Nouns (Biplab Ghosh Blogs)

Nouns

Tags:     English for UPSC     Noun     Write Correct English     Spoken English     Types of Sentences     Clause     Vocabulary     Spelling     Words Usage     Proverbs

"A noun refers to a person, place, or object," most of us were taught in primary school. That's not a bad start; it even hints at the word's origins, since noun is ultimately derived from the Latin word nomen, which means "name." However, strictly and professionally, a noun is any member of a class of words that can function as the main or only element of verb subjects (A dog just barked), or of verb or prepositional objects (to send money from home), and that can take plural forms and possessive endings in English (Three of his buddies want to borrow Ram's book).Persons, places, things, states, or traits are frequently described as nouns, and the word noun is frequently employed as an attributive modifier, as in a noun group or, a noun compound.

Proper nouns and common nouns are the two types of nouns that are commonly used. Pentagon, Wordsworth and New Delhi are examples of proper nouns that are capitalised and designate a specific person, place, or thing. A general person, place, or item is referred to as a common noun: instructor, classroom, smartphone. A set or group is identified by the plural form of a common noun. There are some words that cannot be pluralized. As a result, we have a new technique to classify words. Countable nouns are those that can be thought of in plural; the objects they name, may be counted and enumerated.

Other nouns, known as uncountable nouns, refer to things that aren't frequently counted, even as the amount increases. This category covers nouns that refer to a substance, a trait (kindness, honesty), or an abstract notion (water, sand, oxygen, electricity) (happiness, health). There are several exceptions: some things can be referred to in the plural when referring to different types (French wines are well-known around the world) or units or containers (We'll have three coffees and two teas).

Other nouns that refer to anything concrete, such as furniture, flatware, hardware, and software, are also considered mass nouns. This implies we don't state in English, "This machine comes with the most recent software." We also don't say "I'm buying furniture" (though we can buy a couch or a table), because mass nouns can't be preceded by "a," "an," or a numeral. Instead, we say phrases like "a lot of software" or "too much furniture" in the singular form, even when referring to vast numbers. This division between countable and non-countable nouns, complicated as it appears, is very much riveted innately if you have grown up speaking in English. But, indeed, it may become something very complex for people for whom English is a foreign language. So, what to do, Read and Read and listen.