3. Nouns
A noun is a word that names something,
such as a person, place, thing, or idea.
4. Types of Noun
1. Proper Nouns
2. Common Nouns
3. Concrete Nouns
4. Abstract Nouns
5. Collective
Nouns
6. Countable
Nouns
7. Uncountable
Nouns
8. Material Nouns
5. Proper Nouns
A proper noun is a specific name of a person,
place, or thing and is always capitalized.
6. Example
“Alison fed three of her pets all at the same
time.”
— Alison is a proper noun, since Alison is a
name for a specific person.
7. Common Nouns
A common noun is the generic name of an item in
a class or group and is not capitalized unless
appearing at the beginning of a sentence or in a
title.
8. Example
“The chicken crossed the road.”
— The chicken is the common noun since we
do not learn the identity of the chicken based
on the sentence.
9. Types of Common Nouns
1. Concrete: A noun that is perceived by the senses;
something that is physical or real.
2. Abstract: A noun that cannot be perceived by
the senses.
3. Collective: A noun that refers to a group of
people or things as one entity.
10. Example
“I heard the doorbell rang last night. But I couldn’t find
the courage to open it. Since I thought I heard a group of
men outside.”
— The conrete noun is the doorbell, since it names a real
thing that can be sensed.
— The abstract is courage, since it can’t be heard, seen,
or sensed in any other way, but we know that it exists.
— The collective noun is the group of men.
11. Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted.
Countable nouns can be singular or plural and can
be used with numbers and modifiers like a/an, the,
some, any, a few, and many.
12. Example
“Here’s a piece of cake to calm you down.”
“Yes, he had a few bruises across his back.”
“Many people died due to the accident.”
— The nouns given in these sentences are: a piece
of cake, a few bruises, and many people. They all
present a countable amount of object.
13. Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns, or mass nouns, are nouns that
are impossible to count, whether because they
name intangible concepts, collections of things
that are considered as whole, or homogeneous
physical substances.
14. Example
“That landmass has been cultivated by farmers in
over 30 years!”
— The uncountable noun is the landmass, since it
can not be counted according to the sentence
given.
15. Material Nouns
A material noun is a type of noun that refers to
physical matter. It can be either countable or
uncountable. For example, “wood,” “sand,” and
“water” are all uncountable material nouns.
16. Functions of
Nouns
1. Noun as a Subject
2. Noun as an Object (direct and
indirect)
3. Subject Complement
4. Object Complement
5. Noun as Appositives (restrictive and
nonrestrictive)
6. Noun as a Modifier
17. Noun as a Subject
The subject of a sentence is the person,
place, or thing that is doing, being or
experiencing whatever is described by the
verb of the sentence.
18. Example
“Maria played the piece beautifully.”
— The noun Maria is the subject of this sentence; it
tells us who is performing the action described by
the sentence’s verb (played).
19. Noun as an Object
Nouns can also be objects of a transitive
verb in a sentence. An object can be either a
direct object (a noun that receives the
action described by the verb) or an indirect
object (a noun that receives direct object).
20. Example
“Cleo passed Otto the salt.”
— The noun salt is the direct object of the verb
passed; and the salt is what Cleo passed.
21. Noun as a Subject
Complement
A subject complement normally follows a
linking verb such as be, become, or seem
and gives more information about the
subject of the sentence.
22. Example
“Mary is a teacher.”
— The noun teacher is being used as a subject
complement. A teacher is what Mary is.
23. Noun as an Object
Complement
An object complement provides more
information about the direct object of a
sentence with a transitive verb.
24. Example
“I now pronounce you, husbands.”
— Husbands is a noun used as an object
complement in this sentence. Verbs that denote
making, naming, or creating are often followed by
nouns behaving as object complements.
25. Noun as Appositives
A noun used as an appositive immediately
follows another noun in order to further
define or identify it. You can also say that the
second noun is in apposition to the first
noun.
26. Example
“My brother, Michael, is six years old.”
— Michael is an appositive here, further identifying
the noun phrase “my brother.”
27. Noun as Modifiers
Sometimes, nouns can be used to modify
other nouns, functioning like adjectives.
When they do this, they are often called
attributive nouns.
28. Example
“He is a speed demon.”
— Speed is normally a noun, but here it is acting as
an adjective to modify demon.
