COLLECTIVE NOUNS. Noun as a concept has been variously defined. In one common definition, a noun has been defined as a name of a person,an animal,a place or a thing.This definition is semantical and elementary. For example, Hajara,Khadijah,goat,book,Bidaetc are nouns because they named persons,an animal,a place and a thing. Syntactically,however,a noun is described as any word that identifies person(s),object(s),abstractions,substances and ideas. For example, Musa,Busola,Mary(persons), Lion,table,cup(objects), Love,beauty,anger(abstractions),water,oil,gas(substances). Therefore,thereare five types of nouns,namely: 1.) Abstract nouns. 2.)Concrete nouns. 3.)Common nouns. 4.) Proper nouns and; 5.)Collective nouns. Collective type of nouns,which is the focus of this article,is a type of nouns that is used to stand for a group of nouns with common traits or characteristics. In other words,a collective noun is a noun which stand for other nouns thatperform the same functions. For examples,the word Soldiers is used to refer to a group of army. Furniture for a group of wooden or metalic room equipment. Students for a group of learners. Doctors for a group of medical officers. Teachers for a group of trainers. Foods for a group of eatable. Herd for a group of cattle. Flock for a group of sheep. Males fora group of boys or men. Females for a group ofgirls or women etc. In summary, words such as Soldiers,Furniture,Flock,Students,Males,Females,Herd,Doctors etc as explained aboved are collective nouns,because each one stands for a group of nouns. E.g The students of Bayero University,Kanoare good ambassadors of their school. In this sentence,the word student is used to stand for the entire learners in BUK.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 06:55:50 +0000