hatred, pain, happiness, sadness.
Action: sleep, theft, smile, movement.

Pick out the abstract nouns from the following sentences.

1. Always speak the truth.
2. Never tell a lie.
3. Health is wealth.
4. Honesty is the best policy.
5. Plants show no movements.

• 6. The princess was known for her beauty.
• 7. A stitch in time saves nine.
• 8. Krishna and Sudama were known for their friendship.
• 9. The patient was in great pain.
• 10. Owl can see in darkness.

A material noun denotes a substance of which things are made.
Examples: steel, iron, copper.

Days, beauty, progress, camel, farmers, mob, bouquet, stars, computer, knowledge
1. Take one flower from a …….. of flowers.
2. The …………….. has a very good memory.
3. The ………… plough the field.
4. The ………….. has a hump on its back.
5. A week has seven ………… .
6. At night the ……………… twinkle in the sky.
7. A thing of ……………. is joy for ever.

1. John is my brother.
2. Rome was not built in a day.
3. Taj Mahal is famous for its beauty.
4. The crowd was very noisy.
5. He is known for his generosity.

6. Iron is most useful metal.
7. Mohan is an intelligent boy.
8. My family moved to Bhopal.
9. The thief took away everything.
10. Sheep gives us wool.

1. How many kinds of nouns are there:
(a) Two
(b) three
(c) four
(d) five

2. What is common noun?
(a) Name of a particular person, place or thing.
(b) Name of persons, places or things.
(c) Collection of persons, animals, things taken together as one.
(d) question mark.