What is a Noun?

Published on December 22, 2018
What is a Noun?

A sentence in the English Language is made of various words we call parts of speech. Each word we write or speak represents a place, a person, an object, an activity or a characteristic. "Noun" is the first part of speech which is discussed in this article.
By Definition
A noun is a word that refers to a place, a person, a thing or an idea.

To understand the definition clearly, try to answer the following question.
  • Who are you?
  • Where do you live in?
  • What are the things you use daily?
  • What are things you cannot touch but feel daily?
The answers must be as below:
Questions Answers
Who are you? Man, woman, teacher, student, boy, girl, manager, son, brother, sister, mother, father, teenager, infant, employer, employee, trainer, trainee, guide, doctor, surgeon, engineer, chairperson, representative etc.
Where do you live in? house, hut, bungalow, city, town, state, country, apartment, street, lane etc.
What are the things you use daily? Pen, pencil, paper, phone, tablet, medicine, scale, book, map, cup, television, laptop, computer, pizza, burger, food, butter, bread.
What are things you cannot touch but feel daily? Anger, happiness, laughter, danger, friendship, anger, hatred, humour, satisfaction, depression
The answers given on the right-hand side of the table are nouns.

Function of nouns in a sentence

You must be thinking where do we use nouns in a sentence. Right? Basically, nouns are used to perform two functions in a sentence.
  • Subject: Does of the activity
  • Object: on which activity is performed.
The use of object in sentences is not mandatory.

Sentences without object/Noun

Sentence Doer Activity/Action
Boys play Boys play
Girls dance Girls love
Students read Students learn
Mother cooks. Mother cooks
Dog barks Dog barks
Teacher teaches Teacher teaches

Sentences with object/Noun

Sentence Doer Activity/Action Object
Boys play cricket. Boys play  cricket
Girls love music. Girls love  music
Students read books. Students read  books
Mother cooks pasta. Mother cooks pasta
Teacher teaches lessons. Teacher teaches  lessons

The action words used in the above sentences are called "Verbs".

Examples of Nouns in sentences

  1. Radha repaired laptops.
  2. Manoj drives a car.
  3. Abhi writes on a notebook.
  4. Geeta is learning piano.
  5. Akash had finished homework.
  6. Purab left for school.
  7. Rakesh spent his holidays in London
  8. Depression kills people.
  9. Happiness is rare.
  10. People are running.
The words given in RED are the subject of the sentences whereas the words in BLUE are the object.

About us

ramandeep singh

Hey I am Ramandeep Singh, I have been teaching English Grammar and training aspirants of IELTS from last five years. My objective is to simplify the complexities people face in the process of learning English.

Join my Free YouTubeclass here
Close Menu
Close Menu