Discovering Grammar 1 IDENTIFYING NOUNS Looking at concrete or common nouns Using proper nouns Discovering collective nouns Nouns are the names of things, places or people. There are four types of noun: concrete, proper, collective and abstract. A concrete noun is a physical thing – usually something you can see or touch: A proper noun always begins with a capital letter. It is the name of a person, a place or an institution: A collective noun refers to a group of objects, animals or people. It is a singular word but most collective nouns can be made plural. Here are a few examples: 3 apple cat diary garage key lake needle orange queen ranch soldier tin umbrella volunteer watch zoo Alistair Bob Christopher Dale Ben Nevis England Guildford River Thames Buckingham Palace The British Museum Hampton Court The Royal Navy