Writing Lessons & Advice: Noun Types and Subject-Verb Agreement
I was listening to a Grammar Girl podcast a while ago, and she discussed how different types of nouns exist. I had not thought about that very much, so I figured I’d take a deeper look to learn and explain what they are and how they’re identified/used:
Singular/plural- these are generally the simplest and most basic types of nouns. Singular nouns refer to one person, place, thing, or idea while plural nouns refer to more than one.
Some nouns can be made plural by adding -s or -es to the end. These are regular nouns. If the spelling has to be changed altogether, like person to people, they are irregular nouns.
Common- common nouns are general, nonspecific entities, like cat, town, or teacher. Because they are nonspecific, they are not capitalized unless they start a sentence. You likely see them with either the definite or indefinite articles that help them make more sense to the context. Like a cat or the cat; a town or the town; a teacher or the teacher.
Proper- proper nouns, on the other hand, are specific names or terms of a person, place, or thing. Think names and name brands. They are capitalized no matter where they are in a sentence. Some examples include: Sparky (my cat), Charleston (a town), Mr. Smith (a teacher), Colgate (a name brand/specific object)
Concrete- concrete nouns are things that can be perceived with our physical senses, things we can see, smell, taste, touch, or hear.
Abstract- abstract nouns are opposite to concrete ones. Abstract nouns are not things you can physically perceive with your senses, but are more like emotions, concepts, ideas, or principles, like justice, love, morality, satisfaction, or Mondays.
Abstract nouns sometimes have an artistic, poetic, or spiritual context. Again, because they are things we can’t necessarily see, smell, touch, taste, or hear in the traditional sense, they tend to be described through metaphors, similes, personification, or other devices. Examples:
“Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door,” -Charles Dickens
“Love is the flower, you’ve got to let grow,”- John Lennon
“Fear is the mother of morality,” -Friedrich Nietzsch
“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory,” -Mahatma Gandhi
“Monday Monday, can't trust that day/ Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way/ Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be/ Oh Monday Monday, how could you leave and not take me...” -from the song, “Monday Monday” by The Mamas and The Papas
Additionally, Grammar Brain notes that some abstract nouns are “created” by attaching certain suffixes to the end of a verb or adjective. Examples:
-tion (represents an action, like appreciation or indoctrination)
-ment (represents a result or condition, like betterment or contentment)
-ness (represents a quality, like kindness or coolness)
-ity (represents a state or degree, like continuity or levity)
Collective- collective nouns are single words used to describe a group, like herd, group, litter, pack, band, or committee. Collective nouns are treated as singular when the group on the whole is referenced. British English treats it as plural sometimes.
Compound- a compound is two or three words that refer to one thing. There are actually three types depending on how they are written/spelled:
Open compound nouns- the two words are spaced apart, like taxi cab
Closed compound nouns- the words are not spaced apart, like toothpaste
Hyphenated compound nouns- the words are separated by hyphens, like mother-in-law
Countable- countable nouns are like concrete nouns; they are things that can be counted or quantified. A number or measurement can be put to them.
Uncountable- uncountable nouns, also called mass nouns, are less tangible things that can’t really be quantified, like faith, knowledge, information, or research. These are treated like singular nouns in the context of a sentence.
How come these are important to know?
Standard English adheres to a rule of subject-verb agreement, meaning the verb of a sentence must match the number, person, and gender of the subject. You might also think of this rule in terms of patterns; there are several and the “kinds” of nouns play a part in how they can go. In simplest terms, subject-verb agreement looks like:
A singular verb form following a singular subject. Example: Sparky loves wet food. “Sparky” is a singular, proper noun and “loves” is the appropriate verb form for a singular noun.
A plural verb form following a plural subject. Example: My husband and I love each other. “My husband and I” refers to multiple people, so “love” is the appropriate verb form for the plural noun subject.
Some of the noun type descriptions allude to which “kinds” are singular or plural and some of the sources should go into further detail on these patterns. They are one of many little Standard English details that are important to know and follow so your sentences are more readable.
Hopefully this lesson helps you see nouns and subject-verb agreement in new ways! Side note: the types of verbs will be explored in a future lesson!
If there's a topic you want me to cover in the future, you're welcome to reach out to me on the web chat feature or socials!
Sources/further reading:
The Grammar Girl episode that inspired this post: https://spotify.link/dSgzNJYm9Hb
A more recent Grammar Girl episode that discusses writing trademarks: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5zJWU8JavrgsDziKdkRecv?si=BjaxbmBlSlSTCPuKdebT_Q
Types of nouns
Subject-verb agreement
With the exception of the song lyrics, the abstract noun quotes/examples came from https://www.brainyquote.com/
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