Nouns
What is a Noun?
Of all the parts of speech, nouns are perhaps the most important. A noun is a word that identifies a person, animal, place, thing, or idea. Here, we’ll take a closer look at what makes a noun a noun, and we’ll provide some noun examples, along with some advice for using nouns in your sentences.
Identifying a Noun
A noun is a part of speech that denotes a person, animal, place, thing, or idea. The English word noun has its roots in the Latin word nomen, which means “name.” Every language has words that are nouns. As you read the following explanations, think about some words that might fit into each category.
Person – A term for a person, whether proper name, gender, title, or class, is a noun.
Animal – A term for an animal, whether proper name, species, gender, or class is a noun.
Place – A term for a place, whether proper name, physical location, or general locale is a noun.
Thing – A term for a thing, whether it exists now, will exist, or existed in the past is a noun.
Idea – A term for an idea, be it a real, workable idea or a fantasy that might never come to fruition is a noun.