Noun | English Grammar | Itselfu
Definition
Nouns are words that indicate a person, place, or thing.
In a sentence, nouns can function as the subject or the object of a verb or preposition. Nouns can also follow linking verbs to rename or re-identify the subject of a sentence or clause; these are known as predicate nouns.
Since childhood, we have been taught that a noun is the name of a person, place or thing. This definition is not incorrect but we need to know a little more. Even if, for an instance we assume, this definition is correct, then why is the name of a dog or any animal for that matter considered a noun ! The fact is, name of any creature is a noun; be it a human or an animal. Similarly, „love‟ is an example of abstract noun. It‟s not a name of a person, place or thing , then why do we take it as a noun ! There are lot many examples as such. Let‟s understand.
The Subject
The subject in a sentence or clause is the person or thing doing, performing, or controlling the action of the verb. For example:
• “The dog chased its tail.” (The noun dog is performing the action of the verb
chase.)
• “Mary reads a book every week.” (The proper noun Mary is performing the
action of the verb read.)
Objects
Grammatical objects have three grammatical roles: the direct object of a verb, the indirect object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.
- Direct objects :- Direct objects are what receive the action of the verb in a sentence or clause. For example: • “The dog chased its tail.” (The noun tail is receiving the action of the verb chase.) • “Mary reads a book every week.” (The noun book is receiving the action of the verb read.)
- Indirect objects :- An indirect object is the person or thing who receives the direct object of the verb. For instance: • “Please pass Jeremy the salt.” (The proper noun Jeremy is receiving the direct object salt, which receives the action of the verb pass.) • “I sent the company an application for the job.” (The noun company is receiving the direct object application, which receives the action of the verb sent.)
Objects of prepositions
Nouns are also used after prepositions to create prepositional phrases. When a
noun is part of a prepositional phrase, it is known as the object of the
preposition. For example:
• “Your backpack is under the table.” (The noun table is the object of the
preposition under, which creates the prepositional phrase under the table.)
• “I am looking for work.” (The noun work is the object of the preposition for,
which creates the prepositional phrase for work.)
Predicate Nouns
Nouns that follow linking verbs are known as predicate nouns (sometimes
known as predicative nouns). These serve to rename or re-identify the subject.
If the noun is accompanied by any direct modifiers (such as articles, adjectives,
or prepositional phrases), the entire noun phrase acts predicatively.
For example:
• “Love is a virtue.” (The noun phrase a virtue follows the linking verb is to
rename the subject love.)
• “Tommy seems like a real bully.” (The noun phrase a real bully follows the
linking verb seems to rename the subject Tommy.)
• “Maybe this is a blessing in disguise.” (The noun phrase a blessing in disguise
follows the linking verb is to rename the subject this.)
(Go to the section on Subject Complements in the part of the guide that covers
Syntax to learn more about predicate nouns.)
Categories of Nouns
There are many different kinds of nouns, and it’s important to know the different
way each type can be used in a sentence. Below, we’ll briefly look at the
different categories of nouns. You can explore the individual sections to learn
more about each.
Kinds of the Noun
- Proper Noun
- Common Noun
- Collective Noun
- Material Noun
- Abstract Noun
1.) Proper Noun
Proper Noun is the name of a Creature, place or thing. for examples :- Ram, Shyam, Patna, Usha fan, etc.
2.) Common Noun
Common Noun denotes the class of a Creature, Place or thing. for examples :- chair, city, people, capital, etc.
- Suppose, there are two mobiles. One is nokia‟s and another one is Samsung‟s. What is common in both? They both are mobile. So „mobile‟ is a common noun.
- Suppose there are two boys; Ram and Raju. What is common in both? They both are boys. So „boy‟ is a common noun.
- There are three fans; one is Usha‟s, second one is Khaitan‟s and the third one is Havel‟s. What is common in them? They all are fans. So „fan‟ is a common noun.
- Let‟s think about three states; Delhi, Hariyana and Bihar. What is common in these? These all are states. So „State‟ is a common noun.
3.) Collective Noun
Collective Noun denotes the group of creatures, places or things. for examples :- People, Crowd, Batch, Team, Bunch, Family, etc.
4.)Material Noun
Material Noun denotes the Name of a material. for examples :- Gold, Silver, Copper, Glass, Wood, Stone, etc.
5.) Abstract Noun
Abstract Noun is something that we can‟t touch or see; we can only feel it. In other
words, A person can‟t physically interact such things. We can‟t see, touch, hear, smell
or taste these nouns. for examples :- Honesty, Love, Theft, Hate, Time, Thinking, Feelings, Mathematics, Expetation, etc.
You must be thinking that „Love‟ is a verb then how come it‟s an abstract Noun.
Let me tell you. There are a few words, which can function as nouns in some cases and
verbs in other cases, „Love‟ is one of them
- Love is life. Love as an (Abstract Noun)
- I love you. Love as a (Verb)
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Countable nouns (also known as count nouns) are nouns that can be
considered as individual, separable items, which means that we are able to count
them with numbers—we can have one, two, five, 15, 100, and so on. We can
also use them with the indefinite articles a and an (which signify a single person
or thing) or with the plural form of the noun.
Countable nouns contrast with uncountable nouns (also known as non-count or
mass nouns), which cannot be separated and counted as individual units or
elements. Uncountable nouns cannot take an indefinite article (a/an), nor can
they be made plural.
Nouns of Address
Nouns of address are used in direct speech to identify the person or group
being directly spoken to, or to get that person’s attention. Like interjections,
they are grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence—they don’t modify
or affect any other part of it. For example:
• “James, I need you to help me with the dishes.”
• “Can I have some money, Mom?”
• “This, class, is the video I was telling you about.”
• “Sorry, Mr. President, I didn’t see you there.”
Attributive Nouns (Noun Adjuncts)
Attributive nouns, also called noun adjuncts, are nouns that are used to modify
other nouns. The resulting phrase is called a compound noun. For example:
• “The boy played with his toy soldier.”
In this sentence, toy is the noun adjunct, and it modifies the word soldier,
creating the compound noun toy soldier.
To learn more about attributive nouns, go to the section on Adjuncts in the
chapter on The Predicate.
Compound Nouns
A compound noun is a noun composed of two or more words working together
as a single unit to name a person, place, or thing. Compound nouns are usually
made up of two nouns or an adjective and a noun.
• water + bottle = water bottle (a bottle used for water)
• dining + room = dining room (a room used for dining)
• back + pack = backpack (a pack you wear on your back)
• police + man = policeman (a police officer who is a man)
Noun Phrases
A noun phrase is a group of two or more words that function together as a noun
in a sentence. Noun phrases consist of a noun and other words that modify the
noun. For example:
• “He brought the shovel with the blue handle.”
In this sentence, the shovel with the blue handle is a noun phrase. It collectively
acts as a noun while providing modifying words for the head noun, shovel. The
modifiers are the and with the blue handle.
Nominalization (Creating Nouns)
Nominalization refers to the creation of a noun from verbs or adjectives.
When nouns are created from other parts of speech, it is usually through the use
of suffixes. For example:
• “My fiancée is an actor.” (The verb act becomes the noun actor.)
• “His acceptance of the position was received warmly.” (The verb accept
becomes the noun acceptance.)
• “The hardness of diamond makes it a great material for cutting tools.” (The
adjective hard becomes the noun hardness.)
• “This project will be fraught with difficulty.” (The adjective difficult becomes
the noun difficulty.)
