What is a noun?
A noun is a naming word. It names a person, place, thing or animal.
- Person: teacher, mom, baby, friend, doctor
- Place: school, park, kitchen, city, beach
- Thing: ball, book, chair, apple, pencil
- Animal: dog, frog, horse, fish, bird
Look around you. Almost everything you can see has a name, and that name is a noun!
Why nouns matter
Nouns tell us who or what a sentence is about. Without nouns, sentences would be very confusing.
The ___ ate the ___. Who ate what?
The dog ate the sandwich. Now we know!
Finding nouns in a sentence
Ask yourself: Is this word a person, place, thing or animal? Can I put a, an or the in front of it?
The boy threw a ball to his dog in the park.
- boy (person)
- ball (thing)
- dog (animal)
- park (place)
A trick: try putting the in front of a word. The boy works. The park works. The threw does not work, so threw is not a noun.
Common nouns and proper nouns
Common nouns
A common noun names any person, place or thing. It starts with a small letter.
- girl, boy, teacher
- city, country, school
- dog, cat, river
Proper nouns
A proper noun names a special, particular one. It always starts with a capital letter.
| Common noun | Proper noun |
|---|---|
| girl | Maya |
| teacher | Mr. Lee |
| city | Vancouver |
| country | Canada |
| dog | Rover |
| day | Monday |
| month | July |
| holiday | Canada Day |
| school | Maple Elementary School |
Remember: dog is any dog. Rover is one special dog.
Singular and plural nouns
Singular means one. Plural means more than one.
Add -s
Most nouns just add -s:
- cat → cats
- book → books
- tree → trees
Add -es
Nouns that end in s, x, z, ch or sh add -es. You can hear an extra syllable.
- bus → buses
- box → boxes
- lunch → lunches
- dish → dishes
Special plurals
Some nouns change in special ways:
- man → men
- child → children
- mouse → mice
- tooth → teeth
- foot → feet
A few nouns stay the same: one sheep, two sheep; one fish, three fish.
Nouns that end in y
Look at the letter before the y.
- If it is a consonant, change y to i and add -es: baby → babies, city → cities, puppy → puppies.
- If it is a vowel, just add -s: toy → toys, day → days, key → keys.
Nouns can do different jobs
A noun can be the one doing the action, or the one getting the action.
- Maya kicked the ball. Maya is doing the kicking.
- Maya kicked the ball. The ball is what got kicked.
A noun can also tell where: The ball rolled into the street. Noticing what job each noun is doing helps you understand sentences.
Nouns for groups
A collective noun names a group:
- a family of people
- a team of players
- a flock of birds
- a herd of cows
- a class of students
Let’s try some examples
Example 1: Find the nouns. My sister read a book on the bus.
Nouns: sister, book, bus.
Example 2: Common or proper? teacher, Ms. Patel
Teacher is common. Ms. Patel is proper.
Example 3: Make it plural. one fox, two ___
Fox ends in x, so add -es: foxes.
Example 4: Fix the capitals. we visited calgary in august.
We visited Calgary in August. (Calgary and August are proper nouns.)
Common mistakes
- Forgetting capitals on proper nouns. toronto should be Toronto.
- Capitalizing common nouns. I have a Dog should be I have a dog.
- Adding -s when you need -es. boxs should be boxes.
- Adding -s to special plurals. mouses should be mice; childs should be children.
Nouns make writing better
Choose exact nouns to help readers picture what you mean.
- I saw a bird. → I saw a robin.
- We ate food. → We ate spaghetti.
- She has a dog. → She has a poodle.
Try it yourself
- Circle the nouns: The cat slept on the warm rug in the kitchen.
- Write a proper noun for each common noun: street, friend, river.
- Make plural: glass, baby, child.
- Is happy a noun? Why or why not?
Answers: 1. cat, rug, kitchen. 2. Answers will vary, for example Maple Street, Ali, Fraser River. 3. glasses, babies, children. 4. No. Happy describes a feeling; it does not name a person, place, thing or animal.
Tip for families
Play “Noun hunt”: set a timer for one minute and name every noun you can see in the room. Then sort them into people, places, things and animals. For proper nouns, look at street signs, store names and book covers together.
Quick recap
- A noun names a person, place, thing or animal.
- Common nouns name any one; proper nouns name a special one and start with a capital.
- Singular means one; plural means more than one.
- Most plurals add -s or -es; some change in special ways.
- Collective nouns name groups.