Polar Games
Guide

Common and proper nouns, and other noun types

What a noun is, common and proper nouns, concrete and abstract, countable and uncountable, compound nouns and a list of collective nouns.

By Polarzinho ·

Polarzinho sticking colorful labels on things in the room, like a ball, an armchair, a plant and a bamboo stalk

Panda, bamboo, Brazil, hunger. All nouns. Especially hunger, which is the noun I use most every day.

A noun is a word that names a person, animal, place, thing, feeling or idea. Here are the main types of nouns with lots of examples.

Play Stop! Play Letter River

What is a noun?

A noun names people (girl), animals (panda), things (ball), places (school), feelings (joy) and ideas (freedom).

Common and proper nouns

  • Common (any member of a group): city, dog, river, boy, country
  • Proper (one specific name, with a capital letter): Chicago, Rex, Amazon, Peter, Brazil

Concrete and abstract nouns

  • Concrete (you can see, touch, hear, smell or taste it): house, tree, music, pizza, rain
  • Abstract (ideas and feelings): love, courage, beauty, friendship, time

Countable and uncountable nouns

  • Countable (you can count them): one apple, two apples; a chair, three chairs
  • Uncountable (you measure them instead): water, sand, rice, advice, information

Compound nouns

  • One word: sunflower, toothbrush, football
  • Two words: ice cream, bus stop, video game
  • With hyphens: mother-in-law, check-in

Collective nouns

  • A school of fish
  • A pack of wolves
  • A swarm of bees
  • A herd of cows
  • A flock of sheep (or birds)
  • A pride of lions
  • A team of players
  • A bunch of grapes
  • A crowd of people
  • A fleet of ships

Practice by playing

Stop!, the quick category game, is basically a noun workout: name, animal, food, object and country are all nouns.

Stop! home screen with the options to play with the crowd or create a room with friends

PolarzinhoI only miss "name" in Stop! because I write "Polarzinho" for every letter.

Stop!: play with the crowd or create a room with friends.

And in Letter River, every answer is vocabulary practice.

Letter River letter board next to the list of clues, with a river and mountains behind

PolarzinhoA group of otters in water is called a raft. The one in Letter River is worth a whole raft.

Letter River: the letter board and the clues beside it.

FAQ

What is the difference between common and proper nouns?

A common noun names any member of a group (city). A proper noun names one specific thing and starts with a capital letter (Chicago).

Is love a concrete or abstract noun?

Abstract, because you cannot see or touch it.

What is a group of fish called?

A school of fish.

Your turn

Sort these nouns: Amazon, courage, toothbrush, swarm. Then check the types above.

Play Stop! Play Letter River