NOUNS

(Compiled by: Muthi’ah)

Nouns are commonly defined as words that refer to a person, place, thing, or idea.

A. IDENTIFYING NOUNS
You probably had no problems with person or place, but you may have had to think
twice about action. Th e children that you teach will probably have the same reaction. We
have all been taught that verbs are the words that deal with action, but there are names
of actions as well. You may do something, like murder someone, but the name of that
action is a noun, murder:
• He was found guilty of her murder.
• It is a planned murder.

Similarly, you may see someone walking, and you might think that you will take up
the activity, thinking, Walking is good for my health. Th e name of that activity or action
is walking, and in this sentence, it is a noun. You may be one who prefers to use a
computer rather than pen and paper to communicate messages, for you may consider,
My writing is terrible. Here, writing is a noun.
You may see someone go around a corner, that is, they turn a corner. Here, turn is a
verb. By contrast, you may find there is a time when it is your turn to speak. Here, turn is
a noun.
Over time, you will see that a person ages, but in the process, you may come to the
conclusion that ageing is a natural process of life. Here again, ageing is a noun.
If you establish that the word is naming someone or something, then you can
identify it as a noun.
Nouns naming qualities, feelings or ideas may cause children some problems as
well, and you can explain these nouns to them in similar terms: if it is the name of
something, it is a noun. One way to help children is to show them that if they can put
a/an or the, or more usually, something like my or your in front of it, that it is a noun.
(My is useful as it simplifies the explanation as in My belief is solid.

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 We may also take qualities, for example. If you are an honest person, the name of
the quality that you possess is honesty; if you are not an honest person, the name of
that quality is dishonesty. Then you will use a sentence like Your honesty ought to be
rewarded to establish the word’s function as a noun.

B. COMMON NOUNS & PROPER NOUNS

Common nouns are nouns that discuss general things, while proper nouns are nouns
that refer to a person, place or thing that is formal and specific. The important thing to
remember is that common nouns are general names. Thus, they are not capitalized unless
they begin a sentence or are part of a title. Proper nouns, those that name specific, one-
of-a-kind things, do require capitalization, no matter where they appear in the sentence.

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Notice the difference in the chart below:

Read these examples:

• Although there are five other chairs in the living room, everyone in Jim's family
fights to sit in the puffy new Roll-O-Rocker.
Chairs = common noun; Roll-O-Rocker = proper noun.

• Harriet threw the stale cucumber sandwich in the trash can and fantasized
about a Big Mac dripping with special sauce.
Sandwich = common noun; Big Mac = proper noun.

• Because we like an attentive waiter, we always ask for Simon when we eat at
Mama Rizzoli's Pizzeria.
Waiter = common noun; Simon = proper noun.

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C. COLLECTIVE NOUNS
Collective nouns, a special class, name groups (which are things) composed of members
(usually people).

Members of Collective Nouns Acting as Unison

Here is the key: Imagine a flock of pigeons pecking at birdseed on the ground.
Suddenly, a cat races out of the bushes. What do the pigeons do? They fly off as a unit to
escape the predator, wheeling through the sky in the same direction.
People often behave in the same manner, doing one thing with the other members of
their group. When these people are part of a collective noun, that noun becomes singular
and requires singular verbs and pronouns. As you read the following examples, notice
that all members of the collective noun are doing the same thing at the same time:

Every afternoon the baseball team follows its coach out to the hot field for practice.
Team = singular; follows = singular verb; its = singular pronoun. (All members of
the team arrive at the same place at the same time.)

Today, Professor Ribley's class takes its 100-item midterm exam.

Class = singular; takes = singular verb; its = singular pronoun. (All members of the
class are testing at the same time.)

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 Members of Collective Nouns Acting as Individual

Now imagine three house cats in the living room. Are the cats doing the same thing at
the same time? Not this group! One cat might be sleeping in a laundry basket full of clean
clothes. Another might be grooming on the sofa. A third animal might be perched on the
windowsill, watching the world outside. There is one group of animals, but the members
of that group are all doing their own thing.
Members of collective nouns can behave in a similar fashion. When the members are
acting as individuals, the collective noun is plural and requires plural verbs and pronouns.

For example:
After the three-hour practice under the brutal sun, the team shower, change into their
clothes, and head to their airconditioned homes.

Team = plural; shower, change, head = plural verbs; their = plural pronoun. (The
teammates are dressing in their individual outfits and leaving in different directions for
their individual homes.)

Now that the midterm exam is over, the class start their research papers on famous
mathematicians.

Class = plural; start = plural verb; their = plural pronoun. (The students are beginning
their own research papers—in different places, at different times, on different
mathematicians.)

D. ABSTRACT NOUNS

Abstract nouns form what can be the most difficult group to understand, as they
represent ideas, and have no physical substance that you can see or touch.
The following lists contain different types of abstract nouns. Certain abstract nouns,
especially the ones describing feelings and emotions, easily fit into multiple categories, as
they can be used in different ways. Get to know them, and it’ll be easier for you to spot
an abstract noun when you see one.

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 The following sentences contain abstract noun examples which have been italicized
for easy identification. Notice that although the ideas expressed are real, they are things
you can’t see, touch, taste, smell, or hear.
• I want to see justice served.
• I’d like the freedom to travel all over the world.
• Joe felt a nagging sense of doom.
• Love is a kind of irresistible desire; it’s hard to define.
• When Sarah jumped into the lake to rescue a drowning cat, her bravery astonished
onlookers.

E. COUNT & NON-COUNT NOUNS

There are some nouns that can be counted, and so we can use a or an with them and can also
make them plural. These nouns are called, appropriately, count nouns (countable nouns). There
are other nouns that typically cannot be counted, and so we do not use a or an with them and do
not typically make them plural. These nouns are called, also appropriately, noncount nouns
(uncountable nouns).

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Take a look at the example below!