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Nouns are also called naming words. They are the basic building blocks of sentences. They represent almost everything that you can think of. The more nouns you know and add to your vocabulary, the better you will be able to communicate your thoughts and ideas.
Examples of Noun: Cat, Ron, love, mobile, Japan, attention, spaceship, respect, faith, mango, ocean, corn, air balloon, etc.
The nouns in the below sentences are highlighted for easy recognition.
The boy and girl were holding the bible as they finished the prayers on the way to the city.
Ron loves watching the dob playing with the red ball.
Meeting Jonah was a pleasant surprise of the trip to the Netherlands.
Types Of Noun Forms
Different types of nouns are as follows:
Proper nouns – the name of a certain person, place, or thing is called a Proper Noun. Eg: Sunday is a holiday.
Common nouns – noun that refers to a group of people or things in general. Eg: The countries far from the equator have a cold & freezing temperature.
Concrete nouns – Nouns used for the instances that can be seen, felt, touched, tasted, heard, etc. Eg: Can you please pass me the Jam?
Abstract nouns – Nouns refer to thoughts, suggestions, concepts, emotional reactions, and feelings. Eg: She has a deep love for colors.
Compound nouns – Nouns are made up of two words. Eg: The marketplace is always noisy.
Collective nouns – Nouns that make a reference to things or people as one complete set. Eg: A pack of thieves washed the entire house.
Countable nouns – Nouns can be counted. Eg: There are three pencils on the table.
Uncountable nouns – Nouns cannot be counted easily. Eg: The rice fell out of the sack.
Singular nouns – Nouns represent a single thing. Eg: I gifted her a crayon set.
Plural nouns – Nouns represent more than one thing, person, or idea. Eg: There were six cups on the plate.
Possessive nouns – Nouns show the ownership of a person or something. Eg: That is his drawing book.
Functions Of Nouns
The following are the Functions of Nouns:
The subject of the Verb: The subject of the sentence is the noun here. The subject tells the reader what the sentence is about. Eg: Tom is playing. Tom is the subject of the verb play.
Direct or Indirect Object: Nouns can act as direct or indirect objects of the verbs in a sentence. The action is received from the verb and is placed adjacent to the action word. Eg: The cruise was crossing the harbor. So in the sentence, the harbor is the object of the verb crossing.
Complement of the Verb: When a noun is positioned after a linking verb or in the place of being a verb, then it plays as a Complement of the Verb.Eg: The man is a black magician.
Object of Preposition: Noun acts as an object of the preposition in a particular sentence. Eg: Let us go with Steve.
Descriptive of Another Noun: two nouns are put together where the former is explaining the latter in a sentence. Eg: Robin, as the coordinator of the department, has confirmed. In this sentence, the coordinator adds meaning to Robin.
Noun Rules
As simple as nouns appear to be, there are a few rules that must be followed when using nouns in sentences.
Rule 1: Some nouns have plural forms at all times. They cannot be made singular by removing the ‘s’. Eg: She has lost a pair of earrings.
Rule 2: Certain words, even though they are in the plural form, are treated as singular. These words rely on singular helping verbs. Eg: English is a very interesting subject.
Rule 3: There are some words that appear plural in meaning but are singular in form. They make use of plural verbs. Eg: The police are arresting the dacoits.
Rule 4: Uncountable nouns rely on singular verbs. Uncountable nouns are always used in the singular. Eg: The percentage of errors was captured.
Rule 5: There are only a few words that are treated the same regardless of whether they are singular or plural.Eg: This family is very responsible.
Rule 6: When a definite numeral adjective is used before a noun, it takes on the singular form. Eg: She purchased a dozen apples.
Rule 7: If there is a preposition among both two nouns that are the same, the noun should be singular. Eg: Kid after Kid was reaching.
Rule 8: There are a few words that are used for both men and women. These are referred to as dual genders. As a result, words like his, him, and he are to be used. Eg: The tutor must teach all his students equally.
Practice Questions:
Determine the error for each of the below sentences; if no error is found, the answer is (E).
(A) The life of the homeless people/(B) is not in many/ (C) ways as harmonious and lavish /(D) as that of the rich’s and powerful./(E) No error.
Answer: Option (D)
Explanation: ‘rich’ should be represented in place of ‘rich’s’. Since, ‘that of’ depicts ‘the life of poor’s’, hence, the use of the apostrophe is not required.
(A) The sceneries/(B) of Jammu/(C) is very/(D) mindblowing/ (E) No error.
Answer: Option (A)
Explanation: ‘Scenery’ should be used in place of ‘Sceneries’, Since, the scenery is an uncountable noun.
Conclusion
A Noun is a naming word. It is the name of a person, place, animal, or thing. One needs to understand the basic principles of naming words in order to use them appropriately in English while speaking or writing.
