Noun: a naming word

You can’t live without a noun. It is that common. Let’s look at the definition of a noun in English.

What is a noun in English?

Definition of a noun: A noun in English is just a name. That’s all it is: just a name. But a name of what?

A noun is a name given to something or somebody. Everything that exists or is made has a name to it. Being a life (a human being, an animal, a bird) or a thing (a place, an object), or an abstract idea (an emotion/feeling, a subject, a concept, an activity, a quality), everything that we have in life has a name to it.

And that name is nothing but a noun. A noun is not just a name of a person, place or thing; it is a name of anything that exists (physically or non-physically).

Look at whatever you have around you. Whatever it is; it has a name to it, and that name is nothing but a noun.

List of major noun names that we have:

Categories	Noun names
1. People	man, woman, teacher, doctor, Max, singer, boy, girl, Virat Kohli, etc. (According to different specifications and qualities a human being possesses, we give a name to the person.)
2. Things	watch, book, car, table, house, milk, rice, apple, potato, dust, etc.
3. Places	garden, city, town, hospital, school, college, park, nursery, library, etc.
4. Subjects	English, Hindi, Economics, Marketing, Arts, Science, Geology, etc.
5. Feelings or emotions	love, hate, anger, frustration, admiration, sad, ecstasy, etc.
6. Ideas/concepts	polygamy, democracy, marriage, divorce, meditation, individualism, politics, etc.
7. Qualities	honesty, bravery, beauty, humility, calmness, courage, tranquility, loyalty, truthfulness, etc.
8. Activities	dancing, singing, teaching, driving, running, drinking, etc.
9. Animals/birds	tiger, elephant, snake, penguin, peacock, cock, cow, crocodile, etc.

So, now we know a noun in English is just a name. A name of any of these things. But is there a method to find nouns in English? Let’s find out.

How to identify a noun in English?

Some nouns names end in a certain pattern, and others are specific names of people, things, places, and subjects that don’t have a specific pattern to them.

We have to be familiarized with these names in order to know they are nouns, but there are nouns in English that can be identified on the basis of how they are formed.

(A) Nouns/words that end with ‘lity‘

Words that end with lity are usually noun names. Here are some examples:

locality, nationality, reality, agility, quality, personality, equality, fidelity, morality, stability, inability, sexuality, disability, visibility, possibility, inaudibility, spirituality, functionality, accountability, responsibility, confidentiality, etc.

Adjectives	Nouns
Local Ex – It is a local area.	Locality Ex – This locality is great.
National Ex – It is a national issue.	Nationality Ex – Don’t question my nationality.
Real Ex – She is not real.	Reality Ex – The reality is different.
Agile Ex – The kid is quite agile.	Agility Ex – You need agility to do this.
Equal Ex – It is equal.	Equality Ex – We are fighting for equality.

(B) Nouns/words ending with ‘lty‘

Cruelty, faculty, loyalty, royalty, novelty, difficulty, casualty, etc.

Adjectives	Nouns
Cruel Ex – You are very cruel.	Cruelty Ex – We are aware of their cruelty.
Loyal Ex – You are not loyal to me.	Loyalty Ex – We want loyalty from you.
Novel Ex – This guy is extremely novel.	Novelty Ex – Some novelty in this read is needed.
Difficult Ex – The question is difficult.	Difficulty Ex – No difficulty was faced during the test.

(C) Nouns names/words ending with ‘tion‘

Words that end with tion are generally nouns. Here are some examples:

Pollution, corruption, eruption, attraction, solution, situation, relation, imagination, translation, position, organization, evaluation, summarization, description, option, contribution, caution, affection, regulation, relaxation, nation, edition, etc.

Verbs	Nouns
Pollute Ex – Don’t pollute the hall.	Pollution Ex – Pollution is a huge problem here.
Elect Ex – We will not elect him again.	Election Ex -The election is coming soon.
Corrupt Ex – Don’t corrupt the company.	Corruption Ex – Corruption is everywhere.
Relate Ex – Anyone can relate to your story.	Relation Ex – It does not have any relation to this.
Attract Ex – You can attract anyone.	Attraction Ex – There is an attraction between the two.

(D) Nouns names/words ending with ‘sion‘

Words that end with sion are generally nouns. Here are some examples:

supervision, vision, fusion, passion, mission, collusion, tension, session, pension, version, omission, allusion, infusion, revision, division, admission, expansion, inclusion, exclusion, collision, depression, submission, discussion, permission, etc.

Verbs	Nouns
Supervise Ex – He supervises the staff.	Supervision Ex – His supervision is badly needed now.
Divide Ex – We can’t divide the money.	Division Ex – The division of property will be the solution.
Infuse Ex – Let’s infuse this into the project.	Infusion Ex – The infusion of drugs into your body resulted in this alergy.
Admit Ex – Do you admit stealing the money?	Admission Ex – I will take the admission here.
Expand Ex – The company can’t expand the business anymore.	Expansion Ex – The company can’t afford the expansion.

Nouns are categorized into five types

1. Proper noun
2. Common noun
3. Collective noun
4. Abstract noun
5. Material noun

These are the five types of nouns that exist in English.