Noun

Sam An Teng

A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. For examples, teacher, tiger, school, car, health, happiness...

Classification of nouns

Nouns can be classified as: 

proper and common nouns

• Proper noun – A proper noun is a noun that names some particular or special place, person, people, or thing. A proper noun should always begin with a capital letter; as, Bopha, Phnom Penh, the World Bank, Samsung, the Red Sea, Cambodia, The Tales of Two Cities, Monday, September, Buddhism…   

• Common noun – A common noun is a general or class name. It refers to a person, place, or thing in a general; as, woman, city, dog, shoe, sea, village, mountain…

Concrete and Abstract Nouns

• Concrete nouns: These name something that you can perceive with your five senses – something that physically exists; as, table, school, car, horse, building, ship, airplane…  

• Abstract nouns: These are the opposite of concrete. They name something that you cannot perceive with your five senses – something that does not physically exist; as, education, kindness, health, happiness, freedom, Buddhism..

Count and Non-count Nouns

• Count Nouns (Countable nouns): Count nouns are nouns that we can count. It has a singular and a plural form. To make it plural, we need to add –s / -es to the singular noun. For examples, one book, three books; a leg, two legs; an apple, six apples…  

• Non-count nouns (mass or uncountable nouns): Mass nouns are nouns that we cannot count. It has no plural form (always in singular form, and takes singular verb). For examples, fruit, some fruit; bread, a slice of bread; homework; a lot of homework; information…

Collective Nouns

A collective noun is a noun naming a group of things, animals, or persons. We can count the individual members of the group, but you usually think of the group as a whole is generally as one unit; as, army, company, firm, public, audience, corporation, group, school, board, council, jury, senate, cabinet, department, majority, society, class, faculty,minority, team, committee, family, navy, troupe,

Compound Nouns 

Compound noun is a combination of two nouns. The two nouns form a new word. Normally, the first noun modifies the second one; as, policeman, boyfriend, water tank, dining-table, bedroom...

Functions of nouns 

Nouns, in sentences, can function as: 

a. subject

Subject tells whom or what the sentence is about; as, 

• Samnang works in a bank. 
• Economics is an interesting subject.

b. direct object 

direct object receives the action of the verb; as,

• He eats ice cream.
• They play tennis.

c. indirect object

Indirect object receives the direct object; as, 

• He bought his friend a pen. 
• The company offers Thavy a new position.

d. object of preposition

Object of the preposition is the noun or pronoun after a preposition; as,

• The boy was hurt in the accident. 
• The driver filled the fuel tank of the bus.

e. subject complement

Predicate nominative renames the subject, always after a linking verb; as,

• I am a candidate. 
• I am the owner of that Café.

f. object complement

Object complement completes the direct object; as, 

• I considered him brother. 
• They elected Bunna President.

g. appositive

An appositive is a noun or pronoun placed near another noun or pronoun. The appositive enhances our understanding of the original noun or pronoun; as, 

• Ravy, our class monitor, studies very hard. 
• Her sister, Anna, was an intelligent student. 

h. adjective

Noun functions as adjective when it modifies another noun functions as adjective; as, 

• The water pump is broken.  
• She wore sport clothes.