What is a Noun?

Nouns are a part of speech that comprise of words that are used to name people, places, animals,
objects and ideas. Almost every sentence will definitely have a noun, and they perform different roles in
a sentence. Nouns can act as the subject, an indirect object, a direct object, a subject complement and
an object complement. Nouns can also function as adjectives and verbs.

Examples of Nouns:
 People – Rahul, Sheela, Man, Person, Tommy, Women, Girl, The Prime Minister
 Places – Bangalore, India, Mexico, North Pole, South Africa, The Nile River, Classroom,
Bedroom, Basketball Court, Cricket Ground, Swimming Pool
 Animals/Birds/Aquatic Animals/Reptiles – Lion, Zebra, Snake, Ostrich, Flamingo, Bear, Cat,
Fish, Shark
 Ideas – Evolution, Invention, Extinction, Argument, Destruction
 Objects/Things – Bat, Cycle, Curtains, Paper, Bag, Blackboard, Cupboard

Types of Nouns
Nouns can be broadly classified into:
1. Proper Nouns: Nouns that are used to name a person, place or thing specifically are called a proper
noun. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter.
Examples:

1.
1.

 My name is Rose. (Name of a particular person)

 This is my dog, Bruno. (Name of a specific pet animal owned by someone)
 David came back from Minsk. (Name of a specific place)
 Louis Philippe is a famous brand of men’s clothing. (Name of a particular
clothing brand)
2. Common nouns: Common nouns are those nouns that refer to a generic item, group or place. This
means that, unlike proper nouns, they are not used to identify specific people, places or objects.
Common nouns are not capitalised unless they appear in the beginning of a sentence.
Examples:

1.
1.

 I bought a pen yesterday. (Common object)

 I am going to school. (Common place)
 Only ten employees showed up to work today. (Common group)
 The car is out of fuel. (Common items)
3. Singular nouns: These are words that are used to name a single person, place, animal, bird or
object.
Examples:

1.
1.

 There is a little boy in front of our house. (Single person)

 That is my daughter. (Single person)
 I found a wounded sparrow in the bush. (Single bird)
 A red van has been following us for a long time. (Single object)
4. Plural nouns: Plural nouns refer to a number of people, places, animals or things. Nouns are made
plural by adding an ‘s’ or ‘es’ or ‘ies’ or ‘ves’ to the existing root word. Nouns that end with an ‘s’ remain
the same. Some nouns remain the same in both their singular and plural forms, and some others have
totally different spelling.
Examples:

1.
1.

 I need some apples.

 Did you find the boxes you were looking for?
 I bought mangoes from the market.
 We took photos of some deer on our way.
5. Countable nouns are those nouns that can be counted or measured.
Examples:

1.
1.

 Tom brought ten packets of lays for the trip. (specific number – ten)
 Mom asked me to buy a dozen eggs. (specific – dozen means twelve)
 I saw an aeroplane around seven in the morning. (specific – an means one)
6. Uncountable nouns are those nouns that cannot be counted. This category of nouns includes both
concrete and abstract nouns.
Examples:

1.
1.

 I have a lot of homework to do. (Not specific)

 I have a cup of tea. (Cannot count)
 We are facing terrible weather today. (Cannot count)
7. Collective Nouns: A collective noun is a naming word that is used to denote a group of objects,
animals or people.
Examples:

1.
1.

 Collective nouns for groups of animals

 A pride of lions
 A flock of sheep
 A swarm of bees
 A herd of elephants
 Collective nouns for groups of people
 A band of musicians
 A board of directors
 A crew of sailors
 A company of actors
 Collective nouns for a number of things/objects
 A pair of shoes
 A chain of mountains
 A fleet of ships
 A bunch of grapes
8. Concrete Nouns: A concrete noun refers to objects that are material and can be perceived by the
human senses.
Examples:

1.
1.

 The book is on the table.

 I had a cup of coffee.
 Sharon opened the windows.
 Hardy goes to school by bus.
9. Abstract Nouns: Any entity that cannot be perceived by the five senses of the human body are called
an abstract noun.
Examples:
1.

 Love is a strong emotion.

 Honesty is the best policy.
 It takes a lot of courage to raise your voice and stand up against injustice.
 You should not misuse the freedom you are given.
Also Explore: Compound Nouns | Possessive Nouns
Nouns Used as Different Components of a Sentence

Nouns Used as a Subject

When used as a subject, it mostly appears in the beginning of a sentence. It can be identified by asking
the question ‘who’.
Examples:

 Bruno went to the playground.

 The teacher asked the students to submit their assignments.
 The elephant was rescued safely after ten long hours.

Nouns Used as an Object

When nouns are used as objects, they appear in the latter part of a sentence. It can be identified by
asking the question ‘what’.
Examples:

 I bought a pen.
 Where is your book?
 I cannot find today’s newspaper.
Nouns can be used as a direct object and an indirect object.

Nouns Used as a Direct Object

You can identify a noun used as a direct object by asking the question ‘what’.
Examples:

 Do you want a lollipop? (What do you want? – a lollipop)

 I loved my dress. (What did you love? – my dress)

Nouns Used as an Indirect Object

You can ask the question ‘for whom’ to identify a noun used as an indirect object.
Examples:

 Dan bought his sister a Mini Cooper. (For whom did Dan buy a Mini Cooper? – his sister)
 Megha baked Julie a cake. (For whom did Megha bake a cake? – Julie)

Nouns Used as a Complement

When a noun is used to modify or describe another noun, it acts as a complement.

Nouns Used as a Subject Complement

Professions and positions can perform the role of a subject complement.
Examples:
  My brother is an engineer.
 Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India.

Nouns Used as an Object Complement

Object complements are nouns that follow the noun they modify. Names, professions and positions can
perform the role of an object complement.
Examples:

 We named our dog, Shadow.

 The teacher made Tabitha, the class leader.

Multifunctional Nouns

Nouns Used as Verbs

There are some nouns which can also be used as a verb. Some nouns can be used as verbs with a
slight change in the spelling of the original word.
Examples:

 His divorce is final. (Used as a noun)

I am divorced.(Used as a verb)

 Do you like my new dress? (Used as a noun)

I am dressed and ready to go. (Used as a verb)

 Derrick had come to collect some ice. (Used as a noun)

My mother iced the fish so that it did not stink. (Used as a verb)

 I have dance practice today. (Used as a noun)

Did you practise the song? (Used as an adjective)

Nouns Used as Adjectives

With a slight change in the spelling or adding a suffix to the root word, nouns can sometimes be used as
adjectives.
Examples:

 I have no money. (Used as a noun)

There has been a change in the monetary policy of the country. (Used as an adjective)

 Javed sensed some danger. (Used as a noun)

What you are trying to do is dangerous. (Used as an adjective)

 She is excited about magic. (Used as a noun)

The experience was completely magical. (Used as an adjective)
  Speaking against another religion is a legal offence. (Used as a noun)
What you did was offensive. (Used as an adjective)
What is a Pronoun?
A pronoun is used in the place of a noun. It substitutes the noun in a paragraph or piece of writing to
avoid repetition of the noun. Pronouns can be used in singular and plural forms. The verb used in the
sentence should be used in accordance with the particular form of the pronoun used.
Pronouns are generally classified into three main kinds.

Person Singular Pronoun Plural Pronoun

First Person Pronoun I, Me We, Us

Second Person Pronoun You, Your You

Third Person Pronoun He, She, It, Him, Her They, Them, Their

Definition of a Pronoun
A pronoun is defined as ‘a word that is used instead of a noun or a noun phrase’, according to the
Cambridge Dictionary. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines pronouns as ‘any of a small set of words
(such as I, she, he, you, it, we, or they) in a language that are used as substitutes for nouns or noun
phrases and whose referents are named or understood in the context’. According to the Collins
Dictionary, ‘A pronoun is a word that you use to refer to someone or something when you do not need to
use a noun, often because the person or thing has been mentioned earlier. Examples are ‘it’, ‘she’,
‘something’, and ‘myself’.’

Types of Pronouns with Examples

Pronouns can be classified into different types based on their functions. Given below are the various
types of pronouns. Go through the examples carefully to have a clear understanding of each type of
pronoun and its function.

 Relative Pronouns are pronouns that are used to relate one part of the sentence to another.
Some examples of relative pronouns are that, which, where, when, why, what, whom and
whose.
 Possessive Pronouns are pronouns that are used to show possession. Some examples of
possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, theirs and its.
 Reflexive Pronouns are pronouns that are used to refer back to the subject in the sentence.
Some examples of reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, herself, himself, oneself, itself,
ourselves, themselves and yourselves.
 Demonstrative Pronouns are pronouns that are used to point to specific objects. Some
examples of demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these and those.
 Interrogative Pronouns are pronouns that are used to ask questions. Some examples of
interrogative pronouns are who, what, when, why and where.
  Indefinite Pronouns are pronouns that do not refer to any particular person, place or thing.
Some examples of indefinite pronouns are someone, somebody, somewhere, something,
anyone, anybody, anywhere, anything, no one, nobody, nowhere, everyone, everybody,
everywhere, everything, each, none, few, and many.
 Personal Pronouns are simple pronouns that are used to substitute proper names. Some
examples of personal pronouns are I, you, he, she, we, they, him, her, he, she, us and them.
 Subject Pronouns are pronouns that perform the action in a sentence. Some examples of
subject pronouns are I, you, we, he, she, it, they and one.
 Object Pronouns are pronouns that receive the action in a sentence. Some examples of object
pronouns are me, us, him, her and them.
 Reciprocal Pronouns are pronouns that are used to express a mutual relationship. Some
examples of reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another.
 Intensive Pronouns are the same as reflexive pronouns, with the only difference being that you
can remove the intensive pronoun from the sentence, and the sentence would still make sense.

Test Your Understanding of Pronouns

I. Identify the pronouns and the type of pronoun in the following sentences:

1. I am going home today evening.

2. Her aunt will be vacating next week.
3. She is the girl I was talking to you about.
4. This is the place where I found my missing bag.
5. Did you do it yourself?
6. It was a time when I was so happy.
7. We always help each other out.
8. Has everyone completed the work that was assigned for today?
9. That dog down the street is his.
10. All my friends are coming home for my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary celebration.

Now, let us check how far you have got it right.

1. I am going home today evening. Personal Pronoun/Subject Pronoun

2. Her aunt will be vacating next week. Possessive Pronoun
3. She is the girl I was talking to you about. Personal Pronoun
4. This is the place where I found my missing bag. Relative Pronoun
5. Did you do it yourself? Personal Pronoun, Intensive Pronoun
6. It was a time when I was so happy. Relative Pronoun
7. We always help each other out. Reciprocal Pronoun
8. Has everyone completed the work that was assigned for today? Indefinite Pronoun
9. That dog down the street is his. Possessive Pronoun
10. All my friends are coming home for my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary
celebration. Possessive Pronoun

II. Use suitable pronouns to substitute the underlined nouns in the following sentences:

1. Josh and Derrick visited Disneyland last month.

2. Sarah did not come home last evening.
3. My mom could not find her cupboard keys.
4. Yesterday was my parents’ wedding anniversary.
 5. The cat drank all the milk that was left in the kitchen.
6. Sheela and Teena found it hard to move the sofa set across the hall as the sofa set was too
heavy for Sheela and Teena to carry.
7. Divya is Danny’s sister.
8. That silver Brezza belongs to Emmanuel and Usha.
9. My pet dog just lay on the floor the whole day.
10. The teacher asked the students if the students had submitted the students’ assignments.

Check your answers here.

1. They visited Disneyland last month.

2. She did not come home last evening.
3. She could not find her cupboard keys.
4. Yesterday was their wedding anniversary.
5. It drank all the milk that was left in the kitchen.
6. Sheela and Teena found it hard to move the sofa set across the hall as it was too heavy
for them to carry.
7. She is his sister.
8. That silver Brezza belongs to them.
9. It just lay on the floor the whole day.
10. The teacher asked the students if they had submitted their assignments.