Discussion on Nouns

2. Nouns have been commonly
defined as “names of persons,
places, ideas or things.”

3. Writers are concerned with the
true, the good and the beautiful.
(Nouns)
His writings are true, good, and
beautiful. (Adjectives)

4. Shakespeare wrote both about
the tragic and the comic. (Nouns)
Critics often regard the tragic play
superior to the comic play.
(Adjectives)

5. The linguistic approach to defining
the noun is:
to describe its forms, functions,
and possible positions in the
basic or core sentence.

6. Thus, the English “noun” can
be identified by at least one of
the following characteristics.
It can be characterized by the
following Formal
Characteristics of Noun:

7. 1. A noun is a word used to name a
person, place or thing
Proper noun: Athena, Rome, Latin, Reader’s Digest
Common noun: nation, clock, teapot, statue, epic,
ballet
Collective noun: crowd, regiment, herd,
congregation
Abstract noun: dignity, faith, hope, communism
Mass noun: rice, salt, tea, water, iron, steel

8. 2. A noun is a word preceded by a
function word called a noun
determiner. If it is a proper noun, it is
marked by a capital letter. Such
expressions as the, a, an, my, your,
our, few, much, and some are always
followed by nouns.
The Angkor Wat is a temple-mountain in
Cambodia.
Few monuments can equal the Angkor
Wat.

9. 3. A noun has two inflections, the plural
form –s or –es, and the possessive or
genitive –’s.
Manila is a city of churches and
bridges.
Let’s shop at Farmer’s and Rustan’s.
His friends are painters and musicians.

10. 4. A noun fills a certain characteristic
position in relation to other parts of
speech in phrases and utterances.
a. It usually occurs before the verb in the
N + V Pattern
Journalists write.
The band is playing

11. b. It follows such words as at, on, in, to,
by, or from in the
Prep. + N Pattern
Pieta is by Michaelangelo.
This statue is at St. Peter’s in Rome.

12. 5. A noun may be defined by various
derivational suffixes added to other
nouns and other parts of speech, as
verbs and adjectives.
Example:
(-ee) draftee, employee, examinee
(-er) painter, writer, engineer, biker
(-ist) violinist, pianist, artist, novelist
(-ness)coldness, kindness, friendliness

13. 6. A noun is a word used in various
ways in the sentence; its position
determines its functions as follows:

14. Functions of Nouns
o subject of verbs
o direct objects of verbs
o indirect objects of verbs
o subject noun predicates/ predicate
nouns
o object noun predicates/ object
complements
o object of prepositions
o appositives
o vocatives/nouns of address

15. Types of Noun
1. Proper Nouns – names for unique
individuals; specific names;
capitalized
2. Common Noun – refers to a kind of
person, thing, place, or idea.

16. In common nouns we have:
o According to grammatical number
Collective nouns
person jury, committee
animals herd of cattle,
school of fish
things cluster of grapes,
convoy of ships
*Note: The singular form may be treated as singular or plural, depending
on its sense in the sentence. These have plural forms as well.

17. Count nouns
Ex. box, package, truck, house,
chair
Mass nouns
Ex. cloth, water, coffee, wheat, flour

18. o According to reference
Abstract noun
Ex. Imagination, anger, fear, love,
honesty
Concrete nouns
Ex. Thunder earthquake, fragrance,
sweetness