Noun what is

A common noun refers to a person, place, or thing but is not the name of a particular person, place, or thing. Examples are animal , sunlight , and happiness. A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, or thing; it usually begins with a capital letter: Abraham Lincoln , Argentina , and World War I are all proper nouns. A collective noun is a noun that names a group of people or things, such as flock or squad.

It's sometimes unclear whether the verb for a collective noun should be singular or plural. In the United States, such nouns as company , team , herd , public , and class , as well as the names of companies, teams, etc. British "The team have been doing well this season.

Gerunds are nouns that are identical to the present participle -ing form of a verb, as in "I enjoy swimming more than running. An attributive noun is a noun that modifies another noun that immediately follows it, such as business in business meeting. These nouns look like adjectives but they're not. For learners of English, the most important feature of a noun is whether it can be counted.

A count noun is a noun that can be used after a or an or after a number or another word that means "more than one". Count nouns have both singular and plural forms and can be used with both singular and plural verb forms, as with the word letter in "A letter for you is on the table.

Letters for you arrive regularly. There are a lot of deer in the woods near my house. A mass noun or noncount noun refers to something that cannot be counted. Mass nouns are normally not used after the words a or an or after a number. Courage is an abstract noun. That pack of lies is disgraceful. Pack of lies as used here is a collective noun. Collective nouns take a singular verb as if they are one entity — in this case, the singular verb is. A pride of lions roamed the savanna. Every sentence must have a subject, and that subject will always be a noun.

The subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing that is doing or being the verb in that sentence. Maria is happy. Nouns can also be objects of a verb in a sentence. An object can be either a direct object a noun that receives the action performed by the subject or an indirect object a noun that is the recipient of a direct object. Give the books to her. Books is a direct object what is being given and her is the indirect object who the books are being given to.

Another type of noun use is called a subject complement. In this example, the noun teacher is used as a subject complement. Mary is a teacher. Subject complements normally follow linking verbs like to be, become, or seem. A teacher is what Mary is.

There are several types of nouns within the broad categories of concrete and abstract nouns. Mastering the definition of what a noun is and being able to use nouns properly are foundational English language skills. So much of what you will need to know in order to communicate effectively is based on being able to use nouns properly, then mastering the other parts of speech.

Spend some time studying noun phrases. Then, turn your attention to mastering the different types of pronouns. All rights reserved. Home Grammar What Is a Noun? Explanation and Use What Is a Noun? Explanation and Use. Nouns Name Concepts, Ideas or Emotions Nouns that name vague or intangible concepts, ideas and emotions are called abstract nouns. Examples include intellect , faith , comfort , or satisfaction. Examples include things like integrity , loyalty , freedom , or patriotism.

For example, a person can feel love for another person. A person can feel happiness , sympathy or grief. I need to feed my new goldfish. Henry is my dog; he is loud and loves to run. In this example, the antecedent is Henry, and the pronoun replacement is he. For some occasions, you will not need to name a person or an object. In this case, you can refer to them with an indefinite pronoun. Examples of indefinite pronouns:.

Other, anybody, no one, none, some, everybody, one. Example use of indefinite pronouns:. The traffic jam meant that everyone was late. In this case, the indefinite pronoun used is everybody. No one else knows I have mismatched socks on. In this case, the indefinite pronoun used is no one. An interrogative pronoun will be used in a question. Examples of interrogative pronouns:.

What, which, whose, and who. An example use of an interrogative pronoun:. What is your last name? I n this example, the interrogative pronoun is what. Which colour is your favourite?

In this example, the interrogative pronoun is which. Those are some of the examples, and example uses of nouns and pronouns that you will often see. What is the difference between a noun and a pronoun? What is a noun? Examples of concrete nouns: I have a cup of coffee.

Nouns as subjects All sentences have a subject. Examples of nouns as subjects: Edward felt excited.