Kinds of Nouns
Kinds of Nouns
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Kinds of Nouns
Open by reminding pupils that nouns are naming words. This lesson focuses on two contrasts: general vs specific, and physical vs idea.
Learning goal
I can identify and explain common nouns, proper nouns, concrete nouns, and abstract nouns.
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What words come to mind when you hear kinds of nouns?
Use this as a quick activation of prior knowledge. Expect words such as names, person, place, thing, idea, common, proper, concrete, and abstract.
Common and Proper Nouns
Nouns can name things in two different ways:
general names for any person, place, or thing
specific names for one particular person, place, or thing
This is the difference between common nouns and proper nouns.
Set up the contrast clearly before defining each type. Pupils should hear that the key question is whether the noun is general or specific.
What is a common noun?
Names something general
Not one special person, place, or thing
Usually begins with a lowercase letter
Examples: person, city, day
Emphasise that a common noun can still be important; it is called common because it is not a unique name.
What is a proper noun?
Names something particular
Refers to one specific person, place, or thing
Always begins with an uppercase letter
Examples: Sheilalyn Leop, Joy Tadia, Friday
Stress the word always when discussing capitals. Even in the middle of a sentence, a proper noun keeps its uppercase letter.
Common or proper?
Alexis rode a bicycle from Olongapo to Quezon City Circle.
Alexis - proper noun
bicycle - common noun
Olongapo - proper noun
Quezon City Circle - proper noun
Model how to test each noun: ask whether it is a general name or the exact name of one person, place, or thing.
Capital letters matter
Common nouns use lowercase letters: city, friend, month
Proper nouns use uppercase letters: Olongapo, Alexis, Friday
The capital letter helps show that the noun is a specific name
A likely misconception is that any important word should have a capital letter. Clarify that capitals here depend on the kind of noun, not on importance.
Which noun in the sentence is a proper noun?
bicycle
Alexis
friend
city
Anchors to the example sentence pupils just studied. Distractors are all nouns, but only Alexis is a specific name and so a proper noun.
Common and proper nouns
A common noun names something general, so it usually begins with a lowercase letter. A proper noun names one specific person, place, or thing, so it begins with an uppercase letter.
All four blanks come directly from the just-taught contrast: general vs specific and lowercase vs uppercase.
Concrete and Abstract Nouns
Nouns can also be grouped in another way:
things that exist in the physical world
things that exist as ideas, feelings, or qualities
This is the difference between concrete nouns and abstract nouns.
Make it clear that this is a different way of sorting nouns from common and proper. A noun can be concrete or abstract, not just common or proper.
What is a concrete noun?
Names something in the physical world
Can be experienced with the senses
You may be able to see, touch, hear, smell, or taste it
Examples: lorry, driveway
Link concrete nouns to the five senses. Pupils often identify them more easily when they ask, 'Can I sense it?'
Concrete nouns in a sentence
Chem parked his lorry in his driveway.
lorry is a concrete noun
driveway is a concrete noun
Both can be seen and touched
If useful, point out that a concrete noun does not need to be something a pupil can hold in their hand; it simply needs physical existence.
What is an abstract noun?
Names an idea, feeling, quality, or state of mind
Cannot be seen or touched
Exists in thought rather than as a physical object
Examples: justice, liberty, democracy
Pupils may say abstract nouns are 'not real'. Clarify that they are real ideas, but not physical things.
Suffixes that often signal abstract nouns
Many abstract nouns end with these suffixes:
-ty
-ism
-ment
-hood
-ness
-ion / -tion
-dom, -ance
Present these endings as helpful clues, not absolute rules. The lesson text says they often signal abstract nouns.
Abstract nouns in a sentence
Justice and liberty are necessary in a democracy.
justice - abstract noun
liberty - abstract noun
democracy - abstract noun
These words name ideas, not physical objects.
This is the key example that ties the definition to real language use. Read the sentence aloud to keep the nouns in context.
Two ways to classify nouns
Common or proper tells us whether a noun is general or specific
Concrete or abstract tells us whether a noun is physical or non-physical
These noun types help us read and write more clearly
This slide resolves the lesson's central thread by showing the two sorting systems side by side.
Which word is an abstract noun?
driveway
justice
lorry
Friday
Checks whether pupils can separate physical objects from ideas. Friday is a proper noun, which helps expose confusion between the two sorting systems.
Concrete and abstract nouns
A concrete noun names something in the physical world that you can experience with your senses. An abstract noun names an idea, feeling, or quality that exists in thought, not as a physical object.
Reinforces the second classification system using the lesson's own wording: physical world, senses, and thought.
How are the two noun classifications different?
Expected elements: pupils should explain that common/proper sorts nouns by whether they are general or specific, while concrete/abstract sorts nouns by whether they are physical or ideas/feelings/qualities.
What is one thing you will remember from this lesson?
Reflection only. Invite pupils to name one idea, example, or rule that felt most useful in the lesson.
What helped you understand the noun types best?
Reflection only. Look for mentions of examples, capital letters, the senses test, or suffix clues.
Glossary
noun - a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea
common noun - a general name for a person, place, or thing
proper noun - a specific name for a particular person, place, or thing
concrete noun - a noun for something that exists in the physical world and can be sensed
abstract noun - a noun that names an idea, feeling, quality, or state of mind
suffix - letters added to the end of a word
uppercase letter - a capital letter
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