Nouns - Definition, Overview, and Lists of Examples

Welcome

What's a noun?

Below you’ll find links to our discussion on nouns. We recommend that you start with the first topic,Nouns - Words That Name. At the bottom of each page, you’ll find links to “Next” and to “Previous.” So start with the first topic and then click “Next” to read our entire discussion on nouns.

We have broken some of the longer topics into multiple pages. So watch for references to “Pages 1-2-3” at the bottom of the topic. Click the next page number to continue reading.

Hard Copy

You may download our entire discussion of the Parts of Speech. Simply download the Grammar eBookUnderstanding the Parts of Speech.

Cast of Characters

In these discussions, you'll meet various characters: Miss Hamrick is my eighth-grade English teacher (bless her soul); Amber and Igor are cave-dwelling, primitive ancestors, who, along with Miss Hamrick, invented the English language 6,412 years ago.

Sources Cited

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Table of Contents

1. Nouns - Words That Name
2. Amber and Igor - Primitive Ancestors
3. Plurals of Nouns
4. Group Nouns - Singular or Plural
5. Possessives of Nouns
6. What Nouns Do
7. Groups of Words Acting as Nouns
8. A General Summary of Nouns
9. Nouns - What They Do - A Closer Look
10. Noun Function 1 - Subjects of Sentences or Clauses
11. Noun Function 2 - Subject Complements
12. Noun Function 3 - Direct Object of Transitive Verb
13. Noun Function 4 - Object of Verbal Phrase
14. Noun Function 5 – Indirect Object
15. Noun Functions 1-5 – Verb Dependent
16. Noun Function 6 – Object of the Preposition
17. Noun Functions 1-6 – Dependent Nouns
18. Noun Function 7 – Noun Appositives
19. Noun Function 8 – Noun Modifiers
20. Noun Function 9 – Noun Adverbs
21. Noun Function 10 – Noun Absolutes
22. A Summary of the 10 Functions of Nouns