What do nouns mean

A concrete noun is something that is perceived by the senses; something that is physical or real. I heard the doorbell. My keyboard is sticky. Conversely, an abstract noun is something that cannot be perceived by the senses. Courage is an abstract noun. That pack of lies is disgraceful. Pack of lies as used here is a collective noun. Collective nouns take a singular verb as if they are one entity — in this case, the singular verb is.

A pride of lions roamed the savanna. Every sentence must have a subject, and that subject will always be a noun. The subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing that is doing or being the verb in that sentence. Maria is happy. Nouns can also be objects of a verb in a sentence. An object can be either a direct object a noun that receives the action performed by the subject or an indirect object a noun that is the recipient of a direct object. Give the books to her. Books is a direct object what is being given and her is the indirect object who the books are being given to.

Another type of noun use is called a subject complement. In this example, the noun teacher is used as a subject complement.

Mary is a teacher. Subject complements normally follow linking verbs like to be, become, or seem. A teacher is what Mary is. A related usage of nouns is called an object complement. I now pronounce you husband and wife. These words should be capitalized. The names and titles of things are always proper nouns, such as the brand name Starbucks and the personal name Jenny.

Singular nouns are nouns that refer to only one person, place or thing. For example, a cat is one animal and a banana is one fruit. A plural noun refers to more than one of something. Many singular nouns just need an S added at the end to make them plural e.

For some nouns that already end with an S , you may need to add -es to the end to make their plural forms e. Some singular nouns also change spelling when made plural e. Not all nouns follow this pattern. Those that become plural in other ways are called irregular plural nouns.

Some examples are man and men , wolf and wolves , foot and feet , and sheep and … sheep. A concrete noun is something that can be perceived through the five senses. If you can see, hear, touch, taste, or smell something, it uses a concrete noun. For example, the abstract noun anger refers to an emotion and the abstract noun courage refers to a quality a person has. A collective noun is a noun that functions as a singular noun while referring to a group of people or things.

A collective noun refers to a group that functions as one unit or performs the same action at the same time. Plural nouns have only one form and are used with plural verb forms: " Townspeople are invited to a forum on the project," "These scissors are dull.

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'noun. Send us feedback. Middle English nowne , from Anglo-French nom, noun name, noun, from Latin nomen — more at name. See more words from the same century. There is a ruthless efficiency in the editing of dictionaries. Accessed 12 Nov. Nglish: Translation of noun for Spanish Speakers. Britannica English: Translation of noun for Arabic Speakers.

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Essential Meaning of noun. Full Definition of noun. What is a noun? There are a number of different categories of nouns. Examples of noun in a Sentence Recent Examples on the Web The word first appeared as a noun in the s and then started to be used as a verb in the early 21st century, according to the report.

Wu, The Atlantic , 13 July Sly and his multiracial band at their peak, reminding you that funk is both a noun and a verb. First Known Use of noun 14th century, in the meaning defined above. History and Etymology for noun Middle English nowne , from Anglo-French nom, noun name, noun, from Latin nomen — more at name. Learn More About noun. Time Traveler for noun The first known use of noun was in the 14th century See more words from the same century.