Parts of Speech · Today with Nelson

Welcome to the Noun Office.

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I name a specific person, place, thing, or idea. It's a big responsibility, a responsibility that requires a certain attention to detail. Watch.

Meet the Nouns! (overview)

A noun names a person, a place, a thing, or an idea. Those four jobs cover every noun in town.

PersonPlaceThingIdea

Same object, two registers. Only the noun changes; watch how the whole sentence changes who it sounds like.

Casual: A kid waved from the porch. Formal: A youth waved from the porch.

Casual: The cops parked outside. Formal: The officers parked outside.

Casual: We brought snacks. Formal: We brought refreshments.

A noun names a person.

Examples

doctor, Beyoncé, brother, teacher

Library

The doctor told my brother to drink more water.

Beyoncé released a brand new album last summer.

Mrs. Garcia is the kindest teacher in fourth grade.

Have you met Bill? He's my best friend.

Now you try

A person can be specific or general. You could try a chef, or your grandma, or your best friend, or a librarian. Anyone counts.

A noun names a place.

Examples

wilderness, Antarctica, neighborhood, Houston

Library

I had a nightmare about being trapped in the wilderness.

It happens to be very cold in Antarctica.

Billy's neighborhood in Houston is gorgeous.

Now you try

A location, a city, a country, or a room. You could try the kitchen, or Cleveland, or Mars, or your closet. Any place counts.

A noun names a thing.

Examples

clipboard, sandwich, lamp, kazoo

Library

Nelson's clipboard has forty-seven sticky notes on it.

The sandwich at lunch came with too many pickles.

Someone replaced my lamp with a kazoo.

That spear belongs to Helen.

Now you try

Anything you can pick up, point to, or photograph. You could try stapler, or banana, or clarinet, or paperclip. Things count.

A noun names an idea.

Examples

courage, boredom, justice, freedom

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Courage is what makes you raise your hand.

Boredom is the worst part of Tuesday.

Justice and freedom both take time to figure out.

Puppies express their love by licking your face.

Now you try

A feeling, a quality, or a concept you cannot touch. You could try hope, or curiosity, or honesty, or sadness. Ideas count.

Common Nouns and Proper Nouns

A common noun names any person, place, or thing and is written in lowercase. A proper noun names a specific person, place, or thing and must be capitalized.

Common Noun: Names any general person, place, thing, or idea; written in lowercase.
Proper Noun: Names a specific person, place, thing, or idea; capitalized.

In a sentence

Swap all three nouns from common to proper and the meaning gets sharper.

When I was in the restaurant, I asked a lady what she knew about a volcano.

When I was in Burger King, I asked Lucy what she knew about Krakatoa.

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Now you try

A common noun names a general person, place, thing, or idea. You could try marker, or stapler, or snack, or paperclip. Common nouns stay lowercase.

Concrete Nouns and Abstract Nouns

A concrete noun names something you can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. An abstract noun names an idea, feeling, or quality that you cannot see or touch.

Concrete Noun: Names something that can be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or touched.
Abstract Noun: Names an idea, feeling, or quality that cannot be physically touched.

In a sentence

Same behavior, two abstract nouns. The denotation barely moves; the connotation does the arguing.

He acted with confidence. He acted with arrogance.

She showed thrift. She showed stinginess.

Their family has traditions. Their family has habits.

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Now you try

A concrete noun names something you can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. You could try bananas, or marshmallows, or pinecones, or socks. Anything you can sense with your body counts.

Collective Nouns

A collective noun is a word that names a group of people or things. It can describe groups like team, class, family, herd, flock, or pack.

Collective Noun: Names a group of people or things as a single unit.

In a sentence

Four collective nouns in one sentence. Each one names a whole group acting as one.

Our band went to the zoo to see the school of fish but an armory of aardvarks had escaped, so they closed the zoo and called in a squad of police.

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Now you try

A collective noun names a group acting as one. You could try flock, or team, or swarm, or parade. The group is the noun, not the members.

Compound Nouns

One word

Some compound nouns are written as a single word.

shortcake, snowman, toothbrush

Two words

Some are written as two separate words.

swimming pool, ice cream, post office

Hyphenated

Some are joined with hyphens.

mother-in-law, jack-o'-lantern, merry-go-round

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Now you try

A compound noun puts two words together to make one. You could try toothbrush, or basketball, or skateboard, or fire truck. Sometimes they are one word, sometimes two, sometimes hyphenated.

Singular Nouns and Plural Nouns

A singular noun names one person, place, or thing. A plural noun names more than one. Most nouns add -s, but nouns ending in s, ss, ch, sh, x, z add -es. Nouns ending in consonant + y change to -ies. Some nouns are irregular (man/men, child/children).

Singular Noun: Names one person, place, thing, or idea.
Plural Noun: Names more than one person, place, thing, or idea.

In a sentence

Most nouns add -s. A few change shape instead.

One cat becomes two cats.

One box becomes two boxes.

One mouse becomes two mice.

Library

Now you try

A singular noun names just one of something. You could try goose, or cactus, or child, or sandwich. One only.

Possessive Nouns

A possessive noun shows that it owns something. You make one by adding an apostrophe and an s to the owner noun, so dog becomes dog's. A possessive noun does the same job as a possessive adjective like his or its.

Possessive Noun: A noun that shows ownership by adding an apostrophe and an s, like the dog's bone.

In a sentence

Three kinds of words can show ownership: a possessive noun, a possessive adjective (Jake's job), and a possessive pronoun (Roger's job). Below, watch the possessive noun do it with an apostrophe.

The dog's bone means the same thing as its bone.

Maria's backpack is just another way to say her backpack.

The team's bus left at noon.

Now you try

A possessive noun adds an apostrophe and an s. You could try cat, or teacher, or city. The owner gets the 's.