Nouns

What is a noun?

Of all the parts of speech, nouns are

perhaps the most important. A noun is a
word that identifies a person, animal,
place, thing, or idea.
Person as a noun

 John started to run.

 Plato was an influential Greek philosopher.
 Sharon admires her grandfather.
 My mother looks a lot like my
grandmother, and I look very much like
them.
Animal as a noun

 The dog barked at the cat.

 Elephants never forget.
 Sophie is my favorite horse.
Place as a noun

 The restaurant is open.

 Let’s go to the beach.
 Look over there.
 Harvard and Yale are two famous
universities.
 Look! There’s the Eiffel Tower.
Thing as a noun

 Throw the ball.

 Please close the door and lock it.
 Use words properly to be understood.
 The lamp sits on a table next to the sofa.
 Money doesn’t grow on trees.
Idea as a noun

 Follow the rules.

 The theory of relativity is an important
concept.
 Love is a wonderful emotion.
Functions of nouns

 Nouns are subjects. Every sentence has

a subject, which means a noun tells us
what that sentence is all about.
Ex: John swung the baseball bat.
Functions of nouns

 Nouns are direct objects. These nouns

receive action from verbs.

EX:
John swung the baseball bat.
Functions of nouns

 Nouns are indirect objects. These nouns

receive the direct object.

EX
Brad threw John the ball.
Functions of nouns

 Nouns are objects of prepositions.

These nouns follow the prepositions in
prepositional phrases.

Ex: John swung the baseball bat at Greg.

Functions of nouns

 Nouns are predicate nominatives. These

nouns follow linking verbs and rename the
subject.

EX
John is a baseball player.
Functions of nouns

 Nouns are object complements. These

nouns complete the direct object.

EX
They named their dog Max.
Common Noun vs
Proper Noun
COMMON NOUN PROPER NOUN

Common nouns are Proper nouns have two

words used to name distinct features: They
general items rather name specific one-of-a-
than specific ones. kind items, and they
begin with capital
letters, no matter where
they occur within a
sentence.
EXAMPLES

 Common noun: I want to be a writer.

 Proper noun: Agatha Christie wrote many
books.
 Common noun: I’d like to adopt a cat.
 Proper noun: Cleopatra is the cutest kitten
ever.
 Common noun: Would you like a cookie?
 Proper noun: I’m craving Oreos.
 Common noun: Let’s go to the city.
 Proper noun: Let’s go to San Francisco.
 Common noun: My teacher starts work
before sunup.
 Proper noun: Mr. Bell seems to
understand what students need.
types of nouns
TYPES OF NOUNS

 Countable and Noncountable Nouns

 Gerund Phrases
 Plural Nouns
 Compound Nouns
 Collective Nouns
 Abstract Nouns
 Gerund and Infinitives
COUNTABLE UNCOUNTABLE

Countable nouns are Uncountable nouns are

individual people, not individual objects,
animals, places, things, so they cannot be
or ideas which can be counted.
counted.
Countable Nouns

 Anything that can be counted, whether

singular – a dog, a house, a friend, etc. or
plural – a few books, lots of oranges, etc.
is a countable noun.
Examples
 There are at least twenty Italian restaurants in
Little Italy.
 Megan took a lot of photographs when she went
to the Grand Canyon.
 Your book is on the kitchen table.
 How many candles are on that birthday cake?
 You have several paintings to study in art
appreciation class.
 There’s a big brown dog running around the
neighborhood.
UNCOUNTABLE

 Anything that cannot be counted is an

uncountable noun. Even though
uncountable nouns are not individual
objects, they are always singular and one
must always use singular verbs in
conjunction with uncountable nouns.
Examples

 There is no more water in the pond.

 Please help yourself to get some cheese.
 I need to find information about Pulitzer
Prize winners.
 You seem to have a high level of
intelligence.
 Please take good care of your equipment.
 Let’s get rid of the garbage.
 Uncountable nouns can be paired with
words expressing plural concept. Using
these words can make your writing more
specific. Here are some examples of how
to format interesting sentences with
uncountable nouns.
 Garbage – There are nine bags of garbage on
the curb.

 • Water – Try to drink at least eight glasses of

water each day.

 • Advice – She gave me a useful piece of

advice.

 • Bread – Please buy a loaf of bread.

 Furniture – A couch is a piece of furniture.

 • Equipment – A backhoe is an expensive

piece of equipment.

 • Cheese – Please bag ten slices of

cheese for me.
Is the underlined word countable or
uncountable?
 The children fell asleep quickly after a
busy day of fun.
 Be careful! The water is deep.
 The parade included fire trucks and police
cars.
 We like the large bottles of mineral water.
 My mother uses real butter in the cakes
she bakes.
 How many politicians does it take to pass
a simple law?
 Most kids like milk, but Joey hates it.
 Most pottery is made of clay.
 Michael can play several different musical
instruments.
 I was feeling so stressed that I ate an
entire box of cookies.
gerunds
 Gerunds are words that are formed with
verbs but act as nouns. They’re very easy
to spot, since every gerund is a verb with
ing tacked to its tail. There are no
exceptions to this rule.
Examples
 Swimming in the ocean has been Sharon’s
passion since she was five years old.
 Let’s go dancing at the club tonight.
 Holly decided that flying above the clouds was
the most incredible experience she’d ever had.
infinitives
 Infinitive phrases – normally referred to as
infinitives – are formed with the word to in
front of a verb.
Examples of infinitives

Infinitives are prefaced with the word “to”.

For example:

 • To think
 • To act

 • To walk
gerund phrase vs
infinitve phrases
Examples

Gerund: Blowing bubbles on a windy day is

a fun activity for children.

Infinitive: To blow bubbles on a windy day is

a fun activity for children.
 Gerund: Piling too much laundry into a
washing machine will cause it to
malfunction.

 Infinitive: To pile too much laundry into a

washing machine will cause it to
malfunction.
plural nouns
 Plural nouns are words used to indicate
that there is more than one person,
animal, place, thing, or idea.
Examples
 The boys were throwing baseballs back and
forth between bases.
 Our horses are much happier wearing
lightweight English saddles.
 Those cats never seem to tire of chasing one
another in and out of those boxes.
 You stole my ideas and didn’t give me any
credit.
 Our moms are going to be upset that we stayed
out all night going to parties.
compound nouns
 Compound nouns are words for people,
animals, places, things, or ideas, made up
of two or more words.
 Compound nouns are sometimes one
word, like toothpaste, haircut, or bedroom.
These are often referred to as closed or
solid compound nouns.
 Sometimes compound nouns are
connected with a hyphen: dry-cleaning,
daughter-in-law, and well-being are some
examples of hyphenated compound
nouns.
 Sometimes compound nouns appear as
two separate words: full moon, Christmas
tree, and swimming pool are some
examples of compound nouns that are
formed with two separate words. These
are often referred to as open or spaced
compound nouns.
Examples

Compound nouns can be made with two

nouns:

 Let’s just wait at this bus stop.

 I love watching fireflies on warm summer

nights.
Compound nouns can be made with an
adjective and a noun:

 Let’s watch the full moon come up over

the mountain.

 Please erase the blackboard for me.

Compound nouns can be made with a verb
and a noun:

Be sure to add bleach to the washing

machine.

Let’s be sure to stay somewhere with a

swimming pool.
Compound nouns can be made with a noun
and a verb:

 He always gets up before sunrise.

 I really could use an updated hairstyle.

collective nouns
 Collective nouns are words for single
things that are made up of more than one
person, animal, place, thing, or idea. You
can’t have a team without individual
members; even so, we discuss a team as
a single entity.
Collective Noun Examples

 Our class took a field trip to the natural

history museum.
 The herd of bison ran across the prairie,
leaving a massive dust cloud in its wake.
 We waited anxiously for the jury to come
to a verdict.
 This year’s basketball team includes three
players who are over six feet tall.
 Napoleon’s army was finally defeated at
Waterloo.
 The town council has approved plans to create a
new park.
 He comes from a huge family: he’s the oldest of
eleven kids.
 The rock group has been on tour for months.
 Everyone in the audience applauded loudly
when Elvis appeared on stage.
abstract nouns
 Abstract nouns are words that name
things that are not concrete. Your five
physical senses cannot detect an abstract
noun – you can’t see it, smell it, taste it,
hear it, or touch it. In essence, an abstract
noun is a quality, a concept, an idea, or
maybe even an event.
Examples

 • Love, fear, anger, joy, excitement, and

other emotions are abstract nouns.

 • Courage, bravery, cowardice, and other

such states are abstract nouns.

 • Desire, creativity, uncertainty, and other

innate feelings are abstract nouns.
More examples
 I want to see justice served.

 • I’d like the freedom to travel all over the world.

 • Joe felt a nagging sense of doom.

 • Love is a kind of irresistible desire; it’s hard to

define.

 • When Sarah jumped into the lake to rescue a

drowning cat, her bravery astonished onlookers.
exercises
 Instructions: Identify the nouns in the
following sentences and state their kind.
 1. The book was lying on the table.
 2. Love begets love.
 3. We cannot live without water.
 4. The jury has given its verdict.
 5. The Hindus regard Krishna as an
incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
6. Alcohol is injurious to health.
7. Smoking is a bad habit.
8. Wild animals live in forests.
9. The childhood of Peter was full of misery.
10. All the girls were singing.