What is a noun?
A noun is a word that names something. Every noun answers the question who? or what?. Nouns name five kinds of things:
- People: sister, pilot, coach, Mrs. Singh
- Places: library, beach, Halifax, kitchen
- Things: lamp, bicycle, sandwich, pencil
- Animals: owl, beaver, goldfish, horse
- Ideas and feelings: friendship, fear, honesty, freedom
Nouns are the building blocks of sentences. Most sentences need at least one noun to tell us who or what the sentence is about.
Concrete and abstract nouns
A concrete noun is something you can sense. You can see a rainbow, hear thunder, smell popcorn, touch a blanket and taste lemonade.
An abstract noun names something you cannot sense with your body. It is an idea, a quality or a feeling.
| Concrete nouns | Abstract nouns |
|---|---|
| trophy | pride |
| hug | love |
| classroom | education |
| friend | friendship |
| hero | bravery |
Quick test: Could you put it in a box? A trophy fits in a box. Pride does not. So pride is abstract.
Many abstract nouns end in -ness, -ment, -tion, -ity or -ship: kindness, excitement, imagination, curiosity, leadership.
Common and proper nouns
A common noun names any member of a group: river, girl, store, planet.
A proper noun names one particular person, place or thing. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter: St. Lawrence River, Amira, Maple Market, Jupiter.
Days of the week, months, holidays, languages, books and teams are proper nouns too: Friday, October, Thanksgiving, French, Charlotte’s Web, Toronto Raptors.
Singular and plural nouns
A singular noun names one. A plural noun names more than one.
- Most nouns add -s: cup → cups
- Nouns ending in s, x, z, ch or sh add -es: fox → foxes, brush → brushes
- Consonant + y: change y to i and add -es: story → stories
- Many nouns ending in f or fe change to -ves: leaf → leaves, knife → knives
- Some are irregular: mouse → mice, person → people, goose → geese
- Some never change: deer, sheep, moose
Possessive nouns
A possessive noun shows that something belongs to someone.
- Singular: add ‘s → the cat’s toy, Liam’s jacket
- Plural ending in s: add just ‘ → the cats’ toys, the teachers’ lounge
- Plural not ending in s: add ‘s → the children’s books, the men’s team
Compound and collective nouns
A compound noun is made from two or more words: sunflower, football, ice cream, mother-in-law.
A collective noun names a group as one unit: a team of players, a pod of whales, a swarm of bees, a crowd of fans.
Count and noncount nouns
Some nouns can be counted: one apple, two apples. Others cannot be counted one by one, so they have no plural: water, rice, homework, information, furniture. We say some water or a glass of water, not two waters in everyday writing. You will learn more about these in the Count and Noncount Nouns lesson.
Worked examples
Example 1: Find every noun. Our class visited the museum on Tuesday and learned about courage.
Nouns: class, museum, Tuesday, courage. (Tuesday is proper; courage is abstract.)
Example 2: Make the noun possessive. the toys that belong to the puppies
→ the puppies’ toys
Example 3: Concrete or abstract? happiness, balloon
Balloon is concrete. Happiness is abstract.
Common mistakes
- Using an apostrophe to make a plural. apple’s for sale ✗ → apples for sale ✓
- Forgetting capitals. we met in june in ottawa ✗ → We met in June in Ottawa ✓
- Wrong irregular plural. tooths ✗ → teeth ✓
Try it yourself
- Underline the nouns: The brave firefighter saved a kitten from the tall tree.
- Sort into concrete and abstract: honesty, pillow, fear, guitar.
- Write the plural: wolf, city, child, box.
- Write the possessive: the bikes of the boys.
Answers: 1. firefighter, kitten, tree. 2. Concrete: pillow, guitar. Abstract: honesty, fear. 3. wolves, cities, children, boxes. 4. the boys’ bikes.
Tip for families
Play "Noun categories" at dinner: one person names a letter and everyone races to say a person, place, thing, animal and idea that start with it. B: baker, Boston, button, bear, bravery!
Quick recap
- Nouns name people, places, things, animals and ideas.
- Concrete nouns can be sensed; abstract nouns cannot.
- Proper nouns name particular ones and need a capital letter.
- Plurals mostly add -s or -es, but some change spelling.
- Possessive nouns use an apostrophe to show ownership.