What is a noun?

A noun is a word used to name a person, place, thing, or idea.

Nouns are very important words because they give names to everything we wish to talk about. Every sentence (with the exception of rare one-word sentences) contains at least one noun or a word or group of words acting as a noun.

The subject of a sentence must contain at least one noun or a word used as a noun. A noun (or word used as a noun) is necessary in the subject of a sentence because you must name the person, place, thing, or idea you are talking about in each sentence.

Types of nouns
There are several different types of nouns. They show several different characteristics. To begin with, nouns can be either abstract or concrete. We can also look at whether they are common or proper. We can then determine if they are singular, plural, or collective. A noun can also be possessive:

• An abstract noun names an idea or concept (friendship, trust, anger, strength).
• A concrete noun names something tangible, something which can be touched, looked at, or which occupies physical space (book, molecule, pencil).
• A common noun names an ordinary person, place, or thing (lawyer, school, park, pencil).
• A proper noun names a special person, place, or thing. It begins with a capital letter (Clara Barton, League of Women Voters, Radcliffe College).
• A singular noun names only one person, place, thing, or idea (eraser, computer, evaluation).
• A plural noun names more than one person, place, thing, or idea (erasers, computers, evaluations).
• A collective noun names a group or collection. It is treated as a singular noun (team, band, orchestra).
• A possessive noun shows that the person, place, thing, or idea named by the noun owns something (Jerry’s, Mary’s, students’).