Nouns Presentation

1. Nouns
FROM THE WRITING CENTER
@ THE A.R.C.

2. What is a Noun?
 A noun is not just a person, place or thing. It is actually the word that DEFINES a
person, place or thing.
 Example: Susan, New York, banana
In a sentence, these can be used together.
 Example: Susan ate a banana in New York. (Susan (the subject) ate (verb) the banana
(noun) in New York (noun).

3. Why Do We Even Need Them?
 Nouns provide not only a subject to a sentence, but also receive an action from a verb.
 Ex: Nora kicked the table (Nora is the subject, and the action would be the kick to the table)
They can even follow behind a preposition (words like “on,” “in,” “after,” etc.) to complement
them.
 Ex: The fly flew in the house (“in” is the preposition in this case, and the house is the noun that
complements the preposition).

4. Examples of Properly Used Nouns
 She likes to talk with the poor.
 He is taking care of the blind.
 The boy loves his teddy bear.
 The tree was very tall.
 The city was loud and crowded.

5. Plural Nouns
To make a noun plural, simply add an “s” to the end of the noun.
 Dog -> Dogs, or Cat -> Cats, but Fish -/> Fishes.
Exception: There are a few words in English that do not work the same way.
 Plural of Sheep is not Sheeps. Instead Sheep is left in the same form “Sheep.”
In these cases, the reader must determine the surrounding context to understand the plurality of
the noun.

6. Common Mistakes Using Nouns
Using a plural when you should not is a common error
Example: She likes to talk with the poors
Another: He is taking care of the blinds
In these sentences, “poors” and “blinds” are the incorrect forms of “poor” and “blind.” In these
cases, the plural does not use an “s” on the end of the word.
Example: Goose plural is Geese, not Gooses

7. In a World Without Nouns...
 Without nouns, sentences would lack a subject and confuse your reader or listener as to “who”
and “what” you are referring to.
 _____ went to play. (WHO?)
 Johnny said that ____ is the best state ever (WHERE? WHAT?)
 _____ has ____ and it is too dangerous to take into ____ (WHO? WHAT? WHERE?)

8. Conclusion
 Nouns can be used in various ways to provide one of the most important aspects of a
sentence.
 Without nouns, sentences would leave your audience, reader or listener, clueless.
 Nouns can be plural, but watch out for certain special instances!