Understanding Nouns
A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. It is a name of anything! The bold words in the following sentences are nouns:
The cat is out of the bag.
My father works in the bank.
The train checker checks the passengers’ tickets.
The problem with this simple definition is that it does not explain why “love” is a noun but can also be a verb.
A clearer way of looking at nouns is by its ending, its position and its function.
Noun words ending in
ity} sensitivity, creativity, nationality
ment} judgement, appointment, contentment
ness} greatness, gentleness, kindness
ation} plantation, temptation, orientation
hood} knighthood, boyhood, livelihood
ful} spoonful, plateful, cupful (this is not a fixed rules as some words ending in -ful can be adjectives for example careful, beautiful, pitiful, powerful
Noun position in a sentence
We can easily recognise nouns in the position of a sentence which often comes after a determiner word like a, an, the, this, my, such etc:
a cat
an appointment
the condominium
this plantation
my handbag
such creativity
Nouns also often comes after one or more adjectives:
a black cat
a business appointment
the 5-star condominium
this rubber plantation
my pink beaded handbag
such intelligent creativity
Noun function in a sentence
Nouns have specific function in a sentence, for example:
subject of verb: Children play quietly.
object of verb: She loves cats.
subject and object of verb: Tellers dispense money.
Not all subjects or objects of a sentence is always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a phrase. His children play quietly – “children” is the noun but “His children” is the subject.
A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. It is a name of anything! The bold words in the following sentences are nouns:
The cat is out of the bag.
My father works in the bank.
The train checker checks the passengers’ tickets.
The problem with this simple definition is that it does not explain why “love” is a noun but can also be a verb.
A clearer way of looking at nouns is by its ending, its position and its function.
Noun words ending in
ity} sensitivity, creativity, nationality
ment} judgement, appointment, contentment
ness} greatness, gentleness, kindness
ation} plantation, temptation, orientation
hood} knighthood, boyhood, livelihood
ful} spoonful, plateful, cupful (this is not a fixed rules as some words ending in -ful can be adjectives for example careful, beautiful, pitiful, powerful
Noun position in a sentence
We can easily recognise nouns in the position of a sentence which often comes after a determiner word like a, an, the, this, my, such etc:
a cat
an appointment
the condominium
this plantation
my handbag
such creativity
Nouns also often comes after one or more adjectives:
a black cat
a business appointment
the 5-star condominium
this rubber plantation
my pink beaded handbag
such intelligent creativity
Noun function in a sentence
Nouns have specific function in a sentence, for example:
subject of verb: Children play quietly.
object of verb: She loves cats.
subject and object of verb: Tellers dispense money.
Not all subjects or objects of a sentence is always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a phrase. His children play quietly – “children” is the noun but “His children” is the subject.
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