##  [noun](/writing-tips-plus/noun)

##  Avertissement

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A noun is a naming word. It names a person, place, thing, quality, emotion or idea. Here are some examples of each type of noun.

- **Person:** Chris Hadfield, Céline Dion, firefighter, mystic, child
- **Place:** Charlottetown, Canada, CN Tower, mall, beach, attic
- **Thing:** cellphone, computer, cup, SUV, tree, dog
- **Quality:** kindness, honesty, intelligence, patience, humour
- **Emotion:** sadness, happiness, anger, embarrassment, disgust
- **Idea:** freedom, culture, community, dialogue, reaction, danger

## Proper nouns vs. common nouns

Some of the nouns above start with capital letters. These are *proper nouns* because they name someone or something very specific, like Chris Hadfield or the CN Tower.

Non-specific nouns like *man* or *building* are called *common nouns*; they do not take a capital.

## Concrete nouns vs. abstract nouns

A *concrete noun* names something that has physical existence and can be experienced through one or more of the five senses. Nouns like *baby, Cape Breton* or *cheeseburger*, which name a person, place or thing, are concrete nouns because persons, places and things can be seen, touched, heard, smelt or tasted.

An *abstract noun* is one that does not have physical existence and therefore cannot be experienced through any of the five senses. Nouns that name qualities, emotions or ideas—like *kindness, happiness* or *freedom*—are abstract nouns.

## Collective nouns

Nouns such as *staff, herd* or *fleet* are names for groups of people, animals or things. These nouns are called *collective nouns*.

## Compound nouns

Some nouns are formed from a combination of two or more words. These compound nouns may be written as separate words (*tree house, chef’s salad*), hyphenated (*brother-in-law, jack-in-the-box*) or written as one word (*firefly, cheerleader*).

## Functions of nouns

Nouns can perform any of the following functions in sentences.

1. **Subject**:
- *Erica* built the children a tree house.

The noun *Erica* is the subject of this sentence. Erica did the action expressed in the verb, and the sentence is about her and what she did.
2. **Direct object of an action verb:**
- Erica built the children *a tree house*.

A direct object receives the action expressed in the verb; here, the subject *Erica* performed the action of building, and the tree house was on the receiving end of that action. Therefore, the compound noun *tree house* is the direct object of the verb *built*.
3. **Indirect object of an action verb:**
- Erica built *the children* a tree house.

An indirect object receives the direct object. In this case, the children got the tree house. The noun *children* is therefore the indirect object of the verb *built*.
4. **Subject complement after a linking verb:**
- Erica is *an engineer*.

A subject complement is a noun or an adjective that follows a linking verb and renames or describes the subject. Here, the noun *engineer* is the subject complement: it follows the linking verb *is* and provides another way of naming the subject *Erica*.
5. **Object complement:**
- The children called the tree house *Lothlórien*.

An object complement is a word or word group that follows the direct object and renames or describes it. Here, the noun *Lothlórien* is the object complement: it renames the direct object *tree house*.
6. **Object of a preposition:**
- Erica put her tools into *the trunk*.

Here, the preposition is *into*, and *trunk* is its object.
7. **Appositive:**
- Erica’s brother-in-law, *Ilya*, comes from Russia.

*Ilya* is an appositive—a noun placed next to the noun *brother-in-law* to explain who he is.

## Modifier

Nouns in English can function as adjectives when they are placed in front of another noun or when they are made possessive:

- Ilya likes to make *beet* soup. \[The noun *beet* modifies the noun *soup*.\]
- *Ilya’s* soup boiled over. \[The possessive noun *Ilya’s* modifies the noun *soup*.\]

**Note:** For help understanding any unfamiliar grammar terms in this article, see [grammar terms](grammar-terms).

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