Noun gender
Gender has very little place in English language, and no place at all in classifying nouns. There are some nouns that specifically relate to male people or creatures and some that relate specifically to...
Category: Parts of speech
Singular nouns and plural nouns
Most nouns in English can be said to be either singular or plural. The most usual way of forming a plural noun from a singular is to add –s. Examples: dog/dogs boy/boys desk/desks Most...
Concrete and abstract nouns
Nouns can be classified as concrete nouns or abstract nouns. Concrete nouns are used to refer to things that can be touched. Examples: car magazine computer David Beckham Abstract nouns are used to refer...
Proper nouns and common nouns
One way of classifying nouns is to identify them as proper nouns or common nouns. Proper nouns name specific people, places, organisations or objects. They start with a capital letter. Examples: Ivan Anna Harry...
Nouns
Nouns are words that name things, places, people, animals, ideas and qualities.
“Excellent in” or “excellent at”?
‘Excellent at’ is probably more common than ‘excellent in’: ‘She is excellent at English’. But ‘excellent in’ can often be used instead: ‘She is excellent in English’ is acceptable but doesn’t sound as good....
“Reputation of” or “reputation for”?
‘Reputation of’ and ‘reputation for’ are interchangeable. Sometimes ‘reputation for’ sounds better, particularly when ‘reputation’ is preceded by the indefinite article: ‘The company has a reputation for good service’ and ‘The company has a...
“Disappointed with” or “disappointed in”?
‘Disappointed with’ and ‘disappointed in’ are mostly interchangeable. ‘Disappointed in’ usually shows a greater level of disappointment. ‘I’m disappointed with this book’ means that it isn’t as good as I hoped it would be....
“Historical” or “historic”?
Historical is used to refer to things from or about the past. Historic is used to refer to things that are important or significant. ‘Any past event is historical, but only the most memorable...
“To set off” or “to set out”?
To set off and to set out are often interchangeable: We set off on a journey We set out on a journey She set off across the river She set out across the river...