Material Noun: Definition, Examples, Rules & Exercises
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Material Noun: A noun is the name of a person, place, animal, thing, idea, feeling, etc. It can be of different types, one among its types is a material noun. The material noun is the noun that refers to a physical matter which can be seen, touched, or felt. It can be Countable or Uncountable. For example, Acid, air, alcohol, rain, brick, paper, stone, etc. Acid, air, and rain are Uncountable material nouns whereas brick, paper, and stone are Countable material nouns.
Material Noun
Material Noun is the substance, material, or thing which can be perceived by the senses. For example, in “The apple was halved between Ritu and me”, in this sentence “apple” is a material object that can be perceived by being seen, felt, or touched. Other example includes honey, jewelry, jute, rubber, petrol, rice, salt, sand, oil, etc.
Material Noun Examples
The material noun in English Grammar refers to material or substances from which the object is formed. Here are some examples of Material noun which will make your understanding better.
- My teacher sometimes forgets her keys in the classroom.
- The farmers produce cotton once a year.
- The doctor placed a silver tooth in his mouth.
- Plastics are non-degradable products.
- The electric wires are maybe up of copper and aluminum.
- Fiber is a better option than glass in some places.
- The ball breaks the glass window.
- Green leafy vegetables are rich in calcium.
- She bought a dozen eggs from the mart.
- The wheat is grinded to obtain flour.
Classification of Material Noun
The material noun is the noun that can be perceived by sense. Below is the classification of the material noun which helps you to understand it in a broad way.
| Classification of Material Noun | |
| Classification | Material Noun |
| Material Nouns from Nature | air, coal, copper, gold, iron, rock, sand, silver, water, salt, etc. |
| Material Nouns from plants | coffee, food, fruits, oil, rubber, tea, cotton, wood, jute, etc. |
| Material Nouns from animals | egg, honey, leather, meat, milk, wool, silk, etc. |
| Material Nouns which is man-made | acid, alcohol, brick, butter, cement, cheese, cloth, medicine, chalk, ghee, enamel, gelatin, etc. |
Material Noun Rules
Here are the rules relating to the use of material nouns in the sentence.
Rule 1: Articles, that is, A, An, or The, are not used with the material noun when the noun is uncountable, For eg.
- I drink milk daily.
- Honey is nature's most revered remedy for the skin.
Rule2: Articles, such as a or an, can be used by material nouns when the noun is countable (denoting types of material or showing helping nature) such as:
- I bought a silver watch.
- This is really a good book.
Rule3: Use of words 'the' and 'some' can be used in a few cases, such as:
- The coffee in the mug is mine. Don’t give it to others!
- I need some water.