CLASSIFICATION OF NOUNS Nouns саn be classified in different ways
I. All nouns fall under two groups; countables and uncountables.
Countable nouns denote things or individuals that can be counted. These nouns have the grammatical category of number.
Uncountable nouns denote objects that cannot be counted. The uncountable nouns are subdivided into the so-called singularia tantum and pluralia tantum.
II. According to their lexical meaning nouns fall under two classes: common nouns, and proper nouns.
Соmmon nouns are names applied to any individual of a class of persons or things, collections of similar individuals of things regarded as a unit; materials or abstract notions. Соmmon nouns are subdivided into: (1) class nouns, (2) collective nouns, (3) abstract nouns, (4) material nouns.
(1) Class nouns denote living beings or things belonging to a class such as a man, a dog, a book. They are countables.
(2) Collective nouns denote a number of persons or things collected together to form a single unit. They are subdivided into:
(a) Nouns that are used in both numbers: family, company, crowd, nation, party, government, crew, team, committee, jury, etc.
When such a noun is used in the singular it may be followed by the predicate verb either in the singular or in the plural. The verb is singular if the collective noun is thought of as a single unit. The verb is plural if the collective noun is thought of as a collection of separate individuals.
The committee agrees to the proposal. The committee are unable to agree.
(b) Nouns that are used only in the singular: linen, furniture, machinery, money, youth. (c) Nouns that are used only in the plural: goods, belongings, clothes, trousers. (d) Nouns of multitude that are singular in form but plural iп meaning: people, police, cattle, poultry, such nouns are followed by plural verbs.
Note. The noun people is always plural in the meaning of «люди», but it has both numbers in the meaning of «народ».
(3) Material nouns denote materials: air, water, iron, gold, bread, milk, paper, cotton, etc. They are uncountables.
(4) Abstract nouns denote notions: idea, science, information, progress, unity; qualities: beauty, courage, humour, kindness; states: life, death, happiness, peace, excitement, sleep; actions: work, struggle, conversation, reading, discussion, feelings and emotions: love, hatred, pleasure, joy, sadness, anger, disappointment. Most of them are uncountables.
Proper nouns are names given to individuals of a class to distinguish them from other individuals of the same class.
Неre belong: (1) personal names: John, Вrown; (2) geographical names: England, London, the Thames; (3) the names of months and the days of the week; (4) the names of periodicals, ships, hotels, clubs, etc.
