NOUNS
Traditional grammarians define a noun as "a
person, place, thing, or idea."
Child designates a person;
therefore, child is a noun.
Similarly, democracy designates an
idea; therefore, democracy is a noun.
In addition, nouns can be identified by the
presence of signal words such as the.
![](nounthe.jpg)
Word order can also provide clues about nouns.
For example, in the following sentence, it is clear that the part of
speech that will fit into slot #1 and slot #2 must be nouns:
![](nountouch.jpg)
Often, suffixes will suggest that a word is a
noun. For example, -tion,
-ness, -ment, or -er at the end of a word usually signify that the word is a
noun, as in suggestion, happiness, involvement, and diner.
Nouns may be made plural, usually with the suffix
-s or -es, as in books and foxes.
Nouns show ownership with the addition of an
apostrophe and, sometimes, an additional -s, as in a book's pages,
twenty students' essays.
Common nouns such as school, business, or
person designate an entire class.
Proper nouns, on the other hand, designate
a specific example of a class: Towson
University, Black and Decker Company, Joe.
Proper nouns are capitalized.
Nouns may be countable (1 fork, 2 forks, 3
forks, etc.) or non-countable (sugar, oil).
Nouns may signify concreteness (computer,
fingernail) or abstractness (peace, friendship).
Functions
of Nouns
Subject
(S) - a noun or pronoun partnered with a predicate verb.
A
subject
1. does an action with an action verb
![](noun1.jpg)
2. exists with a verb of being
![](noun2.jpg)
3. is renamed or described after a verb of being or a linking verb
![](noun3.jpg)
4. is acted upon with a passive verb
![](noun4.jpg)
Object of Preposition (OP) - a noun or
pronoun answering "whom" or "what" after a
preposition in a
a prepositional phrase.
![](noun5.jpg)
Direct
Object (DO) - a noun or pronoun answering "whom" or
"what" after an action verb. A direct object
"receives" or is the "object" of the action.
![](noun6.jpg)
Retained
Object (RO) - a noun or pronoun answering "whom" or
"what" after a passive verb.
![](noun7.jpg)
Indirect
Object (IO) - a noun or pronoun answering "to whom/what" or
"for whom/what" after an action verb.
An
indirect object
Subjective
Complement (SC) - a noun, pronoun, or adjective
that renames or describes (equals) the subject after a
verb of being or a
linking verb.
![](noun9.jpg)
Objective
Complement (OC) - a noun, pronoun, or adjective that renames or describes
(equals) the direct object.
Test
for OC: insert "to be" between the DO and the OC
Appositive
(App) - a noun or pronoun that renames another noun; An appositive is
usually placed next to the noun it renames..
![](noun11.jpg)
Gourmet renames the noun Joe.
Therefore, gourmet is an appositive of Joe.
When an appositive is not placed next to the noun it renames, the appositive is
called a delayed appositive.
![](noun12.jpg)
A delayed appositive may rename the word it in some sentence constructions.
![](noun13.jpg)
In the above sentence, the appositive to meet you
renames it.
It (to meet you) is a pleasure.
In this sentence, pleasure is the
subjective complement of
it.
Therefore, it = pleasure = to meet you.
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