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	economics, marketing, arts, science, geology, etc.
5. Feelings or emotions	love, hate, anger, frustration, admiration, sadness, 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 noun 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 allergy.
Admit Ex – Do you admit to 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.

Types of nouns

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.

TYPES OF NOUNS	USAGE	EXAMPLES
Proper noun	It is a specific name given to someone or something (physical or nonphysical). It helps them to be identified uniquely. The first letter of a proper noun is capitalized no matter where it comes in a sentence. People: Jon, Max, Sam, Tina Oberai, Justin Beiber Objects: OnePlus 10 Pro, Google Pixel 6a, Toyota Mega Cruiser, Ford F-150 Raptor, Chanel No.5 Eau de Parfum Places: Delhi, India, Fortis La Femme, Aravalli Biodiversity Park, National School Of Drama, Asia Languages: English, Hindi, French, Chinese, Spanish, French Movies: Terminator, The Seven Samurai, Slumdog Millionaire, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Books/Novel: To Kill a Mockingbird, One Hundred Years of Solitude, A Passage to India, Catcher in the Rye	1. Meeta will be walking you through our course. 2. I have a friend living in Delhi who speaks English fluently. 3. We will go to Deer Park, which is near RK Puram. 4. Baby by Justin Bieber was one of my favorite songs when I was in school. 5. I am planning to watch Jumanji starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart on Sunday.
Common noun	It is a name given to a class or category. It does not refer to a specific person, thing, place, or anything else. People: doctor, singer, teacher, man, woman, lover, artist Objects: phone, company, biscuit, perfume, car Places: city, country, hospital, park, theatre, continent…	1. I know a person who can help you. 2. We will meet at the park and watch the movie on my laptop. 3. I need a car to go to the hospital. 4. Do you have a good book to read?
Collective noun	It is a name given to a collection of items of the same type. Some collective nouns in English are as follows: army, jury, gang, herd, mob, crowd, audience, family, team, staff, panel…	1. We believe in our army. 2. The audience appreciated my performance a lot. 3. Look at the crowd. These people have come only to see Virat. 4. I live and die for my family. 5. Remove this pile of clothes from here.
Material noun	It is a name of a material something is made out of. Some material nouns: gold, silver, rice, milk, cement, plastic, glass, water, cotton, meat, salt, oil, coal, wheat…	1. Gold is getting expensive these days. 2. We are running out of milk. 3. Can I have some water, please? 4. I want some cheese on my sandwich. 5. There’s too much butter on the bread.
Abstract noun	An abstract noun is a name of something that does not a physical existence, meaning we can’t touch, smell, taste, eat, or hear it. It often is a name of an idea, concept, subject, emotion, state of existence, or activity. Ideas/concepts: marriage, democracy, education, corruption, motivation, dedication, life, religion, innocence, honesty, love, friendship… Emotions/state of being: love, hate, fear, amusement, shyness, happiness, sadness, nervousness, kindness, meanness, embarrassment… Subjects/branch of study: mathematics, physics, geology, marketing, algebra, zoology, philosophy… Activity: teaching, dancing, singing, sleeping, eating, speaking, writing… Note: we can see people perform an activity, not the activity itself.	1. Love always beats hate. 2. The quality of education is getting better. 3. My life does not revolve around you. 4. Every religion teaches you good things. 5. Smoking is an addictive activity.

Different roles of a noun

A noun can take any of the following roles in a sentence:

1. The subject
2. The object of a verb
3. The object of a preposition
4. The object of a possessive adjective
5. Subject complement
6. Object complement
7. Appositive

Subject

The subject of a sentence is someone that does something or someone or something the sentence gives information about.

Examples:

• Jon loves playing with kids.
• Singing is my passion.
• Delhi has the best places and food to explore.
• Milk makes our bones stronger, my mother would say to me back in the day.

An object of a verb

The object of a verb is something or something that receives the action.

Examples:

• You need patience to do this job.
• Ashish teaches kids.
• Someone killed Manoj last night.
• My sister loves dancing.

An object of a preposition

The object of a preposition is a noun or noun equivalent that comes right after it.

Examples:

• Do you believe in gods?
• I am not afraid of Jon.
• We all are under pressure at the moment.
• What do you think about pollution in Delhi?

An object of a possessive adjective

The object of a possessive adjective is a noun or noun equivalent that comes after a possessive adjective and the possession of a person.

Examples:

• Your brother wants to come with us on the trip.
• It is not my job.
• One of his friends has a gigantic house in Dubai.
• I am a big fan of your work.

Subject complement (predicate nominative)

A subject complement is a noun or adjective that gives information about the subject and comes after a linking verb. When a noun works as a subject complement, we call it a predicate nominative. As a subject complement, it renames the subject.

Examples:

• He is Jon, a good friend of mine.
• What he wants is money.
• The person whom he is dating is Ria Roy.

Object complement

A noun as an object complement renames the object of a verb. It comes right after the object.

Examples:

• You have made me a smoker.
• All of my friends call me a genius.

Appositive

An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that sits next to a noun, usually the subject, and renames it.

Examples:

• My friend Mangesh is an outstanding writer.
• His elder sister, Jyoti, is a doctor.

Forms of a noun

A noun is used in two forms: singular and plural. A singular noun means that the noun is one in number and a plural noun means the noun is more than one in number.

Most singular nouns are changed into plural nouns by adding ‘s‘, ‘es‘, ‘ves‘, and ‘ies‘ at their end.

Singular nouns	Plural nouns
glass	glasses
class	classes
boss	bosses
loss	losses
bus	buses
box	boxes
dish	dishes
kiss	kisses

Singular nouns	Plural nouns
Thief	thieves
knife	knives
leaf	leaves
wife	wives
wolf	wolves
shelf	shelfes

Singular nouns	Plural nouns
Thief	thieves
knife	knives
leaf	leaves
wife	wives
wolf	wolves
shelf	shelves

Singular nouns	Plural nouns
battery	batteries
baby	babies
city	cities
baby	babies
story	stories
lady	ladies
puppy	puppies