There are four types of nouns (or “naming” words)
Proper Nouns
These should always begin with capital letters.
Examples include the names of countries (Canada, India…), specific physical features (Mount Everest, Amazon River, Niagara Falls, Lake Victoria…), man-made structures (Eiffel Tower, Sydney Harbour Bridge…), people’s names (Cameron Smith, Ben Simmons…), pets’ names (Fido, Kitty…)
Common Nouns
Common nouns are the names of everyday objects and things. These should begin with a letter in the lower case.
Examples: pencil, aeroplane, house, stone, tree, ceiling, giraffe, river, tea, bicycle, street, girl, father, country, animal, rainbow, car…
Collective Nouns
As the names suggests these refer to collections of like objects.
Examples: fleet (a gathering of ships); swarm (bees/insects); library (books); forest (trees); litter (kittens/pups); pride (lions); crowd (people); team (players); herd (cattle); flock (sheep); pod (whales/dolphins); school (pupils/fish); class (children); university (students); jewellery (rings, bracelets, etc.)…
Abstract Nouns
These nouns denote intangible possessions, emotions, desires or needs.
Examples: thirst, hunger, joy, sadness, loneliness, excitement, valour, embarrassment, talent, honesty, pride, greed, intelligence, stupidity, honour, glory…