Nouns · Grade 4
A noun is a word that names a person, a place, a thing or an idea: teacher, Cairo, table, happiness. Most sentences have at least one. There are four main kinds of noun, and each one tells you something different.
Key facts
- Common nouns name any person, place or thing: girl, city, pencil. They start with a small letter.
- Proper nouns name a particular person, place, day or month: Amira, London, Monday, July. They always start with a capital letter.
- Collective nouns name a group: a team of players, a flock of birds, a herd of elephants, a swarm of bees.
- Abstract nouns name ideas, feelings and qualities you can't see or touch: courage, friendship, fear, honesty.
- A quick test: a noun can usually follow the, a or my: the table, a team, my fear.