What Is a Noun?

Nouns are a part of speech that comprise words that are used to name people, places, animals, objects
and ideas. Almost every sentence will definitely have a noun, and they perform different roles in a
sentence. Nouns can act as the subject, an indirect object, a direct object, a subject complement and an
object complement. Nouns can also func on as adjec ves and verbs.

Examples of Nouns:

 People – Rahul, Sheela, Man, Person, Tommy, Women, Girl, The Prime Minister

 Places – Bangalore, India, Mexico, North Pole, South Africa, The Nile River, Classroom, Bedroom,
Basketball Court, Cricket Ground, Swimming Pool

 Animals/Birds/Aqua c Animals/Rep les – Lion, Zebra, Snake, Ostrich, Flamingo, Bear, Cat, Fish,
Shark

 Ideas – Evolu on, Inven on, Ex nc on, Argument, Destruc on

 Objects/Things – Bat, Cycle, Curtains, Paper, Bag, Blackboard, Cupboard

Types of Nouns

Nouns can be broadly classified into:

1. Proper Nouns: Nouns that are used to name a person, place or thing specifically are called a proper
noun. Proper nouns always begin with a capital le er.

Examples:

1.

1.

 My name is Rose. (Name of a par cular person)

 This is my dog, Bruno. (Name of a specific pet animal owned by someone)

 David came back from Minsk. (Name of a specific place)

 Louis Philippe is a famous brand of men’s clothing. (Name of a par cular

clothing brand)

2. Common nouns: Common nouns are those nouns that refer to a generic item, group or place. This
means that, unlike proper nouns, they are not used to iden fy specific people, places or objects.
Common nouns are not capitalised unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence.

Examples:

1.

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  I bought a pen yesterday. (Common object)

 I am going to school. (Common place)

 Only ten employees showed up to work today. (Common group)

 The car is out of fuel. (Common items)

3. Singular nouns: These are words that are used to name a single person, place, animal, bird or object.

Examples:

1.

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 There is a li le boy in front of our house. (Single person)

 That is my daughter. (Single person)

 I found a wounded sparrow in the bush. (Single bird)

 A red van has been following us for a long me. (Single object)

4. Plural nouns: Plural nouns refer to a number of people, places, animals or things. Nouns are made
plural by adding an ‘s’ or ‘es’ or ‘ies’ or ‘ves’ to the exis ng root word. Nouns that end with an ‘s’ remain
the same. Some nouns remain the same in both their singular and plural forms, and some others have
totally different spelling.

Examples:

1.

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 I need some apples.

 Did you find the boxes you were looking for?

 I bought mangoes from the market.

 We took photos of some deer on our way.

5. Countable nouns are those nouns that can be counted or measured.

Examples:

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 Tom brought ten packets of lays for the trip. (specific number – ten)

 Mom asked me to buy a dozen eggs. (specific – dozen means twelve)

 I saw an aeroplane around seven in the morning. (specific – an means one)

6. Uncountable nouns are those nouns that cannot be counted. This category of nouns includes both
concrete and abstract nouns.

Examples:

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 I have a lot of homework to do. (Not specific)

 I have a cup of tea. (Cannot count)

 We are facing terrible weather today. (Cannot count)

7. Collec ve Nouns: A collec ve noun is a naming word that is used to denote a group of objects,
animals or people.

Examples:

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 Collec ve nouns for groups of animals

 A pride of lions

 A flock of sheep

 A swarm of bees

 A herd of elephants

 Collec ve nouns for groups of people

 A band of musicians

 A board of directors

 A crew of sailors

 A company of actors

 Collec ve nouns for a number of things/objects

 A pair of shoes

 A chain of mountains

 A fleet of ships

 A bunch of grapes

8. Concrete Nouns: A concrete noun refers to objects that are material and can be perceived by the
human senses.
Examples:

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 The book is on the table.

 I had a cup of coffee.

 Sharon opened the windows.

 Hardy goes to school by bus.

9. Abstract Nouns: Any en ty that cannot be perceived by the five senses of the human body are called
an abstract noun.

Examples:

1.

 Love is a strong emo on.

 Honesty is the best policy.

 It takes a lot of courage to raise your voice and stand up against injus ce.

 You should not misuse the freedom you are given.

Also Explore: Compound Nouns | Possessive Nouns | Noun Phrases | Noun Exercises

Nouns Used as Different Components of a Sentence

Nouns Used as a Subject

When used as a subject, a noun mostly appears at the beginning of a sentence. It can be iden fied by
asking the ques on ‘who’.

Examples:

 Bruno went to the playground.

 The teacher asked the students to submit their assignments.

 The elephant was rescued safely a er ten long hours.

Nouns Used as an Object

When nouns are used as objects, they appear in the la er part of a sentence. It can be iden fied by
asking the ques on ‘what’.

Examples:

 I bought a pen.

 Where is your book?

  I cannot find today’s newspaper.

Nouns can be used as a direct object and an indirect object.

Nouns Used as a Direct Object

You can iden fy a noun used as a direct object by asking the ques on ‘what’.

Examples:

 Do you want a lollipop? (What do you want? – a lollipop)

 I loved my dress. (What did you love? – my dress)

Nouns Used as an Indirect Object

You can ask the ques on ‘for whom’ to iden fy a noun used as an indirect object.

Examples:

 Dan bought his sister a Mini Cooper. (For whom did Dan buy a Mini Cooper? – his sister)

 Megha baked Julie a cake. (For whom did Megha bake a cake? – Julie)

Nouns Used as a Complement

When a noun is used to modify or describe another noun, it acts as a complement.

Nouns Used as a Subject Complement

Professions and posi ons can perform the role of a subject complement.

Examples:

 My brother is an engineer.

 Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India.

Nouns Used as an Object Complement

Object complements are nouns that follow the noun they modify. Names, professions and posi ons can
perform the role of an object complement.

Examples:

 We named our dog, Shadow.

 The teacher made Tabitha, the class leader.

Mul func onal Nouns

Nouns Used as Verbs

There are some nouns which can also be used as a verb. Some nouns can be used as verbs with a slight
change in the spelling of the original word.
Examples:

 His divorce is final. (Used as a noun)

I am divorced. (Used as a verb)

 Do you like my new dress? (Used as a noun)

I am dressed and ready to go. (Used as a verb)

 Derrick had come to collect some ice. (Used as a noun)

My mother iced the fish so that it did not s nk. (Used as a verb)

 I have dance prac ce today. (Used as a noun)

Did you prac se the song? (Used as an adjec ve)

Nouns Used as Adjec ves

With a slight change in the spelling or adding a suffix to the root word, nouns can some mes be used
as adjec ves.

Examples:

 I have no money. (Used as a noun)

There has been a change in the monetary policy of the country. (Used as an adjec ve)

 Javed sensed some danger. (Used as a noun)

What you are trying to do is dangerous. (Used as an adjec ve)

 She is excited about magic. (Used as a noun)

The experience was completely magical. (Used as an adjec ve)

 Speaking against another religion is a legal offence. (Used as a noun)

What you did was offensive. (Used as an adjec ve)

Frequently Asked Ques ons on Nouns

Q1

What is a noun?

A noun is a part of speech that is used to name or iden fy a person, place, thing or idea. There are
different types of nouns like common nouns, proper nouns, abstract nouns, collec ve nouns, concrete
nouns and so on.

Q2

What are the different func ons of nouns?

Nouns can also func on as verbs and adjec ves with a slight change of spelling or by adding a suffix. For
example, divorce can be used as a noun and a verb; money is a noun, while monetary is the adjec ve
form of the verb. Nouns can also func on as different components of the sentence as well.

A noun is a word that represents a person, thing, concept, or place. Most sentences contain at least
one noun or pronoun. For example, the sentences below contain anywhere from one to three nouns.

Examples: Nouns in a sentenceThe dog ran very fast.

June is my favorite month.

Teachers emphasize the importance of grammar.

Nouns are one of the main types of words in English, along with other parts of speech such as verbs.
They are o en, but not always, preceded by an ar cle (“the,” “a,” or “an”) or other determiner.

How are nouns used in sentences?

A complete sentence usually consists of at least a subject and a verb. The subject describes some person
or thing, and the verb describes an ac on carried out by the subject.

In most cases, the subject is a noun or a pronoun. So the most basic role for a noun is to act as
the subject for a verb that follows it.

Examples: Nouns as subjectsBirds fly.

David went out.

Pizza is delicious.

Nouns and pronouns can also play the role of object in a sentence. An object usually comes a er the
verb and represents something or someone that is affected by the ac on described. Objects can be
direct or indirect:

 The direct object is someone or something that is directly acted upon by the verb.

 The indirect object is someone or something that receives the direct object.

Examples: Nouns as direct and indirect objectsEsmée lends Bente the calculator.

Please give Jeremy some bread.

I’ve brought the girls a gi !

Noun phrases

When analyzing sentence structure, it’s common to refer to noun phrases. A noun phrase is a noun or
pronoun in combina on with all the words that belong with it in the sentence, such as any
ar cles, adjec ves, or other determiners that modify the noun.
A noun phrase can consist of the noun or pronoun alone or of a much longer series of words (always
including at least one noun or pronoun).

Examples: Noun phrases in sentencesPizza is delicious.

The boa constrictor is a well-known species of snake.

Please give Jeremy some bread.

You and I need to have a li le talk.

Nouns vs. pronouns

Pronouns are a much smaller set of words (such as “I,” “she,” and “they”) that are used in a similar way
to nouns. They are primarily used to stand in for a noun that has already been men oned or to refer to
yourself and other people.

Like nouns, pronouns can func on as the head of a noun phrase and as the subject or object of a verb.
You can have a complete sentence consis ng of just a pronoun and a verb (e.g., “He walks.”), just as you
could with a noun (“Jack walks.”).

Unlike nouns, some pronouns (mainly the personal pronouns) change their forms depending on the
gramma cal context they’re used in. For example, the first-person pronoun is “I” when it’s used as a
subject and “me” when it’s used as an object, whereas a noun like “dog” would look the same in both
cases.

Examples: Pronouns in a sentenceI can’t a end on Friday.

Have you ever met them before?

That is beside the point.

According to her, it might rain tomorrow.

Common vs. proper nouns

An important dis nc on is made between two types of nouns, common nouns and proper nouns.

 Common nouns are more general. A common noun refers to a class of person, place, thing, or
concept, but not to someone or something specific.

 Proper nouns are the names of specific people, places, things, or concepts. They are
always capitalized to dis nguish them from common nouns.

Examples: Common and proper nounsAnya is traveling to France by train.

Of the three children, Lola has the strongest grasp of geometry.

NoteThe names of the seasons (“spring,” “summer,” “fall”/”autumn,” and “winter”) are an excep on to
the rule of capitalizing proper nouns. They are not capitalized in English, unlike the names of days and
months.

Countable vs. uncountable nouns

Another important dis nc on is between countable and uncountable nouns:

 Countable nouns (also called count nouns) refer to things that can be counted. They can be
preceded by an indefinite ar cle or a number, and they can be pluralized. Most nouns are
countable (e.g., “fact(s)” or “misnomer(s)“).

 Uncountable nouns (also called noncount nouns or mass nouns) refer to things that can’t be
counted. They should never be preceded by an indefinite ar cle or a number, and they cannot
be pluralized (e.g., “informa on” or “advice“).

A common mistake in English is trea ng uncountable nouns as if they were countable by pluralizing them
or using an indefinite ar cle. The solu on to these problems is usually to rephrase using a related term
or phrase that is countable.

Examples: Mistakes with the uncountable noun “research”

 My previous two researches indicated that …

 My previous two studies indicated that …

 It’s important to account for bias in a research.

 It’s important to account for bias in research.

 It’s important to account for bias in a research project.

Concrete vs. abstract nouns

A dis nc on is o en made between concrete nouns and abstract nouns.

 Concrete nouns refer to physical objects, places, or individuals: things or people that can be
observed with the senses, such as “apple,” “hill,” “zebra,” and “Dorothy.”

 Abstract nouns refer to concepts, ideas, feelings, and processes that can’t be physically located,
such as “grammar,” “jus ce,” “sadness,” and “relaxa on.”

There’s no gramma cal difference between concrete and abstract nouns—it’s just a dis nc on that’s
made to point out the different kinds of things nouns can refer to.

Collec ve nouns

A collec ve noun is a word used to refer to a group of people or things, such as “team,” “band,” or
“herd.” A collec ve noun can also be a proper noun—for example, the name of a specific company or
band.

A collec ve noun may appear to be singular (e.g., “team”) or plural (e.g., “The Beatles”) in form, and
there’s some disagreement about whether they should be treated gramma cally as singular or plural.
The following applies for US vs. UK English.

 In US English, it’s standard to treat collec ve nouns as singular, regardless of whether they look
plural or not.
  In UK English, the same words may be treated as plural or singular depending on the context—
for example, treated as plural when you’re emphasizing the individual members of the group,
singular when you’re emphasizing the overall collec ve.

Examples: Collec ve nouns (US English)The whole team is really excited to meet you!

A gaggle of geese is the most threatening thing you’re likely to encounter at the park.

My favorite band is Fleetwood Mac, but Talking Heads is pre y good, too.

Other types of nouns

There are many nouns in English (more than any other part of speech), and accordingly many ways of
forming nouns and using them. Some other important types of nouns are:

 Possessive nouns

 Gerunds

 A ribu ve nouns

 Apposi ve nouns

 Generic nouns

Possessive nouns

A possessive noun is a noun that’s followed by an apostrophe (’) and the le er “s” to indicate possession
(e.g., “my father’s house”).

To indicate possession with a plural noun that ends in “s,” you just add the apostrophe a er the “s,” and
don’t add an extra “s” (e.g., “my parents’ house”).

Example: Possessive nouns in a sentenceThis place is smaller than my parents’ house but much bigger
than my sister’s apartment.

Gerunds

A gerund is a noun that is iden cal to the present par ciple (the “-ing” form) of a verb. These are
typically nouns that describe the same ac vity as the verb they were formed from, such as “driving,”
formed from the present par ciple of “drive.”

Example: Gerunds in a sentenceWhen I’m on vaca on, sunbathing and reading are my favorite
ac vi es.NoteGerunds are one way of turning a verb into a noun. The opposite process, turning a noun
into a verb, is called “verbing” (e.g., using the noun “medal” as a verb to mean “win a medal”).

A ribu ve nouns

A ribu ve nouns are nouns that are used like adjec ves, to modify another noun. For example,
“company” is an a ribu ve noun in the phrase “company policy.”
Even though a ribu ve nouns work similarly to adjec ves, they’re s ll classed as nouns. This is because
they don’t fulfill all the gramma cal requirements of adjec ves. For example, they have to appear before
the noun—it wouldn’t make sense to say “a policy that is company.”

Example: A ribu ve noun in a sentenceI’m a big fan of carrot cake, but ice cream is my favorite dessert.

Apposi ve nouns

An apposi ve noun (or apposi ve noun phrase) is a noun that comes a er another noun to provide
addi onal informa on about it.

If the apposi ve provides essen al informa on (i.e., it wouldn’t be clear who or what you are referring
to without it), it’s wri en without any extra punctua on. If it provides extra informa on that is not
essen al, it’s surrounded by commas.

Examples: Apposi ve nouns in a sentenceMy colleague Adam has really bad breath.

My car, a Ford Focus, broke down yesterday.

Generic nouns

A generic noun is a noun that is used to refer to a whole class of things (or people, places, etc.). They can
be plural or singular, and they may appear with a definite ar cle, an indefinite ar cle, or no ar cle.

The same noun may be used generically in some contexts and not others. For example, it would be
equally possible to use the nouns in the sentences below in a non-generic way (e.g., “the people I know
best are my brothers”; “my father operated a prin ng press”).

Examples: Generic nouns in a sentencePeople are resourceful.

The prin ng press revolu onized European society.