 Noun types in English grammar. Nouns are naming words which make up the most common category of words in the English language. Within this category, there are several different types of nouns with specific roles to play. Nouns are the most common type of word in the English language, and therefore make up a large part of EFL language lessons, particularly in lower level classes. As an EFL teacher, it is recommended that you have a solid understanding of the different types of nouns, so you can help your students make rapid progress in this area of grammar. Common nouns. Common nouns are used to name a general type of person, place, or thing. Common nouns can be divided into smaller classes, such as countable and uncountable nouns, concrete and abstract nouns, and collective nouns. Examples of common nouns, man, town, vegetable, friend, building, water. Proper nouns. Proper nouns are used to name a specific person, place, or thing, and always start with a capital letter. Proper nouns are rarely preceded by a determiner, though there are some exceptions. Examples of proper nouns, Jane, Rome, Jupiter, Friday, Italy. Compound nouns. Compound nouns are two or more words that create a noun. They can be one word, rainfall, joined by a hyphen, or separate words, water tank. The main stress is normally on the first part of the compound word, bedroom, washing machine. Examples of compound nouns, motorcycle, policeman, boyfriend, passerby, take-off, driving license, swimming pool. Countable nouns. Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted. They have a singular and a plural form, and can be used with a number. Examples of countable nouns, bus, table, fork, shed, ear, bird. Uncountable nouns. Uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot be counted. They often refer to specific subjects, such as substances, liquids, gases, and abstract ideas. Examples of uncountable nouns, wine, tea, meat, grit, air, oxygen, silver, happiness. Collective nouns. Collective nouns are words that refer to a set or group of people, animals or things. Examples of collective nouns, gang, team, crew, shoal, pack, bunch. Concrete nouns. Concrete nouns refer to people and things that exist physically, and can be detected by our senses, seen, felt, heard, smelled, or tasted. Examples of concrete nouns, cat, flower, orange, plate, shoe, pen, rain. Abstract nouns. Abstract nouns are nouns that have no physical existence, but refer to ideas, emotions or concepts. Abstract nouns are typically uncountable. Examples of abstract nouns, anger, stress, peace, honesty, faith, energy, adventure. Thanks so much for watching. We are ITTT, the leading provider for TEFL and TESOL training courses. If you like this video, please subscribe by clicking that button down here, and click on any of the videos here on the left for more interesting teaching tips for getting certified to teach English abroad and online.